INDIA, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, is witnessing a profound ideological shift toward Saffronisation.
This trend, which permeates Bollywood, media and even national sports, now poses a critical threat to the historically secular and apolitical character of the Indian Armed Forces. Evidence suggests the military is increasingly acting as a political extension or “yes man,” for the ruling establishment.
The most visible sign of this ideological pivot is the strategic replacement of secular symbolism with Hindu nationalist imagery in key military spaces. In early 2025, the Army Chief’s lounge in South Block saw the removal of a historic painting commemorating the 1971 war. It was replaced by Karam Kshetra, an artwork depicting Hindu mythological figures like Lord Krishna and Chanakya alongside modern military assets. This action represents a clear ideological choice, prioritizing Hindu mythology over the secular history of the modern Indian State.
Further, in December 2024, the installation of a statue of the Hindu king Shivaji, flanked by a prominent saffron flag, near the strategically sensitive Pangong Tso in Ladakh, served as an overt assertion of Hindu identity in a crucial border region. Even operational nomenclature has shifted, with military missions now being named using Hindu religious terms like Sindoor and Mahadev, replacing neutral titles with ideologically charged branding.
The actions of senior military officers have fundamentally blurred institutional lines. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other high-ranking officials have publicly participated in Hindu religious ceremonies, such as receiving a tilak and garlands while in uniform on National Unity Day. These acts openly compromise the military’s secular and non-partisan image. Most controversially, the COAS’s high-profile visit to the ashram of Hindu spiritual leader Jagadguru Rambhadracharya in May 2025 drew severe criticism. The spiritual leader publicly claimed to have given the COAS religious initiation (diksha) and asked him to reclaim Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as a guru dakshina (religious offering), effectively positioning a top institutional officer under a purported religious obligation.
Moreover, senior officers have increasingly adopted the hardline rhetoric of the BJP, issuing public threats to Pakistan and openly aligning military discourse with nationalist politics. The saffron ideology is also being embedded into the military’s structure. The Agnipath scheme, initiated in 2022, has reportedly brought in numerous recruits with ties to Hindu nationalist groups like the RSS, potentially shaping the future culture of the forces. Similarly, key officer-generating institutions like the Sainik Schools are being influenced by affiliates of Vidya Bharti and the Ram Mandir movement.
This ideological pressure has had a direct, negative impact on minorities. Minority officers, including Sikhs, Muslims and Christians, have reported facing systemic pressure to conform to Hindu rituals. The widely publicized dismissal of Lt. Samuel Kamalesan, a Christian officer terminated for refusing to participate in Hindu ceremonies, underscored the coercive practices and growing professional insecurity for minorities.
The systematic Saffronisation of India’s military threatens the institution’s cohesion, professionalism and legitimacy. The transformation from a secular national force to one seemingly aligned with a majoritarian agenda endangers the very bedrock of India’s so-called democratic and diverse society, turning a national institution into what many now label as Modi Ki Sena.
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, research scholar and freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
