ABSTRACT The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act, 1919, and the Government of ... more ABSTRACT The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act, 1919, and the Government of India Act, 1935, defined political space—an arena of political negotiations through electoral representation—along religious lines. The most crucial aspect of these legislative-institutional developments was the definition and delimitation of ‘communal-territorial constituencies’, and franchisee qualifications. This specific colonial form of representative politics, which was debated, negotiated, and translated by the religio-political elite in the arena of local politics, produced a communal notion of space. Thus, each of the localities, wards, cities, and regions at large were officially demarcated into Muhammadan, General/Hindu, Sikh, and Indian-Christian electoral constituencies. The paper explores the intricacies of this process and the complex question of ‘representation’ during the period of the national movement. It argues that this official demarcation of social groups and localities into political constituencies produced a complex configuration of identity and space, which had multiple manifestations with extended franchises. It established electoral representation as a mode to make legitimate claims and counterclaims over space.
This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the triple talaq controversy in India. It examines ... more This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the triple talaq controversy in India. It examines the claims and counterclaims made by different political actors on three core issues – the practice of instant triple talaq called talaq al-bid’ah, the Muslim Personal Law (MPL), and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) – and their popular media representations.1 These claims are examined in the broad framework of the debates on women’s rights and reforms in personal law in India with special reference to MPL. For the sake of analysis, such claims are divided into two categories: those who support the government’s legal initiatives to ban and criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq (the supporters); and those who oppose the triple talaq bill and criticise the government for its overt politicisation. The binary between the supporters/opponents, the chapter tries to show, produces a dominant media-driven discourse. The nuanced arguments made by Muslim women’s organisations, however, do not find any space in these highly charged political debates. The paper maps out the contours of the present debate to demonstrate how the identity, rights, and liberties of women in general, and Muslim women in particular, once again became an agenda for patriarchal negotiations. It is argued that women, in this schema, turn out to be mere receivers of what is being considered and offered as an ‘appropriate’ and ‘rightful’ share of equality for them – whether it’s about a promise for model Nikah Nama or criminalisation of triple talaq.
ABSTRACT
The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act,
1919, and the Government of ... more ABSTRACT The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act, 1919, and the Government of India Act, 1935, defined political space—an arena of political negotiations through electoral representation—along religious lines. The most crucial aspect of these legislative-institutional developments was the definition and delimitation of ‘communal-territorial constituencies’, and franchisee qualifications. This specific colonial form of representative politics, which was debated, negotiated, and translated by the religio-political elite in the arena of local politics, produced a communal notion of space. Thus, each of the localities, wards, cities, and regions at large were officially demarcated into Muhammadan, General/Hindu, Sikh, and Indian-Christian electoral constituencies. The paper explores the intricacies of this process and the complex question of ‘representation’ during the period of the national movement. It argues that this official demarcation of social groups and localities into political constituencies produced a complex configuration of identity and space, which had multiple manifestations with extended franchises. It established electoral representation as a mode to make legitimate claims and counterclaims over space.
Citizenship Volume II, Centre for Development Policy and Practice , 2023
The CAA–NRS debate has evoked the discursive constitution of community–space relations. The const... more The CAA–NRS debate has evoked the discursive constitution of community–space relations. The constant reference to the status of minorities purely in terms of their religious identity evoking historical injustice against ‘Hindus’ in the ‘Muslim’ nations in South Asia exemplifies, apart from all other complex socio-economic processes, the recurrence of the discourse of ‘homeland’ – a political metaphor that redefined the politics of the Indian subcontinent in an unprecedented manner in the 1940s and eventually led to partition on communal lines. The recent debates and public discussions on the legal status of Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam and repeated statements that ‘Muslims must go to Pakistan’ reminds us that the discourse, which established competing notions of the territorial nation(s) as strong political ideologies in South Asia, survives in Indian politics even after seven decades of Independence and the turmoil of Partition. The paper argues that the reformulated ideas of homelands or the dominant political ideologies set the contours of post-independence Indian politics and produced a discursive notion of citizenship. The gradual, yet, significant, shift in the mainstream political discourse from state-centric secularism to the communal identity-based narrative in the post-1980s demonstrates the reoccurrence of the category of ‘religion’ as a marker of identity and space in the legal-official vocabulary.
