In this lecture, Christophe Jaffrelot will speak about how Modi's India is becoming a Hindu vigilante state, drawing on his conclusions published in his most recent book: "Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy".

In the book, Jaffrelot finds that since 2014, a vigilante state is taking shape in the BJP-ruled states of India. He argues that this is the result from the growing osmosis of two types of players:

1. Hindu nationalist vigilante groups which enforce a form of cultural policing in society and;
2. The administrative apparatus, including the police, which reports to the ruling party, the BJP.

This trend, affecting not only religious minorities but so-called “deviant” Hindus, is a reflection of the socio-political agenda of the Sangh Parivar (an umbrella of Hindutva groups led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).

Jaffrelot argues that the trend finds expression in symbolic as well as physical violence in different parts of India, fostering ghettoization and transforming minorities, including Muslims, into de facto second class citizens

About the speaker

Christophe Jaffrelot (born 12 February 1964) is a French political scientist and Indologist specialising in South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan.

He is currently Avantha Chair and Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at the King's India Institute and also the Research Lead for the Global Institutes, King’s College London.

He teaches South Asian politics and history at Sciences Po, Paris and is an Overseas Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was Director of Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI) at Sciences Po, between 2000 and 2008.

The SASNET Annual Lecture is organised by SASNET and the Association of Foreign Affairs (UPF) at Lund University.

No registration is needed for this event - welcome!