Tuesday, May 21, 2024 – 3:30pm – 4:50pm, Pick Hall 506
Amrita Basu, Professor, Political Science and Sexuality, Women’s & Gender Studies, Amherst College
This talk will compare the two most significant protest movements against the Modi-led Hindu nationalist government in India. The first was organized by women in Shaheen Bagh, New Delhi (2019–20) against curtailing citizenship rights, and the second by farmers, particularly in Punjab, in 2020 and 2024, opposing laws and policies which promoted corporate agrarian exploitation. Despite their inability to fully achieve their goals, both movements challenged the state’s demonization of minorities and upheld inclusive, egalitarian, secular understandings of community and citizenship. This talk will explore both the challenges that these and other social movements face and their potential to address democratic erosion.
Proudly co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science and COSAS