Politics and Ideology

Himani Bannerji

doi:10.18740/s44c7j

Abstract

<p>In this article I wish to exemplify how an anti-ideological critique on “violence against women’” in the era of neoliberal India may be conducted. My main source lies in Marx’s critique of ideology as a body of content, of “ruling ideas” which are hegemonic, as well as the epistemological process of their production. With this understanding I want to speak about the current conjuncture in India of global neoliberal imperialism, of ideological and political use of religion and patriarchy. It appears to me that this fascistic agenda is present elsewhere in the world, where expanding neoliberal capitalism and fundamentalist religious ideology enter into a holy alliance.</p>

Highlights

As I spent the last five months in India I decided not to go through writing about a survey of various versions of the notion of ‘ideology’ in Marx and among marxists
In the last years there has been an exponential increase in violence against women – especially of gang rapes, including those by the police, the paramilitary and the army
None of these are ‘new’ phenomena, as they are developing over decades, but with the coming of the BJP to power federally and in some states/provinces and their civil society groups gaining greater organizational and ideological influence, things seem to have reached a tipping point

Summary

Introduction

As I spent the last five months in India I decided not to go through writing about a survey of various versions of the notion of ‘ideology’ in Marx and among marxists. In the last years there has been an exponential increase in violence against women – especially of gang rapes, including those by the police, the paramilitary and the army None of these are ‘new’ phenomena, as they are developing over decades, but with the coming of the BJP to power federally and in some states/provinces and their civil society groups gaining greater organizational and ideological influence, things seem to have reached a tipping point. Striking were police involvement in these and other activities as well as their negligence, and the lack of implementation of laws that already exist These phenomena, accompanied by the hindutva 2 agenda of the BJP and its civil society groups’ stance of moral high ground, On fascism, see Himani Bannerji “Demography and democracy: Reflections on violence against women in genocide and ethnic cleansing” in Demography and democracy: Essays on nationalism, gender and ideology.

Part I On Ideology – a Recapitulation

Conclusion