The thesis investigates community-space relationship in colonial and post-colonial Delhi. Examini... more The thesis investigates community-space relationship in colonial and post-colonial Delhi. Examining the process of identification, demarcation, organization and/or re-organization of space on the basis of religious demographics, the study questions the dominant imagination of ‘Muslim space’ as an objective, homogenous and permanent category. The research relies on extensive use of archival sources from national and local government, Urdu, Hindi and English-language newspaper reports and oral history interviews. The thesis particularly focuses on Shahjahanabad, that later became Old Delhi, to trace the story of the gradual transformation of caste/craft based shared community spaces into religion based ‘segregated’ pockets during the period of 1940-1977. The study argues that the notion of communal space in Delhi is a product of a long historical process. The discourse of homeland and the realities of Partition not only demarcated space on religious lines but also established the not...
The issue of cow preservation is predominantly seen as a battle between communal/orthodox and lib... more The issue of cow preservation is predominantly seen as a battle between communal/orthodox and liberal/secular ideologies represented by Hindu nationalists and Congress, respectively. In this schema, Hindu nationalists projected themselves as protectors of cow, while Congress seemed to oppose such proposals. The question of how both regimes used cow as a significant symbol for strengthening their politics and positions for favourable political equilibrium in the past 60 years remains under-researched. The article argues that the dynamics of electoral politics in India should not merely be reduced to the ideologies of different political regimes; instead, a critical understanding of successful and timely appropriation of popular religious sensibilities needs to be explored.
The project traces how different communities of Nepal have been conceptualized as a nation. It of... more The project traces how different communities of Nepal have been conceptualized as a nation. It offers a definition of their intrinsic relationship with different forms of Nepali state. The project examines the idea of inclusiveness—an idea which has recently gained popularity after the rise of the Maoist democratic regime. Inclusiveness has been regarded as a point of reference in looking at various political/administrative discourses which define Nepal as a singular entity and provide legitimate conceptual spaces to minorities. Beyond the conventional mainstream/minority discourse binary, the project traces the genealogy of the concept of minority. It examines issues and concerns related to Muslims that pose a challenge to the formation of the erstwhile Hindu kingdom of Nepal, as well as the newly established democratic republican state. This Muslim-centric approach is also linked with the policy discourse on preferential treatment, a demand rife with significant political overtone...
ABSTRACT The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act, 1919, and the Government of ... more ABSTRACT The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act, 1919, and the Government of India Act, 1935, defined political space—an arena of political negotiations through electoral representation—along religious lines. The most crucial aspect of these legislative-institutional developments was the definition and delimitation of ‘communal-territorial constituencies’, and franchisee qualifications. This specific colonial form of representative politics, which was debated, negotiated, and translated by the religio-political elite in the arena of local politics, produced a communal notion of space. Thus, each of the localities, wards, cities, and regions at large were officially demarcated into Muhammadan, General/Hindu, Sikh, and Indian-Christian electoral constituencies. The paper explores the intricacies of this process and the complex question of ‘representation’ during the period of the national movement. It argues that this official demarcation of social groups and localities into political constituencies produced a complex configuration of identity and space, which had multiple manifestations with extended franchises. It established electoral representation as a mode to make legitimate claims and counterclaims over space.
