Beyond the BJP Manifesto: Surprising Ways the "Spectacle State" Shapes Modern Culture

By Chuppala Nagesh Bhushan

For decades, political reporting in India has been a bloodless exercise in tracking the tangible: dissecting party manifestos, auditing election results, and mapping the internal hierarchies of organizations like the RSS or BJP. However, as Brahma Prakash argues in his seminal work Spectacle State, this traditional lens suffers from a profound blind spot. To understand the gravity of the modern movement, we must look beyond the political text and toward the "texture" of the streets—the high-decibel frequencies, the visual saturations, and the visceral sensory experiences that define our contemporary reality.

The "Spectacle State" represents a fundamental shift in how power is exercised. It is no longer enough to win the mind; the movement now seeks to capture the "sensorium." Since 2014, we have witnessed a massive scaling and synchronization of political life, where the mobile phone and the street procession have merged to create an environment where politics is felt before it is understood.

Politics as a "Fundamentally Performative" Act

Prakash’s core thesis is that Hindutva has evolved into a performance that exists independently of formal organizational structures. It has reached a level of "organicism"—what can be termed Social Fascism—where the ideology has successfully migrated from the party office into the very fabric of mainstream culture. This makes it exceptionally difficult for traditional journalism to track; it no longer requires a command from a central headquarters to manifest. It lives in the way people dress, celebrate, and occupy public space.

As Prakash notes, this movement has bypassed the intellect to embed itself in the body:

"[Hindutva] could not have reached... the level of the senses, the level of the body, [or] the level of dances without music. So music is becoming the facilitator... they are not just hitting your mind or ideology."

By operating at the level of the senses, the movement creates an "orchestrated emotional order." It is no longer about intellectual conversion; it is about rhythmic belonging.

The Rise of "Sonic Hindutva" and the DJ Culture

The Spectacle State operates on a high-decibel frequency, where noise is not merely an accompaniment but the primary vehicle for political participation. The emergence of "Sonic Hindutva" through "Bhakti Jamming" and "Bhakti Clubbing" has transformed political alignment into a visceral, rhythmic experience. Through DJ culture and catchy "Hindutva Pop" tunes, the movement has created a cultural ecosystem that is radically accessible.

This accessibility is the movement's greatest asset and its most potent danger. By utilizing "catchy" beats, the spectacle invites subaltern communities and those who may not be ideologically aligned to join the "performance" through dance. However, when an individual participates in the rhythm of a festival, they are simultaneously entering a choreographed state of mass emotion. In this ecosystem, the transition from the celebratory dance of a procession to the kinetic energy of street violence becomes chillingly fluid.

The Brutal Aesthetics of the "Bulldozer" Artifact

One of the most jarring transformations in the modern sensorium is the reimagining of the bulldozer. Once a "flat" piece of industrial machinery used for excavation, it has been elevated into a cultural artifact of pride and fascination. Prakash argues that the very "bruteness" and lack of aesthetic refinement in the machine—its "flatness"—has become its own style, representing a raw, unapologetic power.

The domestication of destruction is evident in the machine's transition into the intimate spheres of life:

• Life Milestones: Bulldozers are now offered as wedding and birthday gifts.
• The Fad of the Toy: Retail showrooms are increasingly stocked with bulldozer toys for children, transforming a tool of demolition into a source of "innocent" play.
• Festive Tools: During Holi in Banaras, bulldozer-themed pitchkaris (water guns) have become a commercial sensation.
• Ritualized Power: Bulldozer cranes are now used in ceremonial acts, such as the unfolding of the national flag.

This requires a specific "fascist imagination"—one that can take a symbol of horror and rebrand it as "cute" or celebratory. Prakash points to the international parallel in Israel, where a specific model of armored bulldozer is nicknamed the "Teddy Bear." This synthesis of violence and domesticity is a hallmark of the Spectacle State’s aesthetic strategy.

The "Angry Hanuman" and the Aesthetics of Attitude

The ubiquitous "Angry Hanuman" sticker is far more than a religious icon; it is a manual for the body. Prakash argues that this imagery serves to train the citizen on "how to walk in the street." It projects a specific "aesthetics of attitude"—one defined by defiance, pride, and a sense of "wounded heroism."

This imagery captures the central paradox of the movement: the portrayal of the self as simultaneously heroic and victimized. By emulating the "unstoppable walk" of the Angry Hanuman, the citizen adopts a physical posture that justifies aggressive presence in public space as a response to a perceived, perpetual threat. The sticker doesn't just decorate a car; it recalibrates the driver’s sense of self in relation to the state.

The Weaponization of the "Civilizational Wound"

At the core of the Spectacle State lies the rhetoric of the "historical" or "civilizational wound." Modern performative acts are framed as necessary "revenge" for a medieval history painted as a period of absolute Hindu subjugation. This narrative explains why reclaimed medieval artifacts, such as the sword, have returned to modern processions.

Even in an age of automated weaponry, the sword serves as a powerful disciplinary artifact. It bridges the historical gap, allowing the modern performer to physically "enact" a defense that they feel was denied to their ancestors. As Prakash explains:

"Medieval history remains the wound... for Hindutva kinds of ideology... to create a new kind of narrative, they are trying to bring [back] these objects."

The spectacle thus functions as a time machine, dragging the grievances of the past into the physical reality of the present.

The "Contra-Spectacle" and the Hope for Cultural Resistance

While the Spectacle State appears totalizing, the cultural sphere remains a site of fierce contestation. Regional parties have largely failed to provide a cultural alternative, often treating politics as a matter of policy while ceding the "performative" ground to the right. However, resistance is emerging through what Prakash calls "contra-spectacles"—organic, subaltern responses that use the same cultural resources to subvert the state’s narrative.

This resistance is found in the "cultural impulses" of a younger generation that is reclaiming public space:

• The Duffli vs. The Bulldozer: A powerful visual contestation is emerging on the streets—the image of the bulldozer on one side and a person with a duffli (a traditional drum) on the other. It is a clash of two different mobilizations: one built on raw, mechanical power and the other on the human, rhythmic pulse of protest.
• Subversive Memes: Using digital tools to mock and dismantle the "fascination" of state symbols, turning the state's own aesthetic tools against it.
• Street Theater: A return to spontaneous performance that treats the street not as a site of militarized display, but as a space for democratic dialogue.

Conclusion: A New Sensorium

The Spectacle State has successfully shifted the political battlefield from the page to the skin. It is a movement built on fascination, horror, and the capturing of the human senses. This evolution raises a critical question for the future of Indian democracy: can a movement that has successfully occupied the sensory and emotional life of a nation be countered by logic and policy alone?

If the Spectacle State is a "perpetual performance," then the resistance cannot merely be a manifesto. It requires a new sensorium—an equally powerful, alternative aesthetic response that speaks to the heart and the body as much as the mind. The future of the republic may not be decided in the next election cycle, but in the next cultural impulse that dares to disrupt the rhythm of the state.