At PU, US Professor dwells upon politics

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 31

An interactive session with Prof Mark Juergensmeyer, Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, was organised by the Department of Political Science, PU, here today.

The topic of the discussion was ‘India in the global rise of religious politics’.

He talked about political realities that cause religious mobilisations. He shared insights on how ‘Ad-Dharm Movement’ and ‘Khalistani Movement’ emerged as a response to a census conducted by the British and the failure of the Indian model of secular nation, respectively.

He drew parallel between these movements and current events such as Brexit and Trump’s election. “This has culminated in a new wave of narrow nationalism where the idea of the nation states is being tied to religious and ethnic identities,” he said.

The talk ended with a question and answer session and followed by concluding remarks by Prof Ronki Ram, Department of Political Science, Panjab University.