Pious, populist, political masculinities in Pakistan and India

Abstract

This article makes a case for the inclusion of piety politics and populist masculinities in any analysis of the governance and international rela-tions between two South Asian rivals and nuclear neighbours; Muslim- majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. It offers a comparative case-study of the redeemed Sufi masculinity of the recently deposed Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and the ascetic Hindutva one performed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The study finds that the nativist, capitalist and gender discriminatory regimes of both populist leaders depend on subduing any dissenting resistance offered by subaltern masculinist and feminist politics. The conclusion finds that military-pious-heteronormative masculinity serves to stabi-lize patriarchy in both ‘manly states’ and underwrites regional security policies. It also points to how subversive movements are constantly challenging these hegemonic masculinities.