In the summer of 2019, Narendra Modi -- the leader of India's right-wing 'Bharatiya Janata Party' (BJP) -- won a landslide victory in the country's general elections, securing Modi's re-election as the Prime Minister of India. In a victory speech that spoke about the power of the Indian democracy and people, Modi positioned himself as a "Hindu ascetic who renounce(d) worldly possessions, not for personal liberation but to serve the nation's needy" (Chakraborty, 2019). Indeed, in the weeks leading up to the elections, Modi invited the media to witness him entering a cave where he meditated until the election results were announced (Chakraborty, 2019). Upon BJP's victory, Modi emerged from the cave wearing a saffron shawl, ready to serve the nation. This carefully crafted image of himself as a karmayogi was weaved into his victory speech that spoke of the Indian population as Lord Krishna in the Mahabharata, "not fighting for any side" (Chakraborty, 2019). Instead, in his speech Modi claimed the Indian citizens -- like Lord Krishna -- had "stood on the side of India" in voting the BJP into power (Chakraborty, 2019). By drawing on Hindu religious stories to address the Indian nation as 'Lord Krishna' fighting for India, Modi made clear that the country was not being led by a secular elected official but by a man who openly aligned with and positioned himself as a Hindu leader of a Hindu country (Chakraborty, 2019). The culmination of decades of planning and action by India's Hindu right, the 2019 election made clear that Hindu nationalism -- a form of nation-making driven by the goal of molding India into a Hindu nation through the othering of non-Hindu communities -- was alive and dominating the political and sociocultural landscape in India (Chatterji, Hansen & Jaffrelot, 2019). Indeed, the rapid increase in violence against marginalized Indians leading up to and after the elections is reflective of the consequences of Hindu nationalism in India today (Jaffrelot, 2019; Repucci & Slipowitz, 2021). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]