Militant Publics in India: Physical Culture and Violence in the Making of a Modern Polity

281 Pages·2011·1.976 MB·English

by  Arafaat A. Valiani (auth.)

MILITANT PUBLICS IN INDIA

MILITANT PUBLICS IN INDIA
PHYSICAL CULTURE AND
VIOLENCE IN THE MAKING OF
A MODERN POLITY
Arafaat A. Valiani
MILITANT PUBLICS IN INDIA
Copyright © Arafaat A. Valiani, 2011.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-11257-5
All rights reserved.
A shorter version of chapter five was published in the journal C ultural
Anthropology, vol. 25, Issue. 1, pp. 73–99. It appears in this volume in
expanded form.
First published in 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-29455-8 ISBN 978-0-230-37063-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230370630
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Valiani, Arafaat A.
Militant publics in India : physical culture and violence in the making
of a modern polity / Arafaat A. Valiani.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Gujarat (India)—Politics and government—20th century. 2. Gujarat
(India)—Politics and government—21st century. 3. Gujarat (India)—
Social conditions. 4. Nationalism—India—Gujarat—History.
5. Participation, Political—India—Gujarat—History. 6. Physical
education and training—Political aspects—India—Gujarat—History.
7. Violence—Political aspects—India—Gujarat—History. 8. Religious
militants—India—Gujarat—History. 9. Hinduism and politics—India—
Gujarat—History. 10. Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869–1948—Political and
social views. I. Title.
DS485.G875V35 2011
320.954(cid:2)75—dc23 2011017326
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: November 2011
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Nadia

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Author’s Note xv
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xvii
Introduction: Worlds of Hindu Nationalism and
the Political Sphere 3
Part I Modalities of Political Mobilization
1 Efficacies of Political Action: Physical Culture and the
Kinesthetic Politics of Gandhian Nationalism 35
2 Preparatory Training and Disciplined Satyagraha in
Bardoli (1928) 65
3 Militant Peacekeeping and Subterfugic Violence of
the Quit India Movement (1942) 107
Part II Elaborating Political Itineraries
4 Physical Culture, Civic Activism, and Hindu
Nationalism in the City 1 39
5 Physical Training, Ethical Discipline, and Creative Violence:
Zones of Self- Mastery in the Hindu Nationalist Movement 163
E pilogue 187
G lossary 195
N otes 199
I ndex 263

ILLUSTRATIONS
0.1 Map of Gujarat 1
0.2 Map of India and its environs 2
2.1 Map of the district of Surat 63
2.2 Map of Bardoli taluka (subdistrict) 64
2.3 Photograph of satyagraha rally in Bardoli (1928) 89
3.1 Map of Ahmedabad 106