The Sangh Parivar in India, has for long used the strategy of violence to mobilize people to attain their political and cultural objectives. Such strategy champions the cause of both communal tension as well as electoral victory. Through the course of this paper an attempt has been made to determine the evolution of the strategy of violence and its role in generating mobilization in the Hindu community.
The Hindu Mahasabha through its affiliation with the Sangh Parivar outfits has played a pivotal role in bringing about such a mobilization. The state of Rajasthan has been used as a case study in this paper. From statistical data, it appears that areas in which the Sangh Parivar have had a stronghold, have witnessed higher instances of communal tensions. The tactics of Trishul distribution and the shuddhi drive have been put into play. Such trends have not only affected the domestic politics of one particular state but that of the entire country. Therefore the question that remains to be answered is: What is the politics of violence? Are the state institutions of a democratic country like India falling prey to such trends of mobilization? And finally, has the politics of violence genuinely been able to play a pivotal role in the act of Hindu mobilization?
Violence Hindu nationalism Communal Violence Trishul Distribution Mobilization
