Patterns of commemorative street and place renaming in India’s two mega-cities: Mumbai and New Delhi

This paper presents a small-scale case study of commemorative street and place renaming patterns in Mumbai and New Delhi. Three distinct waves of such renamings are identified, driven by dramatic shifts in political and ideological orientation: the first signifies a break with India’s colonial past and the reclaiming of national pride and identity; the second is marked by the rise of the Shiv Sena, a radical right wing political party known for its strident form of identity politics; and the third reflects the resurgence of cultural nationalism and populism since 2014 with the coming to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), intent on pursuing its Hindu nationalist agenda – with each wave undeniably transforming the cityscape.

An Incongruous Coalition

This chapter illustrates the unusual allies of the Congress who made authoritarian rule possible. These include the political partners of the Congress like the Communist Party of India, the Republican Party of India and the Shiv Sena, all of which have completely different ideologies. The regime was also aided by some sections of the media, the business community, the bourgeoisie and the trade unions. Industrialists were the biggest beneficiaries of the regime’s policies and, therefore, supported it in return. The bureaucracy which suffered from a colonial hangover was primed for survival and thus adapted to the circumstances. The chapter also analyses the intersection between the interests of the elites and the Emergency. It examines the resilience of long-standing social and cultural values and attitudes, including a deep-rooted sense of hierarchy and respect for authority.

Aaditya Thackeray

Aaditya Thackeray, 30, grandson of the founder of the Shiv Sena, the Mumbai-based Hindu nationalist party, has been active in politics for just over a decade. He heads the Shiv Sena’s youth wing and is a minister in Maharashtra’s current state government. Aaditya advocates for a more open and welcoming Mumbai without renouncing the party’s adherence to nationalism, supporting children of the soil policies, and a Hindutva, which speaks up for Hindus but is not against any religion.

Thinking Sociology

This section provides a detailed account of Gupta’s life during and after his PhD, on urban migration in the metropolis of Mumbai and its impact in setting-off a right-wing movement, the Shiv Sena, at JNU. Gupta discusses his journey from being a PhD scholar of movement studies at JNU studying Shiv Sena to being a professor in Canada (West), heading the Business Ethics Division at KPMG, and writing journal articles for popular newspapers. In this section, Gupta reflects on how these experiences influenced his philosophy and choices, and how his philosophy affected his decisions. He also talks about his experience of doing business with Indians. Gupta closes this section with a discussion about the time when he interviewed Levi Strauss, and also talks about the contrast between the ideologies of Strauss and Pierre Bourdieu.

The Rise of Hindu Nationalism and the Competitive Politics of Offence-Taking

The chapter explores the profound strengthening of communal conflicts and ethno-religious politics, particularly in the shape of Hindu nationalism. It is divided into two parts: The first, part explores the evolution of attacks on artists, beginning with the early ones by Hindu nationalists. However, instead of showing this as an unruptured sequence of instances leading to their imminent rise, it underlines their early setbacks and strategic manoeuvres. These initial attempts led to the refinement of the Hindu nationalist techniques for attacking artists, and highlight the relevance of the media’s expansion in the enterprise. Also, the rise in the attacks on artists was not just a sign of the Sangh Parivar’s prowess, but at least partially due to the encouragement provided by the Congress-led government, not just to the Hindu nationalists to continue imposing their rules, but also to similarly self-assigned spokesmen of the Muslim community in India. The second, shorter part of the chapter covers the second half of the 1990s, after the BJP formed its government at the Centre for the first time, and in coalition with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Here we observe the normalization of the influence wielded by non-state actors, and the consolidation of these attacks from lone random instances into sustained campaigns, but also the limits of such an exercise.

Book Review: Tarini Bedi, The Dashing Ladies of Shiv Sena: Political Matronage in Urbanizing India

Tarini Bedi, The Dashing Ladies of Shiv Sena: Political Matronage in Urbanizing India. New Delhi: Aleph Book Company. 2016. 291 pages. ₹699.