Henrik Berglund

F.D., universitetslektor
Ph.D., Senior Lecturer

E-mail: henrik.berglund@statsvet.su.se

Hemsidan

Hindu Nationalism and Democracy: A Study of the Political Theory and Practice of the Bharatiya Janata Party

(Written in English)

Abstract

Hindu nationalism has during the last decades developed from a marginal political force to one of the dominant actors within Indian politics. This dissertation focuses on the most important political representative of Hindu nationalism, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party has challenged established notions of democracy and secularism in Indian society by suggesting the formation of a Hindu state, and by questioning some of the political rights extended to minorities.

For its theoretical framework the dissertation benefits from recent work in political theory and earlier research within nationalism theory, centered around the dichotomy of cultural and territorial nationalism. The ideology of the BJP is defined as a case of cultural nationalism based on Hindu values and traditions, and its relation to democracy is studied through an analysis of the party's position on minority rights, with special reference to the Muslims. Two important political issues are studied in depth: the Shah Bano case, concerning the legal practice to allow separate family laws for the religious communities; and the Babri Masjid-Ramjamnabhoomi controversy in Ayodhya. The issues were studied on both local and national level with field work in Delhi and in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

In order to probe deeper into the political implications of the ideology of the BJP, the position of the party regarding minority rights is also analyzed as an example of a communitarian theory of democracy, based on the respect for the values and traditions of the community, as opposed to the liberal ideal of a neutral state. The results of both the theoretical and the empirical analyses indicate that Hindu nationalism as presented by the BJP is a mono-communitarian ideology, which promotes Hindu supremacy and has a strained relation with the established multi-communitarian form of Indian democracy.