Introduction

This chapter, pursuing the general line of inquiry, intends to reconsider how Hindutva is affecting a wide range of social, cultural and religious milieus in contemporary India by starting with the notion of entrenchment. It shows how Hindutva influence may work through the mediation of people who deny any strong commitment to the Hindutva programme or who may even be radically opposed to it. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins by developing the point in the light of four ethnographic cases taken from different regions and milieus. It illustrates how some Hindutva discourses or stereotypes and various dynamics of religious or cultural identity overlap each other. The book then focuses on groups or movements which are not directly related to the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh network, yet whose members may have developed a similar discourse or point of view.