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Ambiguous reasons for the unexpected relief of the BJP's ouster in New Delhi: less a clear-cut verdict on Hindutva or neoliberalism than vicissitudes of regional power-broking & first-past-the-post electoral lottery? Congress is caught between loyalty to the stock market & pressures of the poor, as it seeks to recover its position as the mainstream reference of Indian capital. Adapted from the source document.

Analyzes the Hindu-Muslim conflict in light of nationalist politics in India; examines the cultural nationalist movement (Hindutva), and popular response to forming a "Rashtra" or Hindu nation. Covers the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organizations.

A case study of Indian Hindu right-wing icon Rithambara as orator/activist in mobilizing nationalist support for the Ramjanmabhumi movement underpins a discussion of the performative spaces she & others like her occupy & the impact of such discursivity. It is contended that the sexualized & violent speech of such Hindu nationalist public performers is dictated by the role they play in the movement as instigators of emotion & as progenitors of collective identifications. At issue is the challenge to the women-pacifism relationship -- particularly the Ghandhian equation of femininity with nurturance, spiritual strength, & nonviolence -- brought by this exercise of violence. It is contended that the confused narratives of Rithambara's speech might be rehearsed for effect, but the performative space exposes the audience to "queer pleasures" in stark contrast to the pedagogic heteronormative Hindutva discourse. Rithambara's performances dutifully work for the Hindutva; however, they also evidence a hidden rage against the Hindu nationalist male cadre. Formulations of "queer" are scrutinized to illuminate a reading of the "queer body," & context-specific designations of normative sexuality are defined to delineate the queer in Rithambara's performances. Historical aspects of RSS & Samiti gendered & sexed imaginaries are examined to position the local norm against which is pitted the queer bodies of Rithambara's performances as seen in an Apr 1991 speech. Two nodes of queerness are discerned: (1) She evokes the queer unruly body in attempting to establish Hindu normativity. (2) Bigendered Rithambara & her audiences might elicit queer (political) pleasures from consuming queer bodies, landscapes, & her discourse. It is concluded that such a postmodern politics of pleasure might have more staying power in this context than thought by much feminist criticism. J. Zendejas

A case study of Indian Hindu right-wing icon Rithambara as orator/activist in mobilizing nationalist support for the Ramjanmabhumi movement underpins a discussion of the performative spaces she & others like her occupy & the impact of such discursivity. It is contended that the sexualized & violent speech of such Hindu nationalist public performers is dictated by the role they play in the movement as instigators of emotion & as progenitors of collective identifications. At issue is the challenge to the women-pacifism relationship -- particularly the Ghandhian equation of femininity with nurturance, spiritual strength, & nonviolence -- brought by this exercise of violence. It is contended that the confused narratives of Rithambara's speech might be rehearsed for effect, but the performative space exposes the audience to "queer pleasures" in stark contrast to the pedagogic heteronormative Hindutva discourse. Rithambara's performances dutifully work for the Hindutva; however, they also evidence a hidden rage against the Hindu nationalist male cadre. Formulations of "queer" are scrutinized to illuminate a reading of the "queer body," & context-specific designations of normative sexuality are defined to delineate the queer in Rithambara's performances. Historical aspects of RSS & Samiti gendered & sexed imaginaries are examined to position the local norm against which is pitted the queer bodies of Rithambara's performances as seen in an Apr 1991 speech. Two nodes of queerness are discerned: (1) She evokes the queer unruly body in attempting to establish Hindu normativity. (2) Bigendered Rithambara & her audiences might elicit queer (political) pleasures from consuming queer bodies, landscapes, & her discourse. It is concluded that such a postmodern politics of pleasure might have more staying power in this context than thought by much feminist criticism. J. Zendejas

"Hindutva" (Herrschaft der Hindus); zentrale Elemente der "Hindutva"-Ideologie; die Entwicklung seit den 80er Jahren; religiöse Identität und Vorurteile in Indien; die subversive Kraft von Gerüchten und Gegeninitiativen für Verständigung. - Zwei kurze Beiträge zum Umgang der Tagespresse mit Shiv Sena und den Moslems. - Teil 1 erschien in "Südasien", Heft 1-2/93