The Politics of Purity: Hindutva, Varna, and the Making of Modern Power investigates how Hindutva ideologues and organizations have reinterpreted the ancient Hindu concept of Varna—a socio-spiritual classification—into a tool for political consolidation in modern India. Bridging history, religion, sociology, and political psychology, the book explores how caste hierarchy has been transformed from a social and spiritual framework into an instrument of cultural dominance and ideological control. Through archival research, contemporary case analysis, and theoretical insight, this work reveals how narratives of purity, hierarchy, and divine order—once rooted in spiritual and sociocultural frameworks—have been re-engineered to advance nationalism, exclusion, and political power. It interrogates the intersections of faith, fear, and authority, tracing how myth, memory, and ritual continue to shape India’s political imagination. Blending rigorous scholarship with an accessible narrative, The Politics of Purity seeks to understand not only how Hindutva gained mass legitimacy but also how it reshaped the democratic fabric of India by manipulating the deeply embedded logic of Varna—purity versus pollution, belonging versus otherness. It is a comprehensive exploration of the historical, social, and political dynamics that underpin contemporary debates about caste, identity, and power.