This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the triple talaq controversy in India. It examines ... more This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the triple talaq controversy in India. It examines the claims and counterclaims made by different political actors on three core issues – the practice of instant triple talaq called talaq al-bid’ah, the Muslim Personal Law (MPL), and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) – and their popular media representations.1 These claims are examined in the broad framework of the debates on women’s rights and reforms in personal law in India with special reference to MPL. For the sake of analysis, such claims are divided into two categories: those who support the government’s legal initiatives to ban and criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq (the supporters); and those who oppose the triple talaq bill and criticise the government for its overt politicisation. The binary between the supporters/opponents, the chapter tries to show, produces a dominant media-driven discourse. The nuanced arguments made by Muslim women’s organisations, however, do not find any space in these highly charged political debates. The paper maps out the contours of the present debate to demonstrate how the identity, rights, and liberties of women in general, and Muslim women in particular, once again became an agenda for patriarchal negotiations. It is argued that women, in this schema, turn out to be mere receivers of what is being considered and offered as an ‘appropriate’ and ‘rightful’ share of equality for them – whether it’s about a promise for model Nikah Nama or criminalisation of triple talaq.
ABSTRACT
The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act,
1919, and the Government of ... more ABSTRACT The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act, 1919, and the Government of India Act, 1935, defined political space—an arena of political negotiations through electoral representation—along religious lines. The most crucial aspect of these legislative-institutional developments was the definition and delimitation of ‘communal-territorial constituencies’, and franchisee qualifications. This specific colonial form of representative politics, which was debated, negotiated, and translated by the religio-political elite in the arena of local politics, produced a communal notion of space. Thus, each of the localities, wards, cities, and regions at large were officially demarcated into Muhammadan, General/Hindu, Sikh, and Indian-Christian electoral constituencies. The paper explores the intricacies of this process and the complex question of ‘representation’ during the period of the national movement. It argues that this official demarcation of social groups and localities into political constituencies produced a complex configuration of identity and space, which had multiple manifestations with extended franchises. It established electoral representation as a mode to make legitimate claims and counterclaims over space.
Citizenship Volume II, Centre for Development Policy and Practice , 2023
The CAA–NRS debate has evoked the discursive constitution of community–space relations. The const... more The CAA–NRS debate has evoked the discursive constitution of community–space relations. The constant reference to the status of minorities purely in terms of their religious identity evoking historical injustice against ‘Hindus’ in the ‘Muslim’ nations in South Asia exemplifies, apart from all other complex socio-economic processes, the recurrence of the discourse of ‘homeland’ – a political metaphor that redefined the politics of the Indian subcontinent in an unprecedented manner in the 1940s and eventually led to partition on communal lines. The recent debates and public discussions on the legal status of Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam and repeated statements that ‘Muslims must go to Pakistan’ reminds us that the discourse, which established competing notions of the territorial nation(s) as strong political ideologies in South Asia, survives in Indian politics even after seven decades of Independence and the turmoil of Partition. The paper argues that the reformulated ideas of homelands or the dominant political ideologies set the contours of post-independence Indian politics and produced a discursive notion of citizenship. The gradual, yet, significant, shift in the mainstream political discourse from state-centric secularism to the communal identity-based narrative in the post-1980s demonstrates the reoccurrence of the category of ‘religion’ as a marker of identity and space in the legal-official vocabulary.
The thesis investigates community-space relationship in colonial and post-colonial Delhi. Examini... more The thesis investigates community-space relationship in colonial and post-colonial Delhi. Examining the process of identification, demarcation, organization and/or re-organization of space on the basis of religious demographics, the study questions the dominant imagination of ‘Muslim space’ as an objective, homogenous and permanent category. The research relies on extensive use of archival sources from national and local government, Urdu, Hindi and English-language newspaper reports and oral history interviews. The thesis particularly focuses on Shahjahanabad, that later became Old Delhi, to trace the story of the gradual transformation of caste/craft based shared community spaces into religion based ‘segregated’ pockets during the period of 1940-1977. The study argues that the notion of communal space in Delhi is a product of a long historical process. The discourse of homeland and the realities of Partition not only demarcated space on religious lines but also established the not...
