Page 296 - Religion, Media, and the Public Sphere

cosmopolitan and the transnational as sites for public culture remains in ques-
tion. It seems that here an emergent, uneven public sphere is splitting away from
the national sites once discussed and the nature of the public sphere itself needs
to be reexamined. It remains unclear how one might distinguish signs of Hin-
dutva from that of “Indian values” in the present insecurity about pan-Islamic
resurgence. This chapter rejects the widely held view that any depiction of
Hindu practices in Hindi ¤lm is connected with the rise of Hindutva ideologies.
However, while these signs are not inherent in the text it is possible that audi-
ences and politicians may see them and manipulate these signs for such readings.
The striking absence of clear Hindutva images in the ¤lms constitutes a no-
table lack. It seems that market forces may account for this absence, as may in-
dustry personnel who do not embrace Hindutva ideology. However, pragmatic
or economic grounds provide the clearest explanation of why producers are un-
willing to risk problems with the censors or to alienate their established audi-
ences. This high-risk, hugely expensive industry is unwilling to gamble on the
kind of ¤lms it produces, preferring the tried and tested, and avoiding anything
too political or controversial in order to reach the broadest possible audience.
While it is unclear whether the values espoused by the ¤lms are those of wider
society, it is signi¤cant that, although a BJP government was in power from 1996
to 2004, it had a slender majority and was far from gaining the votes of the
majority.
In India, the dominant elite, the old middle classes, who endorse a secular
politics, are anxious about the persistent presence of Hindu signs and practices
in Hindi cinema. This chapter argues that Hindi ¤lms, while pervaded by re-
ligious ideology, depict it under the sign of Indian secularism, emphasizing plu-
rality and equal respect for all religions rather than depicting their absence.
Nevertheless, the worldwide growth of religiosity and its centrality to globaliza-
tion; the shift in the boundaries of the public, the private, and the political; the
growth of international markets and their dynamic relationship to the centers
of cultural production all call for an urgent reexamination of religion in media
studies, as well as in the Hindi ¤lm.

Notes

1. On the history of Indian nationalism, see Masselos 1991 and Chatterjee 1986; on
Hindu nationalism, see Basu et al. 1993; Hansen 1999; Jaffrelot 1996; and van der Veer
1994.
2. See below under the section on censorship.
3. See Dwyer 2000a, chapter 2, one of several introductions to this topic.
4. Sadhvi Rithambhara’s speeches are widely distributed on cassette tape, thus by-
passing the need for a literate audience.
5. For a similar view, see Hansen 1999, 156.

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