Hindutva as Political Monotheism
Hindutva as Political Monotheism

Author: Anustup Basu

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2020-08-17

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 1478012498

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In Hindutva as Political Monotheism, Anustup Basu offers a genealogical study of Hindutva—Hindu right-wing nationalism—to illustrate the significance of Western anthropology and political theory to the idea of India as a Hindu nation. Connecting Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt's notion of political theology to traditional theorems of Hindu sovereignty and nationhood, Basu demonstrates how Western and Indian theorists subsumed a vast array of polytheistic, pantheistic, and henotheistic cults featuring millions of gods into a singular edifice of faith. Basu exposes the purported “Hindu Nation” as itself an orientalist vision by analyzing three crucial moments: European anthropologists’ and Indian intellectuals’ invention of a unified Hinduism during the long nineteenth century; Indian ideologues’ adoption of ethnoreligious nationalism in pursuit of a single Hindu way of life in the twentieth century; and the transformations of this project in the era of finance capital, Bollywood, and new media. Arguing that Hindutva aligns with Enlightenment notions of nationalism, Basu foregrounds its significance not just to Narendra Modi's right-wing, anti-Muslim government but also to mainstream Indian nationalism and its credo of secularism and tolerance.

Hindu Nationalism
Hindu Nationalism

Author: Christophe Jaffrelot

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-01-10

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 1400828031

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Hindu nationalism came to world attention in 1998, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won national elections in India. Although the BJP was defeated nationally in 2004, it continues to govern large Indian states, and the movement it represents remains a major force in the world's largest democracy. This book presents the thought of the founding fathers and key intellectual leaders of Hindu nationalism from the time of the British Raj, through the independence period, to the present. Spanning more than 130 years of Indian history and including the writings of both famous and unknown ideologues, this reader reveals how the "Hindutuva" movement approaches key issues of Indian politics. Covering such important topics as secularism, religious conversion, relations with Muslims, education, and Hindu identity in the growing diaspora, this reader will be indispensable for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Indian politics, society, culture, or history.

Modi's India
Modi's India

Author: Christophe Jaffrelot

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2023-04-11

Total Pages: 656

ISBN-13: 0691247900

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A riveting account of how a popularly elected leader has steered the world's largest democracy toward authoritarianism and intolerance Over the past two decades, thanks to Narendra Modi, Hindu nationalism has been coupled with a form of national-populism that has ensured its success at the polls, first in Gujarat and then in India at large. Modi managed to seduce a substantial number of citizens by promising them development and polarizing the electorate along ethno-religious lines. Both facets of this national-populism found expression in a highly personalized political style as Modi related directly to the voters through all kinds of channels of communication in order to saturate the public space. Drawing on original interviews conducted across India, Christophe Jaffrelot shows how Modi's government has moved India toward a new form of democracy, an ethnic democracy that equates the majoritarian community with the nation and relegates Muslims and Christians to second-class citizens who are harassed by vigilante groups. He discusses how the promotion of Hindu nationalism has resulted in attacks against secularists, intellectuals, universities, and NGOs. Jaffrelot explains how the political system of India has acquired authoritarian features for other reasons, too. Eager to govern not only in New Delhi, but also in the states, the government has centralized power at the expense of federalism and undermined institutions that were part of the checks and balances, including India's Supreme Court. Modi's India is a sobering account of how a once-vibrant democracy can go wrong when a government backed by popular consent suppresses dissent while growing increasingly intolerant of ethnic and religious minorities.

Neo-Hindutva
Neo-Hindutva

Author: Edward Anderson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-05-21

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 1000733467

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Neo-Hindutva explores the recent proliferation and evolution of Hindu nationalism – the assertive majoritarian, right-wing ideology that is transforming contemporary India. This volume develops and expands on the idea of ‘neo-Hindutva’ –– Hindu nationalist ideology which is evolving and shifting in new, surprising, and significant ways, requiring a reassessment and reframing of prevailing understandings. The contributors identify and explain the ways in which Hindu nationalism increasingly permeates into new spaces: organisational, territorial, conceptual, rhetorical. The scope of the chapters reflect the diversity of contemporary Hindutva – both in India and beyond – which appears simultaneously brazen but concealed, nebulous and mainstreamed, militant yet normalised. They cover a wide range of topics and places in which one can locate new forms of Hindu nationalism: courts of law, the Northeast, the diaspora, Adivasi (tribal) communities, a powerful yoga guru, and the Internet. The volume also includes an in-depth interview with Christophe Jaffrelot and a postscript by Deepa Reddy. Helping readers to make sense of contemporary Hindutva, Neo-Hindutva is ideal for scholars of India, Hinduism, Nationalism, and Asian Studies more generally. This book was originally published as a special issue of Contemporary South Asia.

