Customer Reviews

Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've worked and taught in the field of peacebuilding for 25 years and consider this book the single most important research that has been done in the field. Varshney breaks new ground in conducting indepth research into why some cities in India into fell into violence and some did not during times of high national tension.

He presents clear and extremely useful findings about what is useful and what is not useful in resisting violence. Specifically, his research shows that creating structures that bring people together to work for a common cause or benefit(such as Hindu-Muslim traders cooperatives, joint community development committees, peace committees, etc.) has a marked effect in reducing violence.

I present Varshney's findings in a variety of settings worldwide and find audiences always highly responsive. My students love the book and find Varshney's ideas so clear and insightful that the often refer back to him later.

This book in my view is an example of scholarship at its best: well-designed, provocative, clear in its conclusions. On top of that is it unusually lucid in writing style. I consider it a "classic" - a book that will endure for many years and that deserves to be on the shelf of any serious student of ethnic or religious violence.

You can read the first and last few chapters and get the real benefits of the book.

Ron Kraybill
Professor of Conflict Transformation
Eastern Mennonite University

Let me make it clear that I am neither a Hindu nor a Muslim, so am surprised when people call Varshney's research biased against Muslims, I am not sure how anyone could get that out of this book...if anyone for the sake of argument wanted to make a case for this book being biased there would be one for it being biased against Hindus!( which it is not either to be fair). But I guess if you are looking for Islamophobia you find it anywhere just as people promoting Islamophobia find reasons to be Islamophobic.. sad but true. Also this book is clearly in the genre of an optimistic search for ethnic peace..which makes it a tad bit 'innocent' but honestly that is the only reason I would read a book about ethnic conflict.

This very compelling book tells the story of Hindu-Muslim violence in India not by relying on a hunch, or ideological predisposition, but by drawing on hard data. Tightly written, the book will make you think about ethnic violence in a systematic and intelligent manner. The author's significant argument that civil society is implicated in preventing riots in certain Indian cities has important implications both at the personal as well as the political level. For it makes us ask ourselves, as citizens how does our participation or non participation in civic life impact Hindu-Muslim relations in our cities? Furthermore, how can the state and international agencies encourage and entrench the kind of civic behavior that diminishes the prospect of conflict turning into riots? Should be read by all concerned citizens.

Mr. Varshney seems to have some agenda with this book.This book with it emphasis tries to blame muslims for the instigators of all riots . May I suggest another book called "The production of Hindu muslim violence "by Paul Brass . This book is more balanced and deals very well the real issues of riots . Infact Mr. Varshney was so critical of this book that he misquotes the authors intention and harshly critisizes his schlorly work in his review with the Times of India.In reply, Mr. Brass posts his objections and analysis about criticism from Mr. Varshney in a poignant and subtle manner.

Mr. Ashutosh has taken a very controversial subject but the high ground he had to take with integrity in dealing with such a sensitive subject is missing.

He is blaming Muslims for the riots. Nothing can be further than the truth. Muslims are not in power hence can do nothing with no administration and police support. They don't make policies nor laws and have practically no say in any thing. One wonders how one can orchestrate riots that Mr. AShutosh is accusing the Muslims of. Defies logic.

The problem is they have been sidelined from all departments of Indian and State Governments as a matter of State Policies. They have been singled out for discrimination in all walks of life. Without State Policy helping them to be driven out of the mainstream this could not happen.

Muslims are also Indians and must not be discriminated at any cost. Their presence must be made to be felt in all Government and Private services, only then can we say that we are a great secular democracy. They are a sizable chunk of the Indian population. Rajiv Gandhi at least had realised the need to uplift Muslims and was thinking in the right direction until Narasimha Rao took over and derailed the process yet again.

The problem is Muslims do not read the constitution and take people like Narasimha Rao and Narender Modi to courts.

I plead with Mr. Ashutosh to be more sympathetic to their co-citizens and understand their needs and plight. It hardly matters what religion one propheses in a secular India. Or does it?

Varshneys research is particulary impressive because of the concise research method that he upholds. I am pleased that he has studied both peaceful and violent cities--giving his research model a basis for comparison. I have purchased 20 copies of Ethnic Conflict and Civic life and have circulated the work among my friends. Varshney's work gives us hope for world peace. this is the work of utter genius. very impressive research. particulary interesting was his intricate methodology of janwars in conflict. I highly recomment this book.

a beintot,
julliette

Varshney's research is compelling and interesting. He offers refreshing insight and hope. His model will influence public policy and his writing will be cited by world leaders. I look forward to seeing his work implemented globally.
a must have...

Varshney had the opportunity to examine the Hindu-Muslim divide in India using fresh glasses, and he has failed at it. His book is a litany of hackneyed generalizations and simplistic arguments.

I started reading the book with a great hope that this gives a insight of what makes the south asian polity a voilent and irresponsible. The book fails to ooze the interest in the strict sense too.
Reader is left aghast with where the conclusion leads to. You can be caught unawares with insipid portrayal of events that led to the bloodbath. A comparative analysis was remarkably absent making it a hackneyed attempt to divide a wedge among the intellectual community.
It could be rather gratifying if the author could treat this subject in academiocal point of view after miserably failing in portraying the narration.
Albeit all this lacunae, remarkable tendency to sensationalize the events to throw the reader into shocks, which only end up the reader jittery and wary of the intent of neo-communist diaspora.

My half a cent to this -

regards