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The Clash Within
By
Martha C. Nussbaum
Description
While America is
focused on religious militancy and terrorism in the Middle East,
democracy has been under siege from religious extremism in another
critical part of the world. As Martha Nussbaum reveals in this
penetrating look at India today, the forces of the Hindu right pose a
disturbing threat to its democratic traditions and secular state.
Since long before
the 2002 Gujarat riots--in which nearly two thousand Muslims were
killed by Hindu extremists--the power of the Hindu right has been
growing, threatening India\\\\\\\'s hard-won constitutional practices of
democracy, tolerance, and religious pluralism. Led politically by the
Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu right has sought the subordination
of other religious groups and has directed particular vitriol against
Muslims, who are cast as devils in need of purging. The Hindu right
seeks to return to a \\\"pure\\\" India, unsullied by alien
polluters of other faiths, yet the BJP\\\\\\\'s defeat in recent elections
demonstrates the power that India\\\\\\\'s pluralism continues to wield. The
future, however, is far from secure, and Hindu extremism and
exclusivity remain a troubling obstacle to harmony in South Asia.
Nussbaum\\\\\\\'s
long-standing professional relationship with India makes her an
excellent guide to its recent history. Ultimately she argues that the
greatest threat comes not from a clash between civilizations, as some
believe, but from a clash within each of us, as we oscillate between
self-protective aggression and the ability to live in the world with
others. India\\\\\\\'s story is a cautionary political tale for all
democratic states striving to act responsibly in an increasingly
dangerous world.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Map of India
Introduction
1. Genocide
in Gujarat
2. The Human
Face of the Hindu Right
3. Tagore,
Gandhi, Nehru
4. A
Democracy of Pluralism, Respect, Equality
5. The Rise
of the Hindu Right
6. Fantasies
of Purity and Domination
7. The
Assault on History
8. The
Education Wars
9. The
Diaspora Community
10. The
Clash Within
Chronology
Glossary
Notes
Index
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