Hindu Nationalism
Hindu Nationalism

Author: Chetan Bhatt

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781474214872

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The rise of authoritarian Hindu movements in India since the 1980s raises questions about the resurgence of ethnic, religious and nationalist movements in the late modern period. This book examines the history and ideas of Hindu nationalism from the middle of the last century to the present.

Why I Am a Hindu
Why I Am a Hindu

Author: Shashi Tharoor

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1787380459

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Hinduism is one of the world's oldest and greatest religious traditions. In captivating prose, Shashi Tharoor untangles its origins, its key philosophical concepts and texts. He explores everyday Hindu beliefs and practices, from worship to pilgrimage to caste, and touchingly reflects on his personal beliefs and relationship with the religion. Not one to shy from controversy, Tharoor is unsparing in his criticism of 'Hindutva', an extremist, nationalist Hinduism endorsed by India's current government. He argues urgently and persuasively that it is precisely because of Hinduism's rich diversity that India has survived and thrived as a plural, secular nation. If narrow fundamentalism wins out, Indian democracy itself is in peril.

The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics
The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics

Author: Christophe Jaffrelot

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 624

ISBN-13: 9780140246025

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Although The Peaceful, Inward-Looking Doctrine Of The Hindu Religion Hardly Seems To Lend Itself To Endemic Nationalism, A Phenomenal Surge Of Militant Hinduism Has Taken Place Over The Last Ten Years In India. Indeed, The Electoral Success Of The Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp) Has Proven Beyond Doubt That These Forces Now Pose A Significant Threat To India S Secular Character. In A Historically Rich, Detailed Account Of The Hindu Nationalist Movement In India Since The 1920S, Christopher Jaffrelot Explores How Rapid Changes In The Political, Social, And Economic Climate Have Made India Fertile Soil For The Growth Of The Primary Arm Of Hindu Nationalism, A Paramilitary-Style Group Known As The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Rss), Together With Its Political Offshoots. He Shows How The Hindu Movement Uses Religion To Enter The Political Sphere, And Argues That The Ideology They Speak For Has Less To Do With Hindu Philosophy Than With Ethnic Nationalism The Hindu Nationalist Movement And Indian Politics Makes A Major Contribution To The Study Of The Genesis And Development Of Religious Nationalism, And Is Essential Reading For Anyone Who Seeks To Comprehend The Spread Of Endemic Conflict.

Hindu Nationalism, History and Identity in India
Hindu Nationalism, History and Identity in India

Author: Lars Tore Flåten

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-10-04

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1317208714

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When the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power in India in 1998 as the largest party of the National Democratic Alliance, it soon became evident that it prioritized educational reforms. Under BJP rule, a reorganization of the National Council of Educational Research and Training occurred, and in 2002 four new history textbooks were published. This book examines the new textbooks which were introduced, considering them to be integral to the BJP’s political agenda. It analyses the ways in which their narrative and explanatory frameworks defined and invoked Hindu identity. Employing the concept of decontextualization, the author argues that notions of Hindu cultural similarity were conveyed, particularly as the textbooks paid scarce attention to social, geographical and temporal contexts in their approaches to Indian history. The book shows that intrinsic to the textbooks’ emphasis on similarity is a systematic backgrounding of any references to internal lines of division within the Hindu community. Through a comparison with earlier textbooks, it sheds light on the contested nature of history writing in India, especially in terms of nation building and identity construction. This issue is also highly relevant in India today due to the electoral success of the BJP in 2014, and the efforts of the Hindu nationalist organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad to construct a coherent Hinduism. Arguing that the textbooks operate according to the BJP’s ideology of Hindu cultural nationalism, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of South Asian studies, contemporary history, the uses of history, identity politics and Hindu nationalism.