Ethnonationalist Scapegoating: Segregation and Evictions in Urban India

• In Event: 40252 - Mechanisms of Segregation

Abstract

This paper examines the emergence and evolution of ethno-nationalist scapegoating as a mechanism for residential segregation and ethnically targeted evictions in urban India from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Focusing on case studies from Bombay (Mumbai), Bangalore (Bengaluru), and Ahmedabad, the paper traces how regional nationalist movements transformed into more virulent forms of Hindu nationalism, particularly after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. The paper argues that in the aftermath of the 1992 violence, a new “scapegoating eviction logic” developed that blended ethno-nationalist rhetoric with urban renewal imperatives. This logic legitimized discriminatory evictions by framing certain ethnic or religious groups, particularly Muslims and migrants, as threats to urban order and development. Based on historical newspaper analysis and discourse analysis of other archival material, the paper demonstrates how ethno-nationalist politics reshaped urban governance, leading to more explicitly targeted and violent forms of residential segregation. It reveals the role of critical events, such as the 1992-93 Bombay riots and the 2002 Gujarat pogrom, in crystallizing anti-Muslim sentiment and accelerating segregation processes in Indian cities. The analysis highlights the interplay between regional linguistic nationalism and broader Hindu nationalist movements in producing new forms of urban exclusion, tracing the historical development scapegoating discourses from anti-migrant rhetoric to more explicitly anti-Muslim targeting, particularly after the Ayodhya incident. And it concludes by discussing how the processes of neoliberal urban restructuring and “world-class city” aspirations in the early 2000s intersected with ethno-nationalist politics to further marginalize minoritized communities. By linking ethno-nationalist politics, urban governance, and spatial segregation, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex forces shaping India's increasingly divided cities. It demonstrates how seemingly disparate processes - linguistic nationalism, Hindu revivalism, and neoliberal urbanism - converged to produce new, more virulent forms of urban exclusion and violence.

Author

• Liza Weinstein, Northeastern University