Bandh politics: crowds, spectacular violence, and sovereignty in India

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn 2002, in Gujarat, India, the Hindu nationalist organization, VHP (World Hindu Council), called for a state-wide bandh – a shutdown of shops, offices, businesses, and transportation – to protest the death of Hindu activists by a Muslim mob. During the state-endorsed bandh, Hindu activists and the wider public, supported by the police and politicians, attacked Muslims with impunity. While the ruling Hindu nationalist regime claimed that the violence was spontaneous rioting, activists and survivors emphasized the organized nature of the massacre. If crowds are understood as a performative, and not simply a political tool, then the bandh is a form of political drama when crowds perform claims to sovereignty. Bandh politics entangle multiple audiences, anticipate public violence, invite participation from state and non-state actors, and symbolize popular sovereignty. Bandh politics transformed state-backed public violence against Muslims in 2002 into a mass protest that enabled new forms of solidarity between the Hindu nationalist regime, state officials, and the wider public. Bandh politics is neither instrumental nor spontaneous, but more like a wager that enables political actors to seize, stage, and frame crowd violence as the will of the people.