A political battle over India’s holy rivers

Illustration by Global Voices

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The admiration of populist leaders has become a defining trait of this movement, where these figures are seen not only as personifications of national or cultural identity but also as messianic symbols promising salvation and renewal.

As Feeza Vasudeva writes in “Political Deification and Religious Populism in Modi’s India,” an article published in the journal “Populism,” leaders in countries like Turkey, Hungary, Brazil, and the US have used religion to strengthen their political image. They present themselves as defenders of faith-based values against secularism and external influences and even as quasi-religious figures. So has India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.

The agenda of India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is defined by Hindutva, a political ideology emphasizing Hindu religious and cultural nationalism. Since coming to power in 2014, the BJP has significantly emphasized policies and initiatives that resonate with its core Hindu voter base. Vasudeva explains that the “use of religious iconography, coupled with modern media technologies, has enabled Modi to embody a form of authority that transcends the conventional boundaries of political leadership, thus positioning him as the guardian of the nation’s spiritual and moral essence.”

The BJP’s efforts to “guard” Hindu religious and cultural nationalism have been reported to fuel hate speech against Muslims and other minority groups, especially under the “Bulldozer Justice” initiative led by the leader of the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, Ajay Singh Bisht, a Hindu monk who goes by Yogi Adityanath. Under his purview, the authorities have deployed bulldozers to demolish the houses of accused individuals, mainly Muslims, even before the case or dispute is resolved through the judicial process. Amnesty International has deemed the de facto policy of punitively demolishing Muslim properties “ forced eviction and collective and arbitrary punishment under international law.”

Click here to read some of the BJP nationalist narratives we have covered in the past in India

One of the policies helping Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure his reputation as a guardian of the nation's religious values in this battle to equate Indianness with Hinduism is the Namami Gange Programme, a project launched in June 2014 to conserve and rejuvenate the River Ganges, which is part of the second-largest river system on Earth by water discharge, and has immense religious significance in Hinduism.

Narrative: The BJP is the only one protecting India's rivers

Under this narrative frame, the BJP politicians and supporters promote the belief that they are the only party working on and advocating for the protection of India's rivers, ensuring Hindus can maintain their religious rituals.

Between late 2024 and early 2025, two significant religious festivals reignited concerns over pollution in Indian rivers.

During the four-day Chhath Puja in November 2024 in Delhi, safety concerns arose as devotees bathed in the Yamuna River, which was covered in toxic foam — a development later linked by Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the former Chief Minister of Delhi, to the BJP-led Haryana government. Kejriwal accused the Haryana government of deliberately poisoning the Yamuna River's water entering Delhi, prompting the Haryana government to lodge a criminal complaint and the Election Commission to demand proof of the allegation.

A few months later, in January 2025, during the Maha Kumbh Mela celebrations — a pilgrimage and Hindu festival held in Uttar Pradesh at that time — the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of the Indian government reported that the Ganges and Yamuna rivers had elevated coliform levels. As a result, they advised against bathing in the Triveni Sangam — the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers located in Uttar Pradesh — due to health risks.

During the Maha Kumbh Mela celebrations, Delhi was also in the midst of the 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election campaign, which the BJP would later manage to win. The political debate intensified during the campaign, partly due to comments made by Yogi Adityanath. At a BJP rally in Delhi, Adityanath accused the AAP and its ministers of allowing illegal settlements of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas — migrant minorities criminalized by both parties during the election. He claimed that AAP had turned the Yamuna River into a “polluted drain,” which he described as a “sin.” Then he challenged AAP leader Kejriwal to bathe in the Yamuna, as he had done at the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela.

How this narrative is asserted online by the BJP

This X post by the official account of the ruling BJP party on World Water Day 2025 shows an animated Prime Minister Modi rising from the Ganges River in a prayerful stance, asserting that the government has allocated INR 401.2 trillion (approximately USD 4.7 billion) to the Namami Gange restoration project.

In Hinduism, bathing in the sacred Ganges River is regarded as highly holy and spiritually significant, which is why the animated Prime Minister Modi rising from the Ganges River indirectly links the Namami Gange Programme with the preservation of Hindu religious practices.

A report published in late February 2025 found that funds allocated to the programme were underutilized during most of the years since its inception.

The item received 153 comments, 872 reposts, 2.5k likes, 16 bookmarks, and 21 quote posts. It ranked -1 under our civic impact score, as it fails to acknowledge the ongoing critical condition of the Ganges's water quality while advertising the project as a success, misleading readers.

See the full analysis of the item here.

How this narrative is shared online by supporters of the BJP

In this post, the author celebrates the cleaning of Delhi's Yamuna River, led by the BJP, and shares a video showing a river skimming barge in action. He praises the BJP's swift efforts to fulfill its electoral promises.

The 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on February 5. The video attached to this item was initially shared by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including former Member of Parliament Ramesh Bidhuri and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, in mid-February, describing the initiative as the start of a massive cleaning effort. By the time the video was published, Atishi Marlena, from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was the caretaker Chief Minister while the new government was being formed. For the author of the tweet, this showcases the BJP's efficiency, as it started the work even before officially taking office.

The tone of the author suggests that other governments from opposing parties have also failed to deliver in terms of cleaning the river.

The item received 198 comments, 1.6K retweets, 8.2K likes, 65 bookmarks, and over 168K views. It ranked -1 under our civic impact score, as it replicates the BJP's polarizing discourse without contextualizing the status of the Delhi government at the time of the video and fails to clarify which authority is behind the initiative, misleading its readers.

See the full analysis of the item here.