Everyday nationalism : women of the Hindu right in India / Kalyani Devaki Menon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Menon, Kalyani Devaki.

Series:

Ethnography of political violence.

The ethnography of political violence

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rashtra Sevika Samiti (Organization).

Hindu women--India--Delhi--Social conditions.

Hindu women.

Hindu women--Political activity--India--Delhi.

Nationalism--India--Delhi.

Nationalism.

Hinduism and politics--India--Delhi.

Hinduism and politics.

Muslims--India--Delhi.

Muslims.

India--Politics and government--1977-.

India.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (233 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Hindu nationalism has been responsible for acts of extreme violence against religious minorities and is a dominant force on the sociopolitical landscape of contemporary India. How does such a violent and exclusionary movement recruit supporters? How do members navigate the tensions between the normative prescriptions of such movements and competing ideologies? To understand the expansionary power of Hindu nationalism, Kalyani Menon argues, it is critical to examine the everyday constructions of politics and ideology through which activists garner support at the grassroots level. Based on fieldwork with women in several Hindu nationalist organizations, Menon explores how these activists use gendered constructions of religion, history, national insecurity, and social responsibility to recruit individuals from a variety of backgrounds. As Hindu nationalism extends its reach to appeal to increasingly diverse groups, she explains, it is forced to acknowledge a multiplicity of positions within the movement. She argues that Hindu nationalism's willingness to accommodate dissonance is central to understanding the popularity of the movement. Everyday Nationalism contends that the Hindu nationalist movement's power to attract and maintain constituencies with incongruous beliefs and practices is key to its growth. The book reveals that the movement's success is facilitated by its ability to become meaningful in people's daily lives, resonating with their constructions of the past, appealing to their fears in the present, presenting itself as the protector of the country's citizens, and inventing traditions through the use of Hindu texts, symbols, and rituals to unite people in a sense of belonging to a nation.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Note on Transliteration

Introduction

Chapter 1. Everyday Histories

Chapter 2. National Insecurities

Chapter 3. Violent Dharma

Chapter 4. Benevolent Hindus

Chapter 5. Fun, Games, and Deadly Politics

Chapter 6. Acceptable Transgressions

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780812222340

0812222342

9781283890366

1283890364

9780812202793

0812202791

OCLC:

794700593