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Paper short abstract:

Intercommunity strife and violence have affected women in myriad complex ways. Women have been disempowered and dispossessed in various ways by precipitating ethnic and sectarian conflicts. But, they have also been active agents, deeply implicated in the promotion of these conflicts.

Paper long abstract:

Intercommunity strife and violence have affected women in myriad complex ways. Women in different parts of the world have faced grave violations, suffering and repression, as a result of vicious battles waged over hardened and reified boundaries. Significantly, these battles have often been transposed onto women’s bodies, fracturing their lives and lifeworlds. Women have been disempowered and dispossessed in various ways by precipitating ethnic and sectarian conflicts. But, they have also been active agents, deeply implicated in the promotion of these conflicts. My paper deals with precisely this conundrum from the perspective of political movements in the Global South. It asks what motivates women to align themselves with the Hindu Right formation in contemporary India and preach violence to further its goals.

India has, of late, been buffeted by a rolling tide of majoritarian Hindu right-wing politics and overt centring of religious identities. This politico-ideological formation is a particularly militant creed, anchored to the idea of Hindu supremacy and envisioning the creation of a Hindu Rashtra or Nation, the borders of which will presumably subsume not just India, but other parts of Asia beyond it.

I was drawn towards examining militant aspirations and activisms of women of the Hindu Right. This paper looks at different dimensions of their militancy, both real and symbolic. For these women, violence against designated ‘others’ is an expedient means to further their movement’s goals. Through detailed conversations and interviews with them, the paper unpacks the considerations and convictions that stitch together these violent activisms.