Political scientist Ashutosh Varshney suggests three “master narratives” have come to define India over the last century.2 First came secular nationalism, the ideology of Nehru and Gandhi, and still the official state creed. Second was Hindu nationalism, a reaction to the first, led by the BJP and the RSS. Finally came “caste-based social justice,” in which political parties representing lower caste groups began to win political power. Yet to these three, if you were only a little cynical, you might add a fourth: cash.
