Book review of Interrogating India's Modernity by Surinder Jodhka
Indian society has evolved in terms of structures, processes and dynamics of social institutions. While modern institutions of democracy have changed and the idea of citizenship has become popular, ethnic identities and religious beliefs are still strong and entrenched. The question is how do different sections of society participate in this modern India, where issues like religion, caste, urban spaces, global branding, changing hierarchies, civil society and democracy dominate? More importantly, do we really manage to reconcile these differences? These are the issues taken up by Surinder S Jodhka in his book, Interrogating India’s Modernity: Democracy, Identity, and Citizenship (Essays in Honour of Dipankar Gupta).
The book is a collection of 11 essays and pays tribute to the contribution of Dipankar Gupta, one of the most reputed social scientists in the country. Gupta’s views on three issues are brought to the fore before putting forth views of other sociologists. The first is his take on the concept of modernity, which is actually a way of life, where there is little differentiation based on birth. Yet, in Mumbai, which is regarded as the bastion of modernism in the country, we have seen the rise of strong ethnic values typified by the Shiv Sena. While such a movement was expected to decline, this one has not. There have been explanations given, such as this was done by capitalists to break unions. But the fact that the lower- and middle-income classes supported the movement dispels this argument. Second, there is the issue of stratification on which he has a different explanation. While there is a hierarchy based on superiority, lower castes do not quite accept it and still prefer marriages within their own caste, spurning inter-caste weddings. Also, while the idea of sanskritisation did show aspiration, it did not lead to convergence with a higher caste, but only a claim to an equivalent status. Third, the issue of citizenship is serious; we have seen during riots in Mumbai and Gujarat when Muslims have had to periodically prove that they are citizens of the country. This is an unhealthy development. With this encapsulation of some of Gupta’s thought-provoking theories, the author takes in contributions from other social scientists who hold Gupta in high esteem. TB Hansen talks about the growth of cities in India and tackles the issue of communities being forced to live together for better identity and protection. He gives examples of how ‘mohalla committees’ set up in the aftermath of the Mumbai riots had only Muslims taking part, while Hindus stayed away. The result was that Muslims now tend to live together and have been secluded from the mainstream. Another example given is of south Indians, who stay in specific areas in Mumbai, where the twin entities of identity and protection are offered. Jonathan Parry surveys life in the Bhilai Steel Plant and concludes that in these societies, class matters more than caste and, invariably, people belonging to an organisation hierarchy would typically be eating together, where caste or any other social background does not matter. The difference is between naukri, which is permanent employment, and kaam, which is informal work. In a similar light, Andre Beteille expounds on the growth of the middle class, which has ensured that the polarisation spoken of by Karl Marx has not taken place. People enter a class based on education, work, salary and job type, and stratification is more on these lines. In fact, a secretary and managing director of an organisation would belong to the same class based on family income or wealth, and it is no longer the case of hierarchy deciding status. Further, with emerging lifestyles and aspirations, there is movement into this class. At another level, Kriti Kapila distinguishes scheduled tribes from castes and the reservations made for them. While in case of castes, it has been done to right ‘a wrong done over ages’; in case of scheduled tribes, it is more a case of bringing them into mainstream society and hence the motivation for integration. This was brought in after independence, as the British had not done much to alleviate their miseries. In a more contemporary context, Gurpreet Mahajan writes on the growth of the move towards civil society and the anti-corruption crusade that has been launched by Anna Hazare and his followers. This could be more an act of people being pushed to the wall and a cry for better governance, which will pick up as the level of intolerance of the general masses grows. As we can see, this is one of the major political issues, which could tilt the scales in the coming elections. There is also an interesting essay by Christopher Jafrelot, who examines the growth of Hindu nationalism and the now-common mode of governance through what we call coalition governments. Some common threads in extremist parties are that they always accept the rule of law. Second, they invariably dilute their ideology at the time of elections to attract outsiders and appeal to a wider audience. Third, when they do not get a majority, they look at coalition parties, who do not normally share their ideals. Last, they emancipate themselves from their extreme positions and move on successfully. The glaring example is that of the BJP, which has finally followed the path of moderation when in power. This, according to him, is the only way to take the country along in a smooth manner. Two other essays are quite illuminating. The first is by Bimol Akoijam, where he talks of citizenship and what has transpired in our context. In particular, he discusses the use of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives the military powers without any fetters. This, according to him, has been probably overused in places of insurgency, such as Jammu & Kashmir and the north-eastern states—extraordinary powers being used to tackle ordinary issues. Naxalites do talk of overthrowing the government, yet we do not see the application of AFSPA. The other engaging piece is by Sumanta Banerjee on democracy. In the West, citizens have democratic space and rights. It is not so in Asia and here, he gives the example of khap panchayats in India, which have their own laws that punish citizens for marrying out of caste. Yet nothing is done to exterminate these self-styled courts. Quite interestingly, he points out that the US is also no less intolerant, as seen by its reactions to WikiLeaks or its own invasion of Afghanistan or Libya. Then he gives the well-known statistics of how many MPs in India have criminal charges and how many are millionaires—315 of them. More than 25% belong to the industry, trader, builder and business classes. Can we expect a true democracy here or will policies be geared towards their own good? The judiciary, too, is not above all this and the constant use of TADA or POTA to terrorise one’s own citizens makes one think hard about what democracy is all about. The book is brilliant and puts together some of the best minds to write freely on issues where the media could get shy. By adding the sociological angle, there is a lot of explanatory power added to some things we see around us. Gupta should be pleased with this collection, as this is a great acknowledgment of his work.
