When Ideology Arms the State Abdul Basit

The influence of Hindutva over Indian political thought and the military predates even before the creation of Rashtriya Swayem Sevak. The seeds of Hindu victimhood were sown during colonial India when Col. U.N. Mukherjee wrote an essay titled Hindu: A Dying Race. This excerpt not only catalyzed the anger among Hindus towards the Muslims but also led to the creation of RSS. Consequently, this idea of “exclusively Hindu army reclaiming lost glory” became a central theme of later right-wing nationalism. By the time the British left India, Hindutva had taken deep roots. Two powerful organizations, the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha, were ready to enforce their vision of ethnically cleansing India, both systematically and overtly. Later, which was witnessed during the creation of Pakistan and India. This influence quietly seeped into military and political circles of India but was masked under the secularism rhetoric.

It was all subtle, quiet, and haphazard, but then came the fateful year 2014 when the BJP assumed office in Delhi. Since rising to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Indian government has increasingly managed to infuse Hindu mythology not confined to public life but also into the country’s military sphere. This pattern of reshaping and reorienting the Indian statecraft has various ideological underpinnings as suggested by ancient Hindu Religious texts, suggesting an exclusive state for the Hindus. The BJP regime has cleverly materialized the opportunity for the creation of a greater India (Akhand Bharat). A mural was displayed in the newly built Indian parliament, depicting a map of an ancient Indian civilization encompassing what is today Pakistan in the north and Bangladesh and Nepal in the east. Following the event, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi tweeted alongside a photograph of the map, “the resolve is clear”. “Akhand Bharat in (the) New Parliament.  BJP lawmaker Manoj Kotak tweeted: It represents our powerful and self-reliant India.”

These patterns highlight that the BJP in India appears to be institutionalizing the shift towards an ideology termed Saffronization. This trend promotes Hindu fundamentalist identity and symbolism. The environment thus bred is visible across various facets of Indian socio-political life and most importantly within its historically secular institutions. The intensity has been observed increasing with frequent doctrinal and operational transformations suggested by Hindutva ideologues.

On 26^th November 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with RSS chief Bhagwat, after hoisting the Saffron flag at the controversial Ram Mandir, stated that centuries-old wounds are being healed.  The statement resonates with the earlier Islamophobic and anti-Pakistan provocative statements by other BJP and RSS representatives among the government circles of India. Also, the Indian PM openly signaled revisionist, expansionist intentions toward Pakistan, escalating tensions before any operational context. Earlier, Indian Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, while addressing soldiers at the Army cantonment in Ghadsana village, Sriganganagar, said, “We will wipe out Pakistan from the face of the earth. Following his statement Indian Defense Minister on 24^th November 2025, asserted that Pakistan’s Sind province would one day become part of India. This pattern is gaining momentum at a rapid pace, with voices among the Indian government circles to start Operation Sindoor 2.0.

Along with the Indian strategic thinking, the military professionalism is also subscribing to Hindutva zealotry. What was once framed as a secular force is fast becoming a political tool of the RSS-led BJP regime. Its military sphere is becoming charged with culturally and politically inspired visions of national identity. This descent towards the religious majoritarian agendas is severely creating risk for the stability in the region, as the Hindu mythologies advocate for a greater India incorporating the larger subcontinent and the neighboring states as well. This notion is further solidified by the participation of senior military leaders in politically motivated events and Hindu rituals. The Indian military’s subscription to the Hindu nationalist agenda has been observed various times. The Indian Army Chief’s lounge experienced a significant artistic change, where a painting commemorating the 1971 war was replaced by an artwork by Karam Kshetra. The replaced piece features Hindu mythological figures like Krishna and Chanakya alongside modern military equipment.

On another occasion, Indian Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi was seen receiving a tilak and garland from Hindu priests while in uniform. On May 30, 2025, he visited the Ashram of Hindu saint Jagadguru Rambhadracharya in Chitarkoot and received blessings and prayers. He also gifted a memento to Rambhadracharya, who termed the battle as one for the protection of religion and country. Moreover, the saint said that I gave him a mantra which Hnuman took from Sita for conquering Lanka, and I have asked him for Azad Kashmir as guru dikshna. These actions by senior military leadership, following the footsteps of BJP leaders, are further fueling uncertainties, particularly concerning Pakistan-India relations. Even the nomenclature for military operations is changing. Operations have been branded with Hindu religious terms like “Sindoor” and “Mahadev.” This represents a shift from neutral, purely operational titles to ideologically charged names aimed at domestic political signaling and consolidating the Hindutva narrative.

There are reports that RSS is going to groom future military officers at an Army School to be established by April 2026. The institution will train children to become officers in the armed forces. The school, which will be the first such initiative by the RSS education wing Vidya Bharati and will be named after former RSS sangchalak Rajju Bhayyia. Equally perturbing is the RSS takeover of Sainik Schools, the feeder institutions for the National Defence Academy (NDA). Between 2022 and 2023, 62% of newly affiliated Sainik Schools were handed over to Vidya Bharti and other Sangh-run trusts. In Vrindavan, a “Girls Soldier School” is managed by Sadhvi Ritambhara, infamous for her role in the Babri Masjid demolition. This suggests a concerted effort to instill a specific saffron ideology into the military’s future leadership from a young age. This systematic shift jeopardizes the very foundations of the Indian military-its secular, neutral, and apolitical character. By promoting majoritarian Hindu nationalist narratives, this ideological makeover risks undermining the regional stability and creating a narrative where they are increasingly viewed not as a non-partisan military force, but as the “Modi Ki Sena”.

This ideological shift has grave regional repercussions. A nuclear-armed military driven by religious chauvinism and cataclysmic ideology is not only a regional but also a global threat. Jawahar Lal Nehru’s words are indeed prophetic. He said The RSS project of Hinduizing the Indian military does not end here. It is making sure that even if the BJP is voted out of power, the RSS’s control over the military remains intact.

Author: Abdul Basit is an Associate Research Officer at Center for International Strategic Studies AJK. He is a graduate in International Relations at National Defence University, Islamabad.