Nissim Mannathukkaren
Biographic Data
| ID | 629937 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nissim Mannathukkaren |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nissim |
| FAMILY NAME | Mannathukkaren |
| SIGNATURE | MANNATHUKKAREN N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Dalhousie University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4957-3673 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 30 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Development, desire, and beyond desire: A response to Ilan Kapoor and Gavin Fridell
Imperial afterlives: Citizenship and racial/caste fragility in Canada and India
This paper looks to the historical imbrication of racial and caste supremacy with citizenship, drawing attention to the inherent coloniality of citizenship in post-imperial Canada and India. We examine the transition from explicit to insidious, unofficial forms of institutionalized racial/caste supremacy. Explicit forms of supremacy have established and normalized forms of hierarchy that ascribe tiers of citizenship, even after legal guarantees o…
Constructing a Vishwaguru (world teacher): Hindu nationalism, populism and the domestic consumption of Narendra Modi’s global image
Narendra Modi is a prime example of a right-wing nationalist populist, in his case, trying to create a new India that rejects India’s traditional secular liberalism in favour of a Hindu state. Modi has gained a reputation amongst his supporters as a visionary who is improving India’s standing on the world stage as a great power and making a revolutionary change in India. But Modi has come under increasing international concern and condemnation fo…
Enjoying life: Consumption, changing meanings, and social differentiation in Kerala, India
Kerala is a well-recognized 'model' of human development in the world. In this article, I look at a crucial aspect of this development, which is often approached in a positivist fashion of statistical aggregation alone: consumption. Instead, there is a need to study the meanings that surround it. I delineate the many forces, particularly the new material infrastructure, that have driven consumption in the last three decades, especially the last o…
Communism, Subaltern Studies and Postcolonial Theory: The Left in South India
This book is a thematic history of the communist movement in Kerala, the first major region (in terms of population) in the world to democratically elect a communist government. It analyzes the nature of the transformation brought about by the communist movement in Kerala, and what its implications could be for other postcolonial societies. The volume engages with the key theoretical concepts in postcolonial theory and Subaltern Studies, and cont…
Communalism sans violence: A Keralan exceptionalism
In this paper, I undertake a broad survey of communalism in the southern Indian state of Kerala. I argue that Kerala displays as a dominant trend, a non-antagonistic form of communalism or peaceful competition among religious communities, which is a rarity for the Indian subcontinent. The reasons for this can be attributed to the severity of caste oppression and the consequent salience of caste divisions, deep inter-religious civic engagement, go…
Nation, class and caste: The culture of servitude and the case of the Indian diplomat
The rise of the national-popular and its limits: Communism and the cultural in Kerala
The emergence of the communist movement in Kerala, India in a society that was characterized by immense divisions of caste and class is significant for understanding social transformation. What is of particular importance is the ways in which the communist activists who spoke the language of a supposedly alien ideology engaged with a populace that was predominantly agrarian and poor. This paper will look at the communist engagement with certain a…
Críquete E Nacionalismo Hindu Na Índia: Ilusões Da Interpretação Textual
This paper will critique postcolonial theory’s attempt to read the cricket nationalism portrayed in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan as one that subverts the civilizing mission of British colonialism and also restores the agency of the subaltern classes. Instead, it will argue that this cricket nationalism replicates Indian bourgeois nationalism, which has no place for the subaltern in its imaginary. It will also argue that the postcolon…
Redistribution and recognition: Land reforms in Kerala and the limits of culturalism
The most important achievements of the Communist governments in Kerala, India were the implementation of the land reforms and the legislation of the Agricultural Workers' Act. Using ethnographic and archival research based on these events and the processes through which they became a reality, this paper will question some of the fundamental assumptions of the influential Subaltern Studies project and postcolonial theory like the positing of gover…
Media terror! Understanding television and the media in India in the context of ‘26/11’
The terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008 were one of the worst that India faced in recent years. The horror that it evoked was heightened all the more because it was a ‘live’ event on television. Its spectacular nature seemed to resemble many ‘media events’ like the Gulf Wars and ‘9/11’. Thus it can be seen to affirm postmodern interpretations, which argue that media does not simply reflect reality but constitutes a new reality altogether. This artic…
The ‘Poverty’ of Political Society: Partha Chatterjee and the People's Plan Campaign in Kerala, India
Prominent postcolonial thinker Partha Chatterjee's concept of political society is an important one in understanding the vast domain of politics in the ‘Third World’ which falls outside hegemonic Western notions of the state and civil society. This domain, which is often marked by the stamp of illegality, nevertheless contributes to the immense democratic churning that characterises much of the ‘Third World’. However, this paper argues that the s…
Postcolonialism and Modernity: A Critical Realist Critique
