Since coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government has increasingly infused Hindu mythology not just into public life, but also into the military sphere, shaping naming of operations, ceremonial practices, and institutional symbolism to reflect a culturally and politically charged vision of national identity. The Increasing Use of Hindu Mythological References in the Armed Forces Under the BJP Govt - The Wire
Assorted military operations, along with numerous defence platforms, doctrines, and programmes, were now routinely named after figures, concepts, and events from the epics and Puranas, curiously linking contemporary security and military power to India’s ancient cultural heritage.
The objective, it appears, is to cast the armed forces as an extension of the valour and divinity celebrated in Hindu mythology, emphasising strength, precision, and the swift destruction of adversaries. This transformation is politically framed as part of a broader nationalist effort to “decolonise” the military, discarding colonial-era associations, tenets, designations, practices, and traditions in favour of culturally resonant symbols that embody a vision of a pure Viksit or developed India.
Rahul Bedi
21/08/2025