Colonialism and Patterns of Ethnic Conflict in Contemporary India by Ajay Verghese B.A. in Political Science and in French, May 2005, Temple University A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 31st, 2013 Dissertation directed by Emmanuel Teitelbaum Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that Ajay Verghese has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of August 22nd, 2012. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. Colonialism and Patterns of Ethnic Conflict in Contemporary India Ajay Verghese Dissertation Research Committee: Emmanuel Teitelbaum, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Dissertation Director Henry E. Hale, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Committee Member Henry J. Farrell, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Committee Member ii © Copyright 2012 by Ajay Verghese All rights reserved iii Acknowledgements Completing a Ph.D. and writing a dissertation are rather difficult tasks, and it pleases me to now finally have the opportunity to thank the numerous individuals who have provided support one way or another over the years. There are unfortunately too many people to recognize so I apologize in advance for those I may have forgotten. Foremost, I benefited immensely from a stellar dissertation committee. My greatest thanks go to Manny Teitelbaum, my dissertation chair. Most of what I know about being a scholar I learned from Manny. Most importantly, he was never afraid to spare the criticism, and my work wouldn't be the same without his tough love. Henry Hale was also a great mentor during the researching and writing of this project, including conducting many a Skype conversation with me when I was lost in the field. Henry also wins the award for fastest e-mail turnaround in the history of dissertation advising. Finally, Henry Farrell was somehow always able to cite just the right book or article when I needed some more guidance. I also had three excellent external readers for this project: Dane Kennedy, Irfan Nooruddin, and Kanchan Chandra. All of them provided terrific feedback, pressed me on numerous issues, and I have no doubt my work will be better in the long run due to their generosity in sharing criticisms. Irfan and Kanchan also served as readers at the very last minute, so I am extra grateful for that. There were several other professors at The George Washington University iv to whom I owe thanks for various things over the years: Robert Adcock, Bruce Dickson, Eric Lawrence, Harvey Feigenbaum, Jim Goldgeier, Shawn McHale, Kimberly Morgan, and Chad Rector. I also made many good friends among my cohort of graduate students, without whom school would have been a lot less interesting: Colm Fox, Enze Han, Brian Karlsson, Craig Kauffman, J.J. Mikulec, Joseph O'Mahoney, Varun Piplani, and Miles Townes. There were also scholars at a few other universities who were helpful in talking through ideas or sharing feedback during phases of this project, and I'd like to thank James Mahoney, Lloyd Rudolph, Ron Herring, and Thomas Rosin. Several institutions provided generous funding for both language training and fieldwork in India: The State Department Critical Language Scholarship Program, The American Institute of Indian Studies, The George Washington University's Sigur Center for Asian Studies, Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation, Cosmos Club, and The George Washington University Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships. Without this funding I would not have been able to learn Hindi or spend two years researching in the field. In India I owe thanks to a great many people, too many to recount. My greatest debt of gratitude is to Asha Sarangi of the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Without her constant help I would have been completely lost navigating the myriad bureaucracies of the Indian government. I also had the great fortune to meet a number of young scholars like myself who were also conducting research in India, and I would like to single out Adam Auerbach, Gabi Kruks-Wisner, Julia Kowalski, Patton Burchett, and Lion König. v Patton assisted me with finding two major treasure troves of data in Jaipur, and without one of Lion's small tips about the computers in the National Archives of India I would have literally wasted months of time. Special cheers to them! In six different cities in India there were a great many individuals who assisted my research efforts. In Jaipur and Ajmer, I would first like to single out all of the teachers from the AIIS Hindi Language Institute, especially Vivekanand Upadhyay, Anita Tripathi, and Kumar Janyani. In these two cities I also want to thank Shwati Vashishta, Panjak Sharma and staff at the Man Singh Museum, and the staff of the Institute of Development Studies. Anupam Sharma also helped me out a lot and even taught me how to ride a motorcycle. In New Delhi, George and Rekha Varghese provided me with a home away from home, lots of chai and dosas, and always made me feel like a part of their family. I also want to thank Ronn Mathew, George Varkey, Radhakrishna Nair, Jaya Prabha Ravindran, and the staff of the National Archives of India. In Hyderabad, Thomas Punnose, Jacob Punnose, and their respective families went out of their way to help me with everything. Premu Philips provided me with a wonderful place to stay in the heart of the city. I would also like to thank Zareena Parveen and V. Rangaraj at the Andhra Pradesh State Archives and Research Institute, the staff of the Nehru Centenary Museum, and the staff of the Central Library. In Raipur, I would like to thank Lalit Surjan, Prabha Taunk (for help on translations), Sunil Jaishwal, and the staff of the Deshbandhu Press Library. In Kerala, Philip and Mary Cherian welcomed me into their home, and Cecil Thomas George took a lot of time to help me find great accommodations. I would also like to thank the staff of vi the Directorate of Archives, Thiruvananthapuram, especially Reji Kumar, Prakash B. (for telling me about the Journal of Kerala Studies), Pauvabhy (for tolerating my poor Malayalam), and Jacob Mathew at the Malayala Manorama. During the last portion of my fieldwork in the United Kingdom and the United States, I would like to thank the staff of the British Library and the Library of Congress. I'd especially like to single out Allen Thrasher and Ken Robbins. I have too many personal friends to list here who deserve my gratitude. Travis Valentine gets a special nod of recognition for years of putting up with me as a roommate. But writing this project was made easier by his true friendship. Frank Verano provided a place to stay in the UK during my research, as well as lots of support while writing. Jenn Ortegren's sarcasm and help with procrastination was also much appreciated. Finally, my family also played a key role during my graduate school years. My ammachi Mary Verghese was always very supportive of my research – reminding me before I went to India in 2008 that New Delhi was the capital – and I wish she was here to see the final product. My brother Ashwin deserves thanks for many smart historical discussions over the years, and for his friendship as I wrote up the final product. At last, my father Abraham always filled the house with books when I was younger and gave me a great love of history and politics from an early age, and my mother Anila always made sure that I finished my homework. I dedicate this dissertation to the two of them. vii Abstract of Dissertation Colonialism and Patterns of Ethnic Conflict in Contemporary India Why does ethnic violence in multi-ethnic states revolve around one ethnic identity rather than another? Why, for example, do some conflicts revolve around religion whereas others revolve around language? What, in short, explains patterns of ethnic conflict in multi-ethnic societies? This is an important question for understanding ethnic bloodshed in a variety of plural states in Europe, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. I examine these questions through an investigation of India, one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. Using a mixed-methods research design that combines a quantitative analysis of 589 Indian districts with 15 months of archival work and elite interviews conducted in six case studies, I argue that the legacies of British colonial rule are the major determinant of contemporary patterns of ethnic conflict. Three-fifths of India was directly-ruled by British administrators (British provinces) while the rest of the country remained under the control of native kings who exercised large amounts of internal autonomy (princely states). In the provinces, British administrators understood caste as the central organizing principle of Indian society, and they created ethnic policies which benefited high castes, discriminated against low castes and tribals, and protected religious minorities. Native kings, on the other hand, did the opposite: they emphasized religion as the bedrock of princely society, and therefore embraced policies that benefited co-religionists, discriminated against non-coreligionists, and protected viii low castes and tribals. These sharply discordant policies led to the creation of disparate and durable 'fault lines' of ethnic conflict: former British provinces experience more contemporary caste and tribal conflict whereas former princely states experience more religious conflict. Bifurcated colonial rule in India embedded master narratives of conflict in specific regions, reinforced them through local institutions, and ultimately engendered commonsensical understandings of how ethnic conflict is legitimately organized.