Thread by @amit_tushar

"...the dog whistle of Islamophobia has now become a foghorn"

Do read this article by renowned author Arjun Appadurai

m.thewire.in/article/politi…

...the relationship between nationalism and violence is both intimate and two-way. We are accustomed to thinking that nationalism can lead people to kill and die in the name of the nation."

"When nationalism becomes extreme, its believers also become extreme in their readiness to kill or die for the nation"

"All nationalism contains the germ of suicide-bombing. And the idea that only Islam spawns jihadis is one of the great lies of our times."

"Every Hindu, Christian or Jew who is willing to implode or self-immolate in the hope of achieving the status of martyr and soldier together, is part of the inner logic of nationalism, even if an extreme version."

"Loyalty to the nation is hard to produce, since the nation is, for most people, abstract, fictive and remote. Dying and killing for the nation are sure ways to produce loyalty for such an abstraction."

"These acts often draw on the vocabulary of honour, sacrifice and purity which are deeply woven into all nationalisms."

"It is in and through violence, both official and unofficial, that the sense of the sacredness of the nation is renewed, revived and restored."

"In all the places in which armed forces are involved in violence against Indian populations (in the tribal belt, in Maoist areas, in the North-East, in every single border state), violence has a utilitarian function (the imposition of state-sponsored order) but it also has..."

"...a spectacular or theatrical function, which is to ensure that nationalism is not forced to go on life-support."

"Genocidalism is that moment in the history of genocide in which the production of violence has to be massively ratcheted up to keep up the minimal required level of nationalism. "

"Genocidalism, like capitalism, is systemic, totalising and extractive. It demands full attention, full commitment and full participation from the largest possible number of people."

"The regime itself has made a massive wager against any need for a truly independent legislature, judiciary or press."

"In order to make this wager work, the regime and its supporters have doubled down, by making genocidalism its open political platform, hoping that enough Indians will support this wager."