Conservatism in India

[3] All-India Muslim League was a political party formed as a response to Hindu opposition (supported by Indian National Congress) to the Bengal partition of 1905.

Soon after independence, conservatives in the cabinet convinced the social democrat Nehru to quash communist uprisings in parts of the country.

Patel died by then, Prominent right-leaning figures in the party were demoted to ceremonial posts or forced out or stepped aside, leaving Nehru as the most powerful leader for the time being.

Indira Gandhi started her Prime ministerial tenure with devaluation of rupee but failed to follow this up with other pragmatic measures like elimination of industrial licensing.

Madan Mohan Malaviya along with Madhav Shrihari Aney split away from the party in 1934 in protest of the Communal Award (announced in 1932).

[8] Syama Prasad Mukherjee started Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951 as a nationalistic alternative to Congress after he left Hindu Maha Sabha.

[12] Later another conservative faction known as the Indian National Congress (Organisation) also split from INC in 1969 due to the left-wing economic policies of Indira Gandhi, like bank nationalisations.

[16] The national leadership of the former Jan Sangh attempted to integrate with the Janata Party but assimilation proved to be a failure since the state and local units retained strong association with RSS.

Eventually the coalition rule collapsed due to infighting among members of different ideologies and subsequent economic deterioration.

[18] After defeat in the 1980 elections, the party executive council finally banned dual membership to RSS in April of that year.

[19][16] The electoral misfortune of political conservatism changed with the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its later adoption of the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign which ultimately resulted in BJP going from two seats in 1984 to leading government at the central level in 1996 and 1998.

However, the Congress Party, riding on a sympathy wave after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, won a landslide victory in the 1984 election.

[24] Journalist A.S.Abraham wrote on the Times of India (March 3, 1990) that the Lok Sabha elections revealed a significant shift of political central ground to right.

[25] BJP support for Singh's government was later withdrawn after Hindu religious volunteers called Kar Sevaks were killed while fighting with paramilitary forces guarding Babri Mosque (which is on the disputed site).

Fresh elections ensued and BJP raised its tally to 120 seats and won a majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

[27] BJP retained power after the success of Kargil war in 1999 elections but lost 2004 polls in spite of its India shining campaign.

RSS was the ideological mentor of BJP but Vajpayee couldn't push key issues like building Ram temple (in Ayodhya), Abrogation of Article 370 (in Kashmir), implementing Uniform Civil Code (for adherents of all religions) since his government was dependent upon coalition support.

After two rounds of state elections, in February 2002, the situation reversed with Congress and its allies now holding power in 16 assemblies while NDA shrunk to seven.

[31] Vishva Hindu Parishad held the government in a standoff between December 2001 and March 2002 by trying to perform a foundation stone laying ceremony at Ayodhya.

[41] On 10 December 2007, the Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced that L. K. Advani as its prime ministerial candidate for the general elections in 2009.

[57][58] Labour law reforms were also passed,[59] even while Modi refused to sign a trade agreement in July 2014 permitting WTO to implement a deal agreed in Bali, citing lack of both bargaining power and protection to Indian farmers as well as needs of food security.

On 8 January 2019, lower house of parliament approved a bill that would grant residency and citizenship rights to non-Muslim immigrants who entered the country before 2014 – including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from three Muslim-majority countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan) – and make them eligible for Indian citizenship while excluding Muslims.

[72] In response to the Pulwama terror attack, jets of the Indian Air Force struck terrorist bases in Pakistan on 26 February 2019.

[73] On 6 August 2019, the Supreme Court of India passed a resolution on creation of Ram temple on disputed site of Ayodhya.

[81] Distaste for communism and commitment to democracy meant that friendship with West was seen as desirable even as fears of materialism and westernisation led to suspicion.

[82] Hindu and western conservatives agree on issues like family, faith, nationalism and enemies like Chinese expansionism, radical Islam, as well as cultural Marxism, even though they differ on topics like proselytizing by Christians.