Conference "India: elections in Uttar Pradesh and the future of Hindu nationalism", March 23 at 6.30pm

7 April 2022

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To draw lessons from the local elections in Uttar Pradesh, a laboratory for Hindu nationalism, Inalco and Asialyst, in partnership with Forums France Inde, are hosting a conference on Wednesday March 23 at 6.30pm in the Inalco auditorium, 65 rue des Grands Moulins, 75013 Paris. The debate will also be broadcast live on YouTube Live. Registration is free but mandatory.
Partisans du Bharatiya Janata Party lors d'un rassemblement électoral de Narendra Modi à Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
Partisans du Bharatiya Janata Party lors d'un rassemblement électoral de Narendra Modi à Amethi, Uttar Pradesh © CC BY-SA 2.0 Bharatiya Janata Party‎

Registration required for face-to-face or remote participation in the conference.

The results of the elections for the assemblies of five Indian states will be known on March 10. Those of Uttar Pradesh will be closely scrutinized: their scope goes far beyond the framework of this state and will, in fact, act as a full-scale test before the next general elections in 2024, which will see whether Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, will remain in power for a third consecutive term.

The elections in Uttar Pradesh are indeed an out-of-the-ordinary ballot. Firstly, because of the size of the state: by far the largest in India, it has over 200 million inhabitants, the equivalent of Brazil. The territory is so large and populous that elections are held in seven phases, from February 10 to March 7! Secondly, because Uttar Pradesh is in a way the laboratory of Hindutva, the Hindu nationalist doctrine championed by the BJP. The state's chief minister is an extremist monk who promotes the superiority of Hindu Indians and has repeatedly and violently attacked the Muslim minority.

Finally, it will also provide an opportunity to gauge the electoral impact of the major events of recent years: the catastrophic management of the Covid epidemic in the spring of 2021, which hit Uttar Pradesh hard, the economic slowdown and jobs crisis, and the massive farmers' protest movement against the Modi government's reforms.

Speakers:

  • Gilles Verniers, professor of political science at Delhi's Ashoka University, who will be speaking live from the Indian capital.
  • Christophe Jaffrelot, researcher at CERI and president of the Association Française de Science Po.
  • Vaiju Naravane, Paris-based European correspondent for the independent Indian media outlet The Wire and professor at Ashoka University and Sciences Po.

Moderator:

  • Patrick de Jacquelot, journalist at Asialyst and former India correspondent for the daily newspaper Les Echos.

Partner: Forums France Inde, espace francophone d'échange France Inde

Co-organizers: Inalco and Asialyst.com, the website for information and analysis on the whole of Asia
Contact: contact@asialyst.com