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Identity, Votes and Violence Degree of Hindu-Muslim Conflict in Gujarat and Rajasthan Katrine Moland Hansen Master Thesis Department of Comparative Politics University of Bergen June 2008 Identity, Votes and Violence Degree of Hindu-Muslim Conflict in Gujarat and Rajasthan Katrine Moland Hansen Master Thesis Department of Comparative Politics University of Bergen June 2008 It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings Mahatma Gandhi* Abstract The thesis explores variation in the degree of Hindu-Muslim conflict in the Indian states Gujarat and Rajasthan. Gujarat is characterised by Hindu-Muslim political conflict as well as endemic religious violence. In 2002 more than 2000 people, predominantly Muslims were killed in religious violence. The State Government, the Police and the Judiciary have displayed pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim sympathies. The government of Rajasthan is generally not perceived as biased, nor has the state experienced widespread religious violence. The religious conflict is manifest through party politics and the degree of conflict is moderate. The analysis of Hindu-Muslim conflict is two-fold. First, the states are compared in terms of degree of Hindu-Muslim polarisation in conventional politics. Cleavage theory is utilised to explore the relationship between crosscutting and overlapping cleavages and Hindu-Muslim polarisation. The role of actors in constructing religious identities and thereby influencing the degree of religious polarisation will be explored through a constructivist approach to identity. Second, states are compared in terms of violence, judicial and government bias. The role of elites in preparing, enacting and explaining violence is explored through an instrumentalist approach to violence, and the relationship between electoral incentives and Hindu-Muslim violence will also be discussed. Furthermore, the thesis also explores incentives and motivation behind violence and other forms of violation of Muslims. The study is a Most Similar Systems Design and it is explorative and case-oriented. The sources includes secondary data and 23 elite interviews. Empirical findings suggest that the Hindu community is more homogenous in Gujarat than Rajasthan due to socio-economic developments as well as the role of actors. The absence of cleavages that crosscut religious identities increases the religious divide in Gujarat. Violence is a deliberate strategy and large-scale violence involves civil as well as state actors. In Gujarat the government’s support for violence is partly related to electoral incentives, but electoral incentives do not explain the variation between states as this strategy has not been utilised under similar conditions in Rajasthan. Variation in the degree of conflict between the two states is related to ideological incentives and the adoption of a hard-line Hindu nationalist ideology. By combining cleavage theory and a constructivist approach this study argues that degree of polarisation influence the potential for mobilising on a Hindu nationalist agenda and the adoption of a hard-line ideology. Religious polarisation and nationalist ideology give incentives for utilising violence as a strategy. Political conflict and violent conflict are not unrelated. Exploring violent conflict in the context of political polarisation reveals conditions that favour the development of violent conflict. * quoted in Verma (2003, 292) i Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Lise Rakner, who has been a source of inspiration. She has given me indispensable support and constructive feedbacks. I am also thankful to Trude Holme who supervised the first part of the writing process and provided helpful advice in the initial phase of the writing and helped me prepare for my fieldwork. Thank you both! I also want to thank the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI) for giving me the opportunity to write my thesis in an inspiring environment. I am thankful to Kari Telle, Are Knudsen, Liv Tønnesen and Hilde Granås Kjøstvedt at the CMI who have given helpful comments on my writing. My thanks also go to co-student Frode Løvlie who has been helpful throughout the writing process and Torunn Olsnes who has read and commented on various sections of my thesis. I am indebted to Himanshu Ardawatia and his family and friends in India who made my stay in Rajasthan very memorable. My thanks also go to Sanjeev Prakash who provided me with contacts and shared his extensive knowledge. I am grateful to all my informants who took time from their busy schedules to meet with me and answer my questions. You have all been as source of inspiration and admire the work that you do. I am thankful to Gunhild, Frode, Torgunn, Carmeliza, Chandra, Kjersti, Inga, Kari, Liv, Hilde, Bård, Trine, Stina, Alessandra and Ida for support and amusing coffee breaks and lunches during my stay at CMI. Finally, thank you Erik for your support and patience. ii ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................................................I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................................. II LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................. IV GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS..............................................................................................................V GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS..............................................................................................................V CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 1 THE AIM OF THE THESIS..................................................................................................................................... 1 UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONFLICT .................................................................................................................. 2 The Creation of Communal Climate............................................................................................................. 4 THE PUZZLE – DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES .............................................................................. 5 THE ARGUMENT................................................................................................................................................. 6 METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES................................................................................................................ 7 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS .................................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK – CONFLICT, POLARISATION, VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION ............................................................................................................................................ 9 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK – OPERATIONALISING HINDU-MUSLIM CONFLICT ................................................. 9 IDENTITY AND POLITICS – STRUCTURAL APPROACHES.................................................................................... 12 CONSTRUCTION OF ETHNIC IDENTITIES – CLEAVAGE CONSTRUCTION ............................................................ 17 Instrumental Violence................................................................................................................................. 21 Vote-Seeking Violence................................................................................................................................ 23 Constructivism and Violence – Rational Action and Ideology ................................................................... 25 Summary – Cleavages, Constructivism, Violence, Votes and Ideology...................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND CASE SELECTION – EXPLORING THE DEGREE OF HINDU-MUSLIM CONFLICT ........................................................................................................................ 27 THE CASE-ORIENTED APPROACH – BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS .................................................................... 28 THE SUBNATIONAL MOST SIMILAR SYSTEMS DESIGN ..................................................................................... 30 CASE SELECTION ............................................................................................................................................. 33 Similar and Dissimilar Features ................................................................................................................ 34 SOURCES – POTENTIAL BIAS AND STRATEGIES FOR COLLECTING RELIABLE DATA......................................... 39 Data Collection .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Summary..................................................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 4: CLEAVAGES AND CONSTRUCTIVISM – THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY IN GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN ......................................................................................................................