The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva and Beyond

Many aspects of modern Gujarati Society and polity appear puzzling. A society which for centuries absorbed diverse people today appears insular and parochial, and while it is one of the most prosperous states in India, a fifth of its population lives below the poverty line. Drawing on academic and scholarly sources, autobiographies, letters, literature and folksongs, Achyut Yagnik and Suchitra Sheth attempt to understand and explain these paradoxes. They trace the history of Gujarat from the time of the Indus Valley civilization, when Gujarati society came to be a synthesis of diverse peoples and cultures, to the state’s encounters with the Turks, Marathas and the Portuguese, which sowed the seeds of communal disharmony. Taking a closer look at the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the authors explore the political tensions, social dynamics and economic forces that contributed to making the state what it is today: the impact of the British policies; the process of industrialization and urbanization, and the rise of the middle class; the emergence of the idea of ‘Swadeshi’; the coming of Gandhi and his attempts to transform society and politics by bringing together diverse Gujarati cultural sources; and the series of communal riots that rocked Gujarat even as the state was consumed by nationalist fervour. With independence and statehood, the government encouraged a new model of development, which marginalized Dalits, Adivasis and minorities even further. This was accompanied by the emergence of identity politics based on the Hindutva ideology, and violence in multiple forms became increasingly visible, overshadowing Gujarat’s image as one of the most industrialized, urbanized and globalized societies in India. The authors conclude that this trajectory of Gujarat’s modern history has been propelled by its powerful middle class and future directions would depend on how this section of society resolves global-local tensions and how they make their peace with the past.