Islamism and Civil Society in India

Abstract

There are many theses about Islamism being evolved in response to the changes in world politics. Recently, the ‘transformation’ thesis that explains how Islamism changed over time in the Indian context has been making rounds. This article investigates the state of Islamism in India, taking into account the inner-self of the phenomenon instead of its external perception, drawing primarily on Maududi’s writings and the Jamaat-e-Islami of India’s current literature. Taking Islamism as a movement in the domain of civil society that also possesses a discursive arena, that is, a public sphere, this article nuances the relationship between the civil society and Islamism. It argues that the Jamaat-e-Islami of India has adopted a bottom-up approach to broaden its reach in civil society. To this end, the party is contesting mainstream representations, offering oppositional counter-discourses and engaging with the public sphere and representing an emerging counterpublic that is challenging the hegemonic structures of the state as well as of the mainstream Muslim community. Hence, the article posits that Islamism has not undergone transformation on an ideological terrain.