The God Market

Conventional wisdom says that integration into the global marketplacetends to weaken the power of traditional faith in developingcountries. But, as Meera Nanda argues in this path-breaking book,this is hardly the case in todays India. Against expectations ofgrowing secularism, India has instead seen a remarkable intertwiningof Hinduism and neoliberal ideology, spurred on by a growingcapitalist class. It is this "State-Temple-Corporate Complex,"she claims, that now wields decisive political and economic power,and provides ideological cover for the dismantling of the Nehru-erastate-dominated economy.

According to this new logic, Indias rapid economic growth is attributableto a special "Hindu mind," and it is what separates thenations Hindu population from Muslims and others deemed to be"anti-modern." As a result, Hindu institutions are replacing publicones, and the Hindu "revival" itself has become big business, a majorsource of capital accumulation. Nanda explores the roots of thisdevelopment and its possible future, as well as the struggle for secularismand socialism in the worlds second-most populous country.

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