Table Of Content

Feminist technosciences Rebecca Herzig and Banu Subramaniam, Series Editors H O LY S C I E N C E THE BIOPOLITICS OF HINDU NATIONALISM Banu suBramaniam university oF Washington Press Seattle Financial support for the publication of Holy Science was provided by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Copyright © 2019 by the University of Washington Press Printed and bound in the United States of America Interior design by Katrina Noble Composed in Iowan Old Style, typeface designed by John Downer 23 22 21 20 19 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. university oF Washington Press www.washington.edu/uwpress LiBrary oF congress cataLoging-in-PuBLication Data Names: Subramaniam, Banu, 1966- author. Title: Holy science : the biopolitics of Hindu nationalism / Banu Subramaniam. Description: Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2019] | Series: Feminist technosciences | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: Lccn 2018048245 (print) | Lccn 2019002318 (ebook) | isBn 9780295745602 (ebook) | isBn 9780295745589 (hardcover : alk. paper) | isBn 9780295745596 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: Lcsh: Biopolitics—India. | Hinduism and science—India. | Hinduism and politics—India. | Nationalism and science—India. | Postcolonialism—India. | India—Politics and government—1947 Classification: Lcc JA80 (ebook) | Lcc JA80 .S87 2019 (print) | DDc 320.540954—dc23 Lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018048245 Chapter 1 appeared in a different form as “Development Nationalism: Science, Reli- gion, and the Quest for a Modern India,” in Feminist Futures: Re-Imagining Women, Cul- ture and Development, edited by Priya Kurian, Kum-Kum Bhavnani, and John Foran (London: Zed Books, 2016). Cover illustration: Based on image of holy trishul, DigitalSoul/iStock The paper used in this publication is acid free and meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–1984.∞ Caminante, no hay puentes, se hace puentes al andar. Voyager, there are no bridges, one builds them as one walks. gLoria e. anzaLDúa, This Bridge Called My Back हाँ कहूँ तोई है नाही ना भी कहियो नाही जाव े हाँ और ना के बीच म ें मोरा सदगुरु रहा समाये If I say Yes, it isn’t so And yet I cannot say it’s No That’s where my guru resides Between that Yes and No. KaBir CONTENTS ProLogue. In Search of India: The Inner Lives of Postcolonialism ix Avatars for Lost Dreams: The Land of Lost Dreams xv INTRODUCTION. Avatars for Bionationalism: Tales from (An)Other Enlightenment 3 Avatar #1: The Story of Uruvam 46 1. Home and the World: The Modern Lives of the Vedic Sciences 49 Avatar #2: The Story of Amudha 72 2. Colonial Legacies, Postcolonial Biologies: The Queer Politics of (Un)Natural Sex 76 Avatars #3: The Story of Nādu and Piravi 108 3. Return of the Native: Nation, Nature, and Postcolonial Environmentalism 113 Avatar #4: The Story of Néram 141 4. Biocitizenship in Neoliberal Times: On the Making of the “Indian” Genome 145 Avatar #5: The Story of Arul 178 5. Conceiving a Hindu Nation: (Re)Making the Indian Womb 182 Avatar #6: The Story of Kalakalappu 206 CONCLUSION. Avatars for Dreamers: Narrative’s Seductive Embrace 209 Notes on the Mythopoeia 215 ePiLogue. Finding India: The Afterlives of Colonialism 223 A Note of Gratitude and Appreciation 231 Notes 237 References 243 Index 285 PROLOGUE In Search of India: The Inner Lives of Postcolonialism Nations are built on wishful versions of their origins: stories in which our forefathers were giants, of one kind or another. This is how we live in the world: romancing. . . . When we remember—as psychologists so often tell us—we don’t reproduce the past, we cre- ate it. hiLary manteL, “Why I Became a Historical Novelist” How to stop a story that is always being told? Or, how to change a story that is always being told? auDra simPson, Mohawk Interruptus this is an oDe to inDia. the inDia that i Was Born into, the India I grew up in, the India that breathed into me life, hope, passion, and imagination. India suffuses the senses. The vibrant sounds of India, the blaring Bollywood music, the morning calls of the mosque, the rhythmic chants of the priest, the church bells, the neighbor’s pressure cooker, the barking dogs, the car horns—there is music in this cacophony. The arrest- ing sights of colors in the bazaar, the vibrant saris, the movie posters, gaudy cutouts of politicians, temples in every corner, the blue skies, the scorching sun, and the shade of black umbrellas. Smells overpower the senses, the fragrance of jasmine, the aroma of brewing tea, the drying patties of cow manure, the neighbor’s redolent fish curry, the scent of milk boiling. And always, the intoxicating smell of the earth as the mon- soons arrive. The sights, smells, and sounds of India reverberate through these pages. ix