**Due to the Israeli election on Tuesday (9th) and the Indian election starting on Thursday (11th), this week’s featured weekly articles respond to these two events.**
Ethno‐religious Fundamentalism and Theo‐ethnocratic Politics in Israel
By Nissim Leon
Volume 14, Issue 1, pages 20-35
Abstract
This article addresses the transition of a fundamentalist confrontational religious ideology into an assertive, religio‐nationalist ideology by the case of the ethno‐Ultra‐Orthodox (haredi) Shas party in Israel. Alongside the haredi proclivity towards insularity, we also detect, in recent decades, two new trends within the haredi mainstream. First, we see increasing numbers of haredim (Ultra‐Orthodox Jews) integrating into different frameworks that are situated outside of the haredi enclave: the job market, the army, welfare and charity organizations, and more. A second trend, which I will elaborate upon here, is a fundamentalist religious interpretation of elements of Israeli national identity. This trend seeks to view Jewish law, in its orthodox interpretation, as a source for the conservation and maintenance of Jewish identity in Israel: firstly, through the turning of haredism into a dominant factor in the religio‐communal arena in Israel; and secondly, through assuming responsibility for demarcating the boundaries of the Jewish collective.
Read the full article here.
Identities in India: Region, Nationality and Nationalism ‐ A Theoretical Framework
By Subhakanta Behera
Volume 7, Issue 2, pages 79-93
Abstract
Given the complexity of identity in India, where ethnicity alone can only inadequately define constituent regional communities such as the Oriyas, Bengalis, Tamils and Keralites, a regional perspective provides a more useful analytical approach. In India, a territorially defined region is the most inclusive segment, which has linguistic, historical and socio‐cultural connotations. Apart from the historical importance of region, it has now taken many ethnic characteristics within its ambit. While discussing the importance of ‘region’ in India, this article tries to show the weakness of an ethnic perspective in defining the identity of various language‐based, but geographically confined, communities of India. The article also tries to explore how regional identities can be reconciled with a pan‐Indian ideology. Perhaps in the post‐modern world, this is the greatest challenge that India has to grapple with, and one that requires judicious policies and practices.
Read the full article here.