The proposed paper aims to understand how and why the rise of populist radical right (with a focus on BJP led Narendra Modi 2014-2017) and the salience of the nationalist project with an ethno-religious character intersect with gender, specifically in India, and more broadly in South Asia. It aims to understand the nature of the populist radical right in India (2014-2017), and how it is closely intertwined to the politics of exclusionary nationalism, both of which have implications for gender politics and policy in India. This paper foregrounds an intersectional lens to understand (gender with religion, class, region and ethnicity) how the rise of populism may indicate a growing dissonance between the domestic and international, and how this is relevant from a policy perspective in understanding the changing nature of violence and security for women in South Asia.
For the purpose it poses three key questions: First, what is the nature of populist radical right in India? How and why it utilizes ‘ emotive’ gendered symbols embedded in frames of Hindu nationalism that has led to mobilisation of vigilante forces, politics of ‘othering’ (Hindu-Muslim polarisation; politics of ‘Love Jihad’), and a symbolic construction of the idea of India, all of which impinge on women’s right, security and freedom. For instance a common populist narrative has been on the ‘politics of love jihad’ and how it was incumbent on the ‘righteous’, ‘Hindu’ man to protect his ‘Hindu women’ from falling into a trap of a Muslim man. Narratives like these, are just one of the many examples that are integral to the populist radical right project in India.

Second, it aims to understand how the rise of populist radical right in India and it’s discourse on refugees and migration leads to greater insecurities, threats and vulnerability for women. The case in point is the discourse on Rohingya’s refugees in India, and what implications does this have refugees in India.

Third, in today’s world of globalized media and communication, the rise and effects of populism and extremism are not limited within national boundaries (Moffitt 2016). The paper will examine the intersecting boundaries of gender and right wing populism in India, with smiliar trends in South Asia like Sri Lanka (Sinhala-Majoritarian nationalism and populist regime like Rajapakshe) and Bangldesh( rise of Islamic fundamentalism).

Shweta Singh is a Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences and Assistant Dean of Students, South Asian University(A University establishes by the SAARC Nations), New Delhi, India.

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