Budget 2024-25: Hindutva Onslaught on Higher Education

Higher education is an anathema to Hindutva politics in India, similar to any other right-wing reactionary politics worldwide. Their aversion to scientific and secular education is a deliberate political strategy aimed at undermining scientific and secular consciousness. These right-wing reactionaries fear education because it challenges the very foundations of their reactionary and right-wing ideologies. In societies where right-wing politics prevail, the suppression of educational advancement is often used as a means to maintain control. By limiting access to comprehensive education, these groups can perpetuate ignorance and foster an environment where their ideologies remain unchallenged. Scientific education, in particular, encourages critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning, both of which are seen as threats to dogmatic beliefs.

 Secular education, on the other hand, promotes an inclusive worldview that transcends religious and cultural boundaries, fostering a sense of common humanity. This inclusive approach is antithetical to the divisive tactics employed by right-wing groups, which often rely on creating an ‘us versus them’ mentality to garner support. The aversion to higher education exhibited by Hindutva and similar right-wing movements globally is not merely a byproduct of their ideologies but a calculated effort to stifle intellectual growth and maintain socio-political dominance. Emphasizing the importance of education in fostering a scientifically literate and secular society is crucial in countering these regressive forces.

The Hindutva government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has shown little focus on higher education. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Indian Union Budget for 2024, which clearly indicates a significant reduction in funding for higher education. The budget allocation for higher education has been cut from Rs. 57,244 crores in 2023/24 to Rs. 47,619 crores in 2024/25. Moreover, there is a substantial reduction in funding for the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India. The funding for the UGC has been slashed by 60.99 percent by the Hindutva government. This drastic cut highlights the government’s stance on higher education, potentially undermining the quality and accessibility of higher education in the country. In principle, the financial decisions made by the current government reflect a broader strategy that adversely affect the development and progression of higher education institutions in India. This will have long-term implications on the nation’s scientific, technological, and socio-economic advancement.

The funding cuts are a strategic decision by the Modi government to facilitate Hindutva politics and crony capitalism in higher education by privatising it. The reduction in funding will diminish the quality and efficiency of higher education institutions. As these institutions become defunct due to financial constraints, the Modi government plans to sell them to the crony capitalist allies of Hindutva politics. Therefore, this funding cut serves as a prelude to the mass privatisation of higher education in India. This strategy aligns with the broader agenda of promoting privatisation and weakening public institutions, which could lead to increased inequality in access to quality education. The privatisation of higher education results in exorbitant fees, making it inaccessible to a large segment of the population, thereby undermining the fundamental principle of education as a public good. These funding cuts represent a calculated move to shift the control of education from public to private hands, aligning with the interests of a few at the expense of the many. This shift will have long-lasting detrimental effects on the educational landscape of India, impacting its socio-economic fabric profoundly.

By implementing funding cuts in the Union Budget 2024, Hindutva forces undermine higher education and its ability to produce new knowledge based on science and secularism. These cuts not only weaken the infrastructure and resources of educational institutions but also stifle intellectual growth and critical thinking. Scientific research and secular education are crucial for fostering innovation, progress, and a well-informed citizenry. By reducing funding, the Hindutva agenda effectively hampers the development of these essential areas, promoting an environment where dogma can thrive over reason and evidence. The strategic defunding of higher education by the Modi government is a deliberate attempt to curb the generation of new, scientifically grounded knowledge and to diminish the role of secularism in India. This move threatens to compromise the future of higher education in India, making it less capable of contributing to global scientific and cultural advancements.

Hindutva politics is opposed to human progress and educational growth in India. The funding reduction in the Budget 2024 is just yet another example. This deliberate underfunding not only hampers the quality of education but also threatens the very foundation of a progressive and inclusive society in India.

Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a political commentator