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Article: Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India.
- Article from:
- American Political Science Review
- Article date:
- December 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Cambridge University Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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One of the major trends of this decade is the rise of new movements for religious nationalism in such places as the Middle East, Northern Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. Their encounter with the secular nationalism of Europe and America has led to what Samuel Huntington has called "the clash of civilizations," or what might be called the beginning of a "new Cold War."
The two books under review are important contributions to the understanding of this encounter. In both cases, they give insights into the pivotal role played by culture in the current efforts to redefine national identity in India, their major point of reference. In Chatterjee's analysis, India is ...