The issue of cow preservation is predominantly seen as a battle between communal/orthodox and lib... more The issue of cow preservation is predominantly seen as a battle between communal/orthodox and liberal/secular ideologies represented by Hindu nationalists and Congress, respectively. In this schema, Hindu nationalists projected themselves as protectors of cow, while Congress seemed to oppose such proposals. The question of how both regimes used cow as a significant symbol for strengthening their politics and positions for favourable political equilibrium in the past 60 years remains under-researched. The article argues that the dynamics of electoral politics in India should not merely be reduced to the ideologies of different political regimes; instead, a critical understanding of successful and timely appropriation of popular religious sensibilities needs to be explored.
The project traces how different communities of Nepal have been conceptualized as a nation. It of... more The project traces how different communities of Nepal have been conceptualized as a nation. It offers a definition of their intrinsic relationship with different forms of Nepali state. The project examines the idea of inclusiveness—an idea which has recently gained popularity after the rise of the Maoist democratic regime. Inclusiveness has been regarded as a point of reference in looking at various political/administrative discourses which define Nepal as a singular entity and provide legitimate conceptual spaces to minorities. Beyond the conventional mainstream/minority discourse binary, the project traces the genealogy of the concept of minority. It examines issues and concerns related to Muslims that pose a challenge to the formation of the erstwhile Hindu kingdom of Nepal, as well as the newly established democratic republican state. This Muslim-centric approach is also linked with the policy discourse on preferential treatment, a demand rife with significant political overtone...
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Papers by Nazima Parveen
The paper maps out the contours of the present debate to demonstrate how the identity, rights, and liberties of women in general, and Muslim women in particular, once again became an agenda for patriarchal negotiations. It is argued that women, in this schema, turn out to be mere receivers of what is being considered and offered as an ‘appropriate’ and ‘rightful’ share of equality for them – whether it’s about a promise for model Nikah Nama or criminalisation of triple talaq.
The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act,
1919, and the Government of India Act, 1935, defined political
space—an arena of political negotiations through electoral
representation—along religious lines. The most crucial aspect of
these legislative-institutional developments was the definition and
delimitation of ‘communal-territorial constituencies’, and franchisee
qualifications. This specific colonial form of representative
politics, which was debated, negotiated, and translated by the
religio-political elite in the arena of local politics, produced a communal
notion of space. Thus, each of the localities, wards, cities, and regions at large were officially demarcated into
Muhammadan, General/Hindu, Sikh, and Indian-Christian electoral
constituencies. The paper explores the intricacies of this process
and the complex question of ‘representation’ during the period of
the national movement. It argues that this official demarcation of
social groups and localities into political constituencies produced
a complex configuration of identity and space, which had multiple
manifestations with extended franchises. It established electoral
representation as a mode to make legitimate claims and
counterclaims over space.
The paper maps out the contours of the present debate to demonstrate how the identity, rights, and liberties of women in general, and Muslim women in particular, once again became an agenda for patriarchal negotiations. It is argued that women, in this schema, turn out to be mere receivers of what is being considered and offered as an ‘appropriate’ and ‘rightful’ share of equality for them – whether it’s about a promise for model Nikah Nama or criminalisation of triple talaq.
The Indian Councils Act, 1909, the Government of India Act,
1919, and the Government of India Act, 1935, defined political
space—an arena of political negotiations through electoral
representation—along religious lines. The most crucial aspect of
these legislative-institutional developments was the definition and
delimitation of ‘communal-territorial constituencies’, and franchisee
qualifications. This specific colonial form of representative
politics, which was debated, negotiated, and translated by the
religio-political elite in the arena of local politics, produced a communal
notion of space. Thus, each of the localities, wards, cities, and regions at large were officially demarcated into
Muhammadan, General/Hindu, Sikh, and Indian-Christian electoral
constituencies. The paper explores the intricacies of this process
and the complex question of ‘representation’ during the period of
the national movement. It argues that this official demarcation of
social groups and localities into political constituencies produced
a complex configuration of identity and space, which had multiple
manifestations with extended franchises. It established electoral
representation as a mode to make legitimate claims and
counterclaims over space.