When the more extreme Right-wingers on the internet talk about Lutyens’ Delhi, they aren’t referring to a physical place: they are actually talking about an idea they have that all those Raj-era bungalows and office hallways are steeped in the Nehruvian-Socialist discourse they despise. To them, this imaginary place is the home of the intelligentsia they believe has long charted the nation's story. For these Right-wingers, the real estate of Lutyens’ Delhi includes TV studios, op-ed pages and the drawing room conversations that have a stranglehold on the idea of India.

Now, with its favoured government in power, it seems the Right is finally ready to change this.

There have always been media spaces dedicated to Right-wing politics, but those tended to be viewed as mouthpieces for organisations or political parties. The internet years have seen the rise of several blogs and websites, such as Niti Central, where those of a more conservative bent congregate. But, perhaps because of a lack of editorial rigour, these forums too often become echo chambers that encourage blatant partisanship, coupled with a vicious urge to troll the other side.

Others, like IndiaFacts.co.in, which expressly aim to rebut alleged Left-wing distortions, have failed to take off.  For now, the prototypical "Internet Hindu", accompanied by her own glossary of insults, has come to represent someone more interested in trolling and name-calling than actually addressing Left or centrist arguments.

Intellectual rigour

Many are unhappy with this characterisation. Take CrowdRight.in. With the tagline of “Refute Left”, CrowdRight.in announces itself as a space for “Right Liberals to offer their rebuttals to the propositions and opinions of the Left thought leaders”. The website lists a number of articles with links to stories written by authors they believe to be Leftist, and invites users to rebut those pieces. The site even offers to pay up to Rs 2,500 to those who do so in a manner it deems fit to publish.

The site insists it will be different from the tone that has come to be associated with the Right on the web, mandating that the rebuttals have to be factual, logical and respectful. “The mission of CrowdRight is to build an ecosystem of Right Liberals trained with the necessary intellectual rigour and discipline to counter the ideology of the Left,” reads the "About Us" page of the website.

As of now there isn’t a single rebuttal on CrowdRight, though it has links to a number of articles it characterises as Left-wing. A visitor to the homepage nowadays will therefore see a number of so-called Leftist articles, with photographs of each author prominently displayed, and underneath each the message: No Rebuttal Yet.

According to the registration data, the site was set up in May and last updated in July. Attempts to reach the owners of the domain were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the fact that the site acknowledges the need to build an ecosystem of writers to counter the Left while remaining respectful is encouraging enough.

The need to counter what is seen as an entirely Leftist commentariat has been suggested by many, such as the journalist Ashok Malik, who wrote about the problems of the Right-wing only being led by trolls back in 2010.

“As Hindutva as an idea has contracted in real-world politics, it has become shrill and over-the-top in cyberspace,” he wrote in a column. “The Left has its universities, journals and institutional support system. It is a commentary on Internet Hindus that they only have multiple email accounts.”

Rajaji reboot

Later this month, an old publication with a storied history will get a new lease of life. Swarajya, set up by KS Rau and Swatantra Party founder C Rajagopalachari in 1956 to counter the Nehruvian consensus, is set to return in a more modern avatar, as a monthly magazine as well as a daily news website.

Expected to be built on the backbone of CentreRight.in, a website that has offered space to conservatives over the last four years, Swarajya is positioning itself as an independent media outlet that offers a space for Right-of-centre thinking.

An early presentation from those starting the outlet insisted that what Swarajya will not be is as important as what it will be. It will not be “a mouthpiece of any political party”, “inflexibly doctrinaire”, “insular and parochial” or “ungraceful and abrasive”. An official at the publication asked for content from the presentation not to be used, since there have been a few changes since it was prepared, but the acknowledgement of a need for civil content is nevertheless revealing.

Although those involved with the website asked for more time to respond to questions from Scroll, saying it is still too early, the publication already has an official twitter account. On Friday, it re-tweeted a CentreRight.in writer’s post including a photo of a pooja inaugurating the Swarajya office.