Presenter
Anderson Edward - Northumbria University, SOAS, University of London, Newcastle / London, United KingdomPanel
74 – South Asian transnational religious networks and political mobilizationsAbstract
The long presence and growth of communal identities and ethnic tension in the Indian diaspora is well established (Anderson 2023, etc.) Ideologies and organisations have proliferated amongst Hindu communities across the world in ways that are both connected to, but also separate from, the ‘saffronisation’ of Indian politics, society and culture. The recent rise of Hindutva globally has been increasingly covered by academics, journalists, and others. But this attention has arguably obfuscated the significant and broad resistance to communalism and ethnic nationalism that has also long existed in the diaspora. There is a rich history of radicalism, leftism, secularity and subaltern and progressive politics which has often been diametrically opposed to Hindutva. This paper seeks to map and analyse various waves, forms and networks of anti-Hindutva activism. Resistance has often been avowedly secular in nature, rooted in a distrust or even antipathy towards religiosity, spirituality and their institutions and representatives. But the paper will also seek to explore the emergence of anti-communal activism which is rooted in the faith and culture which Hindutva claims to represent. It will explore the relationship between local and transnational activism and networks, and reflect upon how competing ideas of identity, culture, community, and nation have led to both tensions and new possibilities in recent years.
