Political deification of Lord Parshuram: tracing Brahminic masculinity in contemporary North India

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the rising prominence of subterranean caste antagonism within the ideology of Hindutva within the Indian political landscape. It primarily analyses social media-based content like memes, posts, images, comments and other features to understand the contemporary processes of political deification of the Hindu god, Lord Parshuram. This article sees Parshuram’s popular emergence as a political icon as reflective of a masculine, militant face of contemporary Brahminic assertion. The article argues that, even though the ideological mandate of Hindutva apparently proposes a unity amongst its diverse sections, Parshuram’s contemporary politicization in digital social media reflects the dominant caste antagonisms within. In the process, this article engages with the complex relationship between the social structures of masculinity, religious majority and caste hierarchy, and study how they affect region-specific political consolidations in contemporary North India.