Modi's India : Hindu nationalism and the rise of ethnic democracy

**A riveting account of how a popularly elected leader has steered the world's largest democracy toward authoritarianism and intolerance** Over the past two decades, thanks to Narendra Modi, Hindu nationalism has been coupled with a form of national-populism that has ensured its success at the polls, first in Gujarat and then in India at large. Modi managed to seduce a substantial number of citizens by promising them development and polarizing the electorate along ethno-religious lines. Both facets of this national-populism found expression in a highly personalized political style as Modi related directly to the voters through all kinds of channels of communication in order to saturate the public space. Drawing on original interviews conducted across India, Christophe Jaffrelot shows how Modi's government has moved India toward a new form of democracy, an ethnic democracy that equates the majoritarian community with the nation and relegates Muslims and Christians to second-class citizens who are harassed by vigilante groups. He discusses how the promotion of Hindu nationalism has resulted in attacks against secularists, intellectuals, universities, and NGOs. Jaffrelot explains how the political system of India has acquired authoritarian features for other reasons, too. Eager to govern not only in New Delhi, but also in the states, the government has centralized power at the expense of federalism and undermined institutions that were part of the checks and balances, including India's Supreme Court. __Modi's India__ is a sobering account of how a once-vibrant democracy can go wrong when a government backed by popular consent suppresses dissent while growing increasingly intolerant of ethnic and religious minorities. Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Abbreviations 14 Map of India 17 Introduction: The Three Ages of India’s Democracy 18 Part I. The Hindu Nationalist Power Quest: Hindutva and Populism 24 1. Hindu Nationalism: A Different Idea of India 28 Hindutva: What It Means to Be a Hindu 29 Sangh Parivar and Politics 34 The Social Profile of Hindu Nationalism 40 2. Modi in Gujarat: The Making of a National-Populist Hero 48 A Pure Product of the RSS 51 “The Emperor of Hindu Hearts” 56 Moditva: Personalization of Power and Heroization 61 A Charismatic Leader Sealing the Fate of the Moderation Thesis 76 3. Modi’s Rise to Power, or How to Exploit Hope, Fear, and Anger 91 The Political Orchestration of the Hindu Sense of Vulnerability 92 The Rise of the Bajrang Dal and the Plebeianization of Hindu Nationalism 100 A New Social Profile: The Sangh Parivar and Its “Angry Young Men” 104 The 2014 Election Campaign 106 4. Welfare or Well-Being? 129 Antipoverty Policies or Politics of Dignity? 130 Villagers as Losers 148 Diluting Reservations 153 Modi, Champion of the Elite 156 Conclusion to Part I 165 Part II. The World’s Largest de Facto Ethnic Democracy 172 5. Hindu Majoritarianism against Secularism 176 Hinduizing the Public Space 177 The Crusade against “Liberals” 192 6. Targeting Minorities 205 Anti-Christian Xenophobia 206 Recurrent Mobilizations against Muslims 211 7. A De Facto Hindu Rashtra: Indian-Style Vigilantism 228 The Bajrang Dal, the Sangh Parivar’s Armed Wing 229 Vigilantes and State Administrations 233 The Rise of a Parallel State: Law and Order as Moral Order 247 Digital Vigilantism and Physical Violence against “Sickularists” 253 Conclusion to Part II 265 Part III. The Indian Version of Competitive Authoritarianism 270 8. Deinstitutionalizing India 272 Who’s Afraid of the Lokpal? 273 The Slow Death of the Right to Information 277 The Vain Resistance of the Central Bureau of Investigation 279 The National Investigation Agency and the CBI: From “Caged Parrots” to Watchdogs on a Leash 287 The Supreme Court, from Resistance to Surrender 293 What Fourth Estate? 315 9. Toward “Electoral Authoritarianism”: The 2019 Elections 327 Chowkidar Modi 328 A Well-Oiled Election Machine 340 Caste Politics and Its Paradoxes 346 An Uneven Electoral Playing Ground 349 Modi’s BJP: The Elitist Hegemon 359 10. The Making of an Authoritarian Vigilante State 366 Fighting Political Opponents by Other Means—in and out of Parliament 368 The Making of a Majoritarian State Fighting Dissent 376 Policemen as Vigilantes and “Urban Naxals” as Political Prisoners 417 11. Indian Muslims: From Social Marginalization to Institutional Exclusion and Judicial Obliteration 423 Invisible in the Republic: Long-Standing but Aggravated Institutional Marginality 425 Muslims in Dealings with the Police and the Courts 438 Judicial Majoritarianism: Preparing the Ground for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya 445 Conclusion 462 Notes 486 Select Bibliography 634 Index 646 "Although ethnic and sectarian tensions have always been a feature of modern Indian history, the country was founded and governed in its first decades by a nationalist political movement - associated with the Indian National Congress -- that stressed the non-sectarian nature of Indian citizenship. Hindu nationalism, a contrary political force, was born in the 1920s but didn't take off politically until the 1990s. It finally secured national power in 2014 when a populist leader, Narendra Modi -- a former governor of the province of Gujarat -- leveraged a reputation for successful economic reform and popular resentment toward the country's Muslim minority to lead his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, to national victory. In this book, Christophe Jaffrelot recounts how the Hindu nationalist movement under the leadership of Modi's BJP has deeply transformed the country. Jaffrelot's main argument is that the reign of Modi and his BJP has ushered India into a new type of regime - what he calls ethnic democracy. Modi's rule relies undeniably on popular consent. (In last month's Indian federal elections, Modi consolidated his 2014 win with a decisive electoral victory.) But under the BJP India has largely jettisoned the country's previous commitment to the preservation of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. This book is based both on the author's long years of research in India and on recent extensive interviews conducted across the country with civil servants, government supporters, opponents of the BJP, and members of religious minorities. Because of the tense atmosphere of intimidation throughout the country, many of Jaffrelot's interlocuters refused to speak on the record; he has given them pseudonyms in this book. The book recounts how proponents of secularism and pluralism, including academics and NGO workers, have been brought to heel; how Christians and Muslims have been increasingly marginalized in national and regional elections; and how the Hindu nationalist government has fostered the development of a shadow "cultural police force" -- with formal and informal ties to the state -- that censors public speech and intimidates political opponents. The book begins with an overview political history of modern India, explaining how the modern Indian state arose out of the heritage of British colonialism and then out of the Indian Congress-led national liberation movement. The bulk of the book takes up the rise and the rule of Hindu nationalism - Hindutva - and that of the strongman Modi, whose canny brand of populism has proven to be a game changer"-- Provided by publisher Introduction: The three ages of India's democracy -- The Hindu nationalist power quest : Hindutva and populism -- Hindu nationalism : a different idea of India -- Modi in Gujarat, the making of a national-populist hero -- Modi's rise to power or how to exploit hope, fear, and anger -- What fight against poverty? -- The world's largest de facto ethnic democracy -- Hindu majoritarianism against secularism -- Targeting minorities -- A de facto Hindu rashtra : Indian-style vigilantism -- The Indian version of comptetitive authoritarianism -- Deinstitutionalizing India -- Towards "electoral authoritarianism" : the 2019 elections -- The making of an authoritarian Hindu state -- Indian Muslims : from social marginalization to institutional exclusion and judicial obliteration