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Militant Hinduism announced its presence in India in the early 1980s. Since then, it has posed a challenge to the biggest functioning democracy in the world and the secular ethos on which its nation state was formed. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as an alternative force to the once dominant, secular Congress party and came to power in the 1990s. The rise of Hindu nationalism was accompanied by recurring large-scale communal (Hindu-Muslim) riots. The notion of a monolithic Hindu identity is, of course, inherently implausible in view of the differences of caste which fragment it. This thesis seeks to investigate and explain the formation of a "Hindu identity" and the growth of communalism in India since the 1980s. The key questions my research addresses are: why and how did a "Hindu identity" crystallise and why were such a large number of people mobilised in its name with sufficient success to affect the shape of Indian politics? The growth of Hindu nationalism over that period, I argue, is better understood as the effect of transformations among Hindus rather than simply as a conflict between Hindus and Muslims. This dissertation argues that Hindu nationalism, while ostensibly directed against Muslims, was, in fact, the product of tensions between Hindus. The hostility of some Hindus against Muslims is closely related to caste conflicts, especially those between `forward' and `backward' castes. Remarkably, the startling rise of Hindu militancy against Muslims in the 1980s coincided with the extensive growth of caste conflicts. Actually, in some cases, caste conflicts turned into Hindu-Muslim violence. These caste conflicts have revolved around the state's redistributive policies for the benefit of backward castes Hindus. These preferential policies for backward castes have served to complicate and antagonise caste relations, especially as they appeared to offer lower and backward castes greater opportunities for social mobility. As some segments of the lower and backward castes appeared to improve their economic situation, forward caste Hindus feared that their own opportunities were being restricted and their dominance challenged. They were now suddenly forced to compete with the lower castes, of lesser status, on terms, which they perceived to be disadvantageous. The intensification of communal antagonism since the 1980s, I argue, reflected the resulting and growing uncertainties within the Hindu moral order. The growth of Hindu militancy and the formation of a "Hindu identity" was therefore informed by the complex inter-relationship between caste and class. Its ascent was largely reproduced and energised by the state's policies and political discourse. These findings make it difficult to see either religion or cultural particularism as the sole, or even primary source of the conflict in India. This line of reasoning is pursued through the lens of the large-scale Ahmedabad riots of 1985. Chapter one establishes the background. It delineates the transformations in the political economy and socio-economic changes, particularly in the interrelations between caste and class among Hindus. Chapter two sets out the political context in which the reservation crisis and the growth of communalism occurred. In the 1970s and 1980s there was no evidence of endemic or even newly developing Hindu-Muslim strife in the politics of Gujarat. Political conflicts, in so far as they concerned religion, focused on the "Hindu order" and issues of caste. The intervention of the state, especially in its reservations policy, addressed issues of equality as if they were synonymous with the rights of religious minorities. In so doing, it enabled caste conflicts to develop and deepen communal rivalries. Chapters three and four present two views of the Ahmedabad riots of 1985. Chapter three recaptures the formal view of the riots as it was seen by the various agencies of the state and represented in their documents. Chapter four provides an alternative account, and reflects on the events from a vernacular grass-roots perspective as revealed in both archival documents and oral testimonies of survivors and witnesses. Consequently, it exposes the formal view to critical analysis. Chapter five provides an analysis of the making of EthnoHinduism. It analyses the implications of the Ahmedabad riots for the relationships between caste, class and communalism. By investigating the riots in the context of Gujarat politics the thesis seeks to offer an explanation for the rise of militant Hindu nationalism in India since the 1980s.

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This thesis presents a life geography of Mary Curzon during the time she occupied the position of Vicereine of India, 1898-1905. Informed by gender and post-colonial theory I contextualise Mary Curzon within the culture of empire in India and at home. This thesis adopts the framework of the incorporated wife to address the imperial and domestic subjectivity of Mary Curzon and stresses the importance of reading her life situated within a fluid understanding of her negotiation of 'home' and 'empire'. This thesis has been shaped around the thematic reading of Mary's life divided into three parts that reflect Mary's negotiation of viceregal life; her corporeal concerns and her direct negotiation of'India'. I address Mary's position as an incorporated wife drawing attention to her roles as hostess, philanthropist and political companion. I address the extent to which Mary was able to exert agency within these roles and thus negotiate the boundaries of the incorporated framework. I develop the framework of the incorporated wife by analysing the nature of 'home' to Mary. I argue that the material homes of Mary in India were 'incorporated residences' which acted as 'contact zones'. I argue that despite the intense mobility of imperial life in India Mary found mechanisms through which she found stability. I address Mary's negotiation of the 'conceptual' space of home within the colonial metropolis. The framework of the incorporated wife has prioritised women's 'public' roles at the expense of their corporeal concerns. To address this problem I present the illness narratives of Mary Curzon contextualised within the discourses of imperial health in India. This thesis charts the way in which Mary conceptualised disease and how she responded to the disease environment of India in terms of her physical response and her representations of illness to those at 'home'. I develop an intimate history of the body by drawing on Mary's reproductive concerns and seek to integrate Imperial motherhood within the framework of incorporation. I argue that Mary's imperial subjectivity cannot be separated from her domestic subjectivity. Mary's negotiation of motherhood occurs across the spaces of empire, this reiterates the need to see 'home' and empire' as contiguous spaces. Mary negotiated the space of India most directly during the viceregal tours of India. I address the production of her tour journals and the audience for whom she was writing. The organization of the Viceroy's tours of India encouraged Mary to view India in a specific way. I address this 'frame' in terms of Mary's audience and her own periods of transgression. The space of the hunt within the tour is addressed. I follow the argument that the British sought to adopt the mantle of the Mughuls through sporting activities. However I question the extent to which the Viceroy exhibited 'mastery over nature' as Mary's diaries reveal the way in which representations of the Viceroy's hunting prowess through photographs and trophies were often illusions, which mask the reliance placed on the Indian host by the Viceroy. Finally I address the bodily space of the hunt, and highlight the gendered positioning of Mary's body within this space. I conclude by drawing together the themes of Mary's life through the lens of the 1903 Coronation Durbar held in Delhi.

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