Manchester University Press
11 Why is romance political?
Abstract
This chapter comments on why questions about love and romance increasingly occupy a central place in political debate in India. Focusing on the intimate scale at which caste and communal politics play out, it argues that young women’s bodies are iterated as sites at which ideas about nationhood and culture come to cohere. In doing so, it uses examples from the author’s ethnographic research conducted from 2012 onwards in the city of Chennai.
Abstract
This chapter comments on why questions about love and romance increasingly occupy a central place in political debate in India. Focusing on the intimate scale at which caste and communal politics play out, it argues that young women’s bodies are iterated as sites at which ideas about nationhood and culture come to cohere. In doing so, it uses examples from the author’s ethnographic research conducted from 2012 onwards in the city of Chennai.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- List of contributors viii
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Fear, love and fake news
- 1 Ordinary conspiracy theories and everyday communalism 25
- 2 People-led campaigns in the 2019 general election 34
-
Part II: The emotive politics of Hindu nationalism
- 3 Neoliberalism and cultural majoritarianism in India 45
- 4 The BJP and the war on history 53
- 5 The passionate politics of the Savarna poor 63
- 6 Seeking humanist Hinduism 74
-
Part III: Love, hate and Kashmir
- 7 The historical roots of conflict over/in Kashmir 87
- 8 This side of paradise 97
- 9 The fear of Indian settler colonialism and the battle for Kashmir’s soul 106
-
Part IV: Women, gender and love
- 10 Love taboos 119
- 11 Why is romance political? 128
-
Part V: What young Indians want
- 12 In pursuit of Parivartan 137
- 13 What do young people want from elections? 148
-
Part VI: The economics of India’s passionate politics
- 14 Social oppression and exploitation of Adivasis and Dalits in contemporary India 157
- 15 Two large shocks and a long-term problem 169
- 16 Agrarian crisis, farmers’ protests and women’s assertion 177
-
Part VII: India tomorrow
- 17 The Modi government’s authoritarian project in India 189
- 18 The 2019 elections and their implications for Muslim politics 199
- 19 Cementing emotions 208
- Index 217
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- List of contributors viii
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Fear, love and fake news
- 1 Ordinary conspiracy theories and everyday communalism 25
- 2 People-led campaigns in the 2019 general election 34
-
Part II: The emotive politics of Hindu nationalism
- 3 Neoliberalism and cultural majoritarianism in India 45
- 4 The BJP and the war on history 53
- 5 The passionate politics of the Savarna poor 63
- 6 Seeking humanist Hinduism 74
-
Part III: Love, hate and Kashmir
- 7 The historical roots of conflict over/in Kashmir 87
- 8 This side of paradise 97
- 9 The fear of Indian settler colonialism and the battle for Kashmir’s soul 106
-
Part IV: Women, gender and love
- 10 Love taboos 119
- 11 Why is romance political? 128
-
Part V: What young Indians want
- 12 In pursuit of Parivartan 137
- 13 What do young people want from elections? 148
-
Part VI: The economics of India’s passionate politics
- 14 Social oppression and exploitation of Adivasis and Dalits in contemporary India 157
- 15 Two large shocks and a long-term problem 169
- 16 Agrarian crisis, farmers’ protests and women’s assertion 177
-
Part VII: India tomorrow
- 17 The Modi government’s authoritarian project in India 189
- 18 The 2019 elections and their implications for Muslim politics 199
- 19 Cementing emotions 208
- Index 217
