POLITICS OF EXCLUSION IN INDIA: A THREAT TO LIBERAL DEMOCRACY AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION (original) (raw)

The Ideology of Exclusion and Cultural Politics in Indian Society

The varna/caste system in India is founded on structured inequalities in which the ideology of exclusion permeates all facets of socioeconomic and political life. Exclusion of some castes from the rights and privileges enjoyed by others is enforced by several instruments of social ostracism. This systemic exclusion, the manifestation of which could also be found in gender, class and other areas, is basically conceived by the Brahminical ideology and its rationalization is being drawn from the concept of natural inequality. Those who still act as conduits of all forms of knowledge direct and use it to maintain their control over the system by mediating discourses. Following Michel Foucault, it could be inferred that this kind of cultural hegemony draws support from the power over discourse, the power through discourse and the power of discourse. Persistence of this structured exclusion is rooted in the colonization of minds made possible by the cultural politics aimed at capturing and controlling the social order. Obviously, this ideology of exclusion is incompatible with the ideology of equality and inclusion enshrined in the Constitution of India. So long as this system is operated on such ideologies of inequality and exclusion, it becomes difficult to establish a democratic society. This paper employs the exclusivist approach to highlight the varied forms, levels and manifestations of exclusion inherent in Indian society based on the ideological foundations and argues that methods to tackle such exclusion requires efforts equal to the task.

Indian Democracy and Social Exclusion

Indian Democracy, Social exclusion and Third gender, 2021

Indian Democracy, Social Exclusion, and the Third Gender; a Critical Appraisal We live in the era of democracy. Every state of the world tries to present itself as a 'Democratic one'. In the matter of maximum numbers of people's satisfaction, progress, and overall development we failed to find any better alternative mechanism than democracy. Human civilization has witnessed numerous bloodshed events to achieve the embedded value of democracy such as liberty, equality, fraternity, and the struggle is going on. The relation between democracy and exclusion is contrary but even the most advanced democracy cannot claim that it is fully exempted from exclusion. Exclusion is multidimensional and complex. Several force4s play pivotal roles behind this. The outcome of social exclusion is that affected individuals are prevented from participating fully in the economic and social and political life in which they live. The concept of marginalization, exploitation, deprivation, discrimination is rooted in the concept of social exclusion. Nobel laureate Economist Amartya Sen provides a list in which people are excluded from-A live hood, secure permanent employment, earnings, property, credit or land, housing minimal or reveling consumption level, education skill and cultural capital, the welfare state citizenship and legal equality, democratic participation, public goods, the notion of the dominant race, family and sociability; humanity; respect fulfillment; and understanding. Democracy is not new in India our rich culture has had practice democratic values since ancient periods. The existence of sabha and Samiti performs similar kinds of tasks that have been played by various

Denationalisation and discrimination in postcolonial India

International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 2022

With the recent National Register of Citizens updating process in Assam (a northeastern state in India) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA 2019), there have been significant changes to India’s citizenship laws and policies. This may create one of the world’s largest stateless populations in modern times. These changes manifest the government’s othering process of creating binaries of belonging and non-belongingness between the majority Hindus and minorities (especially followers of the Islamic faith). In this article, taking these recent changes to citizenship as a case study, I discuss how India’s colonial past, the experience of partition, and the henceforth nation-building contributed to perceiving the ‘citizen’ primarily along Hindu majoritarian lines. I argue that the nation-building process in India was based on retaining and simultaneously re-establishing the ‘others’, thereby reinforcing colonial legacies in the structure and functioning of the postcolonial state. Consequently, this article deals with two questions, first, how the adoption of discriminatory citizenship laws and the risk of statelessness in India is rooted in its complex history, the impact of British colonial expansion and the postcolonial realities and second, what role ‘law’ has played in the process.

