Members of the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh take part in a march in Ahmedabad, India. Sam Panthaky/AFP via Getty Images November 8, 2021 How one atheist laid the foundation of contemporary Hindu nationalism Dr. Saba Sattar, The Institute of World Politics A scholar on South Asian affairs traces the growth of Hindu nationalism, started by an atheist anti-colonial revolutionary, to the one adopted under Modi’s government.