The Rise of Hindutva, Saffron Terrorism and South Asian Regional Security

Regardless of increasing number of organized violent attacks by far right, non-Islamist militants across the globe, Western policy and scholarly discourse on terrorism remains excessively focused on violent extremism in Muslims. South Asia is no exception. The regional security agenda is often constructed by disproportionately highlighting Islamist extremism. On the contrary, Saffron terrorism in India is conveniently ignored. Nevertheless, the second political triumph of Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) under Modi, the political face of Hindu fundamentalists in India is barefaced. This paper seeks to offer an alternative perspective by focusing on the rising threat of Hindu extremists and how their ascendance to and consolidation of political power in New Delhi will impact South Asian regional security. Using adversarial threat analysis framework, the paper first establishes Hindutva terror as a potent threat, challenging the apologists' notions that tend to downplay this new wave of violence by terming it as “acts conducted by isolated fringe elements”. The paper also highlights growing acknowledgement of the threat among academia but reluctance of policy makers in and around India to acknowledge Hindutva as a threat, which could further complicate the regional political environment. Since anti-Pakistanism is central to Hindutva ideology, there is a need for Islamabad to adopt counter-measures and sensitize the world about the growing role of Hindu fundamentalists in Indian policy-making process. The paper concludes that the Saffronisation of violence and politics in nuclear-armed India is irreversible thus it will continue to impact South Asian security in a most profound manner in the decades to come.