THE FUTURE OF THE T MULTICULTURAL BRITAIN H E F FUTURE Confronting the Progressive Dilemma U T U OF Pathik Pathak R E O This book identifi es two key themes: F MULTICULTURAL • That contemporary global politics has rendered many of the world’s M democracies susceptible to the rhetoric and policy of majoritarianism; U L • That majoritarianism plays on popular anxieties that invariably gravitate T BRITAIN I towards cultural identity. C U Global politics are deeply affected by issues surrounding cultural identity. L T Profound cultural diversity has made national majorities increasingly U R anxious and democratic governments are under pressure to address A Pathik Pathak those anxieties. Multiculturalism – once heralded as the insignia of L B a tolerant society – is now blamed for encouraging segregation and R harbouring extremism. IT A I Pathik Pathak makes a convincing case for a new progressive politics that N confronts these concerns. Drawing on fascinating comparisons between Britain and India, he shows how the global Left has been hamstrung by a compulsion for insular identity politics and a stubborn attachment to P a cultural indifference. He argues that to combat this, cultural identity t h must be placed at the centre of the political system. i k P Written in a lively style, this book will engage anyone with an interest in a t the future of our multicultural society. h a k Pathik Pathak is a lecturer and writer on Comparative Politics, based at the CRUCIBLE Centre for Human Rights, Citizenship and Social Justice Education at the University of Roehampton. ISBN 978 0 7486 3545 0 Edinburgh University Press 2E2d iGnbeuorrgghe SEHqu8a 9reLF E d www.euppublishing.com in b Cover photograph: The Fifth Test: England v Australia – Day Five; u photographer Clive Rose; reproduced with permission of Getty Images. rg Cover design: Barrie Tullett h The Future of Multicultural Britain The Future of Multicultural Britain Confronting the Progressive Dilemma Pathik Pathak Edinburgh University Press # Pathik Pathak, 2008 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh Typeset in 11/13pt Linotype Sabon by Iolaire Typesetting, Newtonmore, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wilts A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 3544 3 (hardback) ISBN 978 0 7486 3545 0 (paperback) The right of Pathik Pathak to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Contents Acknowledgements vii Glossary of Indian Terms ix Introduction 1 1. The Trouble with David Goodhart’s Britain: 33 Liberalism’s Slide towards Majoritarianism 2. Saffron Semantics: 62 The Struggle to Define Hindu Nationalism 3. Spilling the Clear Red Water: 94 How we Got from New Times to New Liberalism 4. The Blame Game: 122 Recriminations from the Indian Left 5. Making a Case for Multiculture: 158 From the ‘Politics of Piety’ to the Politics of the Secular? Conclusion 187 Index 205 Acknowledgements Firstly, much gratitude to David Dabydeen for his guidance and comments during the completion of my Ph.D. thesis, and also to Neil Lazarus for his direction and assistance. Many thanks to my wonderful examiners, Stephen Chan and the choti boss Rashmi Varma, whose comments and suggestions led to this publication. We only formed during the last two years of my Ph.D. but the camaraderie of my cronies Jim Graham, Mike Nibblet, Sharae Deckard, Kerstin Oloff and Jane Poyner was invaluable. Thanks to Pranav Jani and Thomas Keenan for their help in enriching my knowledge of previously unexplored disciplines. That extends to the Birmingham Postcolonial Reading Group too. KavitaBhanot’scontributionshavebeenempathyandaremark- able ability to take thrashings at badminton with good humour but bad language. I salute Ivi Kazantzi, Theo Valkanou, Bibip ‘BJ’ Susanti, Giovanni Callegari, Letisha Morgan, Celine Tan and especially Nazneen Ahmed for helping to stave off intellectual alienation. Aisha Gill has been as supportive and enthusiastic as any col- leaguecouldbe,andthetimeandspaceI’vebeengiventofinishthis bookareaconsequenceofCRUCIBLE’sgenerosity.I’dalsoliketo thank my students at Southampton and Roehampton. viii Acknowledgements Lois ‘Bambi’ Muraguri, take a bow. Without your constant support, patience and encouragement over the past three years noneofthiswouldhavepossibleatall.Heartfeltappreciationgoes to my Ma for steering me through the most crucial passage of my Ph.D.,andtoDadforabusinghisprintingprivilegestimeandagain formysake.Iowe mybrotherManthanadebtof gratitudeforhis efforts at reading through my work. ThisbookisdedicatedtothethousandsofvictimsoftheGujarati pogromsin2002andmyadorableniecesHemaandCiara,whomI pray grow up in more secular and equal times. Journal acknowledgement Chapter 1, ‘The Trouble with David Goodhart’s Britain’, has appeared as a journal article in Political Quarterly, 78: 2 (2007). Glossary of Indian Terms adivasi Indigenous minorities in India, populous in the states of Orissa,MadhyaPradesh,Chattisgarh,Rajasthan,Gujarat,Maha- rashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Babri Masjid Otherwise known as the Babri Mosque or Babur’s Mosque, it was constructed by the Mughal Emperor Babur in the city of Ayodhya, on the alleged site of a Rama temple that consecrated the deity’s birthplace. BajrangDal Literally,the‘ArmyofHanuman’.Theyouthwingof the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). BharatiyaJanataParty(BJP) Literally,the‘IndianPeople’sParty’. A right-wing nationalist political party, formed in 1980. It is unified with other organisations affiliated to the Sangh Parivar through the ideology of Hindutva. dalit The name given to those who fall outside the Indian caste system, who are also referred to as untouchables. dharma In Indian morality and ethics, a term that refers to the underlying natural order, and the laws that support it. fatwa Historically, a ruling on Islamic law, issued by an Islamic scholar. In the contemporary world it has been appropriated by Islamic extremists to refer to an edict concerning a perceived contravention of Islamic law.
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