Achin Vanaik – författare

With the Hindu nationalist BJP now replacing the Congress as the only national political force, the communalization of the Indian polity has qualitatively advanced since the earlier edition of this book in 1997. This edition has been substantially reworked and updated with several new chapters added. Hindutva's rise necessitates a more critical take on mainstream secular claims ironically reinforced by liberal-left sections discovering special virtues in India's 'distinctive' secularism. The careful evaluation of the ongoing debate on 'Indian fascism' has resonances for the broader debate about how best to assess the dangers of the far right's rise in other liberal democracies. A study follows of how Hindutva forces are pursuing their project of establishing a Hindu Rashtra and how to thwart them through a wider transformative struggle targeting capitalism itself.

With the Hindu nationalist BJP now replacing the Congress as the only national political force, the communalization of the Indian polity has qualitatively advanced since the earlier edition of this book in 1997. This edition has been substantially reworked and updated with several new chapters added. Hindutva''s rise necessitates a more critical take on mainstream secular claims ironically reinforced by liberal-left sections discovering special virtues in India''s ''distinctive'' secularism. The careful evaluation of the ongoing debate on ''Indian fascism'' has resonances for the broader debate about how best to assess the dangers of the far right''s rise in other liberal democracies. A study follows of how Hindutva forces are pursuing their project of establishing a Hindu Rashtra and how to thwart them through a wider transformative struggle targeting capitalism itself.

In this anthology, several academics, journalists and activists come together to explore several facets of India's communal problem – its history, political settings and theoretical underpinnings. Distinctions as well as convergence between religion, religiosity and communalism are opened up to examination in an analytical perspective at one level and investigation in regional and local contexts at another. The thread that binds the anthology is a look at the problem as dynamic, rather than a given phenomenon: its dynamics would as well allow space for its resolution.