Table Of Content‘Analysing cultural hegemony independently from material domination,
Gudavarthy’s intellectual achievement in this book is remarkable. Drawing
on new theorising about meaning and emotion, he develops a subtle new
take on India’s rightward turn, even as he provides critical commentary on
contemporary events.’
—Jeffrey Alexander, Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology and
Co-Director, Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University, USA
‘Instead of moralising against Modi’s assault on liberal ideals and institutions,
Professor Gudavarthy argues that the Left and progressives in India need to
learn to mobilise everyday ethics and emotions. Modi’s critics have dismissed
gestures such as Modi’s calling for Indians to light candles in the face of the
pandemic as theatrical. For Gudavarthy, such performances are the stuff of
politics and not an irrational betrayal of it. In this insightful and passionate
book, he invites us to reimagine the constructive role of emotions in building
political community, within and beyond India.’
—Trevor Stack, Director, CISRUL, University of Aberdeen,
Scotland, UK
‘The follow up to his important India After Modi: Populism and the Right,
Ajay Gudavarthy’s Politics, Emotions and Ethics in ‘New India’, is necessary
reading for anyone interested in the future of Indian democracy. It shows the
way in which fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, anger and hatred play a key role
in the entrenchment of what he calls the “emotive majority” presided over
by Narendra Modi’s BJP Government. It is the hold of such emotions that
surprisingly shield it from well-earned criticisms of, for example, its botched
handling of demonetisation in 2016 or, more recently, the Covid catastrophe
five years later. The book also poses the following challenge to the forces
of opposition: how can the positive emotions of care, compassion and,
ultimately, love be incorporated into a new political project that is not merely
passive but active and empowered.’
—Samir Gandesha, Director, Institute for Humanities,
Simon Fraser University, Canada
POLITICS, ETHICS AND EMOTIONS
IN ‘NEW INDIA’
How do emotions mobilise in politics? How do they frame ideologies?
Broadly focusing on these questions, this book explains the role emotions
play in Indian politics and the part they played in the aftermath of the
2019 general elections. It traces the consolidation of the Right in India and
highlights the reasons for its electoral successes with a focus on the interplay
between ethics and emotions such as fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, anger,
hatred, betrayal, and violence. At the same time, it traces the changing
dynamic in the way we think about politics and analyses the failure of
liberal democratic institutions to make space for emotions in politics and
political motivations.
An accessible and essential guide to understanding contemporary India,
this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics,
especially governance and political theory, as well as South Asian studies.
Ajay Gudavarthy is Associate Professor, Centre for Political Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His previous publications
include Politics of Post-Civil Society: Contemporary History of Political
Movements in India (2013); Maoism, Democracy and Globalisation:
Cross-Currents in Indian Politics (2014), and India After Modi: Populism
and the Right (2018). He is currently Associate Member, Institute for
Humanities, Simon Fraser University, Canada. He was earlier Visiting
Professor, Centre for Modern Indian Studies, Gottingen University,
Germany; Visiting Fellow, Centre for Citizenship, Civil Society and Rule
of Law, University of Aberdeen, Scotland; and Charles Wallace Visiting
Fellow, SOAS, London, UK.
RESHAPING INDIA
Editorial Advisory Board
Aakash Singh Rathore
Mridula Mukherjee
Pushparaj Deshpande
Syeda Hameed
Marking a radical departure from the ‘graded inequalities’ of the past, India’s
Constitution guaranteed equitable access to the prosperity of the nation to
all Indians. Building on the 1931 Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy
resolution, the 1936 National Planning Committee, and the Constituent
Assembly debates, India’s Constitution guarantees fullness of life for all.
This has also remained the underlying principle of India’s development
paradigm. However, there is little structured planning on how the nation’s
constitutional promise can be realised. The few interventions that are made
are particularist and exclude the vast majority of stakeholders—whether they
are academics, activists, professionals, etc. Addressing the lacuna, Samruddha
Bharat Foundation’s Routledge Reshaping India series aims to curate high-
level monographs and volumes that further India’s constitutional promise by
(a) methodically re-thinking current social, political and economic paradigms;
(b) proposing disruptive and innovative ideas to address structural problems
facing the nation; (c) forging a blueprint for India’s future trajectory, so that it
touches new heights by 2047 (when the country turns 100); and (d) creating
a unique praxis between theory and practice.
POLITICS, ETHICS AND EMOTIONS IN ‘NEW INDIA’
Ajay Gudavarthy
For more information about this Series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
Reshaping-India/book-series/REI
POLITICS, ETHICS
AND EMOTIONS
IN ‘NEW INDIA’
Ajay Gudavarthy
First published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2022 Ajay Gudavarthy and Samruddha Bharat Foundation
The right of Ajay Gudavarthy to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this book are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the
publisher. The analyses, data and figures based on research material
are intended here to serve general educational and informational
purposes and not obligatory upon any party. The author has made
every effort to ensure that the information presented in the book was
correct at the time of press, but the author and the publisher do not
assume and hereby disclaim any liability with respect to the accuracy,
completeness, reliability, suitability, selection and inclusion of the
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author and publisher make no representations or warranties of any
kind to any person, product or entity for any loss, including, but not
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-07082-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-28672-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-29791-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003297918
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
FOR RUPA
CONTENTS
Introduction: Majoritarianism and the Afterlife of Populism 1
PART I
Politics and Emotions 17
1 Shifting Images of Narendra Modi: Silence, Hope,
Rage, and Cynicism 19
2 Urban Naxal: Fear and Anxiety 26
3 Mob Lynching: Guilt and Shame 31
4 Public Morality: Anger and Hatred 38
5 Intransigent Self: Betrayal and Self-Hatred 49
6 Targeting Institutions: Crime and Violence 56
PART II
Economy and Ethics 65
7 Cultural Majoritarianism and Economic (Under)
Development 67
8 Political Economy of Citizenship: NRC and Its Aftermath 75
9 Media, Speed, and Untruth 87
10 Politics, Policy, and Institutions 94
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