An Exploratory Study of Critical Aspects of Counter Hegemony and Hindu Governmentality in India

Abstract

The aim of the research is to identity, examine and analyze the views and facts related to Indian governance, politics and Hindu Governmentality. The whole study is based on focusing on Counter hegemony and Governmentality in the context of India. Bringing the social, economic and political transformation is highly significant for making progress and to achieve a place in the era of globalization. Indian governance and Indian politics are currently focusing on maintaining equality, fairness, and justice so that problems within the country related to misuse of authority and power could be successfully tackled and reduced. Transformation in governance is imperative to bring a positive change in government of a state. The term Governmentality has been developed from the genealogical exploration of the modern states as the ‘problem of government’. The problem of government is embedded in promoting sovereignty and conducting bio-politics, therefore, such concepts also provide an opportunity to analyze government and how power is being used with considering the freedom. This research focuses on analyzing the current form of sovereignty in India under the PM Modi’s regime. His regime and analysis of his ways of governing have significantly increased the attention of the people around the world. Modi’s governmentality is mainly influenced by religious ideologies, which he is using as counter-hegemonic actions in order to end secular governmentality. This research have closely analyzed the concepts of governmentality and counter hegemony in order to understand the Indian politics and Indian governance. Hindu Governmentality brings by the Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi as his aim for transitioning the Secular Governmentality to Hindu Governmentality. Another significant aspect of this research is that it identified that understanding the act and rationality of government alone is not possible to be understood through ‘governmentality’. Therefore, the counter hegemony has been an important concept to understand the transition of Indian government from secularism to Hindu nationalism. Hindu Governmentality executed by the Narendra Modi enhances the confidence of Hindu population in respect of following their individuality and religion. The Hindu values, perceptions, motifs and ideas are included in the current government’s policies and strategies that come from the Hindu nationalist perception of PM Narendra Modi. In all these years of Modi being the Prime Minister, he has been hinting at various social and political actions that would bring transformation and will bring transition in government from Secular governmentality to Hindu Governmentality. Counter hegemony explains the organic intellectuals that come from working class when become the new leaders, they operate as counter hegemony. Modi’s governmentality had influenced the majority of Indian population (as the majority population is Hindu) and promoted Hinduism as the dominant religion to challenge the normative or existing hegemonic political arrangements. Therefore, this paper concludes that religion is being significantly used in India as counter hegemony to create Hindu Governmentality.