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.
eISBN: 978-0-8122-0279-3
Subjects: Anthropology
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