Social movements against Hindutva: analysing their impact on the Indian state’s support for cow protection vigilantism

This paper analyses the impact of social movements on the Indian state’s support for cow protection vigilantism, which forms a key aspect of its adherence to the Hindutva ideology. Adopting Varigonda’s framework, the paper argues that the movement’s impact is determined by its collective action repertoires, politicisation of its affiliated identity and openness of state input structures. The paper tests this framework through a comparative study of two movements: the Dalit-centric post-Una and the Muslim-centric post-Dadri movements. It demonstrates how stronger action repertoires, characterised by protracted mass mobilisation; effective politicisation of the Dalit identity and its propensity towards electoral mobilisation of the Dalit populace; and open state input structures, characterised by the consistent support of major political parties, enabled the post-Una movement – unlike the post-Dadri movement – to impede state support for cow protection vigilantism.