Indian society has evolved in terms of structures, processes and dynamics of social institutions. While modern institutions of democracy have changed and the idea of citizenship has become popular, ethnic identities and religious beliefs are still strong and entrenched. The question is how do different sections of society participate in this modern India, where issues like religion, caste, urban spaces, global branding, changing hierarchies, civil society and democracy dominate? More importantly, do we really manage to reconcile these differences? These are the issues taken up by Surinder S Jodhka in his book, Interrogating India’s Modernity: Democracy, Identity, and Citizenship (Essays in Honour of Dipankar Gupta).
The book is a collection of 11 essays and pays tribute to the contribution of Dipankar Gupta, one of the most reputed social scientists in the country. Gupta’s views on three issues are brought to the fore before putting forth views of other sociologists. The first is his take on the concept of modernity, which is actually a way of life, where there is little differentiation based on birth. Yet, in Mumbai, which is regarded as the bastion of modernism in the country, we have seen the rise of strong ethnic values typified by the Shiv Sena. While such a movement was expected to decline, this one has not. There have been explanations given, such as this was done by capitalists to break unions. But the fact that the lower- and middle-income classes supported the movement dispels this argument. Second, there is the issue of stratification on which he has a different explanation. While there is a hierarchy based on superiority, lower castes do not quite accept it and still prefer marriages within their own caste, spurning inter-caste weddings. Also, while the idea of sanskritisation did show aspiration, it did not lead to convergence with a higher caste, but only a claim to an equivalent status. Third, the issue of citizenship is serious; we have seen during riots in Mumbai and Gujarat when Muslims have had to periodically prove that they are citizens of the country. This is an unhealthy development. With this encapsulation of some of Gupta’s thought-provoking theories, the author takes in contributions from other social scientists who hold Gupta in high esteem. TB Hansen talks about the growth of cities in India and tackles the issue of communities being forced to live together for better identity and protection. He gives examples of how ‘mohalla committees’ set up in the aftermath of the Mumbai riots had only Muslims taking part, while Hindus stayed away. The result was that Muslims now tend to live together and have been secluded from the mainstream. Another example given is of south Indians, who stay in specific areas in Mumbai, where the twin entities of identity and protection are offered. Jonathan Parry surveys life in the Bhilai Steel Plant and concludes that in these societies, class matters more than caste and, invariably, people belonging to an organisation hierarchy would typically be eating together, where caste or any other social background does not matter. The difference is between naukri, which is permanent employment, and kaam, which is informal work. In a similar light, Andre Beteille expounds on the growth of the middle class, which has ensured that the polarisation spoken of by Karl Marx has not taken place. People enter a class based on education, work, salary and job type, and stratification is more on these lines. In fact, a secretary and managing director of an organisation would belong to the same class based on family income or wealth, and it is no longer the case of hierarchy deciding status. Further, with emerging lifestyles and aspirations, there is movement into this class. At another level, Kriti Kapila distinguishes scheduled tribes from castes and the reservations made for them. While in case of castes, it has been done to right ‘a wrong done over ages’; in case of scheduled tribes, it is more a case of bringing them into mainstream society and hence the motivation for integration. This was brought in after independence, as the British had not done much to alleviate their miseries. In a more contemporary context, Gurpreet Mahajan writes on the growth of the move towards civil society and the anti-corruption crusade that has been launched by Anna Hazare and his followers. This could be more an act of people being pushed to the wall and a cry for better governance, which will pick up as the level of intolerance of the general masses grows. As we can see, this is one of the major political issues, which could tilt the scales in the coming elections. There is also an interesting essay by Christopher Jafrelot, who examines the growth of Hindu nationalism and the now-common mode of governance through what we call coalition governments. Some common threads in extremist parties are that they always accept the rule of law. Second, they invariably dilute their ideology at the time of elections to attract outsiders and appeal to a wider audience. Third, when they do not get a majority, they look at coalition parties, who do not normally share their ideals. Last, they emancipate themselves from their extreme positions and move on successfully. The glaring example is that of the BJP, which has finally followed the path of moderation when in power. This, according to him, is the only way to take the country along in a smooth manner. Two other essays are quite illuminating. The first is by Bimol Akoijam, where he talks of citizenship and what has transpired in our context. In particular, he discusses the use of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives the military powers without any fetters. This, according to him, has been probably overused in places of insurgency, such as Jammu & Kashmir and the north-eastern states—extraordinary powers being used to tackle ordinary issues. Naxalites do talk of overthrowing the government, yet we do not see the application of AFSPA. The other engaging piece is by Sumanta Banerjee on democracy. In the West, citizens have democratic space and rights. It is not so in Asia and here, he gives the example of khap panchayats in India, which have their own laws that punish citizens for marrying out of caste. Yet nothing is done to exterminate these self-styled courts. Quite interestingly, he points out that the US is also no less intolerant, as seen by its reactions to WikiLeaks or its own invasion of Afghanistan or Libya. Then he gives the well-known statistics of how many MPs in India have criminal charges and how many are millionaires—315 of them. More than 25% belong to the industry, trader, builder and business classes. Can we expect a true democracy here or will policies be geared towards their own good? The judiciary, too, is not above all this and the constant use of TADA or POTA to terrorise one’s own citizens makes one think hard about what democracy is all about. The book is brilliant and puts together some of the best minds to write freely on issues where the media could get shy. By adding the sociological angle, there is a lot of explanatory power added to some things we see around us. Gupta should be pleased with this collection, as this is a great acknowledgment of his work.
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