Postcolonial aporias, or what does fundamentalism have to do with globalization? the contradictory consequences of education reform in India

How do we understand the rise of religious nationalisms in the context of an increasingly globalized and interconnected world? Recent events in the education sector in India provide a particularly compelling example of this contradictory phenomenon. While on the one hand, the Indian State is liberalizing its economic and social sectors to compete in the global economy, in a paradoxical move, it has introduced a new Hindu nationalist curriculum in schools across the country. This article analyses the controversial national curriculum framework released in November 2000 that presents the State's new vision of education. The author argues that the cultural nationalist discourse of the new curriculum is part of India's postcolonial history that finds new meaning and purpose in the current phase of globalization.