The Saffron Wave
Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India
Will be published approx. on 12. April 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-691-00671-0 (ISBN)
Description
The rise of strong nationalist and religious movements in postcolonial and newly democratic countries alarms many Western observers. In The Saffron Wave, Thomas Hansen turns our attention to recent events in the world's largest democracy, India. Here he analyzes Indian receptivity to the right-wing Hindu nationalist party and its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which claims to create a polity based on "ancient" Hindu culture. Rather than interpreting Hindu nationalism as a mainly religious phenomenon, or a strictly political movement, Hansen places the BJP within the context of the larger transformations of democratic governance in India. Hansen demonstrates that democratic transformation has enabled such developments as political mobilization among the lower castes and civil protections for religious minorities. Against this backdrop, the Hindu nationalist movement has successfully articulated the anxieties and desires of the large and amorphous Indian middle class.
A form of conservative populism, the movement has attracted not only privileged groups fearing encroachment on their dominant positions but also "plebeian" and impoverished groups seeking recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength. Combining political theory, ethnographic material, and sensitivity to colonial and postcolonial history, The Saffron Wave offers fresh insights into Indian politics and, by focusing on the links between democracy and ethnic majoritarianism, advances our understanding of democracy in the postcolonial world.
A form of conservative populism, the movement has attracted not only privileged groups fearing encroachment on their dominant positions but also "plebeian" and impoverished groups seeking recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength. Combining political theory, ethnographic material, and sensitivity to colonial and postcolonial history, The Saffron Wave offers fresh insights into Indian politics and, by focusing on the links between democracy and ethnic majoritarianism, advances our understanding of democracy in the postcolonial world.
Reviews / Votes
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1999 "This may become a classic text... Hansen writes well and thoughtfully."--Journal of Peace Research "Combining broad analysis with vivid local case studies, this book gives the reader profound insights into the turbulent world of contemporary Indian politics."--Judith M. Brown, HistoryMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
514 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-00671-0 (9780691006710)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/1999
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€188.95
Available for download
Person
Thomas Blom Hansen is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and International Development Studies at Roskilde University in Denmark.
Content
Introduction. Hindu Nationalism and Democracy in India 3 Hindu Nationalism and Postcolonial Trajectories of Democracy 5 Hindu Nationalism and the Imaginings of India 10 About This Book 14 1. Modernity, Nation, and Democracy in India 16 The Democratic Revolution 20 Social Antagonisms and Politics 22 Discourse and the Analysis of Politics 24 Governance and Nationalism in Colonial India 29 Colonial Governmentalities 31 India as a Cultural Nation 39 Competing Nationalist Discourses 44 Producing Citizens and Communities in Independent India 46 Conclusion 57 2. Imagining the Hindu Nation 60 Ideology and the Impossibility of Identities 60 Objectification of Communities 65 Inversion of Orientalist Epistemology 67 Semitization of Hinduism 71 From Hindu Community to "Hindu Nation" 74 Hindutva and the "Lack" in the Hindus 77 The Nation as Fullness and Purity: M. S. Golwalkar 80 In the Gandhian Garb: Deendayal Upadhyaya and "Integral Humanism" 84 Constructing the "Founding Myth" 86 Conclusion: Hindu Nationalism and Democratic Revolution 88 3. Organizing the Hindu Nation 90 Culture versus Politics 92 The Sangh Parivar 96 Sevikas in Thane City 99 Hindu Missionaries at the Frontier 104 Cohesion, Leadership, and Control in the Sangh Parivar 107 Constituencies and Strategies of the Sangh Parivar 115 The "Sangha" Citadel in Pune 116 Lower Castes for a Higher Cause 122 The Sangh Parivar in the Political Field 133 Ambiguities of Politics 126 4. Democracy, Populism, and Governance in India in the 1980s 134 Populism and the Transformation of Governance 134 Competing Populisms 140 The Rise of the Other Backward Classes as a Political Identity 141 Caste and the Impurities of Politics 145 Religious Symbols in the Political Field 148 Muslim Minoritization 150 A Hegemonial Crisis 152 5. The Saffron Wave 154 Toward a National Hinduism 154 BJP as a New Beginning 157 Communalizing the Political Field 159 Patriotic Bricks 161 Contingencies of Electoral Politics 165 Opening Other Fronts 168 Roadside Patriotism 169 Ayodhya and Organized Communalism 172 The Demolition of Babri Masjid and After 181 The Disjunction of Agitational and Electoral0 Politics 185 Hindutva and Respectability 188 Political Imaginaries in Suburbia 191 After the Wave 197 6. Communal Identities at the Heart of the Nation 200 The Normal and the Pathological 200 Violence and Communal Consciousness 203 Communal Subjects and Political Action 214 7. Hindu Nationalism, Democracy, and Globalization 218 Hindu Nationalism and Governance 219 Hindu Nationalism and Democracy 223 Hindu Nationalism and Globalization 229 Democracy and Xenophobias in India 235 Notes 239 Glossary 269 Bibliography 273 Index 289