The recent Pakistan-India May episode saw a blatant attempt by India to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan by launching missile strikes on its territory under the false pretext of a state-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam. This was a violation of international law and led to a four-day missile and fire exchange between the two states. A variety of reasons could be cited to explain such aggressive Indian behavior, such as its struggle for hegemony, regional dominance, and power projection. However, all of these factors are inspired by one major factor, i.e., the ideology of “A Greater India” also known as saffronisation of India. Such radical and extremist ideologies have led India to adopt policies that have undermined the stability and security of the South Asian region.
Saffronisation is derived from the color Saffron, and represents Hindu nationalism, also observed on the Indian flag. The ideology of saffronisation is directly linked with Hindutva, which refers to India as a “Hindu” state rather than a secular state. This ideology is problematic in the sense that it alludes to the whole of South Asia, being a unified state, known as the Akhand Baharat. Therefore, the radicalization of such an ideology would compromise the sovereignty of the states present in the region, namely Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Myanmar.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi, is the representative of such Hindu fundamentalism in India. BJP and Modi are associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is a paramilitary organization created in 1925 and does not believe in a democratic India. As the BJP assumed power in the 2014 elections and again in 2019, the rate of saffronisation has increased along with the creation of radical policies, threatening minorities within India in addition to destabilizing relations with its neighboring states. A parliament member associated with the BJP, Yogi Adityanath, said, “If one Hindu is killed, we won’t go to the police, we will kill ten Muslims.” While minorities are being impacted by such ideas, Indian security policies and apparatus are being saffronised to develop a strategic culture about adopting strategies from primitive Indian history. “Project Udbhav” is one such initiative launched in May 2024, where ancient military strategies would be integrated into contemporary military and security policies. It includes great strategic thinking from the era of the Gupta, Maurya, and Maratha empires; however, leaving out the great Muslim history of the Mughal Empire.
This far-right ideology being perpetrated by India through its radical government policies is observed in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The genocide being carried out by India in the area is inspired by its policies of saffronisation. The prolonged period of such policies, along with the recent 2019 revocation of Article 370 and 35A, has made Kashmir a part of India, stripping its people of the right of self-determination. The behavior of Hindu fundamentalism is similar in its ideology to that of Adolf Hitler from Nazi Germany and Benjamin Netanyahu from Israel. Hitler used the embarrassment from WW1 as well as the “perceived” superiority of his Aryan heritage and culture to legitimize Germany’s war against Europe and genocidal actions against the Jews. Similarly, Netanyahu utilizes the “anti-Semitic” rhetoric along with the Israeli claim that Palestinian land belongs to Jews by “God-given” right. This far-right rhetoric closely aligns with India’s current far-right ideological claim of a greater India or an Akhand Bharat.
India’s clashes with China in the Galwan Valley in 2020, disagreements with Nepal over the Kali River, and its engagement with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. India has increased its presence in Pakistan through its aid to terrorist organizations such as “Fitna al Hindustan,” also known as Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) in Baluchistan, and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), termed as “Fitna al Khawarij” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These are proofs that India is pursuing its strategic interests through tactics of hybrid warfare, risking a breakout of war, especially with Pakistan, which India views through a specified and constructed strategic culture of selected Indian history.
India’s repeated attempts to isolate Pakistan are also inspired by its Hindutva politics. Its revocation of Pakistan’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) position from the World Trade Organization and a 200% import duty on Pakistan came after the Pulwama attacks, which India blamed on Pakistan. Similarly, multiple attempts have been made by India to persuade the FATF to list Pakistan on the grey list more recently, during the Pahalgam incident; however, India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan were jeopardized when China, Turkey, and Japan supported Pakistan. India’s noncompliance and mistrust of existing non-military Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) are also inspired by its Hindutva ideology. The halt in trade after the Pulwama and Pahalgam incident and the failure of “cricket diplomacy” when India refused to play on Pakistani soil in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. These are prime examples of India’s reluctance to engage in a friendly and peaceful manner with Pakistan.
Finally, the tactics used by India to undermine Pakistan’s security are a result of policy-making inspired by radical Hindu nationalists. Apparent relations between Baloch terrorists and India have emerged during the Pahalgam episode. A press release by Fitna al Hindustan (BLA) requested India to engage in a full-out war with Pakistan, and their organization would help India in attacking Pakistan from the western side. Indian intelligence agent Kulbhushan Yadav, caught by Pakistan, confessed to Indian sponsored terrorism in Pakistan and support for separatist organizations. India has also used hard power to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan. Under the pretext of false flag operations (Uri attacks, Pulwama incident, and Pahalgam attack), India has illegally launched three attacks on Pakistani soil just in the last decade. All these policies, strategies, and tactics employed by India are a result of an underlying extremist ideology that calls for the creation of an Akhand Baharat (Unified India), ultimately endangering the security of the region and the states within the region.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
I am a project coordinator at the Institute of Policy Studies with a focus on strategic and political affairs. I have written numerous opinion pieces on changing geopolitical security landscapes and would welcome the opportunity to have this latest article considered for publication.