Democracy and Far Right Populism: Shrinking Space for Minorities in India under Modi

Since the interwar period, populist trends began emerging in the world posing challenges to democracy. However, a strong polarization amid scholars over whether populism is a threat or a byproduct of democracy became a p oint of inquiry. With Modi assuming power in India, far right populism started making inroads in India's secular democratic culture causing tremors in the country. BJP leadership has been intended at radically changing India's Constitution by incorporating its dictatorial and anti-minority Hindutva ideology at its core. Indian policies and minority specific laws reflect a far-right ideological approach of Modi government that is capable of articulating genocidal attacks, religious intolerance and fascist ma joritarianism which poses serious threats to Indian democracy. The paper aims to examine influence of Modi's far-right populism on India's democratic system and patterns through which Indian minorities have been experiencing structural violence in the form of suppression and human rights violation.

Social exclusion and ethnicity in Northeast India

2014

Social exclusion is a multidimensional term that encompasses social, economic, political and cultural spheres. Exclusion is linked to the recognition of social identities, resource allocations and power relations. In most cases, both subjective consciousness and actual inequalities lead to ethnic assertions and extremist activities. Unlike other studies on ethnicity and extremism, the present article tries to understand ethnic assertions in northeast India in the context of rampant social exclusion taking place in the region.

SOCIAL CLEAVAGES, MULTICULTURALISM AND EMERGING SPACE FOR STATE IN INDIA UNDER GLOBALISATION REGIME

The multiculturalism ,social cleavages and ongoing globalization movement has profound impact on the role of the state. This paper makes a historical analysis and examines the validity of Weberian discovery of the influence of religion on the political economy of India. Machiavelli had reckoned deception , falsehood and tricks to defeat an enemy as acceptable part of the statecraft, which Chanakya propounded 2000 years before. Stealing an election has been a common place event of late in the greatest democracy as much as in the largest one on the earth. This paper attempts to examine this Indian syndrome. There are several evidence of links of social fragmentation resulting in political conflict over economic policy. The conventional view of social fragmentation fails to account for a critical determinant of conflict incentives: the extent to which social cleavages based on different politically salient characteristics act to mutually reinforce versus cut across one another. This paper focuses on social cleavages based on class , caste,religion and ethnicity in India. It examines the political salience of caste and class conflicts and addresses the translation of social cleavages into political oppositions in India. This paper argues that political conflict becomes more severe when social cleavages based on class, caste and ethnicity help to mutually reinforce one another. It presents Indian evidences in order to demonstrate the link between social fragmentation and fiscal policy outcomes under liberalization regime.

Turmoil in the Democracies of the World and Tyranny of Minorities –A case study for India

The secularism is defined as state, politicians and institutions separates themselves from the religion. Unlike western democracy, India is unable to separate the religion from politics and government institutions. This is largely the fault of the politicians and framer of constitution and political rulers. Some examples are: India subsidized Haz pilgrimages (may have stopped now) to Mecca under congress rule for decades, but did not subsidize Amaranth Yatra for Hindus. Nothing for Jainism to visit to Bahubali festivals, or other important religious festivals for other communities. This creates so much bitterness among various communities that does not elevate the nationalism. The secularity loses its meaning and the democracy loses its relevance to the people. The entire system need revision and congress who ruled should be disbanded and punished for this communal abuse and mockery of democracy.

Islamophobia, Exclusionary Citizenship, and Misogyny: The Triangular Base of Radical Right in India

The Hindu rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India has successfully enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019. The BJP-led government is creating a National Register of Citizens (NRC) which will divide the population into citizens and illegal immigrants. According to the CAA, non-Muslim illegal immigrants from the neighbouring Muslim majority countries will be allowed to apply for citizenship, while Muslims will become stateless. In a series of complicated administrative and legal manoeuvres, this act will lead to loss of citizenship of millions of Muslim citizens and render them stateless. Detention camps are already functional to imprison stateless former citizens. It is the same government which passed the law against triple talaq, in defence of the rights of Muslim women citizens. The popularization of public opinion against love jihad, the law against triple talaq, the beef lynchings in recent years, are the result of radical Hindu right populism in India. CAA is the culmination of that process, with the aim of complete isolation and statelessness of Muslim citizens of India. The use of gender and religion towards increasing right-wing populism has reshaped the primary criteria for citizenship. The move has led to extensive non-violent protests from more than 250 million people across the country. In this article, I will discuss how the BJP is using CAA, tense gender relations and religious stereotypes to promote Hindu right populism in India. In doing so, this article will unmask the connections between gender, religion and radical Hindu right politics.