Citizens versus People

The Politics of Majoritarianism and Marginalization in Democratic India

Bibliographic Data

ID2245647
AuthorsD Gupta (0000-0002-0897-3232), Dipak K Gupta (Jawaharlal Nehru University, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume68
Issue1
Pages27-44
Publication date2007-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-4404 • E-ISSN: 1759-8818
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/socrel/68.1.27
OpenAlexW2315195912
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited4

Ever since India's independence from Britain in 1947 and the tragic death toll resulting from the partition creating Pakistan, the sub-continent has been marked by religious conflict. Over the last twenty years, this has taken especially bloody turns. This article examines the political roots of the rioting that has ensued. The analysis is anchored in two fundamental distinctions: one between democratic "citizens" and communal "people", and the other between the dynamics of hegemonic "majoritarianism" and the consequences of minority "marginalization". The relationship between the two is explored with special reference to Hindu-Sikh violence in the state of Punjab and the long standing Hindu-Muslim violence generally initiated and sustained by Shiv Sena and other movements of the Hindutva cause, as occurred most recently in the state of Gujarat in 2002. India offers a cautionary tale in which both democracy and religious freedom hang in the balance.

Communalism · Democracy · Hegemony · Hinduism · Hindutva · Independence (probability theory) · Nationalism · Partition (number theory) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Secularism · Sociology · State (computer science) · Gender Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Religious studies · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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