Women for the Saffron Right

My PhD research examines public space and the politics of women in India’s contemporary Hindu right wing movement. Clad in saffron, the movement’s chosen colour, millions of women have embraced the violent and cultural/ethnic nationalist politics of the populist movement. As the right wing gains momentum for the upcoming national election, feminist scholars question the participation, role and agency of these women in saffron. My photograph, Women for the Saffron Right, depicts an elderly woman participating in a nationwide ‘Run for Unity’, organised by the Hindu right. As she runs through Central Mumbai, alongside thousands of others, she physically carves public space as Hindu nationalist territory, affirming her belief in the movement’s goals and her loyalty to its ideology. The photograph aims to begin a difficult conversation about urban space, feminist agency, and the endorsement of an exclusionary and inherently patriarchal movement by a large number of Indian women.