Politics of exclusion and social marginalization of Muslims in India: case study of Gujarat

The paper offers a socio-psychological understanding of the phenomenon called ethnic riots and the various indigenous theories of violence discussed here suggest how complex and multidimensional human aggression and communal violence are. In light of this, the marginalized Muslim identity in Gujarat becomes the backdrop against which the problematic of Hindu-Muslim violence is developed. Psychoanalytic ideas on group psychology, phallic aggression, rumors and religious rituals are discussed in this context. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.