Chhattisgarh: Hindutva in Mohanpur - an ethnographic account

(Published in Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute, 2006, 12, 39-59)
Emphasizing ‘Others’: the emergence of Hindu nationalism in a central Indian tribal community

by Peggy Froerer
Brunel University

This article is an ethnographic account of the rise of Hindu nationalism in a central Indian ‘tribal’ (adivasi) community. It is a response to the lack of ethnographic attention within wider nationalist discourse to the kinds of social conditions and processes that have contributed to the manifestation of nationalism at the grass-roots level. It is argued that the successful spread of Hindu nationalism in specifically tribal areas is due to the instrumentalist involvement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization, in local affairs. The
outcome of such involvement is the promotion of the threatening ‘Other’ and the attachment of ethnic group loyalties to a wider nationalist agenda.

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