In India, the Hindu rightwing has mastered the art of converting cultural symbolism into sociopolitical warfare; transforming what were once festivals of light, colour and devotion into spectacles of intimidation.
In an environment built on the otherisation of Muslims, many prominent Hindu festivals have become annual performances of dominance, where the language of faith has been seamlessly replaced by the rhetoric of hate.
This transformation, cultivated through years of ideological labour, has turned the religion of the Indian majority into a theatre of resentment.
This year’s Diwali season revealed the global reach of this hate-fuelled imagination. Across Indian social media, countless right-wing handles celebrated not the festival itself, but a grotesque metaphor comparing Diwali fireworks to the bombings in Gaza.
The narrative was simple and cruel, drawing a parallel between the bombs lighting up Gaza’s skies and the celebratory fireworks in Delhi. The normalisation of such imagery is not accidental: it stems from a deep ideological alliance between Hindutva and Zionism, movements built on exclusion based on superiority, occupation, and the demonisation of Muslims.
Indian public figures have joined this descent into moral darkness. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, once celebrated for his cinematic audacity, posted on X (formerly Twitter): “In India only one day is Diwali and in Gaza, every day is Diwali.”
The statement, shared widely, encapsulated the depravity of a political culture where mass slaughter becomes the punchline for a festival greeting. Across the internet, similar messages echoed, treating Gaza’s destruction as something to be mocked; its tragedy a spectacle to be celebrated.
This story was originally published in middleeasteye.net. Read the full story here.