India

Swadeshi

Economic self-reliance; part of this was Gandhi leading a massive boycott of British imports.

Salt boycott

In 1930, Gandhi lead a salt boycott in which he leads a 200 mile march to the sea to gather salt as a sign of resistance to British imports. A symbol of nonviolence that was powerful in that the group that walked with him was of a diverse background, but a united India.

Mughal Empire

An empire extending over the large parts of the Indian subcontinent. Significance: First time the Indian peninsula had been united under one rule/domain.

British East India Company

India lacked a strong centralized state and was therefore vulnerable to foreign encroachment when the British East India Company came in. The private merchant company ultimately succeeded in controlling whole principalities. It did so by setting up puppet Mughal governors, known as nabobs, with British merchant advisers at their sides. This greatly facilitated the plundering of Indian wealth and resources.

Gujarat State

Modi was the chief minister for some time. It was here that there were Hindu-Muslim riots that resulted in the deaths of mostly Muslims, and Modi failed to take action to control the situation. He has, however, since been cleared by the courts as not being responsible.

Muhammed Ali Jinnah

Member/Leader of the Muslim League who partnered with Gandhi to mobilize all of India (both Hindi and Muslim populations) for the Indian Independence movement. Significance: Similar to Egypt's movement for Mubarak to step down, Ali Jinnah and Gandhi unified the people under one goal of independence, regardless of religion.

Dalits/Scheduled Castes

The official name given in India to the lowest caste considered 'untouchable' in orthodox Hindu scriptures and practice. It is officially regarded as socially disadvantageous. It's very hard, if not impossible, to get out of this caste.

The Left Front

This party is the opposite of the BJP. It advocates for liberal progressive policies, much more in the vein of Nehru's rule. It's a collection of various leftist organizations.

Hindutva

Hindu fundamentalism which seeks to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values, understood as a way of life or state of mind and is not to be equated with religious Hindu fundamentalism. Part of the BJP's platform, which is significant because the BJP has recently come to power.

Hindus

The ethnic majority in India with 80% of the citizens being Hindi. Hindu is the official language of India, and Hindus have largely dominated society and are overrepresented.

Annawadi

The slum of Mumbai that is the subject of Katherine Boo's novel Behind the Beautiful Forevers. It is home to 300,000 people and is a great example of the squalor which exists in the slums and the lack of ability for the people to be able to escape them.

Muslim League

A historic political party established in the early years of the 20th century in the British Indian Empire. Significance: This was the first evidence that there would later be division along religious/ethnic lines in politics.

Shiv Sena

A regionally-based party in the Mahatastra State, which calls for the strengthening of Hindu culture. It has attracted a large number of disgruntled unemployed youths, particularly from the slums. Supports a broader Hindu nationalist agenda and aligns with the BJP.

Maharastra State

A state in the western region of India and is the nations and worlds second most populous sub-national entity. This is the state with historically the most economic activity and where the British influence was the strongest.

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)

A trade and economic policy that advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production. ISI is based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of industrialized products. This was advocated for by the Indian Independence Movement. This is one way to make a country economically self-reliant. Restricts foreign investment and trade. Significance: By the late 1970s, India had become one of the largest agricultural producers in the world and established a relatively large middle class. However, there has been a liberalization effort in the 1980s, and India is growing economically.

Hindu Fundamentalism

Also known as Hindutva, which is an emphasis on Hindu culture. The BJP is a party that embodies the ideals of Hindutva, and Nehru was working to combat the ideals of Hindutva by advocating for a united, inclusive, secular nationalism.

British Raj

British Rule (Raj) over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. In 1858, British Parliament passed the Government of India act, which terminated the East India Company's control of India and placed the territory under direct and far more harsh colonial rule. There were calls of India being a permanent subjection of India to the British yoke.

Satyagraha

Holding fast to the truth; one of the two guiding principles of the nonviolent resistance. This was important because violence would not work when the oppressors have a dominance of coercion and the use of violence is immoral/unethical.

Hindu-Muslim Riots

India has a long history of Hindu-Muslim riots, particularly those that occurred in Mumbai in 1992 in which about 900 people died, 2/3 of them Muslim. The Gujarat riots are another example.

Ethnic nationalism

Nationalism in which the nation is defined in terms of ethnicity; nations are defined by shared language, common faith, and a common ethnic ancestry. Can be exclusive to minorities.

Malnutrition/stunting

Not receiving enough calories each day of the certain essentials which we need to survive, which can then impact the ability of the child to develop to full potential, particularly in size.

Lok Sabha

The lower house of the parliament in India which is elected via direct elections for 543 seats. Some of these are reserved for members of the lowest castes.

Indian National Congress Party

The party that advocated for freedom from the rule of the British Empire, lead by Gandhi.

Mahatma Mohandes Gandhi

The preeminent leader of the Indian Independence Movement whose emphasis was on an approach of nonviolent civil disobedience as the path to independence.

Rajya Sabha

The upper house of the parliament in India. Membership is limited to 250 members. Less powerful than Lok Sabha

India's Improbable Democracy

There are several factors that made attaining and maintaining democracy unlikely in India, including massive populations in poverty with enormous wealth gapes; linguistic, ethnic, and religious differences; widespread illiteracy and low levels of education; sanitation problems; gender inequality, etc.

Swaraj

The goal of self rule of the Indians, by the Indians, and the goal of the movement.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

"India for the Hindu Nationalists" is the party slogan along with "One Nation, One People, One Culture", both emphasizing the Hindu majority. This is the new dominant party in India after the collapse of the Congress Party, which formed a power vacuum. Able to attract Hindus of all castes.

Caste System

All-encompassing social hierarchy system which stratifies the population. Significance: Severely limits mobility within society.

Narendra Modi

New prime minister of India after the 2014 elections with 31% of the vote. Modi is openly and proudly a Hindu nationalist. He has been criticized for failing to act during the riots in the Gujarat State. However, he has proven his ability to get things done, and in the Gujarat state under his rule the district tripled the size of their economy, significantly improved public utilities, and he is a clean and non-corrupt politician. This is a breath of fresh air after all of the corrupt politicians in Indian politics.

Civic nationalism

Non-xenophobic form of nationalism compatible with values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights. Built on shared values instead of shared ethnicity.

Ahimsa

Nonviolence, peaceful. One of the two guiding principles of the non-violent resistance. This was important because violence would not work when the oppressors have a dominance of coercion and the use of violence is immoral/unethical.

Nonviolent resistance

Resisting/protesting peacefully and in the case of India was based on two Hindu concepts of Satyagraha and Ahimsa.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Succeeded Gandhi as the leader of the INC and became independent India's first PM in 1947, when India became independent. He championed social democracy at home and mercantilist trade policies abroad. He wanted peaceful coexistence with neighboring countries and nonalignment in the Cold War.

Ultra-Poverty

Term coined by Michael Lipton. Connotes being amongst the poorest of the poor in low-income countries. Lipton defined ultra poverty as receiving less than 80% of minimum caloric intake whilst spending more than 80% income on food. Food policy research defines it as living on fewer than 54 cents a day.

Mumbai

The capital city of the Indian State of Maharastra, it is the most populous metro area in India and was known as Bombay under the British Empire. It is the site of many of the largest slums in India.