Balancing Between Narratives of the West and Hindu Nationalism in Emerging India

Abstract

India has been an important point of reference for Western identity, and the construction of an Orient. Vice versa, people in India have constructed their own Occidentalisms about Westerners, and the global position of ‘the West’, as well as to form an Indian identity. The West has represented the colonizer in India, but at the same time a source of valuable ideologies, values, policies, and innovations benefiting India. Moreover, many nationalist narratives in India emphasize self-reliance from and even superiority to the West. During Narendra Modi’s administration, the ‘New India’ has concentrated on taking a more active role in the world. Traditional elements of Indian tradition have been revitalized for the purposes of international branding as well as domestic identity construction. The ‘core’ values and traditions of Indian society are inserted in the narratives of a modernizing India that has a lot to offer to the world and has plenty to benefit from careful interaction in the liberal world order. The narratives of Hindutva or Hindu nationalism often coincide with the view according to which India has a new role to play in the global arena. These nationalist narratives are also widely reflected on in the Indian news media. The aim of this chapter is to analyze Indian news media, and the way emerging India is positioned in relation to Asia, the West, and the global order.