Christophe Jaffrelot is a nonresident scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a senior research fellow at the Center for International Studies and Research (CERI) at Sciences Po in Paris. His core research focuses on theories of nationalism and democracy, mobilization of the lower castes and Dalits (ex-untouchables) in India, the Hindu nationalist movement, and ethnic conflicts in Pakistan.
He teaches at Sciences Po and part-time in the United States (Columbia, Princeton, John Hopkins, and Yale). He is also professor of Indian politics and sociology at the King’s India Institute and King’s College, London.
Previously, Jaffrelot served as director (2000–2008) and deputy director (1997–2000) of CERI. He is also former editor in chief (1998-2003) and director (2003–2008) of the quarterly journal Critique Internationale. Jaffrelot joined the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 1991 and was awarded the CNRS bronze medal in 1993. He became a CNRS senior research fellow of second class in 2002 and senior research fellow of first class in 2008. He was awarded the 2014 Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism in commentary/interpretive writing.
Jaffrelot is the author of six books including, Religion, Caste and Politics in India (Columbia University Press, 2011), and has edited seventeen volumes, including Pakistan: Nationalism Without a Nation? (Manohar and Zed Books, 2002).
Scholar Christophe Jaffrelot joins Milan Vaishnav to discuss his new book, Gujarat Under Modi: Laboratory of Today's India, an analysis of how Modi's tenure as chief minister of the state set the stage for his political career.
The BJP’s defeat in the recent Karnataka assembly elections has made the north/south divide in India more obvious in political terms. The party holding office at the Centre does not govern any state below the Vindhyas.
Will political change, as signaled by the Karnataka election results, translate into change at the grass roots — or has the Sangh Parivar taken over society?
Rather, this invitation aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between France and India in the name of national interest, as values are no longer a guiding principle of Western diplomacy, despite the rhetoric.
On Kashmir, where facts remain disputed, debates can be subverted.
With the media and judiciary already under attack, the Prime Minister’s main opponent was just banned from Parliament.
This move reflects the extreme nervousness of the rulers who clearly apprehend new discussions on the relations between Gautam Adani and Narendra Modi in parliament, at a time when the business community, in India and abroad, is holding its breath.
Elections in India have witnessed a striking contrast in recent times. The female voter turnout has increased in the country. Seven out of eight states that went to the polls in 2022 saw a jump in female voter turnout.
It is important to remember Ehsan Jafri today, 20 years after his death, not only because the events of 2002 are fading away, lost to history, but also because his personal commitment was part of a Gujarati political tradition that is also being forgotten.
One, the socioeconomic agenda may stage a comeback. There is certainly a limit to identity politics, when it does not deliver or when it results in more poverty.
