Bøger af Christophe Jaffrelot

A riveting account of how a popularly elected leader has steered the world's largest democracy toward authoritarianism and intoleranceOver the past two decades, thanks to Narendra Modi, Hindu nationalism has been coupled with a form of national-populism that has ensured its success at the polls, first in Gujarat and then in India at large. Modi managed to seduce a substantial number of citizens by promising them development and polarizing the electorate along ethno-religious lines. Both facets of this national-populism found expression in a highly personalized political style as Modi related directly to the voters through all kinds of channels of communication in order to saturate the public space.Drawing on original interviews conducted across India, Christophe Jaffrelot shows how Modi's government has moved India toward a new form of democracy, an ethnic democracy that equates the majoritarian community with the nation and relegates Muslims and Christians to second-class citizens who are harassed by vigilante groups. He discusses how the promotion of Hindu nationalism has resulted in attacks against secularists, intellectuals, universities, and NGOs. Jaffrelot explains how the political system of India has acquired authoritarian features for other reasons, too. Eager to govern not only in New Delhi, but also in the states, the government has centralized power at the expense of federalism and undermined institutions that were part of the checks and balances, including India's Supreme Court.Modi's India is a sobering account of how a once-vibrant democracy can go wrong when a government backed by popular consent suppresses dissent while growing increasingly intolerant of ethnic and religious minorities.

The definitive account of Modi's rule over his home state of Gujarat, for better and worse--a template he now applies to India as a whole.

A detailed account of the Hindu nationalist movement in India since the 1920s arguing that political uneasiness, created by real and imagined threats of colonialism and the presence of minority groups, paved the way for militant Hinduism on the Indian subcontinent.

Since the 1960s a new assertiveness has characterized India's formerly silent majority, the lower castes that comprise more than two-thirds of the population. Today India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is controlled by lower-caste politicians, as is Bihar, and lower-caste representation in national politics is growing inexorably. Jaffrelot argues that this trend constitutes a genuine "democratization" of India and that the social and economic effects of this "silent revolution" are bound to multiply in the years to come.

Sheds light on one of the darkest moments in India's recent history, drawing upon a trove of new sources.

An absorbing comparison of 'the Islams' of Arabia and South Asia and how they interact through the vectors of trade, politics and migration.

There seems to be no end to the growing number of victims of terrorism, guerrilla warfare and military repression on the Indian subcontinent, despite the absence of interstate wars. These conflicts often involve armed paramilitary militias or insurgents of one sort or other. This book investigates their ideology, sociology and strategies.

An exploration of the international context for Ambedkar's ideas around caste, law, religion, democracy and race, as developed while studying in the imperial capital.

A political biography of Gujarat and the chief minister who has run it for twelve years - the man now adopted as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Indian election.