Nationalism

How can an event be at once ordinary and extraordinary, simultaneously decisive and indecisive?  The victory of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Indian parliamentary elections of 2014 is indeed a watershed moment; for the first time in the history of independent India, it will be ruled exclusively by a Hindu supremacist party. And yet, a careful look at the way the Modi/BJP campaign produced this victory yields a picture that can only be characterized as simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary, decisive and indecisive.

In 2006 and 2007, I spent several months in Ahmedabad while on a fellowship from my university in the US. During my time in Ahmedabad, I interacted with the mostly-Hindu NGO staff where I was based, residents of the largely Hindu shantytown where the NGO was working, and professors at Gujarat University. Less than five years had passed since the city had gone through its nightmare: vicious riots involving saffron-clad men entering urban neighborhoods and brutalizing, gang-raping, and burning other human beings. Some 1,500 Muslims were killed.

This issue on Policing Sex explores the wider context of the criminalization of homosexuality in India, as well as visions put forth to challenge heterosexism, the police state, and misogyny. 

Sabelo Narasimhan reflects on this year's Gay Pride parade in Bombay, India. In the wake of the recent judgement criminalizing homosexuality, the images in this photoessay reveal the unbounded spirit of rebellion and resistance of the community.

Choreographer Joti Singh reflects on her own familial connections to Ghadar history,  staged recently in her production "Red, Saffron, and Green."

Amal Rana explores how love can inspire revolution.

Dear Readers,

Gendered violence plays a pervasive and significant role in the lives of modern women around the globe. In that vein, we present a special issue on women’s responses and activism against gender-based violence in South Asian and South Asian diasporic communities.

I entered Sri Lankan Tamil politics simply by telling my own story and listening to family and community stories. My earliest childhood memories were of Jaffna (Yalpannam), Sri Lanka—the place after whom I was named. My bedtime stories were of the struggle of Tamil people. Of gatherings tear gassed. Of riots. And of my parents along with the rest of our community, standing up for our rights.

Junaid Rana gives his take on Vijay Prashad's latest text, Uncle Swami

The passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this New Year's eve signals that rather than closing the facility, the government is interested in finding new uses for Guantánamo. We thought it would be worthwhile to revisit Ramzi Kassem's portentious article from the September 11th issue, where he argues that by placing civilian law enforcement on a single continuum with military options the government has set the stage for the (further) militarization of American society.