![Saffron shadows are now coloring India’s political discourse, but the script is anything but profound. It’s more Bollywood than reality. [Image via Hindutva Watch]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3438534890_6eef53ecb0_k.webp)
Saffron shadows are now coloring India’s political discourse, but the script is anything but profound. It’s more Bollywood than reality, with dramatic flair and no real substance. The latest act? Yati Narsinghanand, a controversial priest and self-styled Mahamandaleshwar of Juna Akhara, writing a letter in his own blood to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His demand? Military action against Pakistan and Bangladesh, packaged as “protection for Hindus.”
A Grotesque Display of Extremism
This grotesque display does not end with one man’s delusions. The blood-written letter, hand-delivered by Dr. Udhita Tyagi and Yati Sanyasi, is now being circulated among Sanatani religious leaders, gathering signatures to legitimize a call for war.
What does this signify? That Hindutva’s extremist ambitions are no longer confined to India; they are metastasizing into a transnational security threat, challenging pluralism and global stability.
A Blood-Written Letter
A letter advocating military aggression, written in blood, is not a plea—it is an act of terror. It exposes the terrifying normalization of hate within India’s political discourse, where religious extremists now influence national policy. The Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) regime has emboldened radical Hindutva factions, turning India into a breeding ground for religious militancy disguised as nationalism.
Saffron Shadows and the Historical Patterns of Orchestrated Extremist Violence
The calls for military action against Bangladesh and Pakistan are not empty rhetoric. They mirror a historical pattern of extremist violence:
- 2002 Gujarat Pogrom: Under Modi’s watch as Chief Minister, over 1,000 people—mostly Muslims—were massacred, with documented state complicity.
- 2020 Delhi Riots: BJP leader Kapil Mishra openly issued an ultimatum against anti-CAA protesters. Within hours, Delhi witnessed a targeted anti-Muslim rampage, with over 53 killed and hundreds injured.
- 2022 Leicester Unrest: Hindutva’s toxic ideology was exported beyond India’s borders. After an India-Pakistan cricket match, pro-Hindutva mobs chanted “Pakistan Murdabad,” sparking days of communal violence in the UK.
The Marginalization of India’s Muslim Population
Where do India’s nearly 200 million Muslims stand in this so-called “largest democracy”? When extremist leaders openly call for their erasure and the state remains complicit, can they truly be called citizens, or are they merely tolerated subjects?
Also See: From Secular to Sectarian? Tracing Hindu Extremism in India
A Blueprint for Wider Confrontation
This blood-signed letter is not just about Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is a blueprint for wider confrontation, one that risks escalating tensions within the Arab world, where millions of Indian expatriates reside.
If New Delhi continues to pander to Hindutva extremists, it will not only damage its own diplomatic standing but also put its economic interests in the Gulf at severe risk.
Hindutva: A Global Concern, Not Just India’s Internal Matter
The rise of Hindutva is no longer an “internal matter” of India—it is a global concern. Modi’s India is rapidly shifting from the world’s largest democracy to a theocratic, authoritarian state where radical religious elements shape national policies.
The world ignored Nazi Germany until it was too late. It ignored the signs in Myanmar before the Rohingya genocide. If it ignores Hindutva’s unchecked militarization now, it may soon witness yet another ethnic cleansing unfold under the shadows of saffron extremism.
India must choose: Will it continue down this path of majoritarian fascism, or will it pull itself back from the brink before history condemns it irreversibly?
SAT Commentaries’ are social media threads by various authors, reproduced here for website use. Views are their own.
SAT Commentaries, a collection of insightful social media threads on current events and social issues, featuring diverse perspectives from various authors.
![One year after the Ram Mandir consecration, the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute may have entered its next chapter, but the story is far from over. [Image via Reuters]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/MP3STFDZQ5JI7HFBLR6B47YNYE-150x150.webp)
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