Coalition Politics and Hindu Nationalism

Front Cover
Katharine Adeney, Lawrence Sáez
Psychology Press, 2005 - Political Science - 294 pages
This new collection examines the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and the ways in which its Hindu nationalist agenda has been affected by the constraints of being a dominant member of a coalition government.

Religious influence in contemporary politics offers a fertile ground for political-sociological analysis, especially in societies where religion is a very important source of collective identity. In South Asian societies religion can, and often has, provided legitimacy to both governments and those who oppose them. This book examines the emergence of the BJP and the ways in which its Hindu nationalist agenda has been affected by the constraints of being a dominant member of a coalition government. The collected authors take stock of the party's first full term in power, presiding over the diverse forces of the governing NDA coalition, and the 2004 elections. They assess the BJP's performance in relation to its stated goals, and more specifically how it has fared in a range of policy fields - centre-state relations, foreign policy, defence policies, the 'second generation' of economic reforms, initiatives to curb corruption and the fate of minorities.

Explicitly linking the volume to literature on coalition politics, this book will be of great importance to students and researchers in the fields of South Asian studies and politics.

From inside the book

Contents

partisanship and powersharing
13
The shapes of Hindu nationalism
36
the BJPs organisational strength
55
The NDA and the politics of minorities in India
77
Hindu nationalists and federal structures in an era
97
Social justice and empowerment of the weaker sections
116
the National
136
Indian education policy under the NDA government
153
The NDA and the politics of economic reform
173
The NDA and Indian foreign policy
193
The NDA and national security
212
dimensions causes
237
Hindutvas march halted? Choices for the BJP after
254
Bibliography
264
Index
289
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