Interrogating Communalism: Violence, Citizenship and Minorities in South India

Salah Punathil

oct 2018 · Taylor & Francis

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This book examines conflict and violence among religious minorities and the implication on the idea of citizenship in contemporary India. Going beyond the usual Hindu-Muslim question, it situates communalism in the context of conflicts between Muslims and Christians. By tracing the long history of conflict between the Marakkayar Muslims and Mukkuvar Christians in South India, it explores the notion of ‘mobilization of religious identity’ within the discourse on communal violence in South Asia as also discusses the spatial dynamics in violent conflicts. Including rich empirical evidence from historical and ethnographic material, the author shows how the contours of violence among minorities position Muslims as more vulnerable subjects of violent conflicts.

The book will be useful to scholars and researchers of politics, political sociology, sociology and social anthropology, minority studies and South Asian studies. It will also interest those working on peace and conflict, violence, ethnicity and identity as also activists and policymakers concerned with the problems of fishing communities.

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Salah Punathil is a Sociologist and Assistant Professor at the Centre for Regional Studies, University of Hyderabad, India. He is currently Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, Germany. He completed his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on violence among religious minorities in Kerala. Previously, he has taught Sociology at Tezpur University, Assam (September 2011 to June 2014) and Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi (July 2009 to May 2010). His research interest includes ethnic violence in India, migration, citizenship, Muslims in South Asia and the intersection of archives and ethnography. He has published articles in journals such as South Asia Research and Contributions to Indian Sociology. Punathil is the recipient of M.N Srinivas Award for Young Indian Sociologist, 2015.