Pandemic Politics in South Asia: Muslims and Democracy

Nelson, Matthew J.

Abstract

In South Asia, entrenched social and political cleavages involving Muslims or particular groups of Muslims have shaped state efforts to address the global Covid-19 pandemic: Hindu nationalists blamed Muslims for introducing the virus to India; anti-Covid lockdowns extended severe constraints on civil liberties in Muslim-majority Kashmir; anti-state mullahs protested public-health restrictions in Pakistan; Taliban insurgents used the virus as a pretext to delegitimize Afghanistan’s elected government. If one pattern has prevailed across South Asia, however, it is a pattern pushing away from democratic forms of legitimacy: persistent and uneven applications of emergency power, in particular, have weakened the outlook for democracy.

Citation

Nelson, M. J. (2021). Pandemic Politics in South Asia: Muslims and Democracy. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 19(1), 83-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2021.1874164

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 8, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 8, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 8, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 7, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 9, 2121
• Journal: The Review of Faith and International Affairs
• Print ISSN: 1557-0274
• Electronic ISSN: 1931-7743
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 83-94
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2021.1874164