3 Review(s)

For the past few decades, powerful political forces have sought to make the Indian state Hindu. Their rising influence since 1980 has occurred during a period of radical change in Indian society and politics, and has been accomplished by electoral means as well as by organized violence. The 1996 elections have been a major test of their power and the influence of Hindu majoritarianism among the Indian electorate. Animated by a sense of urgency that was heightened by the massive violence following the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992, Making India Hindu explores Hindu majoritarian politics over the last century and its dramatic reformulation during the decline of the Congress Party in the 1980s. Twelve prominent scholars from India, Europe and the United States provide perspectives from the fields of political science, religious studies, history, art history, and anthropology, comparing trends in India and ethnic, religious, and cultural movements in other parts of the world. In the preface to the second edition, Ludden brings this classic volume up-to-date with current events. He provides an incisive account of how Hindutva operates inside India's political mainstream along with an analysis of the recently held elections.