Mediated Solidarities: Hyper-nationalist Indian Media and Transnational Alignment between Hindu Nationalism and the UK Far-Right

Abstract

Contra-flows of communication mediated by diaspora groups are often viewed as anti-hegemonic, and diaspora media spheres have long been considered integral to Western democracies. However, the asymmetrical, multidirectional, and deregulated nature of today’s internet-based communication requires a more critical approach to diaspora mediascapes. Social media platforms have transformed diasporic media networks into transnational political actors capable of influencing policies and public opinion in host countries. These flows can transmit polarising ideologies from homelands and mobilise diaspora communities through affect. Situated within scholarship on transnational communication networks, affective polarisation, and ethnic nationalism, the paper examines the role of Indian media in fostering transnational alignment between White and Hindu nationalist projects based on anti-Muslim sentiment. It argues that this partnership is intended to mobilise the Hindu diaspora and shape their perceptions of and connections with far-right movements across the Atlantic. Through a reflective thematic analysis of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s interviews with Indian media outlets, the paper investigates the performance of victimhood and outrage intended to influence and incite the Hindu community and to cultivate support for Robinson’s far-right project within the Indian diaspora in the UK. It also explores how India’s hyper-nationalist media, through the enactment of reciprocal legitimacy with the far-right, contribute to and have the potential to affect intercommunal relations within the UK.