Achin Vanaik

Achin Vanaik (born 1947) is an Indian political scientist, author, and activist.

Early life and education Vanaik was born in India in 1947. In 1964, he moved to the United Kingdom to attend school in Suffolk. Bullied for wearing a turban, he eventually stopped wearing one.

Career Vanaik served as an editor at The Times of India between 1978 and 1990. In 1996, Vanaik began his academic career as a visiting professor in Third World Studies at Jamia Milia Islamia University. In 2002, he began working at Delhi University, eventually serving as the head of the Political Science Department and Dean of Social Sciences between 2007 and 2010. Since 1998, he has been a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. and Jacobin.

Nuclear disarmament In response to Indian nuclear tests, Vanaik, Praful Bidwai, Laxminarayan Ramdas, and others founded the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) in 2000. Bidwai and Vanaik also wrote New Nukes: India, Pakistan, and Global Nuclear Disarmament (2000). That year, Bidwai and Vanaik were awarded the Sean MacBride Peace Prize for their advocacy against nuclear weapons. In 2015, Vanaik published After The Bomb, a collection of essays criticizing the Indian nuclear program and proposing steps to limit nuclear weapons.

Hindu nationalism In a 1994 paper, Vanaik argued that Hindutva is not fascist and that labelling it as such could "disorient the organization of opposition". However, he stated that it has the potential for fascism. Rustom Bharucha criticized his argument as underestimating the fascism present in Hindutva. In this book, Vanaik details the rise of Hindu nationalism and proposes an alternative political movement that he says can gain power by bettering the lives of Indians. Vijay Prashad referred to the book as "compulsory reading for anyone interested in recent political developments in India."

India-Israel relations Vanaik has argued that India's relations with Israel has always been based on realpolitik, noting that India purchased weapons from Israel in the 1960s despite its public pro-Palestine stance at the time. Vanaik has also written about the BJP's strengthening of relations with Israel, arguing that Hindutva and Zionism are similar

At the beginning of the Gaza war, Vanaik gave a lecture at OP Jindal Global University, in which he compared Hindutva to Zionism and called Hindutva "anti-Muslim". Additionally, he critiqued how the label terrorism is applied and stated that suicide bombers are more interested in dying than killing. Vanaik reaffirmed his statements but clarified that he does not support terrorism. A statement denouncing the Israeli embassy's "interference with academic freedom on Indian campuses" was signed by 470 Indian academics.

Books

The Furies of Indian Communalism: Religion, Modernity and Secularization (Verso, 1997) New Nukes: India, Pakistan, and Global Nuclear Disarmament, with Praful Bidwai. (Olive Branch Press, 2000) After The Bomb: Post-Pokharan II Essays (Orient Black Swan, 2015) The Rise of Hindu Authoritarianism: Secular Claims, Communal Realities (Verso, 2017) Nationalist Dangers, Secular Failings: A Compass for an Indian Left (Aakar Books, 2020)