| ID | 179996 |
| Title Proper | Religious Offence Policed |
| Other Title Information | Paradoxical Outcomes of Containment at the Centre of Banaras, and the ‘Know-How’ of Local Muslims |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Lazzaretti, Vera |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In the 1980s and 1990s, during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the Gyanvapi mosque in Banaras was identified by Hindu nationalists as the next place to be ‘liberated’ from Muslim presence. A security plan was then implemented by the government to prevent the occurrence of a ‘religious offence’ as specified in the Indian Penal Code, namely ‘destroying, damaging or defiling a place of worship’ (Section 295). Drawing on ethnographic research, this article explores religious offence within and beyond its legal definition and examines the contradictory impact that its containment through policing has on everyday life and interreligious relationships in the centre of Banaras. |
| `In' analytical Note | South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Vol. 44, No.3; Jun 2021: p.584-599 |
| Journal Source | South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 2021-06 44, 3 |
| Key Words | Hindu Nationalism ; Policing ; Securitisation ; Religious Offence ; Contested Religious Sites ; Self-Containment |