They Hate Muslims and Emulate Israel: What Is India’s “Hindutva”?

Although the Kashmir conflict, ongoing since 1947, is often viewed as the primary reason for the tensions between India and Pakistan, the root cause lies deeper in the extremist nationalist ideology of Hindutva, which has shaped India’s internal crises and external conflicts.

In India, the rise to power of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014—representing the ideological core of Hindutva—ushered in a wave of state-sponsored discrimination against minorities, particularly Muslims. Modi’s exclusionary policies have emboldened Hindu nationalist groups to violently target Muslims.

From the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), aimed at sidelining Muslims, to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), to the repeal of Article 370—which revoked Kashmir’s special status and sought to alter its Muslim demographic makeup—and finally the demolition of the Babri Mosque (built by the Mughal emperor Babur) by Hindu mobs, all reflect Hindutva’s growing influence under Modi’s rule.

Thus, when examining India’s internal turmoil and its conflicts with Pakistan or within the subcontinent, one must consider Hindutva’s ideological dominance as the underlying force.

Hindutva and Zionism

Indian nationalism can be understood through two distinct ideological streams. The first is the inclusive, pluralistic, and anti-imperialist nationalism of Gandhi and Nehru. The second is Hindutva, a fascist-inspired ideology founded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who was also linked to Gandhi’s assassination.

Savarkar, in his 1923 book “Essentials of Hindutva”, laid the foundation for a militant, ethnonationalist Hindu identity. He asserted that Hinduism is only a part of Hindutva, and that Hindutva encompasses the entire cultural and political life of the Indian race.

Savarkar was profoundly influenced by Zionism, admiring its racial and religious vision. He once declared:

“If war breaks out between India and Pakistan, most Muslims will side with Pakistan, but Israel will side with us. Therefore, India must recognize Israel immediately.”

This quote highlights how Savarkar viewed Israel as an ideological ally, and Islam as a civilizational threat, much like early Zionist thinkers viewed Arabs and Palestinians.

He argued that just as Jews were entitled to reclaim their Holy Land, Hindus had a divine right to a sacred homeland encompassing modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Those who revered any land outside this “Greater India” lacked true Hindu consciousness, he claimed. He further noted that only Jews could relate to such a “high form of nationalist understanding.”

In his writings, Savarkar openly supported the Zionist project, believing the Jewish return to Palestine was a historical necessity, and he sought to emulate it in India.

Modern-Day Hindutva-Israel Alliance

The ideological kinship between Hindutva and Zionism forms the backbone of the current India-Israel alliance under Modi. The alliance transcends political convenience—it is rooted in shared values of ethnic supremacy, militarism, and Islamophobia.

Historically, India’s relations with Israel were cold. From the 1950s until the 1990s, India aligned itself with Arab states and refrained from establishing full diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. But that changed when Israel began courting Hindu nationalist movements.

Israel established covert relations with radical Hindu groups like the Hindu Mahasabha, and Vinayak Godse—brother of Gandhi’s assassin—was among the early visitors to Israel’s consulate in India.

By the 1970s, Israeli diplomats began building ties with the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), a paramilitary group founded in 1925, and the ideological mother of BJP. Israel supported and funded RSS activities, viewing it as a natural ideological partner.

Israel also established links with other Hindutva-aligned organizations like VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) during the 1980s. These early relationships laid the foundation for the formal diplomatic normalization that occurred in the 1990s.

Modi’s Visit: A Turning Point

When Narendra Modi visited Israel in 2017 as the first Indian Prime Minister to do so, it marked a strategic shift. What had begun as underground ideological coordination had now matured into a public strategic alliance—militarily, economically, and politically.

Today, India under Modi mirrors many of Israel’s tactics:

• • Militarization of civilian spaces (Kashmir / West Bank)

• • Mass surveillance and facial recognition targeting Muslims

• • Criminalization of dissent and religious nationalism

• • Global campaigns to justify state violence in the name of anti-terrorism

Thus, Hindutva is not just India’s internal crisis—it is a regional threat whose ideology overlaps significantly with that of the Israeli right. This fusion of fascist nationalism, religious supremacy, and state power now defines India’s domestic and foreign policy, with Muslims as its primary victims.