This paper looks at the interplay between gender and nationalism during times of ethnic violence. This is achieved by discussing the 2002 Gujarat carnage, specifically the unprecedented levels of...Show moreThis paper looks at the interplay between gender and nationalism during times of ethnic violence. This is achieved by discussing the 2002 Gujarat carnage, specifically the unprecedented levels of sexual violence that occurred during the conflict. It is argued that the Gujarat carnage was not a riot, as it is officially labelled, but instead an example of ethnic cleansing that was orchestrated by Hindu nationalist organisations, with the complicity of the Hindu nationalist state-government. In this light, the gendered nature of the violence can be attributed to the use of gendered rhetoric within the Hindu nationalist movement, that rests on the conflation of female chastity with the worth of the nation, and through discursively presenting the Muslim community as the threatening Other, using sexualised narratives.Show less
