Anatomy of a Confrontation: Ayodhya and the Rise of Communal Politics in India (Politics in Contemporary Asia (Paperback)) by Sarvepalli Gopal


Anatomy of a Confrontation: Ayodhya and the Rise of Communal Politics in India (Politics in Contemporary Asia (Paperback))
Title : Anatomy of a Confrontation: Ayodhya and the Rise of Communal Politics in India (Politics in Contemporary Asia (Paperback))
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ISBN : 1856490505
ISBN-10 : 9781856490504
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 240
Publication : First published March 1, 1992

With the rise of the Hindu fundamentalist BJP as a significant electoral force nationwide, Indian politics are in the process of a major shift in character. Not only is the shaky hold of Congress on power threatened by this dynamic party with its overt appeal to religious chauvinism, but the secular nature of the Indian state and delicate balance of relations between diverse religious communities are at stake.

The eminent scholars who have collaborated in this book examine both the flash point issue of the mosque at Ayodha (demolished by militant Hindus), as well as the deeper causes - historic and contemporary - underlying rising communal tension in India today/

This book constitutes a profound but accessible re-examination of many basic features of Indian society and politics.

Anatomy of a Confrontation: Ayodhya and the Rise of Communal Politics in India (Politics in Contemporary Asia (Paperback)) Reviews

  • Conrad Barwa

    This is a much-referred to collection of essays when discussions about the Ramjhambhoomi movement and the rise of Hindutva in the 1990s occur. Given this, it is something of a disappointment and recapitulates very much a typical Nationalist-Leftist view of history, society and politics that was much in favour in campuses like JNU in the pre-1990s. The limitations and problems with this school are already well-known and they don’t provide robust conceptual or practical weapons when grappling with communal politics and history. The essays themselves are uneven, some are very good, such as Romila Thapar’s essay on the myth of Rama, AG Noorani’s on the legal aspects of the dispute over the Babri Masjid and Mushiral Hasan’s on the relationship between community and nationalism. But these essays can be found elsewhere in other collections. The more typical contribution alas is that of Amiya Kumar Bagchi’s essay on predatory capitalism and communalism which seems nothing more than a rehashing of the Bipin Chandra argument on the causes and nature of communalism. Aditya Mukherjee’s essay on colonialism and communal politics, similarly faithfully reiterates the traditional Nationalist view on Muslim separatism and Hindu communalism, which adds little to our understanding.

    A disappointing volume, of interest to only those who follow Indian historiography and the details on the debate over the rise of Hindu nationalism in the 1990s.

  • Hamsa

    good