Neoliberal Reforms, Inequality, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India

This podcast episode delves into the profound economic and political transformations in India since its independence in 1947, with a particular focus on the impact of the 1991 economic reforms. These reforms, characterized by liberalization, privatization, and globalization, marked a significant shift from India's initial model of planned development. While leading to increased growth rates, this neoliberal turn has also resulted in a substantial rise in multi-dimensional inequality (consumption, wealth) and the phenomenon of \"jobless growth,\" failing to create sufficient remunerative employment. The speaker argues that the current surge of Hindu nationalism since 2014 is a direct consequence of an \"elite backlash\" against slowing growth and the prevailing neoliberal regime, drawing parallels with the rise of ethnic nationalism in the United States following the 2007 financial crisis and increasing inequality.\n\nThe analysis highlights crucial distinctions between pan-India narratives, which describe overarching processes like economic reforms and the rise of ethnic nationalism, and regional narratives that acknowledge India's vast diversity and the insights gained from studying subnational variations. A unique aspect of Indian urban spaces is explored: while micro-level spatial units exhibit high segregation by caste and income, larger units demonstrate coexistence of multiple groups. This \"mixed neighborhood\" phenomenon is shown to correlate with better development outcomes and lower poverty, contrasting with the stark residential segregation observed in many American cities. The speaker also discusses the evolution of agrarian arrangements, from traditional money lenders and interlinked systems to modern corporate contract farming, advocating for cooperative models as a more beneficial alternative for small farmers.\n\nFrom a practical standpoint, the research suggests that forces like neoliberalism and Hindu nationalism actively erode urban integration, which is not only ethically problematic but also detrimental to overall development. The speaker advocates for reversing these trends by promoting the \"right to the city,\" ensuring that urban spaces and commons are accessible to all, especially the poor and marginalized. In the agricultural sector, the proposed solution involves properly designed, state-supported credit and marketing cooperatives, an idea that is also being explored for the urban informal sector and as a broader approach to address societal challenges like climate change, offering a decentralized counter-narrative to top-down, authoritarian state solutions.\n\nBroadly, the discussion contextualizes the deep roots of Hindu nationalism within India's anti-colonial history and its recent resurgence as an elite backlash against welfare-oriented policies and economic slowdown. The comparative analysis with the US underscores a common underlying factor for different forms of populism: systemic inequality and a perceived lack of opportunities. The detailed study of wealth inequality in Indian cities, particularly Mumbai, reveals how deregulation in sectors like finance and real estate post-reforms has facilitated the concentration of top wealth, illustrating the specific mechanisms through which neoliberal policies reshape economic landscapes and exacerbate disparities." "concepts": [ "Populism

"the rise of this brand of Hindu nationalism what we have seen since 2014 is definitely a result of the elite backlash and the elite backlash itself is happening in the context of slowing growth and a neoliberal largely neuroril regime that has been prevailing."

"India embarked on a completely different model... sometimes you will see this whole process as being described using three components liberalization, privatization, globalization."

"one of the consequences that I have tried to understand along with my co-authors has been a rise in inequality in many dimensions for example consumption based inequality wealth-based inequality"

"the kind of growth we have experienced has not been accompanied by creation of you know remunerative employment. So we have something called jobless growth that has happened."

"when you look at American cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, they are very starkly segregated... Now if you look at Indian cities... you see high segregation for example you know in a small unit... but when you take slightly larger units... you will see coexistence of multiple casts, multiple classes."

"what we actually show is that mixed neighborhoods you know produce better development outcomes. So the likelihood that a person is poor is lower in a more mixed neighborhood as compared to a less mixed neighborhood."

"neoliberalism for example works through the state works through markets and then it you know excludes you know the poor and on other marginalized groups you know Hindutwa or Hindu nationalism you know is openly discriminatory against you know religious minorities particularly Muslims."

"We are arguing for what is called sometimes in in you know social science literature you know a right to the city. The poor the marginalized everybody should have the right to the city. City spaces should be open. Commons should be open. we should reverse these processes."

"wealth inequality increased substantially since the '90s."

"our argument was that if you design these you know credit and marketing cooperatives properly wherein these farmers are uh you know they are cultivating their own land but they are cooperating in uh obtaining credit and uh also marketing their produce and if the state supports them for example then this is better for their farmers for them and it may work actually better than all these other alternatives."