BASAS ANNUAL WORKSHOP
BASAS Annual Workshop 2004
"Chauvinism in South Asia"
13 November 2004
Governance Research Centre
University of Bristol, UK
in conjunction with the Politics of South Asia Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association
FULL PROGRAMME
- 10.30: Arrival & coffee
- 11.00 — 12.00:
- Neil DeVotta (Hartwick College) Chauvinism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka
- Discussant: James Chiriyankandath (London Metropolitan University)
- 12.00 — 1.00:
- Prasun Sonwalker (University of the West of England) Assamese Chauvinism and the Political Dynamics of North East India
- Discussant: Gareth Price (Royal Institute for International Affairs)
- 1.00 — 1.45 pm: Lunch
- 1.45 — 2.45 pm:
- Emma Mawdsley (Birkbeck College) The Abuse of Religion and Ecology: The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Tehri Dam
- Discussant: Barbara Harriss-White (University of Oxford)
- 2.45 — 3.15: Tea break
- 3.15 — 4.15 pm:
- Dibyesh Anand (University of Bath) Imagining Muslims: Hindutva's politics of representation
- Discussant: John Zavos (University of Manchester)
- 4.15 — 4.45: Tea and close
REGISTRATION
The workshop is free of charge to members of BASAS and the Political Studies Association subgroup.
However, the room has a limited capacity so participants will need to register their attendance with Ben Kisby at Ben.Kisby@bristol.ac.uk
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information, please contact workshop organiser Dr Andrew Wyatt via telephone +44 (0)117 928 8477 or email at a.k.j.wyatt@bristol.ac.uk
Address: Governance Research Centre, Department of Politics, University of Bristol, 10 Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK.
Maps and guides to and of the University of Bristol.
THANKS
With financial support from the British Association of South Asian Studies and the Politics of South Asia Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association.
PROGRAMME REPORT
The first annual workshop to be convened by BASAS in addition to their annual conference was held in the Department of Politics at the University of Bristol on the 13th November 2004.
Four papers were presented, all focusing on different aspects of Chauvinism in South Asia. Professor Neil DeVotta (Hardwick College, USA) presented his paper on Chauvinism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka. Professor DeVotta argued that chauvinism has not been confined to either the Sinhalese or the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. He pointed out that the lack of consociational elements in the original constitution of 1948 led to the exclusion of the Tamil community. He placed emphasis on the role of individuals in exacerbating the conflict, notably the decision of Bandaranaike to start mobilising around the issue of Sinhala as the national language. This 'ethnic outbidding' of politicians in the Sinhalese opposition has been a prevalent feature of Sri Lankan politics. He noted that no one could foresee how violent or intolerant the Tamil Tigers would become; many moderate politicians and academics initially supporting their campaign. He discussed the constitutional options available, noting the reluctance of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka to concede any form of devolution or federal government that would 'split' the island. He pointed to a new trend; that of anti Christian violence during 2004. He also stressed that the Tamils involved in the current conflict were more radicalised than their predecessors because of their indoctrination as children. The discussant, Dr James Chriyankandath (London Metropolitan), noted that DeVotta's paper outlined the wider context within which Chauvinism thrives in Sri Lanka and posed the question, under what conditions do certain chauvinisms thrive? He argued that it would be instructive to compare the case of Sri Lanka to that of Nigeria — where federalism in the 1960s did not prevent conflict and a secessionist movement. Dr Chriyankandath pleaded for the term 'chauvinism' to become part of political discourse — arguing that the term 'nationalist' legitimised Hindu chauvinism.
Dr Prasun Sonwalkar presented his paper on Assamese Chauvinism and the Political Dynamics of North East India. He argued that chauvinism should be understood in terms of 'us' and 'them', and that chauvinism in India was not confined to Assam. He sought to understand how the reorganisation of Assam, and the creation of tribal states from its territory, has contributed to chauvinism in the area. He discussed the colonial segregation of tribes, and noted that this continued in independent India through the permit system. He argued that measures to uplift tribes had led to separatist demands. His paper was discussed by Dr Gareth Price (Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House). Dr Price noted that language was the only identity that the Assamese had, given that there were so many migrants into the area. He noted that the targets of Assamese movements such as ULFA had changed according to pragmatic considerations — when supported by Bangladesh in 1996, their targets changed from Bengali to Bihari speakers. He also pointed out that ULFA has worked with both Nagas and Bodos against the centre, even though Naga and Bodo demands potentially split Assam.
The third paper to be presented was by Dr Emma Mawdsley (Birkbeck). Her paper was entitled The Abuse of Religion and Ecology: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Tehri Dam. Dr Mawdsley argued that despite many arguments suggesting a positive relationship between Hinduism and ecology, a more critical assessment is needed. She noted that no religion was designed specifically to deal with ecology, and that all religions are internally diverse. She analysed the failed attempts of the VHP to appropriate the issue of the Tehri Dam — mobilising around the issue of temple destruction and the sacred path of the Ganges. She noted that the 'threat' of the dam was often portrayed as a 'Muslim conspiracy'. She argued that the VHP did not get involved in the clean up the Ganges campaign, because they were not able to frame the campaign in an anti-Muslim way. She also mentioned the attempts by some environmental leaders to utilise the VHP in their campaign against the dam.
The final paper to be presented was by Dr Dibyesh Anand (University of Bath). Dr Anand's paper, entitled Imagining Muslims: Hindutva's politics of representation, concerned the portrayal of the Muslim community during and after the Gujarat riots of 2002. He argued that although the way a community is portrayed or 'represented' does not kill or physically hurt a community, it 'normalises' violent practice among the majority community and shifts blame for the violence onto the victims. He wanted to draw attention to the silent majority who were 'complicit' in the violence in Gujarat. He noted how the discourse of politics had shifted to the right in India. Dr John Zavos (Manchester) discussing the paper argued that it is very difficult to separate why something happens from how it happens. He complemented the approach taken in the paper and pointed to Thomas Blom Hansen's notion of 'politics as permanent performance'. He argued that riots and acts of violence could be fruitfully explored using this approach and that Hansen's approach was consistent with the methodology and concerns expressed in the paper.
The workshop was convened by Dr Andrew Wyatt of the Department of Politics, University of Bristol. Carole Spary and Ben Kisby, both doctoral students in the Department, greatly contributed to the organisation of the workshop.
Dr Katharine Adeney
Secretary of the British Association of South Asian Studies
Chair of the Politics of South Asia Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association
Department of Politics
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TU
United Kingdom
Email k.adeney@sheffield.ac.uk