For the first time, the Hindu nationalist apparatus is working in West Bengal under the most favourable political conditions, following the BJP’s victory in the 2026 assembly election and the formation of the state’s first BJP government. Viewed through the organisational journey of the Sangh parivar, this marks the culmination of a decades-long project that began, according to RSS accounts, with the establishment of the first RSS shakha (branch) in Kolkata in 1939, advanced steadily under a largely unsympathetic political climate and encountered relatively conducive political conditions only under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime.Compared with many other parts of India, the expansion of the Sangh in West Bengal was relatively slow, though steady. Its growth became particularly pronounced over the past three decades, enabling it to expand its presence across different spheres of public life. Yet, despite this consolidation, it struggled to establish itself at the heart of Bengal’s cultural sphere, as the institutions and networks shaping cultural production and public discourse remained largely beyond its influence.The Sangh parivar’s efforts to cultivate an alternative cultural sphere date back to the 1950s, when organisations such as Bharatiya Sanskriti Parishad and Sangham were established through the joint efforts of the RSS and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Over the following decades, similar organisations emerged to advance Hindu nationalist thought, including Yogakshema, Sanskar Bharati, Bharatiya Krishti Sangha, Rashtriya Sanskriti Sangha, Lok Prajna and Bharatiya Sanskriti Trust, among others.Although these organisations gradually built a loyal support base, none acquired the organisational capacity needed to challenge Bengal’s prevailing cultural hegemony. With state power now on its side, the Hindu Right has intensified its efforts to establish new institutions and revitalise existing ones across diverse spheres in a coordinated attempt to reshape Bengal’s cultural landscape.‘Boi para’: The first stopHindutva’s first organised intervention has been directed towards Kolkata’s College Street, popularly known as ‘Boi Para’ – one of India’s largest book markets. The objective, however, is less commercial than ideological.Boi Para is much more than a marketplace for books. It has long served as a hub of intellectual and political exchange and has been largely shaped by Left intellectual traditions, with the Hindu Right remaining largely on the margins. Recasting this symbolic space, therefore, naturally becomes an early priority within its broader project of cultural remaking.Two newly formed organisations – the Bangiya Grantha Shilpa Parishad (BGSP) and the Association of Bengal for Literature & Culture (ABLC) – have emerged as the principal vehicles of this effort, both presenting themselves as umbrella bodies representing those associated with the book industry and the wider cultural community.The BGSP was formally launched on June 1, 2026, with the backing of the Sangh parivar and support from sections of the publishing industry; subsequent developments also indicated BJP patronage. Although the organisation describes itself as open to all and strictly apolitical, it has simultaneously made it clear that those it regards as “anti-national” will have no place within its fold.The ABLC, founded on June 27, 2026, on the initiative of a group of Hindu nationalists, similarly presents itself as a non-partisan platform committed to the holistic development of Boi Para, in particular, and Bengali literature and culture more broadly. Yet, the ideological positions of its office-bearers, the initiatives it has undertaken and its call to reclaim Bengal’s “glorious culture,” which it argues has been appropriated by Left-leaning ideologies, leave little ambiguity about its ideological orientation.The contest, however, extends beyond College Street itself to the Kolkata International Book Fair, the world’s most-attended book fair. Capitalising on allegations of politicisation and irregularities surrounding the existing organiser, both the BGSP and the ABLC have informally positioned themselves as potential successors. Whether either ultimately succeeds remains uncertain, but the Hindu Right have already demonstrated its readiness to seize this platform for ideological dissemination.Controlling cultural productionCapturing or replacing institutions alone is insufficient without also cultivating and shaping those who produce cultural capital. To complete this process, existing Hindu nationalist formations have been revived, while several new platforms have simultaneously been established for artists across different creative fields.Among the first of these were the Shyamaprasad Artist Forum (SAF) and the Bangiya Shilpa Kala Parishad (BSKP). The SAF emerged in May as an associate of the RSS affiliate Sanskar Bharati. Conceived as a nationalist platform for visual artists, it has since organised a series of programmes commemorating Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, in collaboration with like-minded groups such as Nature of the Canvas, Porosh Pathor, and the BJP.The BSKP, launched on June 20, 2026, during an event celebrating West Bengal Day, attended by several RSS and BJP functionaries, similarly seeks to provide a common platform for artists and cultural practitioners across disciplines.A more concerted initiative, however, has come through the Lekhak Shilpi Samanway Samiti (LSSS). Initially operating under the name Shilpi Milan, it registered under its present name in 2021 and has since worked, albeit on a limited scale, to bring together nationalist-minded writers and artists across Bengal.With the changed political environment, the LSSS has expanded its own activities while also facilitating the creation of another specialised organisation for theatre practitioners, the Paschimbanga Natya Parishad (PNP), on July 13. Echoing themes similar to those advanced by the organisations mentioned above, it presents itself as opposed to the politicisation of theatre while simultaneously restricting membership to those who identify themselves as nationalists.A similar initiative is the Paschimbanga Charukala Parishad (PCP), formed in July under the patronage of individuals associated with the LSSS. Bringing together artists working across different visual media, it presents itself as a platform for those committed to the “country, culture and society.”Intervening in the ‘politicised’ industriesThe dynamics of Bengal’s film and music industries differ significantly from those of other cultural sectors. Here, the contest is less ideological than political. Over the past few years, proximity to the ruling establishment has increasingly become an unwritten prerequisite for professional advancement, making these sectors especially receptive to political realignment.The BJP first sought to establish a foothold in the film industry in June 2019 by launching two organisations – the Bangiya Chalachchitra Parishad (BCP) and the Eastern India Motion Pictures & Cultural Confederation (EIMPCC) – with the aim of bringing together professionals across the industry. Both initiatives, however, proved short-lived.More recently, an attempt to revive the EIMPCC, under the leadership of a BJP MLA, met a similar fate because of disputes over the body’s legal status and the absence of formal backing from the state BJP. A subsequent effort to regulate Tollywood through a temporary committee likewise collapsed amid power struggles between the BJP and the RSS.The Kolkata Film Industries Workers Union (KFIWU), active since 2011 and affiliated with the RSS’s labour wing, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, since 2014, has rejected these developments, insisting that any restructuring of the industry should proceed through it as the recognised representative body.While the future of Tollywood remains uncertain, the music industry has witnessed a more cohesive organisational push. In June, the newly formed Performers of Bengal (POB), established under the patronage of another BJP MLA, emerged as a representative body for professionals across the industry. Following a familiar pattern, it presents itself as non-partisan and committed to restoring a “Clean Culture, Healthy Culture” for Bengal. Yet, its organisational composition and initiatives suggest that its vision is also likely to be guided by a distinctly Hindu nationalist cultural framework.To dismantle the ‘seku-maku’ cultureFor Hindutva actors, ‘seku-maku’ culture – a pejorative portmanteau referring to the perceived dominance of ‘secular’ and ‘Marxist’ thought – has long been one of their principal ideological adversaries. As Bengal is regarded as one of India’s foremost bastions of this intellectual tradition, often credited to the Left front’s prolonged rule, it has therefore become crucial for Hindutva to contest it through the production of an alternative intellectual discourse.This effort is not entirely new. Since at least the early 1990s, Bengal units of the Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY) – operating under the names Itihas Sankalan Samiti and Itihas Punorlikhon Samiti – have organised seminars, conferences and publications promoting Hindu nationalist interpretations of regional history. Although their reach remained limited, they represented one of the earliest sustained Hindutva intellectual projects in the state.With the scale of intervention changing, the Rashtriya Lekhak Manch (RLM), an RSS-affiliated literary forum, has rapidly expanded its organisational network across the region since May, reporting a sharp rise in membership while explicitly seeking to bring together nationalist writers to challenge the Left’s intellectual ecosystem.The effort also extends beyond the formal initiatives of the Sangh parivar. The Foundation for Historical Studies (FHS), established in July by some of the individuals associated with the ABLC, has similarly emerged to contest what it regards as Leftist historiography, which, for them, is nothing more than “foreign-funded propaganda.”Alongside these, several other Hindutva-aligned civil society organisations, including Paschimbanger Janya, Vaibhavi Shambhavi Foundation, Neo Nationalist, Voice of Hindustan, Sojasapta, Sangachchhadhwam Economic & Cultural Foundation, Bengal Hindu Nationalists, and the Citizens Empowerment Forum, have also become increasingly active, with the primary aim of rapidly disseminating Hindu nationalist ideas.Looking beyondBengal is witnessing not merely the emergence of a series of new outfits, but the crystallisation of a broader Hindu nationalist project. The significance, however, lies not in the growing number of organisations – a by now familiar pattern – or in predicting whether these initiatives will endure, but in how the competing ideological camps respond to it.For decades, Bengal’s progressive intelligentsia has actively resisted Hindutva. How effectively it responds in the present conjuncture, as it seeks to become more deeply embedded in Bengal than ever before, will depend on whether it is willing to confront some of the structural weaknesses that have, at least in part, enabled the very force it seeks to resist.Two factors stand out in this regard. The first is the long-standing tendency to respond to certain Hindu nationalist concerns through exclusion, censorship or dismissal rather than engagement. Whether justified or not, this approach has, over time, allowed the Hindu Right to project itself as the only force willing to address issues that many believed had long been ignored. If this perception persists, resistance alone is unlikely to prove sufficient.The second concerns the enduring elitism of much of Bengal’s cultural establishment, which has remained concentrated within Kolkata’s intellectual circles. Meanwhile, the Hindu Right steadily expanded beyond that exclusive domain, offering recognition to those who felt excluded. Such grievances have increasingly become one of the principal terrains on which it has advanced its politics. Addressing this challenge will therefore require a more socially inclusive mode of cultural engagement.For the Hindutva camp, however, its expansion has also brought its own dilemmas. The rapid proliferation of organisations – many operating outside the formal structure of the Sangh – has inevitably produced institutional rivalries. Yet, despite these inconsistencies, such tensions are unlikely to prove decisive, as these groups remain committed to the larger vision of a Hindu Rashtra, from which they derive their collective identity.In a nutshell, the Hindu Right is investing in the creation of an enduring infrastructure capable of sustaining itself irrespective of changing political fortunes, making the challenge for those seeking to resist this force no longer merely one of political opposition but of rebuilding a cultural sphere capable of matching its social reach and institutional depth.Sufal Bepari is a PhD Scholar in the Department of Political Science at Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India. He can be reached at dr.sufalbepari@gmail.com.