Annihilating Time, Truth and Life

NB: This article was written for an edited volume on contemporary terrorism, more specifically, terror in the name of Hindutva. I disagree with the habit of approaching terrorism with a prefix, but nevertheless wrote it, in order precisely to make my point more explicitly. It was completed more than a year ago and the book (to which it was a contribution) is more than overdue. I understand that the current political atmosphere has motivated the publishers to re-think the project, and have no idea if they will ever publish it. After consulting with the editor of the proposed volume, therefore, I have decided to post it on sacw.net and my blog â€“ Dilip Simeon

"This essay derives its inspiration from the need to engage with and understand the phenomenon of totalitarianism, which appears to me to be a central feature of terror and terrorism. My argument is not restricted to India, nor to a specific religious provenance of Indian communal politics. (Communalism refers to the assumption that shared membership of a community automatically results in a shared political interest). Rather, the relevance of totalitarianism is itself evidence of Indiaâ€™s assimilation into a globalised reality. The sub-division of communally inspired violence along religious categories is self-defeating, for it follows the habitual practice of analyzing communal phenomena through a communal lens â€“ in other words, taking as given precisely those terms and usages that require analysis." [. . .]
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A Matter of Time: by Dilip Simeon
July 2014

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