This paper focuses on postcolonial theory's engagement with modernity. It argues that postcolonialism's problematization of modernity is significant and has to be contended with seriously. In seeking to question the predatory universalism of western modernity, postcolonial theory aspires to open up paths for different modernities that have the promise of emancipation and liberation for all cultures and societies. But the crux of this paper is tha…
Reading cricket fiction in the times of hindu nationalism and farmer suicides: Fallacies of textual interpretation
This paper will critique postcolonial theory's attempt to read the cricket nationalism portrayed in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan as one that subverts the civilizing mission of British colonialism and also restores the agency of the subaltern classes. Instead, it will argue that this cricket nationalism replicates Indian bourgeois nationalism, which has no place for the subaltern in its imaginary. It will also argue that the postcolon…
The rise of the national-popular and its limits: Communism and the cultural in Kerala
The emergence of the communist movement in Kerala, India in a society that was characterized by immense divisions of caste and class is significant for understanding social transformation. What is of particular importance is the ways in which the communist activists who spoke the language of a supposedly alien ideology engaged with a populace that was predominantly agrarian and poor. This paper will look at the communist engagement with certain a…
Redistribution and recognition: Land reforms in Kerala and the limits of culturalism
The most important achievements of the Communist governments in Kerala, India were the implementation of the land reforms and the legislation of the Agricultural Workers' Act. Using ethnographic and archival research based on these events and the processes through which they became a reality, this paper will question some of the fundamental assumptions of the influential Subaltern Studies project and postcolonial theory like the positing of gover…
Communalism sans violence: A Keralan exceptionalism
In this paper, I undertake a broad survey of communalism in the southern Indian state of Kerala. I argue that Kerala displays as a dominant trend, a non-antagonistic form of communalism or peaceful competition among religious communities, which is a rarity for the Indian subcontinent. The reasons for this can be attributed to the severity of caste oppression and the consequent salience of caste divisions, deep inter-religious civic engagement, go…
The ‘Poverty’ of Political Society: Partha Chatterjee and the People's Plan Campaign in Kerala, India
Prominent postcolonial thinker Partha Chatterjee's concept of political society is an important one in understanding the vast domain of politics in the ‘Third World’ which falls outside hegemonic Western notions of the state and civil society. This domain, which is often marked by the stamp of illegality, nevertheless contributes to the immense democratic churning that characterises much of the ‘Third World’. However, this paper argues that the s…
Reading cricket fiction in the times of hindu nationalism and farmer suicides: Fallacies of textual interpretation
This paper will critique postcolonial theory's attempt to read the cricket nationalism portrayed in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan as one that subverts the civilizing mission of British colonialism and also restores the agency of the subaltern classes. Instead, it will argue that this cricket nationalism replicates Indian bourgeois nationalism, which has no place for the subaltern in its imaginary. It will also argue that the postcolon…
Postcolonialism and Modernity: A Critical Realist Critique
This paper focuses on postcolonial theory's engagement with modernity. It argues that postcolonialism's problematization of modernity is significant and has to be contended with seriously. In seeking to question the predatory universalism of western modernity, postcolonial theory aspires to open up paths for different modernities that have the promise of emancipation and liberation for all cultures and societies. But the crux of this paper is tha…
Constructing a Vishwaguru (world teacher): Hindu nationalism, populism and the domestic consumption of Narendra Modi’s global image
Narendra Modi is a prime example of a right-wing nationalist populist, in his case, trying to create a new India that rejects India’s traditional secular liberalism in favour of a Hindu state. Modi has gained a reputation amongst his supporters as a visionary who is improving India’s standing on the world stage as a great power and making a revolutionary change in India. But Modi has come under increasing international concern and condemnation fo…
Enjoying life: Consumption, changing meanings, and social differentiation in Kerala, India
Kerala is a well-recognized 'model' of human development in the world. In this article, I look at a crucial aspect of this development, which is often approached in a positivist fashion of statistical aggregation alone: consumption. Instead, there is a need to study the meanings that surround it. I delineate the many forces, particularly the new material infrastructure, that have driven consumption in the last three decades, especially the last o…
Media terror! Understanding television and the media in India in the context of ‘26/11’
The terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008 were one of the worst that India faced in recent years. The horror that it evoked was heightened all the more because it was a ‘live’ event on television. Its spectacular nature seemed to resemble many ‘media events’ like the Gulf Wars and ‘9/11’. Thus it can be seen to affirm postmodern interpretations, which argue that media does not simply reflect reality but constitutes a new reality altogether. This artic…
Reading cricket fiction in the times of hindu nationalism and farmer suicides: Fallacies of textual interpretation
This paper will critique postcolonial theory's attempt to read the cricket nationalism portrayed in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan as one that subverts the civilizing mission of British colonialism and also restores the agency of the subaltern classes. Instead, it will argue that this cricket nationalism replicates Indian bourgeois nationalism, which has no place for the subaltern in its imaginary. It will also argue that the postcolon…
Media terror! Understanding television and the media in India in the context of ‘26/11’
The terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008 were one of the worst that India faced in recent years. The horror that it evoked was heightened all the more because it was a ‘live’ event on television. Its spectacular nature seemed to resemble many ‘media events’ like the Gulf Wars and ‘9/11’. Thus it can be seen to affirm postmodern interpretations, which argue that media does not simply reflect reality but constitutes a new reality altogether. This artic…
The ‘Poverty’ of Political Society: Partha Chatterjee and the People's Plan Campaign in Kerala, India
Prominent postcolonial thinker Partha Chatterjee's concept of political society is an important one in understanding the vast domain of politics in the ‘Third World’ which falls outside hegemonic Western notions of the state and civil society. This domain, which is often marked by the stamp of illegality, nevertheless contributes to the immense democratic churning that characterises much of the ‘Third World’. However, this paper argues that the s…
Postcolonialism and Modernity: A Critical Realist Critique
This paper focuses on postcolonial theory's engagement with modernity. It argues that postcolonialism's problematization of modernity is significant and has to be contended with seriously. In seeking to question the predatory universalism of western modernity, postcolonial theory aspires to open up paths for different modernities that have the promise of emancipation and liberation for all cultures and societies. But the crux of this paper is tha…
Redistribution and recognition: Land reforms in Kerala and the limits of culturalism
The most important achievements of the Communist governments in Kerala, India were the implementation of the land reforms and the legislation of the Agricultural Workers' Act. Using ethnographic and archival research based on these events and the processes through which they became a reality, this paper will question some of the fundamental assumptions of the influential Subaltern Studies project and postcolonial theory like the positing of gover…
Críquete E Nacionalismo Hindu Na Índia: Ilusões Da Interpretação Textual
This paper will critique postcolonial theory’s attempt to read the cricket nationalism portrayed in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan as one that subverts the civilizing mission of British colonialism and also restores the agency of the subaltern classes. Instead, it will argue that this cricket nationalism replicates Indian bourgeois nationalism, which has no place for the subaltern in its imaginary. It will also argue that the postcolon…
The rise of the national-popular and its limits: Communism and the cultural in Kerala
The emergence of the communist movement in Kerala, India in a society that was characterized by immense divisions of caste and class is significant for understanding social transformation. What is of particular importance is the ways in which the communist activists who spoke the language of a supposedly alien ideology engaged with a populace that was predominantly agrarian and poor. This paper will look at the communist engagement with certain a…
Nation, class and caste: The culture of servitude and the case of the Indian diplomat
Communalism sans violence: A Keralan exceptionalism
In this paper, I undertake a broad survey of communalism in the southern Indian state of Kerala. I argue that Kerala displays as a dominant trend, a non-antagonistic form of communalism or peaceful competition among religious communities, which is a rarity for the Indian subcontinent. The reasons for this can be attributed to the severity of caste oppression and the consequent salience of caste divisions, deep inter-religious civic engagement, go…
Communism, Subaltern Studies and Postcolonial Theory: The Left in South India
This book is a thematic history of the communist movement in Kerala, the first major region (in terms of population) in the world to democratically elect a communist government. It analyzes the nature of the transformation brought about by the communist movement in Kerala, and what its implications could be for other postcolonial societies. The volume engages with the key theoretical concepts in postcolonial theory and Subaltern Studies, and cont…
Constructing a Vishwaguru (world teacher): Hindu nationalism, populism and the domestic consumption of Narendra Modi’s global image
Narendra Modi is a prime example of a right-wing nationalist populist, in his case, trying to create a new India that rejects India’s traditional secular liberalism in favour of a Hindu state. Modi has gained a reputation amongst his supporters as a visionary who is improving India’s standing on the world stage as a great power and making a revolutionary change in India. But Modi has come under increasing international concern and condemnation fo…
Enjoying life: Consumption, changing meanings, and social differentiation in Kerala, India
Kerala is a well-recognized 'model' of human development in the world. In this article, I look at a crucial aspect of this development, which is often approached in a positivist fashion of statistical aggregation alone: consumption. Instead, there is a need to study the meanings that surround it. I delineate the many forces, particularly the new material infrastructure, that have driven consumption in the last three decades, especially the last o…
Imperial afterlives: Citizenship and racial/caste fragility in Canada and India
This paper looks to the historical imbrication of racial and caste supremacy with citizenship, drawing attention to the inherent coloniality of citizenship in post-imperial Canada and India. We examine the transition from explicit to insidious, unofficial forms of institutionalized racial/caste supremacy. Explicit forms of supremacy have established and normalized forms of hierarchy that ascribe tiers of citizenship, even after legal guarantees o…
Development, desire, and beyond desire: A response to Ilan Kapoor and Gavin Fridell
Political science (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Politics (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Social and Economic Development in India (7 works) · South Asian Cinema and Culture (7 works) · Caste (5 works) · Gender Studies (5 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (4 works)