India’s Majoritarian Nationalism: Challenge to Pluralism and Inclusion

Authors

  • Irfan Ahmad Mir Aligarh Muslim University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v4i1.12276

Keywords:

Majoritarianism, Pluralism, Exclusion of Minorities, Multicultural Society

Abstract

India, one of the most diverse and plural societies in the world, is witnessing a significant erosion of its liberal-secular foundations as enshrined in its Constitution. The explosive growth of radical right-wing forces poses a grave threat to pluralism, as attacks on Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and other marginalized groups often go unpunished. In a multicultural society, differences are inevitable, but these differences are increasingly being manipulated to incite organized conflicts and violent outbursts. Majoritarian ideologies are being imposed on minority cultures, exacerbating the insecurity of non-dominant groups through targeted violence such as mob lynchings. This study highlights the urgent need to confront these trends to safeguard India's democratic ideals, restore pluralism, and revitalize the nation’s institutions against the rise of extremist forces.

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Adeney, K., & Lall, M. (2005). Institutional attempts to build a “national” identity in India: Internal and external dimensions. India Review, 4(3-4), 258–286.

Brown, J. M. (2003). Nehru: A political life. Yale University Press.

Capoccia, G., Sáez, L., & de Rooij, E. (2012). When state responses fail: Religion and secessionism in India 1952–2002. The Journal of Politics, 74(4), 1010–1022.

Democracy in Retreat | Freedom House. (2019). Freedomhouse.org. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/democracy-retreat

Girvin, B. (2020). From civic pluralism to ethnoreligious majoritarianism: Majority nationalism in India. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 26(1), 27–45.

Gottlob, M. (2007). India’s unity in diversity as a question of historical perspective. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(9), 779–789.

Guha, R. (2007). India after Gandhi: The history of the world’s largest democracy. Macmillan.

Hansen, T. B. (2019). Democracy against the law: Reflections on India’s illiberal democracy. In A. P. Chatterji, T. B. Hansen, & C. Jaffrelot (Eds.), Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism Is Changing India. C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd.

Hudawi, Z. (2015). Religious intolerance as a challenge to pluralistic existence. India’s experience. Danubius, 33(2), 17–26.

Kooiman, D. (2002). Communalism and indian princely states. Manohar Publishers and Distributors.

Lacina, B. (2014). How governments shape the risk of civil violence: India’s federal reorganization, 1950-56. American Journal of Political Science, 58(3), 720–738.

Lijphart, A. (1996). The puzzle of indian democracy: A consociational interpretation. American Political Science Review, 90(2), 258–268. https://doi.org/10.2307/2082883

Mitra, S. K. (2013). The ambivalent moderation of hindu nationalism in india. Australian Journal of Political Science, 48(3), 269–285.

Mitra, S. K., & Singh, V. B. (1999). Democracy and social change in India: A cross-sectional analysis of the national electorate. Sage.

O’leary, B. (2001). An iron law of nationalism and federation?: A (neo‐diceyian) theory of the necessity of a federal staatsvolk , and of consociational rescue. Nations and Nationalism, 7(3), 273–296.

Palshikar, S. (2004). Majoritarian Middle Ground? Economic and Political Weekly, 39(51), 5426–5430.

Palshikar, S., Suri, K. C., & Yadav, Y. (Eds.). (2014). Party competition in Indian states: Electoral politics in post-congress polity. Oxford University Press.

Religion data - population of hindu / muslim / sikh / christian - census 2011 India. (2011). Census2011.Co.in. https://www.census2011.co.in/religion.php

Roy, S. K. (2005). Conflicting nations in north-east India. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(21), 2176–2182.

Seshia, S. (1998). Divide and rule in Indian party politics: The rise of the Bharatiya Janata party. Asian Survey, 38(11), 1036–1050.

Singh, G. (2000). Ethnic conflict in India. Palgrave MacMillan.

Stepan, A. C., Linz, J. J., & Yadav, Y. (2010). Crafting state-nations: India and other multinational democracies. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Stokes, B., Manevich, D., & Chwe, H. (2017, November 15). Three years in, Modi remains very popular. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2017/11/15/india-modi-remains-very-popular-three-years-in/

Upadhyay, S. P., & Robinson, R. (2012). Revisiting communalism and fundamentalism in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 47(36), 35–57.

Yadav, Y. (1999). Electoral politics in the time of change: India’s third electoral system, 1989-99’. Economic and Political Weekly, 34(34-35), 2393–2399.

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Published

2025-01-15

How to Cite

Mir, I. A. . (2025). India’s Majoritarian Nationalism: Challenge to Pluralism and Inclusion. East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 4(1), 53–66. https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v4i1.12276