ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the politics of religious polarization are evolving in various parts of India and how they are contributing to the rise of Hindutva politics at the national level. While scholars have argued that religious polarization helps the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), how various riots have contributed to the determination of this trend is a puzzle that deserves attention.
Here the focus is on three particular cases of riots: Gujarat in 2002, Kandhamal in 2008 and Muzaffarnagar in 2013. In each case, there were attempts to polarize across religion. In Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, it was between Hindus and Muslims; in Kandhamal, it was between Hindus and Christians. In Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, the electoral rewards are very positive for the BJP, and the party retained power in Gujarat in the 2002 election and continued to do so in later years. The BJP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 and did spectacularly well in 2014. Odisha, however, has defied that trend and the BJP remains in opposition, and the polarization did not help the BJP in reaping electoral rewards to the extent it did in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. What could be the reasons for this varying trend? In what particular ways do riots serve the purposes of politics of religious polarization? How are the respective politics shaped owing to these riots? My narrative will revolve around the answers to these questions, and the chapter will show the connection between riots and politics of religious polarization in contemporary India.
