Sardar Saeed
For decades India has been preaching and selling the narrative of a secular state and the oldest democracy of the World.
As per the latest World meter’s UN data, “India’s population is 1.41 billion which makes the 17.78 percent of the total world population.” Hindu religion dominant with 80.5 % of total Indian’s population, followed by Muslims with 13.4%, Christians: 2.3% while Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and other minorities are approximately 6%.India holds the 4th largest army of the World based on the land, sea, and air man power, natural resources, finances, and geography. The Indian Armed Forces have long been rated as one of the most professional, apolitical and secular organizations. Historically it remained protected from religious bias and political manipulation but in recent years, a visible transformation has unfolded under the BJP government led by their PM Modi.
Composition of Indian’s armed forces manpower also reflect its religious demography. Indian armed forces like its population are also dominated by the Hindus who makes 70% to 85%, Sikhs approximately15% to 19%, Muslims around 3% to 4%, Christians about 2% to 3% while other minorities are less than 0.5%. This ethnic configuration of armed forces is normal like any other army of the world. However, the recent years development has seen increased ingress of Hindutva representation leading to saffronization of the Indian armed forces. This upcoming phenomenonis shifting the behavior of Indian armed force which once rooted in secular traditions, now undermining its constitutional responsibility of neutrality.
This behavioral change is now becoming prominent by every passing day and being displayed by the top brass of Indian armed forces. There has been number of occasions where this behavioral change was observed which symbolized a chronicle shift from secular military legacy to Hindu cultural distinctiveness. This intended addition of Hindu symbolism reflected the emerging political ideological arrangement within the armed forces.The top army brass participation in Hindu religious rituals in uniform has distorted the established limits between religious commitment and professional responsibility thus raising ambiguity about the impartiality expected from a national army. Even their operational practices have also shown saffronization where military actions have been named after Hindu religious jargonlike “Sindoor” and “Mahadev.” Not before but now the senior military leadership have gradually started resonating the BJP’s nationalist rhetoric and giving firry statements publicly against Pakistan and native enemies.
It further strengthens these tendencies where majority of army recruits are connected to Hindu nationalist organizations such as the RSSand the officer’s recruitment have also witnessed increased influence from Hindu nationalist educational institutions. Such ideological configuration at the recruitment level will have long-term consequences for the internal culture of Indian armed forces. This orientation with political discourse symbols a clear withdrawal from the armed forces’ traditional restraint and apolitical carriage.RSS now actively determining the cultural and extracurricular activities, implanting saffron ideology into the channel that will produces future military leaders.
Minority officers are facing the cumulative effect of these shifts particularly troubling the Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians. They have described systemic compression to participate in Hindu rituals and cultural programs. Minority officers are confronting with job insecurity, profession apathy, community barring and considering to left this profession due to coercive practices being faced publicly. The persecution of minority personnel by injecting sectarian ideology will have long-term risks for India’s internal stability and regional security environment.
Human rights agencies have also shown their concerns over 520 custodial deaths and extrajudicial killings in military detention. Human Rights Watch report documented in 2025, partly attribute these extra judicial killing to an increasingly hardened command culture and ideological shifts.Such developments not only wear down the public trust but also indication of an alarming shift in the direction of militarized ideological implementation.
A structural transformation of the Indian armed forces from a professional and devoted army to saffronization, threatens the gentle balance of India’s civil-military relations. An army once known for its apolitical, secular organization now viewed as “Modi ki Sena,” showing loyalty to political elite rather than constitutional commitment. Thisshift will not only undermine military competence but likely to weaken the institutional unity. If left uncontrolled, the enduring saffronization of the Indian armed forces could primarily amend the nature of India’s military with serious consequences for democratic accountability, social synchronization and state decision-making policies.
