This volume examines how religion is intrinsically related to politics in India. Based on studies from states across the length and breadth of India, it looks at political formations that inform political discourse on the national level and maps the trajectory of religion in politics.
The chapters in this volume:
- discuss contemporary trends in Indian politics, including Hindutva, citizenship bills and mob violence;
- draw on fieldwork conducted across states and regions in India on critical themes, including the role of religion in electoral process, political campaigns and voting behaviour, political and ideological mobilization, and state politics vis-à-vis religion, among minorities;
- focus on the emerging politics of the 21st century.
The book will be a key reference text for scholars and researchers of politics, religion, sociology, media and culture studies, and South Asian studies.
List of figures
List of tables
Notes on contributors
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
Narender Kumar
1 Religion, minorities and the Indian state
Himanshu Roy
2 Politics of religious polarization in India: insights from riots in Gujarat (2002), Kandhamal (2008) and Muzaffarnagar (2013)
Mujibur Rehman
3 Sikh politics in Punjab: Shiromani Akali Dal
Ashutosh Kumar and Hardeep Kaur
4 Religion, ethnicity and politics: understanding the BJP’s rise in Assam
Dhruba Pratim Sharma, Tarun Gogoi and Vikas Tripathi
5 Church and political action in Mizoram
V. Bijukumar
6 Identity, religion and development: the changing nature of political mobilization of Muslims in post-Sachar West Bengal
Abdul Matin
7 Hindutva as a ‘sacred form’: a case study of Karnataka
Malini Bhattacharjee
8 Nature and dynamics of religion-oriented politics in Kerala
Josukutty C. A.
9 Politics of Hindutva in Maharashtra: actors, causes and political effects
Parimal Maya Sudhakar
10 Religion-polity interface in Jammu and Kashmir: an analysis
Muhammad Tajuddin
11 Religion as a tool for political mobilization in Bihar
Umakant
12 Beyond othering: a study of Hindu politics in Gujarat
Dhananjay Rai
13 Indian political space and religion: perspectives and exploring alternatives
Y. S. Alone
Index
Biography
Narender Kumar is Professor at the Centre for Political Science at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has previously taught at three central universities: University of Delhi; Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow. He has six authored and edited books to his credit apart from contributing to various journals. His latest volume is Dr. Ambedkar and Democracy (edited with Christophe Jaffrelot, 2018). His area of research interest is political institutions and public policy with special reference to group rights. He has been a member of the Indo-European Network, where collaborating institutions included the London School of Economics, King’s College London, CERI, Paris, and the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
