Is Hindu Nationalism a Threat to Religious Minorities in Eastern India?

Abstract

This article looks at the rise of Hindu nationalism in contemporary India, with a special focus on the eastern city of Kolkata. It argues that while the rise of Hindu nationalism has been a burning problem in recent years, it should be noted that the problem does not exist uniformly throughout the country. The levels of violence in relation to Hindu nationalism differ from place to place. Careful attention needs to be paid to this variation which exists within Hindu nationalism, and also to the variation which exists within the levels of violence associated with it. In other words, while events that took place in Gujarat in 2002 may say something about the situation in western India, they do not necessarily reflect the situation in other parts of India, especially the east of the country. With India being a vast country and each part of the country being grounded in a specific context, keeping this variation in mind is extremely important. The data supporting this argument were collected earlier this year from the state of West Bengal.