The dominance of Hindu nationalism in Indian politics is so complete that it seems like it was inevitable. Was it? Vinay Sitapati joins Amit Varma in episode 202 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the BJP's long journey to this point, as reflected in the jugalbandi of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani. Also check out: 1. Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi -- Vinay Sitapati. 2. Half-Lion: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Transformed India -- Vinay Sitapati. 3. The BJP's Magic Formula -- Episode 45 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Prashant Jha). 4. The Gita Press and Hindu Nationalism -- Episode 139 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Akshaya Mukul). 5. The First Assault on Our Constitution -- Episode 194 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tripurdaman Singh). 6. The Ideas of Our Constitution -- Episode 164 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Madhav Khosla). 7. Who Broke Our Republic? -- Episode 163 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Kapil Komireddi). 8. The Intellectual Foundations of Hindutva -- Episode 115 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Aakar Patel). 9. Religion and Ideology in Indian Society -- Episode 124 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Suyash Rai). 10. Political Ideology in India -- Episode 131 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rahul Verma). 11. Vinay Sitapati interviewed by Rohan Venkat. This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Check out their course, Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond. For free unlimited access for a month, click here. You can now buy Seen/Unseen swag. And do check out Amit’s online courses, The Art of Clear Writing and The Art of Podcasting.