Invitation from US congressman Cleaver to a forum on impact of Hindu nationalism

From: The Honorable Emanuel Cleaver
Sent By: kristen.handley@mail.house.gov
Date: 5/19/2009


Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
Invites you to a forum featuring
Angana P. Chatterji, Author of
Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India's Present; Narratives from Orissa
THURSDAY, MAY 21ST, 5-6 PM IN 122 CANNON


Dear Colleague,

Please join me for a forum with Angana Chatterji, author of the recently released book, Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India's Present; Narratives from Orissa. This event will take place Thursday, May 21st from 5-6 p.m. in 122 Cannon House Office Building. India's national elections ended this week, making this an excellent opportunity to explore the impact of Hindu nationalism and the future of India's democracy in light of the recent spate of communal violence and terrorist attacks.

This book provides an insightful analysis of Hindu nationalism in India today, including a revealing account of Hindu militant mobilizations as an authoritarian movement manifested throughout several dimensions of Indian society. In chronicling concerted action against Christians and Muslims, Adivasis and Dalits, through spectacles, events, public executions, the riots in Kandhamal of December 2007 and August-September 2008, the planned, methodical politics of terror unfolds in its multiple registers. Chatterji asks critical questions that address the threat Hindu nationalism poses to India's tradition of religious tolerance and democracy.

Chatterji is associate professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. She has traveled numerous times into Orissa to chronicle the conflict there, and has also served on human rights commissions and tribunals, conducted workshops and lectured at various universities and organizations in the United States, and internationally. Presently Chatterji is co-convener of the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Kristen Handley of my staff at 5-4535 or Kristen.handley@mail.house.gov. Signed copies of the book will be available for interested Members at this event.


Warmest regards,


Emanuel Cleaver
Member of Congress