Communal Violence in Twenty-first Century India: Moving Beyond the Hindi Heartland

Sanjal Shastri

Studies in Indian Politics, 2020, vol. 8, issue 2, 266-280

Abstract: Using communal violence data between 2006 and 2017, this study challenges the idea that communal violence is primarily an issue in the Hindi Heartland. The data demonstrates how Karnataka and West Bengal are also witnessing rising levels of communal violence. The study goes on to take a closer look at the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka and West Bengal. It demonstrates how a combination of factors ranging from localized narratives of Hindu nationalism, caste coalitions, alliances with regional parties and the decline of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI[M]) in West Bengal and the Janata Party (JP)/Dal in Karnataka have been crucial factors for BJP’s rise in these two states.

Keywords: Communal violence; Indian politics; Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); Hindu nationalism; Karnataka; West Bengal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indpol:v:8:y:2020:i:2:p:266-280

DOI: 10.1177/2321023020963721

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