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Welfare, Patronage, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India's Urban Slums

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Welfare, Patronage, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India's Urban Slums WELFARE, PATRONAGE, AND THE RISE OF HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA'S URBAN SLUMS Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Soundarya Chidambaram, M. A./ M. Phil. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Irfan Nooruddin, Advisor Sarah Brooks Marcus Kurtz © Copyright by Soundarya Chidambaram 2011 Abstract Despite the recent electoral defeat of the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, Hindu nationalist organizations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) remain a dominant force in several parts of India particularly as most of them operate outside the electoral arena as charitable NGOs providing welfare services such as education and healthcare to poor urban communities. In fact, economic liberalization in India has been accompanied by massive welfare projects initiated by Hindu right-wing organizations. There seems to be a deliberate shift in their strategy with violent tactics being increasingly accompanied by more accepted forms of civil society activities notably among urban slums and tribal populations. This is significant because their successes in co-opting the urban poor through welfare have more often than not also been accompanied by rapid worsening of inter-group relations, increase in religious violence, victimization of minorities and electoral rewards for the BJP down the line, which in turn uses its authority to further facilitate the smooth operation of such organizations through favorable laws and regulations. The literature has failed to answer two important questions about these Hindu nationalist welfare organizations: why there was a shift in strategy in the 1990s and why, despite similar tactics, these organizations do not succeed everywhere. This project seeks to answer these questions. ii This dissertation explains both spatial and temporal variation in the success of Hindu nationalist groups. Temporally, economic reforms since the 1990s have caused deindustrialization, pushing the working class into the insecure unorganized sector or creating a huge class of unemployed youth, easy targets for recruitment by welfarist NGOs run by the Hindu right wing. RSS affiliates are well-positioned to take advantage of this situation because they have always organized at the neighborhood level and it is now easier to reach out to the informal work force that is available to be mobilized within neighborhood associations as opposed to the workplace. Reaching out to the lower caste/lower class sections through religious and ideological appeals alone has been a major hurdle in the past. However, the increasing need for welfare among these sections of the population has made it easier for these organizations to target them through service provision. Yet, not all places experiencing economic reforms turn to Hindu welfarist NGOs. I argue that support for them in urban slums varies based on pre-existing patterns of associational life and whether or not these function as efficient and effective political patronage networks, inducing state political parties to meet welfare needs of the people. Slums turn to non-partisan NGOs only when there is an absence of structured political access facilitated through associational networks with political links. When existing associational networks fail to create channels of political access, there is more space for the Hindu welfarist NGOs to establish themselves. It is neither the mere presence of prior associational networks nor density of associational networks that determines whether or not the Hindu nationalists are able to penetrate civil society. The key is the strength of political connections between associational networks and political parties. It comes down iii to whether or not the existing associational networks are able to guarantee welfare provision through clientelistic patronage ties. I test my hypotheses at the macro-level using national elections survey data, as well as in two states in South India: Tamil Nadu and Karntaka. The nature of associational networks varies significantly in these two states, thus producing the variation we observe in the success of the Hindu national organizations. In terms of associational networks, Tamil Nadu represents a case where strong local associations mediate between the urban poor and political party representatives, whereas Karnataka is a case where political patronage ties linking the parties and poor voters are very weak. With regard to the outcome of interest, that is the dependent variable, Karnataka is a case where the Hindu right has been on the ascendant since the 1990s and has successfully entrenched itself at the local urban level through extensive welfare efforts, and their local presence has already resulted in polarization and violence among Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities in several places. Tamil Nadu, in contrast, is a case where the Hindu nationalist efforts have not paid off at all. My primary source of data consists of 75 interviews conducted with civil society organizations including the Hindu nationalist NGOs, politicians, bureaucrats, academics and journalists who have been studying Hindu nationalism closely. These findings are supplemented and confirmed by the analysis of national elections survey data. The data analysis indicates support for my hypotheses. The urban working class in Tamil Nadu is linked clientelistically through inclusive associations to state parties whereas Karnataka‘s economy has come to be dominated by the white-collar service iv sector, which creates networks that expressly ignore the urban poor in their governance agenda and deliberately bypass political bodies/representatives to link up with technocratic bureaucratic elite. Thus, even though Karnataka has witnessed a proliferation of civil society associations in metropolitan areas, this has failed to thwart the Hindu nationalist affiliates from establishing themselves in urban spaces. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu, there are very well entrenched patronage links between local associations and political parties that consciously strive to keep new entrants out. v Dedicated to my parents, V. Chidambaram & Prema Chidambaram vi Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation is like riding a rollercoaster. It is both exciting and terrifying at the same time, and one tends to be somewhat dizzy at the end! This journey would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of a number of people. I wish to take this opportunity to thank them for their help and for making this one thrilling ride! This dissertation has benefitted greatly from my committee‘s input and guidance. I would like to thank Irfan, Sarah, and Marcus for their endless advice, feedback and encouragement through the seven years that it has taken me to finish this dissertation. Irfan has been an incredible advisor and mentor. From helping me believe that my idea had merit and value, and guiding me to develop my half-baked thoughts into a finished thesis, to reminding me always about the big picture, and pushing me to do my best, Irfan‘s contributions to this dissertation are immense. Sarah has been associated with this dissertation from its inception, and has always patiently read and commented on several versions and drafts. Her insightful comments and constructive criticism have been instrumental in making me think critically about various aspects of this project. Marcus‘s questions and comments have always challenged me to think beyond the case of India and about the broader comparative implications of my research. vii I value greatly the friendships that I have formed during my time in graduate school. Quintin Beazer, Miryam Farrar Chandler, and Kadir Yildirim in particular deserve special mention for enduring bravely all my raves and rants. I owe Miryam special thanks for helping me navigate dissertation-related procedures and paperwork long distance, and feeding me and giving me a place to crash every time I visited Columbus. Thanks to my dissertation group buddies – Danielle Langfield, Jenny Nowlin, Tahseen Kazi, and Jiwon Suh - for reading endless drafts of my chapters, and commiserating with me during tough times on the job market. Thanks also to Daniel Blake, Esther Lan Hu, Emily Lamb, Carolina Mercado, Jason Morgan, Yoonah Oh, Jen Regan, Aisha Shafique, Hamsa Priya Mohana Sundaram, and Mehreen Zaidi for the good times and great conversations. I am deeply indebted to all my interviewees in India who took time out of their busy schedules to talk to me about my research ideas, and patiently answered my questions, even the ones that did not make sense. Thanks to all my aunts and uncles in Bangalore and Chennai who helped me immensely during the course of my field work, and made my trips comfortable and enjoyable. I am also grateful to my friends and colleagues at the University of Arkansas who have welcomed me enthusiastically, helped me settle in, and provided a supportive atmosphere, enabling me to complete this dissertation on time. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my teachers at Jawaharlal Nehru University. I would never have chosen this career path if it were not for Prof. Kanti Bajpai. His brilliance, enthusiasm, and dedication made me aspire to be an academic. viii Prof. Varun Sahni, my M.Phil supervisor, supported my efforts to apply for graduate school even when it meant postponing deadlines related to my M.Phil dissertation. He was the first one to point out that I was a comparativist at a time when I was struggling to find my groove in the IR world. For that I will be eternally grateful. Prof. P. R. Kumaraswamy always made time to chat when I simply needed someone to listen. My greatest debt of gratitude is to my family, my personal cheering squad, without whom none of this would have been possible. No words can express the depth of my love and appreciation for my parents. Their unwavering faith and support has guided me through this process. Their sacrifices, big and small, have constantly humbled me, and have been a source of inspiration throughout this journey.
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