Recent decades have seen the rise of religious nationalism in India. This “Hindutva” movement, which claims that India is for Hindus and that non-Hindus must accept this if they wish to live in India, has contributed to the targeting of vulnerable minorities—Muslims, Dalits (untouchables), Adivasis (indigenous), Sikhs, and Christians. The panelists will analyze the reasons for, and effects of, this rise in the religious nationalism in the context of upcoming Indian elections.

The panelists will be Professor Snehal Shingavi of the UT English Department and Rahul Mahajan, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Shingavi is the author of The Mahatma Misunderstood: The Politics and Forms of Literary Nationalism in India. Mahajan is the author of Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond. Professor Robert Jensen from the UT School of Journalism will moderate the discussion.

The event is sponsored by Azad, a student group committed to a broad understanding of South Asia and its politics. For more information, contact Nihal Arju, narju@physics.utexas.edu.

Location: Belo Center for New Media, Room 5.208 (BMC 5.208), 300 W. Dean Keeton, Austin