“Long‐distance nationalism,” an expression coined by Benedict Anderson, is often used to refer to transnational political activities, but the dynamics of this expatriate nationalism tend to be neglected. Mere nostalgia or even spontaneous mobilizations are invoked to explain this phenomenon, but fail to explain the mechanisms that lie behind it. Using the example of Hindu nationalist movements, this paper seeks to highlight the implications of political entrepreneurs in the country of origin and the instrumental dimension of long‐distance nationalism. The Sangh Parivar, a network of nationalist Hindu organizations, was replicated among the Hindu diaspora and its structure was literally exported by a centralized body located in India itself. The spread of the Sangh Parivar and of its Hindutva ideology abroad was greatly facilitated by local policies like multiculturalism and by the rise of racism in the countries of emigration. A comparison of Hindu nationalist outlets in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada brings to light two main factors instilling long‐distance nationalism: a favorable local context for ethnic mobilization among migrants and a centralized organization in the country of origin. The engineering of long‐distance Hindu nationalism from India questions the changing nature of nationalism in a globalized world.

Hindu nationalists defend the advent of a Hindu state in India, while projecting the universal appeal of their ideology. Their very territorialized yet universal claims have been finding particular resonance among migrant populations, particularly in North America. This study strives to go beyond content analyses that foreground voices to focus on the network structure in order to highlight the new transnational practices of nationalism. Two main points emerge from this in-depth scrutiny. On the one hand, Hindu nationalist organizations have transferred their online activities mainly to the USA, where the Indian diaspora is 3.2 million strong, and constitute therefore a prime example of long-distance transnational nationalism. On the other hand, the morphological discrepancies between the online and the offline networks point to new strategies of discretion developed to evade the gaze of authorities in countries of residence. The recourse to cartography thus becomes crucial not only in understanding what sectarian or illegal movements do and show but also what they seek to hide. RésuméL'idéologie hindutva allie les ambitions universalistes d'un mouvement devenu global et un nationalisme dont le but est la création d'un Etat hindou en Inde. Elle défend une vision ethnique de l'appartenance nationale, qui s'accommode bien des migrations et trouve un écho souvent favorable auprès des populations immigrées d'origine indienne aux Etats-Unis notamment. Cette étude a pour ambition d'aller au-delà de l'analyse de contenus mettant en avant les voix et de dévoiler la structure d'un réseau et mettre ainsi en lumière de nouvelles pratiques du nationalisme. Deux points principaux se dégagent. Premièrement, les traces observables via la cartographie permettent de montrer la délocalisation du mouvement hindutva aux Etats-Unis, où la diaspora indienne compte 3.2 millions de membres, constituant ainsi un exemple de choix de nationalisme à distance transnational. Deuxièmement, les différences morphologiques entre les réseaux hors ligne et en ligne laissent apparaître des stratégies de discrétion mises en place pour se soustraire aux regards des autorités locales. Le recours à la cartographie s'avère donc crucial pour comprendre ce que les mouvements sectaires ou illégaux cherchent non seulement à montrer et faire mais aussi à cacher.

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