Ideology disconnects itself from the past, disrupts the present, reconstructs the future: Ashutosh

An ideology-driven regime, like the one that came to power in 2014, was not a normal phenomenon and has spelt a change of paradigm, moving away from the established norms of constitutional and democratic consensus that governments employed to govern, according to Ashutosh, journalist and author.

Speaking at The Hindu Lit for Life, the author of Reclaiming Bharat: What Changed in 2024 and What Lies Ahead said that since 2014, claimed the whole state is run by the ideology of Hindutva. “Ideology has an inbuilt nature that it disconnects from the past, disrupts the present, and reconstructs the future,” he said.

Integral Humanity, the BJP’s guiding theme since 1985, held that federalism, which was a constitutional provision, was dangerous for the unity and integrity of the country. Hence, the chorus to change the Constitution comes up often because this outlook entails a greater status to ‘dharma’ than to the parliament or the people, he explained.

While the Constitution did unleash a silent revolution with the stroke of a pen bringing in political and legal equality, Ashutosh recalled Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s warning that fascism would prevail if India did not achieve social equality. “What we see today in a different garb is a kind of social fascism. You can be lynched anywhere because you belong to a particular caste. Since 2014, these forces have got the support and backing of the state,” he observed.

A contest between Hindutva and socialism

Prodded by the moderator Ziya Us Salaam on the paradox that ruling party at the Centre stood for the majoritarian Hindutva but was still following socialist policies like free ration to 80 crore families, Shobhana K. Nair, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu, said that the last general elections in Uttar Pradesh was a contest between Hindutva and socialism. “Socialism depends on very material requirements. Whose resource is that? Who is benefitting from it? These kind of basic livelihood issues are the dominant narratives of socialism. Hindutva prefers to erase fall sorts of difference in society and pretend that everything was fine,” she added.

Secularism, the authors agreed, had become a “bad word” these days when compared Hindutva because the latter offered a “cleaner image and a more emotionally cohesive story”. “The question that Hindutva is asking all of us is not who is excluded, but who belongs to the nation,” Ms. Nair averred.

Unitary governance

Since 2014, governance in India has become more unitary with the Union Government calling the shots on several issues sidestepping the State governments. In a number of centrally-sponsored projects where States bear 40% monetary burden, they don’t even have 10% share in decision making, Ms. Nair stated. “The Centre decides the name of the scheme, the brand, and who the money goes to. The latest in this example is MGNREGA being replaced by VB G RAM G, placing a demand-driven programme instead of a rights-driven one,” she noted.

Reducing democratically elected chief minsters as mere rubber stamps was a reflection of the party’s tendency towards unitary regime, a provision vehemently argued for by their ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, Mr. Ashutosh said. The ruling dispensation have left no stone unturned to make the going tough for opposition-ruled States using the office of the Governor, which Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been witnessing for some time, he added.

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Published – January 17, 2026 01:47 pm IST