Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province
Through a case study of Hindu nationalism in India, this paper explores how development programmes serve as the site of construction of, as well as contestation over, religious identity. The participation of low-caste Dalits and tribal Adivasis in the mass violence perpetrated against Muslims in the...
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Routledge
2007
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| _version_ | 1797085077352480768 |
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| author | Sud, N |
| author_facet | Sud, N |
| author_sort | Sud, N |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Through a case study of Hindu nationalism in India, this paper explores how development programmes serve as the site of construction of, as well as contestation over, religious identity. The participation of low-caste Dalits and tribal Adivasis in the mass violence perpetrated against Muslims in the Indian province of Gujarat in 2002 conveyed the impression that Hindu nationalists had achieved one of their key objectives of creating "Hindu unity". Cutting across social and status divisions in the local Hindu population, the Hindu nationalist party's constituency today includes its traditional upper-caste supporters, as well as lower castes. While "the other" in the Hindu nationalist conception of community included Dalits and Adivasis as well as Muslims and Christians until the mid-1980s, the recent "Hindu unity" agenda has seen the boundaries of "the other" closing in around Muslims and Christians only. Despite these developments, this paper argues, continuing attempts at the construction of a unified ethno-religious identity are circumscribed and complicated by processes of contestation. Through village-level research, it shows how government actors are involved in simultaneous processes of construction as well as contestation over a Gujarati-Hindu identity through development programmes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T02:04:01Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:9e58b455-21bd-47b0-93cd-847072dc1399 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T02:04:01Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:9e58b455-21bd-47b0-93cd-847072dc13992022-03-27T00:49:27ZConstructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian provinceJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:9e58b455-21bd-47b0-93cd-847072dc1399Symplectic Elements at OxfordRoutledge2007Sud, NThrough a case study of Hindu nationalism in India, this paper explores how development programmes serve as the site of construction of, as well as contestation over, religious identity. The participation of low-caste Dalits and tribal Adivasis in the mass violence perpetrated against Muslims in the Indian province of Gujarat in 2002 conveyed the impression that Hindu nationalists had achieved one of their key objectives of creating "Hindu unity". Cutting across social and status divisions in the local Hindu population, the Hindu nationalist party's constituency today includes its traditional upper-caste supporters, as well as lower castes. While "the other" in the Hindu nationalist conception of community included Dalits and Adivasis as well as Muslims and Christians until the mid-1980s, the recent "Hindu unity" agenda has seen the boundaries of "the other" closing in around Muslims and Christians only. Despite these developments, this paper argues, continuing attempts at the construction of a unified ethno-religious identity are circumscribed and complicated by processes of contestation. Through village-level research, it shows how government actors are involved in simultaneous processes of construction as well as contestation over a Gujarati-Hindu identity through development programmes. |
| spellingShingle | Sud, N Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province |
| title | Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province |
| title_full | Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province |
| title_fullStr | Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province |
| title_full_unstemmed | Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province |
| title_short | Constructing and contesting a Gujarati-Hindu ethno-religious identity through development programmes in an Indian province |
| title_sort | constructing and contesting a gujarati hindu ethno religious identity through development programmes in an indian province |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sudn constructingandcontestingagujaratihinduethnoreligiousidentitythroughdevelopmentprogrammesinanindianprovince |