Abstract

 This thesis argues that the present observed increase, and shift in the nature, of “communal” violence in Modi’s India, marks a sharp departure from the past, with the crucial difference being the transformation of anti-Muslim violence from a “modality of politics” to a “modality of governance” under the BJP. I, thus, propose the framework of “securitisation” of Muslims, replacing “communal” violence as a framework to view identity-based state and nonstate violence against Muslims in India.

My study situates anti-Muslim violence within the discourse of security. This conceptualisation is important because it understands anti-Muslim violence not solely as instrumental and/or epiphenomenal to Hindutva politics, but as a part of the processes and techniques involved in the social construction of security in a modern, neoliberal state.

I conducted ethnographic fieldwork during 2021–2022 with about 200 interviews across 20 districts in Uttar Pradesh. My analysis is based on 3 types of cases of anti-Muslim violence: lynchings by nonstate actors, police violence during Anti-CAA protests, and anti-conversion cases.

Using these case studies, I theorise the coexistence between the democratic governance – the “politics of life” – and securitisation – the “politics of death.” The entwinement of these two facets of governance is evidenced in the symbolisation of the state’s “maintenance of law and order” through harsh police action, extra-judicial remedies, and creation of illiberal laws.