The Diwali Fireworks Conundrum: Hindutva, Caste Entitlement, and the Politics of the Indian Diaspora
As the vibrant festival of Diwali lights up homes and hearts across the Indian diaspora, the crackle of fireworks often symbolizes celebration, joy, and cultural pride.
Yet, in recent years, this luminous
tradition has sparked a darker narrative—one where the reckless use of fireworks by diaspora Hindus in Western spaces exposes the destructive impact of Hindutva across the Indian diaspora. From houses set ablaze to far-right Hindutva handles on X blaming the fires on poor housing architecture in the West (with a sense of glee), the Diwali fireworks controversy lays bare a critical intersection: the confluence of
Hindutva ideology, caste entitlement, and the politics of the Indian diaspora
as a petri dish for global cultural contestations.
Fireworks and Fires: A Symbol of Disregard
In cities across the West—be it London, New Jersey, or Toronto—reports have surfaced of Diwali celebrations marred by fires caused by unregulated fireworks. These incidents, while often unintentional, reflect a troubling disregard for community norms and safety regulations.
The act of lighting fireworks with abandon, in defiance of local laws, points to a deeper issue: a sense of entitlement that overrides collective responsibility. This behavior, I argue, is not merely a cultural misstep but a manifestation of the caste-based privilege that permeates segments of the Indian diaspora, particularly among upper-caste Hindus emboldened by the global rise of Hindutva.
Upper caste Hindus in the diaspora have learned carefully to leverage multicultural frameworks in settler colonies to assert rights as entitlements while simultaneously participating aggressively in othering diverse communities it places at the bottom of the casteist pecking order. In the ideological universe of Hindutva, compassion, kindness, and accountability are weaknesses, traits of the loser, while the ideology continually upholds lying, cultural assertion, grabbing, and powering down on those at the margins as markers of cultural pride.
This entitlement—rooted in the belief that one's cultural practices supersede the rights of others—disregards the shared spaces of multicultural societies, fueling tensions with neighbors and authorities.
The Far-Right Opportunism: Immigration as a Scapegoat
The fallout from these incidents has been swiftly exploited by far-right groups in the West, who weave narratives of cultural incompatibility to vilify Indian immigrants.
In online spaces, particularly on platforms like X, Diwali-related fires have been weaponized to paint Indian diasporic communities as reckless and unassimilable.
These narratives dovetail with broader anti-immigrant sentiments, framing immigration as a threat to Western values and safety. The Indian diaspora, once celebrated for its contributions to technology, medicine, and academia, is increasingly cast as a disruptive force—a trope that echoes colonial-era stereotypes of the "uncivilized other."
This scapegoating is not new. As I have argued in my work on Hindutva and white supremacy, the far-right’s rhetoric thrives on constructing racialized others as threats to national purity.
In this case, the Indian diaspora becomes a convenient target, with Diwali fireworks serving as a flashpoint to amplify xenophobic narratives.
Yet, the irony is stark: the same far-right groups that decry Indian cultural practices share ideological affinities with Hindutva’s own supremacist logic. Both rely on exclusionary frameworks—whether it’s white nationalism in the West or Hindu nationalism in the diaspora—that privilege one group’s identity over others.
The Diaspora as a Petri Dish: Hindutva and Caste Entitlement
The Indian diaspora, particularly in Western nations, is a complex space where global ideologies of supremacy intersect. Hindutva’s global spread has emboldened upper-caste Hindus to assert their cultural identity in ways that often dismiss the norms of their adopted communities.
This assertion, cloaked in the language of cultural pride, mirrors the caste hierarchies that have long justified entitlement in India. The upper-caste Hindu, steeped in the belief of inherent superiority, may view local regulations as secondary to their right to celebrate Diwali as they see fit. Fireworks, in this context, become a symbolic act of dominance—a refusal to bend to the expectations of a multicultural society.
This dynamic is further complicated by the diaspora’s encounter with white supremacy. As I have noted in my analyses, Hindutva and white supremacy are not antithetical but often symbiotic. Both ideologies rely on narratives of cultural purity and exclusion, creating a paradoxical alignment where upper-caste Hindus may simultaneously face racism in the West while perpetuating casteist behaviors within their communities.
The reckless use of fireworks, for instance, is not just a defiance of Western norms but also a performance of caste privilege that marginalizes lower-caste or non-Hindu Indians who may prioritize community harmony over cultural assertion.
Reimagining Diwali: Toward Cultural Humility
Hindutva's reproduction of cultural pride seeds the form of cultural arrogance across the Hindu upper caste diaspora that is deeply threatening to social cohesion, community accountability, and peace.
The Diwali fireworks controversy demands a reckoning within the Indian diaspora. It calls for a rejection of the Hindutva-driven narrative that equates cultural pride with disregard for others.
Instead, we must reimagine Diwali as an invitational space—one that celebrates Indian heritage while respecting the shared spaces of multicultural societies. This requires acknowledging the casteist underpinnings of certain behaviors and challenging the entitlement that fuels them. It also demands solidarity with other marginalized communities, recognizing that the fight against white supremacy in the West is intertwined with the fight against caste supremacy in the diaspora.
As scholars and activists, we must amplify voices that call for responsible celebration—voices that honor Diwali’s spirit of light without igniting fires of division. By fostering dialogue within our communities, we can dismantle the toxic intersections of Hindutva and caste entitlement, paving the way for a diaspora that embraces cultural pride without sacrificing civic responsibility.
Conclusion
The Diwali fireworks controversy is more than a clash of cultural practices; it is a microcosm of the broader tensions within the Indian diaspora.
Hindutva’s emboldening of upper-caste Hindus, coupled with the far-right’s exploitation of cultural missteps, reveals the complex interplay of caste, race, and nationalism in globalized spaces.
As we light our diyas this Diwali, let us reflect on the fires we ignite—both literal and metaphorical—and commit to a celebration that illuminates without burning.
The Indian diaspora, as a petri dish of ideological intersections, has the power to redefine its narrative, not as a battleground of supremacies, but as a beacon of inclusive, decolonial solidarity.