Transnational Plants, Nationalist Frames

Abstract What is the relationship of nationalism to genetically modified (GM) crops? This article explores this question in the context of India, a country central to the global GM debate. The debate has moved far beyond the question of subordination of farmers in the global South to transnational agribusinesses like Monsanto/Bayer. It today encompasses GM crops developed through transnational networks of research and germplasm, but with domestic capital and national public institutions in the lead. As transnational, uncertain plants, GM crops articulate multiple, divergent constructions of nationalism. Focusing on parliamentary deliberations on GM crops between 2010 and 2017, the article finds that the highest legislative body in India framed nationalism in capacious, inclusive terms, in contradistinction with a narrow, exclusive nationalism favored by successive governments. This challenges monolithic accounts of statist nationalism, and calls for rescuing cultural nationalism from the political nationalism of dominant social groups. Ultimately, the article contributes to the GM debate a much-needed reckoning with nationalism and suggests that research on nationalism can be enriched by accounting for the heterogeneities of institutional practices and cultures that make up the state.