Hindu nationalism is transforming India, as an increasingly dominant ideology and political force. But it is also a global phenomenon, with sections of India’s vast diaspora drawn to, or actively supporting, right-wing Hindu nationalism. Indians overseas can be seen as an important, even inextricable, aspect of the movement. This is not a new dynamic—diasporic Hindutva (‘Hindu-ness’) has grown over many decades. This book explores how and why the movement became popular among India’s diaspora from the second half of the twentieth century. It shows that Hindutva ideology, and its plethora of organisations, have a distinctive resonance and way of operating overseas; the movement and its ideas perform significant, particular functions for diaspora communities. With a focus on Britain, Edward T.G. Anderson argues that transnational Hindutva cannot simply be viewed as an export: this phenomenon has evolved and been shaped into an important aspect of diasporic identity, a way for people to connect with their homeland. He also sheds light on the impact of conservative Indian politics on British multiculturalism, migrant politics and relations between various minoritised communities. To fully understand the Hindutva movement in India and identity politics in Britain, we must look at where the two come together.
Jessie Blackbourn is a research fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, UK. Deniz Kayis is currently the Associate for Chief Justice Allsop AO of the Federal Court of Australia. Nicola McGarrity is a senior lecturer and the Director of the Terrorism Law Reform Project at the University of New South Wales, Australia.
High performance during catastrophic terrorist events require the ability to assess and adapt capacity rapidly, restore or enhance disrupted or inadequate communications, utilize flexible decision making swiftly, and expand coordination and trust between multiple emergency and crisis response agencies. These requirements are superimposed on conventional administrative systems that rely on relatively rigid plans, decision protocols, and formal relationships that assume smooth sailing and uninterrupted communications and coordination. Network Governance in Response to Acts of Terrorism focuses on the inter-organizational performance and coordinated response to recent terrorist incidents across different national, legal, and cultural contexts in New York, Bali, Istanbul, Madrid, London, and Mumbai. Effortlessly combining each case study with content analyses of news reports from local and national newspapers, situation reports from government emergency/crisis management agencies, and, interviews with public managers, community leaders, and nonprofit executives involved in response operations, Naim Kapucu presents an overview of how different countries tackle emergencies by employing various collaborative decision-making processes, thus, offering a global perspective with different approaches. These features make this book an important read for both scholars and practitioners eager to reconcile existing decision-making theories with practice.
This is an inquiry into how the threat of international terrorism has affected community relations in Britain. Although it looks at the stigmatisation of minority groups, the incidence of prejudice, media coverage and policing and civil liberties in general, it focuses on the Muslim community in particular. The final conclusion is positive and expresses a belief that the UK is well placed to deal with the issues raised in the report.
Interaction between police forces and journalists has become more frequent and professional in recent years, and the relationship can be mutually beneficial. The Home Affairs Committee felt the less-positive aspects of the relationship, however, warranted investigation. This report looks in particular at: the practice of holding off-the-record briefings during on-doing police operations; instances where police have failed to release information to the media; and attempts by the police to control media reporting. The Committee found it difficult to establish the precise extent of off-the-record briefing, but examples cited by witnesses convinced it that it occurs too frequently, and can be particularly damaging during counter-terrorism operations. It is not acceptable for officers to identify individual suspects to the media before charge, as this has the potential to damage the investigation, any subsequent trial and the reputation of suspects released without charge. The leaking of information from police officers to journalist breaches police discipline regulations, but forces often find it difficult to identify the source of the leak. Forces should be more forthcoming in providing on-the-record information to journalists about individual crimes. This in the public interest and greater openness can contribute towards greater public trust in police data. Attempting to influence or control media approaches and programmes is not the role of the police and can be seen as attacking freedom of expression.