Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism is Changing India

The book "Majoritarian State" explores how Hindu nationalism has risen to power in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP administration, promoting an ethno-religious and populist style of rule. It examines how Hindutva ideology has permeated the state apparatus and formal institutions, exerting control over civil society through vigilante groups, cultural policing, and violence. The book highlights the silencing of dissent and difference, and the increasing marginalization of debate in India, as the press is muzzled or intimidated in the courts. Internationally, the BJP government has emphasized hard power and a fast-expanding security state.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 544 pages
\n Publication date: 28 March 2019
\n Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
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The book "Majoritarian State: Tracing the Ascendance of Hindu Nationalism in Contemporary India" delves into the rise of Hindu nationalism in modern-day India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP administration since 2014. This administration has adopted an ethno-religious and populist style of governance, portraying traditional social hierarchies as integral to Indian culture while condoning communal and caste- and gender-based violence. The contributors explore how Hindutva ideology has permeated the state apparatus and formal institutions, as well as how Hindutva activists exert control over civil society through vigilante groups, cultural policing, and violence. Groups and regions perceived as "enemies of the Indian state" are marginalized in this new order, which promotes the interests of the urban middle class and business elites. The book also highlights how the majoritarian ideology pervades the media and public discourse, affecting the judiciary, universities, and cultural institutions, increasingly captured by Hindu nationalists. Dissent and difference are silenced, and debate is increasingly sidelined as the press is muzzled or intimidated in the courts. Internationally, the BJP government has emphasized hard power and a fast-expanding security state. This collection of essays provides a rich empirical analysis and documentation to investigate the causes and consequences of the illiberal turn taken by the world's largest democracy.

\n Weight: 784g\n
Dimension: 221 x 152 x 35 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781787381476\n \n