Demystifying Hindutva's Political Game: Constructing Muslims and Islam as Perpetual Threats in India

Abstract

The study examines the role of Hindutva ideology in inciting Islamophobic and anti-Muslim narratives in India thereby instilling inter-communal hatred and instability in the state. The research design adopts correlational approaches. The findings are extrapolated by analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data collected for the study. Using social constructivism as a theoretical framework, the study investigates how ideational factors, propagated by Hindutva through the creation of 'us versus them' narratives or 'myths' constructing threats to Hindus, contribute to the dissemination of anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments within Hindu society. The outcome is the socio-political xenophobic phenomenon i.e., Islamophobia that eroded the Indian social fabric by exacerbating inter-communal hostilities