Charu Nivedita's Opinion Piece Critiques Rising Hindu Nationalism and Violence in Modi's India

In an article for ArtReview, Charu Nivedita, a writer from Chennai, contends that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, India has plunged into a perilous form of fundamentalism reminiscent of 1930s Germany. He points out that the Hindutva ideology has fueled violence against Muslims and Dalits, particularly within the cattle trade. Although Modi's 2014 election leveraged dissatisfaction with Congress, the BJP has intensified religious discord. The crackdown on meat-processing facilities by Yogi Adityanath has created a climate of fear among minorities, and Gujarat has enacted life sentences for cow slaughter. Nivedita references the 2018 murder of Asifa Bano in Kathua, claiming that BJP lawyers hindered justice. He cautions that fundamentalism poses a significant threat to India, with educated people embracing extremist ideologies.