Hindu Nationalism, History and Identity in India

Hindu Nationalism, History and Identity in India
Author: Lars Tore Flåten
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317208714

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.

Neo-Hindutva

Neo-Hindutva
Author: Edward Anderson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000733467

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: Christophe Jaffrelot
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2009-01-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1400828031

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.

Hindu Nationalism

Hindu Nationalism
Author: Chetan Bhatt
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2001
Genre: Hinduism and politics
ISBN: 9781474214872

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.

Hindu Nationalism in India

Hindu Nationalism in India
Author: Bidyut Chakrabarty
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2019-11-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000753999

This book offers an in-depth study of right-wing politics in India by analysing the shifting ideologies of Hindu nationalism and its evolution in the late nineteenth century through to twenty-first century. The authors provide a thorough overview of the chronological evolution of Hindu nationalist organizational outfits to reveal how Hindu nationalist ideology has adapted in ways that have not always corresponded with the orthodox Hindu nationalist position. An examination of the overriding preference for Hindu nationalism demonstrates how it has flourished and continues to remain relevant in contemporary India despite being marginalized at the dawn of India’s independence. The book demonstrates that Hindu nationalism is a context-driven ideological device which is sensitive to the ideas and priorities that gradually gain salience. It also explores Hindu nationalism as a vote-catching device, especially from the late twentieth century onwards. Providing a nuanced analysis of Hindu nationalism in India as a constantly evolving phenomenon, this book will be of interest to researchers on Asian political theory, nationalism, religious politics and South Asian and Indian politics.

The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics

The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics
Author: Christophe Jaffrelot
Publisher: Penguin Books India
Total Pages: 624
Release: 1999
Genre: Hinduism
ISBN: 9780140246025

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.

A Place at the Multicultural Table

A Place at the Multicultural Table
Author: Prema Kurien
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2007-06-19
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0813541611

Multiculturalism in the United States is commonly lauded as a positive social ideal celebrating the diversity of our nation. But, in reality, immigrants often feel pressured to create a singular formulation of their identity that does not reflect the diversity of cultures that exist in their homeland. Hindu Americans have faced this challenge over the last fifteen years, as the number of Indians that have immigrated to this country has more than doubled. In A Place at the Multicultural Table, Prema A. Kurien shows how various Hindu American organizations--religious, cultural, and political--are attempting to answer the puzzling questions of identity outside their homeland. Drawing on the experiences of both immigrant and American-born Hindu Americans, Kurien demonstrates how religious ideas and practices are being imported, exported, and reshaped in the process. The result of this transnational movement is an American Hinduism--an organized, politicized, and standardized version of that which is found in India. This first in-depth look at Hinduism in the United States and the Hindu Indian American community helps readers to understand the private devotions, practices, and beliefs of Hindu Indian Americans as well as their political mobilization and activism. It explains the differences between immigrant and American-born Hindu Americans, how both understand their religion and their identity, and it emphasizes the importance of the social and cultural context of the United States in influencing the development of an American Hinduism.

Modi's India

Modi's India
Author: Christophe Jaffrelot
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 656
Release: 2023-04-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691247900

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.

A Restatement of Religion

A Restatement of Religion
Author: Jyotirmaya Sharma
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2013-08-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300197403

Offers a portrait of Swami Vivekananda and his relationship with his guru, the legendary Ramakrishna. This work focuses on Vivekananda's reinterpretation and formulation of diverse Indian spiritual and mystical traditions and practices as "Hinduism" and how it served to create, distort, and justify a national self-image.

Messengers of Hindu Nationalism

Messengers of Hindu Nationalism
Author: Walter Andersen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2019-06-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1787382885

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a Hindu nationalist volunteer organization. It is also the parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Prime Minister Modi was himself a career RSS office-holder, or pracharak. This book explores how the RSS and its affiliates have benefitted from India's economic development and concurrent social dislocation, with rapid modernization creating a sense of rootlessness, disrupting traditional hierarchies, and attracting many upwardly mobile groups to the organization. India seems more willing than ever to accept the RSS's narrative of Hindu nationalism--one that seeks to assimilate Hindus into a common identity representing true 'Indianness'. Yet the RSS has also come to resemble 'the Congress system', with a socially diverse membership containing a distinct left, right and center. The organization's most significant dilemma is how to reconcile the assault from its far right on cultural issues like cow protection with condemnations of globalization from the left flank. Andersen and Damle offer an essential account of the RSS's rapid rise in recent decades, tracing how it has evolved in response to economic liberalization and assessing its long-term impact on Indian politics and society.