The president of India invited the BJPto
form a government, but this failed when
it was unable to gain enough support
from other parties to muster a majority
of votes in Parliament.
The BJP’s traditional constituency has
been brahmins and members of the
trading communities, both of whom
tend to be religiously conservative and
supportive of the Hindutva message. In
the mid-1990s the BJPmuted its Hindu
nationalist rhetoric in an attempt to
reach beyond these traditional con-
stituencies and to gain more widespread
support by moving closer to the political
center. Despite these changes, many of
the established secular parties still view
the BJPwith suspicion and have refused
to ally themselves with the organization.
The BJP’s inability to mobilize such sup-
port among the larger body politic was a
major factor behind the collapse of its
short-lived government in 1996. The
country was then run by a coalition of
thirteen secular political parties, whose
single binding commitment is their
opposition to the BJP. However, since
1998 the BJPhas succeeded in building
coalitions to form a government. For
further information see Walter K.
Andersen and Shridhar D. Damle, The
Brotherhood in Saffron, 1987; and
Christophe Jaffrelot, The Hindu
Nationalist Movement in India, 1996.
Bharat Mata
(“Mother India”) Modern Hindu “deity”
whose primary image is a map of the
subcontinent, often prominently
marked with the network of India’s
sacred sites (tirthas). The presupposi-
tion behind most of these particular
sacred sites is that the land itself is holy,
but the idea of Bharat Mata takes this
idea to a more abstract level, sanctifying
the whole subcontinent. Although this
map and its image of Mother India are
usually not actual objects of worship,
they carry important symbolic mes-
sages. In an abstract way, the holiness of
Mother India unites all Hindus regard-
less of their sectarian affiliation.
Moreover, it suggests that India is one
unified culture despite its striking
regional diversity. These ideas can be
found in specific areas, particularly in
the networks of tirthas knitting the
country together, yet in contemporary
times this image’s underlying purpose is
often political rather than religious.
At times it simply represents
national pride, but at other times it has
a more sinister hidden agenda. This
identification of Indian culture with the
motherland can be used as a way to
marginalize religious minorities—pri-
marily Muslims and Christians, whose
holy places lie in other countries—as
“foreigners,” and people whose patrio-
tism and connection to the Indian
nation are potentially suspect.Bharatmilap
(“Meeting Bharata”) A particular scene
in the dramas known as the Ram Lila,
which are reenactments of the
Ramayana, the earlier of the two great
Hindu epics. This scene records the
meeting between the god Ramaand his
brother Bharata, which takes place after
Rama has been in exile for fourteen
years, during which Bharata has faith-
fully served as ruler in his brother’s
place. According to connoisseurs of the
Ram Lila, this brief scene is filled with
some of the most rapturous emotion in
the play. Certainly there is the exaltation
that the time of separation has ended,
but the scene’s popularity also comes
from the way it reflects certain basic cul-
tural values. The brothers are consid-
ered the heart of the traditional Indian
joint family since they remain at home
their entire lives, whereas their sisters
become part of their marital families.
The eldest brother in every generation
eventually becomes the head of the joint
household, but he cannot succeed with-
out the support and cooperation of his
younger brothers. Rama and Bharata are
thus models for the brothers in a tradi-
tional joint family: Rama for treating his
younger brother with love and care, and
Bharata for obediently carrying out hisBharatmilap