Hindutva: Hollowing Out

With the rise of right wing Hindu Nationalism (also known as Hindutva)in India and Canada, there has been a marked increase in intimidation, censorship, and hate acts aimed at Canadian artists who are seen as critical of Hindutva.

In response, a group of artists and cultural workers who wished to deepen their understanding and capacities to address this issue came together. We compiled a cursory reading/watch list to deepen our understanding and fuel our discussion to deal with what we see as a threat to artistic freedom. To add to these texts, we also brought in speakers with a range of political positions to share their experiences of doing this kind of work.

The selected texts reflect the groups’ artistic, political and methodological sensibilities. We attempted to center queer, feminist, and dalit voices with the following learning goals:

1. Better understanding and contextualizing the rise of Hindutva groups and the impact on arts and culture in Canada, particularly in relation to bullying and censorship of artists.

2. Building collective capacity and networks of safety to respond to the rhetoric of the Hindutva.

3. Developing implementable strategies to support fellow artists and cultural workers in the face of censorship and bullying.

In this publication, we share excerpts, reflections, and annotations from our readings with the hopes that it will inspire you to self-organize a similar group with similar goals.