Dangerous Field: Ethnography of the Right

ABSTRACT In this paper, I discuss my experience of ethnographic fieldwork in Uttar Pradesh (UP), which has emerged as an ideal prototype of a Hindutva state in India. I examine my position as an oppositional researcher at one of Durga Vahini's annual training camps in UP. Based on my experience, I further analyze how certain bodies are allowed within or expelled from the coveted events of Hindu right‐wing organizations that work towards training young minds for the Hindu nation they aim to build. I assess the question of my privileges in the field, which stem from my social location, which provided me the confidence to study the Hindu right‐wing and assured my physical safety. In the article, I focus on “strategies based on fear” in hostile situations and the ethical dilemmas faced by an oppositional researcher in the field.