Hindutva & the Nexus of Global Far-Right Extremism

Far-right extremist forces are finding increasing support in power circles as more and more world leaders are positioned with the far right. At South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC), along with our movement allies, we have been opposing Hindutva - Hindu Nationalists in Canada and North America for a while now. Let us recall that the fountain-head of the Hindutva movement Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS; translates as National Volunteer Corps) was founded in the 1920s, and is also the world’s largest and most enduring violent extremist, far-right paramilitary organization. Its leaders, directly inspired by European fascism, established direct contact with fascist Mussolini and cite Nazi Germany as an aspirational example [1]. In the present day, a strong alignment can be observed between the global far-right and Hindutva — e.g., in 2011 when Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik massacred over 70 people, his manifesto included how he was influenced by the Hindutva movement and had pledged support for the deportation of all Muslims from India.

Such ideological alignment can be seen in various geographies globally, including in so-called Canada, the USA and the UK. The far-right movement that surfaced in the form of the “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa during the pandemic was composed of well-known and established far-right individuals and groups, including white supremacists, Islamophobes, and people with anti-immigrant and anti-Indigenous mindsets. Of late, we increasingly see open discourse between Hindutva and the far-right/white supremacists.

Global powers also cater to extremist ideologies, as was evident at the G7 in Canada this June, with the warm welcome extended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), is the political arm of RSS. Furthermore, late last year Canadian security agencies themselves had signalled how agents of the Government of India were involved in serious criminal activity in Canada and that they had charged a “significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence”, including the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar [2]. Also, since Modi’s Hindu-right government came to power in India in 2014, violence, discrimination and hate crimes against India’s religious minorities, particularly Muslims, Dalits, Christians, and Adivasis (Indigenous) have sharply increased.

The growing nexus of extremist ideologies and the rise of a blend of far-right movements underscores the urgency of working locally while strategizing with a global perspective. In today’s context, building strong, inclusive coalitions is essential to bolstering grassroots organizing and resistance. Raqib Hameed Naik and Zeba Warsi will speak on organized hate, how the far right is aligned and highly organized, as a lead into reflecting on the types of strategic alliances needed to combat Hindutva and the nexus of organized hatred.

 

 

*Raqib Hameed Naik* is the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. Previously a journalist, Naik founded hate tracker HindutvaWatch.org, a real-time data set of human rights abuses, and India Hate Lab, which studies hate speech targeting India's religious minorities in the digital and offline realms.

*Zeba Warsi* is an Emmy nominated, award-winning foreign affairs journalist, with PBS NewsHour, based in Washington DC. She was one of the leading members of the NewsHour team that won the 2024 Peabody award for their coverage of the war in Gaza. Prior to the NewsHour, Warsi was based in New Delhi for eight years, covering politics, extremism, sexual violence, social movements and human rights as a special correspondent with CNN's India affiliate CNN-News18.

 

Organized by
South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC)
CERAS (Centre sur l’Asie du Sud)

Endorsed by
Academics & Staff for Palestine - Concordia
Canadian Forum for Human Rights and Democracy in India
Concordia Student Union
Food Against Fascism
Hindus for Human Rights
Just Peace Canada
Justice for All Canada
Leftwing Books
Palestinian and Jewish Unity
Quebec Public Interest Research Group - Concordia
Quebec Public Interest Research Group - McGill
South Asian Dalit-Adivasi Network Canada
Solidarity Across Borders
Sudan Solidarity Collective
Students’ Society of McGill University - External Affairs