Hindu Nationalism and the Foreign Policy of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party

This policy paper outlines the pathways through which religious nationalism entered the Indian political arena, discusses the concomitant decline of secularism in India, and traces the gradual emergence of a Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It also discusses and assesses the extent to which the ideological commitments of the party and its leadership have influenced and are likely to shape the conduct of India’s foreign policy, as one year ago the BJP returned to power with a strong electoral mandate under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.