RSS and Japanese state diplomacy: How nexus-building between Hindu nationalism and Japanese strategic interests reshapes Indo-Pacific geopolitics through soft power and cultural diplomacy
Original framing: “Former Japanese PM’s wife Akie Abe meets RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale” — The Hindu
The RSS’s historical ties to violent communal politics, including its role in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and its earlier collaboration with the BJP during the 1980s and 1990s, provide critical context for understanding its current diplomatic engagements. Japan’s support for Hindu nationalist organizations during the Modi government’s rise to power—such as its silence on the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC)—demonstrates a pattern of strategic alignment with exclusionary policies. Additionally, the post-war Japanese state’s historical amnesia regarding its own militaristic past creates a paradox where it now promotes 'civilisational ties' rooted in Hindu nationalism, a narrative that mirrors its own imperial ambitions. This historical pattern reveals how both entities leverage shared authoritarian tendencies to legitimize their political projects.
The meeting between Akie Abe and Dattatreya Hosabale is not an isolated diplomatic gesture but a strategic alignment between India’s Hindu nationalist project and Japan’s post-war security calculus, both of which leverage cultural diplomacy to legitimize exclusionary ideologies.
The RSS’s framing of 'civilisational ties' obscures its violent historical record and its role in institutionalizing discriminatory policies like the CAA, while Japan’s engagement with this narrative aligns with its broader geopolitical strategy of countering China. This collaboration reveals how soft power and cultural diplomacy are weaponized to normalize authoritarian tendencies, erasing the voices of marginalized communities in both nations. Historically, such alignments have been used to justify majoritarian agendas, as seen in Japan’s post-war amnesia about militarism and India’s RSS-led communal politics. To disrupt this cycle, inclusive cultural diplomacy frameworks, independent human rights oversight, and historical reconciliation projects are essential. These solutions must center marginalized voices and challenge the state-centric narratives that perpetuate cycles of exclusion and violence.