The Indian State, the Diasporic Hindu Right and the ‘Desire Named Development’

This chapter focuses on contemporary development thinking in India, and the place it has accorded to the figure of the Non-Resident Indian since the neoliberal economic reforms of 1991 opened the door to unfettered globalization. The diasporic investor has often been a hoped-for fantasy creature sought by the policy establishment over this period, and arguably has garnered a disproportionate degree of notice in national economic and social arrangements. Following the cultural politics of the diasporic Hindu Right into the contested realm of Indian development thought, I will consider how diasporic organizations have engaged with these emerging ideas and consequent political opportunities. The processes of globalization make for a class system that exceeds national boundaries -I will examine India’s development paradigm in this context.