Hindu Nationalism History And Identity In India

Author : Lars Tore Flåten
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2016-10-04
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317208716

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Hindu Nationalism, History and Identity in India by Lars Tore Flåten Pdf

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.

Author : Walter Andersen,Shridhar D. Damle
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 405 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2019-06-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781787382893

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Messengers of Hindu Nationalism by Walter Andersen,Shridhar D. Damle Pdf

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.

Author : Dwijendra Narayan Jha
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2014-12-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781317490340

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Rethinking Hindu Identity by Dwijendra Narayan Jha Pdf

Recent years have seen the emergence of a virulent version of Hindu nationalism and fundamentalism in India under the banner of Hindutva. This xenophobic movement has obfuscated and mystified the notion of Hindu identity and reinforced its stereotypes. Its arguments range from the patently unscientific - humankind was created in India, as was the first civilisation - to historical whitewash: Hinduism has continued in one, unchanged form for 5000 years; Hinduism has always been a tolerant faith. 'Rethinking Hindu Identity' offers a corrective based on a deep and detailed reading of Indian history. Written in a riveting style, this study provides a fresh history of Hinduism - its practices, its beliefs, its differences and inconsistencies, and its own myths about itself. Along the way, the book systematically demolishes the arguments of Hindu fundamentalism and nationalism, revealing how the real history of Hinduism is much more complex.

Author : Christophe Jaffrelot
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2009-01-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400828036

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Hindu Nationalism by Christophe Jaffrelot Pdf

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.

Author : Christophe Jaffrelot
Publisher : Penguin Books India
Page : 624 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Hinduism
ISBN : 0140246029

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The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics by Christophe Jaffrelot Pdf

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.

Author : Jyotirmaya Sharma
Publisher : Penguin Books India
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Hinduism and politics
ISBN : 0143418181

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Hindutva by Jyotirmaya Sharma Pdf

Author : D. Anand
Publisher : Springer
Page : 197 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2016-04-30
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780230339545

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Hindu Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear by D. Anand Pdf

The representation of the Muslims as threatening to India's body politic is central to the Hindu nationalist project of organizing a political movement and normalizing anti-minority violence. Adopting a critical ethnographic approach, this book identifies the poetics and politics of fear and violence engendered within Hindu nationalism.

Author : Christophe Jaffrelot
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 624 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : History
ISBN : 0231103352

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The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India by Christophe Jaffrelot Pdf

Using techniques similar to those of nationalist groups in other nations, Jaffrelot contends, the Hindu movement polarizes Indian society by stigmatizing minorities - chiefly Muslims and Christians - and by promoting a sectarian Hindu identity.

Author : Edward T.G. Anderson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 502 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2024-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780197783290

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Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora by Edward T.G. Anderson Pdf

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.

Author : Rohit Chopra
Publisher : Cambria Press
Page : 334 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9781604975673

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Technology and Nationalism in India by Rohit Chopra Pdf

This book examines the phenomenon of "technocultural Hindu nationalism" or the use of the internet by global Indian communities for the promotion of Hindu nationalist ideologies. Since the introduction of Western science and technology under colonial rule in the eighteenth century, science and technology have been used as instruments of transforming Indian society. Scientific and technological expertise have been authorized as essential attributes of a modern Indian selfhood. And the possessors of technological skills have historically been vested with the authority to speak for the nation. The associations between technology and nationalism have condensed in ideas about self and other, they have been incorporated in imaginings of the state and the nation, and they have materialized as claims about identity, community, and society. In the present historical moment, this relationship manifests itself, in one form, as an online Hindu nationalism that combines cultural majoritarian claims with technological triumphalism. Technocultural Hindu nationalism yokes together the core proposition of Hindu nationalist doctrine-the idea that India is a Hindu nation and that religious minorities are outsiders to it-with arguments about the imminent rise of Hindu India as a technological superpower in the global capitalist economy of the twenty-first century. Additionally, while technocultural Hindu nationalism is obsessed with 'Western' technology, it also defines itself, in strategic respects, in opposition to Western civilization. On Hindu nationalist websites, this apparent paradox is resolved through the construction of a narrative where Hinduism is defined as the historical and philosophical foundation of global capitalist modernity itself and Hindus are presented as the natural heirs to that heritage. This book locates these and other characteristics of Hindu nationalist identity politics in cyberspace with reference to the relationship between technology and nationalism in India from the period of British colonial rule in the mid-eighteenth century to the present era of an economically and technologically interconnected world. This book argues that technocultural Hindu nationalism needs to be understood in terms of the general dynamic of technology and nationalism with its continuities and discontinuities: through the period of colonial rule till Indian independence in 1947; the period of Nehruvian nationalism with its emphasis on technological development in a socialist framework; and the current post-1991 context following the liberalization of the Indian economy, which accords pride of place to information technology and the internet. This book also proposes that the particularities of technocultural Hindu nationalism need, at the same time, to be assessed with reference to the modalities of online communication. Toward this end, the book takes shape as an interdisciplinary endeavor, combining qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, and drawing on historical scholarship about South Asia, social and cultural theory, and the sociology of new media, specifically, the field of internet studies. Technology and Nationalism in India is an important book for all in communication, Internet studies, South Asian studies, and postcolonial studies.

