This thesis makes use of a critical discourse analysis to investigate in what ways the Hindutva discourse on (re)conversion of people to Hinduism transforms the religion to accommodate marginalized...Show moreThis thesis makes use of a critical discourse analysis to investigate in what ways the Hindutva discourse on (re)conversion of people to Hinduism transforms the religion to accommodate marginalized groups, such as Dalits and Adivasis. The thesis provides an overview of the relevant topics and academic debate before getting into the critical discourse analysis. It was discovered that, through the Hindutva discourse, Hinduism is constructed as a tolerant and all-encompasing tradition, whilst similtaniously is experiencing isomorphism to monotheistic religions.Show less
Economic development and nationalism are deeply connected topics. This thesis will research the utilization of historical aspects of Indian nationalism and the Indian national identity in the...Show moreEconomic development and nationalism are deeply connected topics. This thesis will research the utilization of historical aspects of Indian nationalism and the Indian national identity in the discourse on economic development. By utilizing a framework that is based on the reiteration, recapture, reinterpretation and repudiation of historical aspects with in the discourse on economic development this thesis is arguing that PM Modi is mobilizing nationalism in order to aid his development plan. By researching how the PM is addressing difference audiences this thesis shows how there is not one single nationalism/ national identity but multiple and these can be used to reach specific goals. By applying an established framework on a new region this thesis ties to open up the discussion of contemporary nationalism and engage with the question of western vs eastern nationalism.Show less
This thesis focuses on inspecting the special, unrestrained, and independent freedom of the city of Vārāṇasī through Viśvanāth Mukharjī’s Hindi-language book “Banā Rahe Banāras” (1958).
In the wake of The Supreme Court of India's decision to decriminalise homosexuality, this paper studies how British colonialism structured the perceptions and representations of same-sex intimacies...Show moreIn the wake of The Supreme Court of India's decision to decriminalise homosexuality, this paper studies how British colonialism structured the perceptions and representations of same-sex intimacies and sexual fluidity in India. Combining discourse analysis and historiographical approaches, this paper focuses on various aspects of Indian history and society, from the many examples of homo-eroticism in Indo-Muslim literature and Indian religious traditions to the medicalisation of sexuality and the internalisation of British ideals of masculinity and sexuality in the discourse around same-sex intimacies, as well as the parallels between this and the modern Hindutva movement.Show less
People’s physical appearances and beauty ‘from the outside’ have been part of a variety of cultural discourses for a long time in history. Though, in more recent times, human bodies have...Show morePeople’s physical appearances and beauty ‘from the outside’ have been part of a variety of cultural discourses for a long time in history. Though, in more recent times, human bodies have increasingly fell subject to the democratization of social norms and values, and as a result the body has become a reflection of symbolic meanings (Baghel et al., 2014). In culturally-diverse India, the image of beauty has been changing continuously but it is argued that one perspective on Indian physical beauty has remained quite stable (or at least appears to exist in contemporary India): the aspiration of having lighter skin colors (Kumar, 2002; Glenn, 2008). Even though many researchers recognized that racial categorizations based on skin colors have been reduced in different parts of the world, there still appears to be a correlation between beauty, skin color and social identity among some people in the Indian society today (Glenn, 2008). In examining to what extent skin lightening practices and aspirations have shifted from India to the Netherlands in a transnational context, the goal is to find out the perceived sense of racial consciousness of first-generation Indian migrants living in diaspora in the Netherlands. Grounded in the theories of Social Constructivism by Berger and Luckmann and Racial Identity theory by Helms, this thesis concludes that 1. Migration to the Netherlands has not changed the racial awareness of first-generation Indian migrants consciously 2. Skin color does play a role - though marginal - in migrant’s Indian intracultural environment in terms of marriages, but it is not significant in their Dutch intercultural environment. 3. Most of the first-generation Indian migrants living in the Netherlands do not use fairness creams, and if they do, it is for medical reasons rather than to match cultural and aspirational expectations.Show less
This thesis describes in a broad manner India's current bilateral and multilateral collaborations with Central Asian countries on the topics of Energy, Trade and Security Cooperation. Subsequently...Show moreThis thesis describes in a broad manner India's current bilateral and multilateral collaborations with Central Asian countries on the topics of Energy, Trade and Security Cooperation. Subsequently it analyses the reasons and factors that underlie the current situation of India's strategic position in Central Asia, which requires taking into account the (political) actions of other regional actors like Russia and China. Through a re-appreciation of Morgenthau's theory on International Relations, this thesis will argue why India's minor strategic position has both historical and contemporary political reasons.Show less
The diverse and intense usage of the Ganga has caused a big pollution problem to the river. Because the local communities interact with the river on a daily basis, they should be able to reduce the...Show moreThe diverse and intense usage of the Ganga has caused a big pollution problem to the river. Because the local communities interact with the river on a daily basis, they should be able to reduce the pollution.Show less
The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) growing economic power has been frequently linked with its growing political and military power. Academic articles and Indian newspapers interpret China’s...Show moreThe People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) growing economic power has been frequently linked with its growing political and military power. Academic articles and Indian newspapers interpret China’s Maritime Silk Road (MSR) policy in threatening and in a non-threatening ways. The dominant discourse interprets the MSR from realist (strategic competition) and liberalist (economic cooperation) perspectives. However, the picture is not as clear-cut as it seems: the literature lacks a constructivist and poststructuralist approach. This paper attempts to fill this gap and considers the study of media representations as an important tool for understanding international relations and the promotion of foreign policy in India. It uses a poststructuralist discourse analysis as a method in the case study on the ‘China threat’ and MSR discourse in four online Indian newspapers. In line with French poststructuralist Foucault, it demonstrates the importance of discourse, identity, knowledge and power. The discursive construction of China as Other in the Indian media is based on historical identity formations. Identity is at the heart the ‘China threat’ discursive foundations: the ‘String of Pearls’ (SOP), India’s neighborhood, China-Pakistan relations and the ongoing Sino-Indian border dispute. In representing the ‘truth’ about the MSR as a future threat to India, the Indian media fails to address China’s participation in global anti-piracy missions. The ‘China threat’ discourse is produced and reproduced for India to domestically implement a strong strategic IOR policy, to invest in the army, and transnationally to deepen diplomatic ties with neighboring IOR countries and to establish a security alignment with the US and Japan.Show less
