Constructing a shared national identity is the typical challenge of pluralistic societies like India. However, the definition of Indianness is changing of late. The reintegration of Hinduism – both in its past glory and its "persecution" at the hands of "invaders" – as the defining feature of Indian identity has assumed a new salience. What was held in check by a secular state is now a matter of state propagation.
Several events suggest that the present political dispensation is trying to define Indianness as pan-geographical Hindu unity. Two recent examples come from Gujarat -- the state-sponsored Madhavpur Mela in Porbandar organised from March 30 to April 3 and the Saurashtra-Tamil Sangam held at Gir-Somnath from April 17 to 30. A Kasi-Tamil Sangamam organised last year in Varanasi also sought to do the same.
The Madhavpur Mela celebrates the mythological marriage of the Hindu God Krishna (who, having fled Ma
The Madhavpur Mela celebrates the mythological marriage of the Hindu God Krishna (who, having fled Ma
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