Politics after Television - Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India

In January 1987, the Indian state-run television began broadcasting a Hindu epic in serial form, The Ramayana, to nationwide audiences, violating a decades-old taboo on religious partisanship. What resulted was the largest political campaign in post-independence times, around the symbol of Lord Ram, led by Hindu nationalists. The complexion of Indian politics was irrevocably changed thereafter. In this book, Arvind Rajagopal analyses this extraordinary series of events. While audiences may have thought they were harking back to an epic golden age, Hindu nationalist leaders were embracing the prospects of neoliberalism and globalisation. Television was the device that hinged these movements together, symbolising the new possibilities of politics, at once more inclusive and authoritarian. Simultaneously, this study examines how the larger historical context was woven into and changed the character of Hindu nationalism.

Sommario

Introduction; 1. Hindu nationalism and the cultural forms of Indian politics; 2. Prime time religion; 3. The communicating thing and its public; 4. A 'Split Public' in the making and unmaking of the Ram Janmabhumi movement; 5. Organization, performance and symbol; 6. Hindutva goes global; Conclusion.

Riassunto

The broadcast on Indian national television in January 1987 of the Hindu epic The Ramayana sparked the largest political campaign in post-independence times, led by Hindu nationalists. Arvind Rajagopal's book analyses this extraordinary series of events. This book will interest scholars of politics, sociology, religion, media, and South Asian studies.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Arvind Rajagopal, Rajagopal Arvind, Arvind Rajaopal
• Editore: Cambridge Academic
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Pubblicazione: 22.01.2001
• EAN: 9780521640534
• ISBN: 978-0-521-64053-4
• Dimensioni: 159 mm x 236 mm x 34 mm
• Peso: 750 g
• Categorie: Scienze sociali, diritto, economia > Sociologia > Teorie sociologiche; Media Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, India, Politics & government, Politics and government, Sociology & anthropology, Sociology and anthropology