Author : Amalendu Misra
Publisher : SAGE
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2004-08-30
Category : Computers
ISBN : 0761932267

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Identity and Religion by Amalendu Misra Pdf

`A sensitive and intelligent account of the Indian nationalist thought and the difficulties it faced in doing justice to India`s Islamic inheritance' - Lord Parekh Fellow of the British Academy `A thoughtful, well-researched and original analysis of the nationalist conceptualisation of the Muslim presence in India' - Professor Noel O`Sullivan , University of Hull Amalendu Misra shows that while some eminent nationalist leaders were implacably hostile to Muslims, even wholly secular ones were uneasy with India’s Muslim past and had a generally unfavourable disposition towards both Muslims and Islam. The book explicates this by focusing on the writings of Vivekananda, Gandhi, Nehru and Savarkar supported by a wealth of examples from a wide range of contexts. It argues that the views of these four prominent individuals were heavily shaped by British historiography as well as their respective visions of independent India. The author goes on to suggest how modern India needs to redefine itself to flourish as a genuinely secular democracy.

Author : Thomas Blom Hansen,Srirupa Roy
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 331 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2022-09-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781009100489

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Saffron Republic by Thomas Blom Hansen,Srirupa Roy Pdf

Approaches contemporary Hindutva as an example of a democratic authoritarianism or an authoritarian populism.

Author : Catarina Kinnvall
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 239 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2007-01-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781134135707

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Globalization and Religious Nationalism in India by Catarina Kinnvall Pdf

Exploring the effects of globalization in India and the problem of identity formation, this book contributes to the theoretical and empirical debate on identity, globalization, religious nationalism and (in)security. The author puts forward a new approach based on political psychology, to interpret identity construction, which is seen as an individualized process where interactions of the global and the local are intimately implicated. Thereby, this book presents a psychological analysis of how increased insecurity affects individuals’ and groups’ attachments to religious nationalism in an era of globalization. Developing an interesting angle on a recognized issue of concern in the politics of South Asia, and much more broadly in the context of the contemporary world and developing global politics, this is a valuable addition to normative critical social theory and the debate on identity and culture in political science and international relations, appealing to an inter-disciplinary audience.

Author : Bidyut Chakrabarty,Bhuwan Kumar Jha
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2019-11-27
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000753998

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Hindu Nationalism in India by Bidyut Chakrabarty,Bhuwan Kumar Jha Pdf

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.

Author : Peter van der Veer
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1994-02-07
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780520082564

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Religious Nationalism by Peter van der Veer Pdf

Religious nationalism is a subject of critical importance in much of the world today. Peter van der Veer's timely study on the relationship between religion and politics in India goes well beyond other books on this subject. He brings together several disciplines—anthropology, history, social theory, literary studies—to show how Indian religious identities have been shaped by pilgrimage, migration, language development, and more recently, print and visual media. Van der Veer's central focus is the lengthy dispute over the Babari mosque in Ayodhya, site of a bloody confrontation between Hindus and Muslims in December 1992. A thought-provoking range of other examples describes the historical construction of religious identities: cow protection societies and Sufi tombs, purdah and the political appropriation of images of the female body, Salman Rushdie and the role of the novel in nationalism, Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda, the Khalsa movement among Sikhs, and nationalist archaeology and the televised Ramayana. Van der Veer offers a new perspective on the importance of religious organization and the role of ritual in the formation of nationalism. His work advances our understanding of contemporary India while also offering significant theoretical insights into one of the most troubling issues of this century.