The Nation Form in the Global Age: Ethnographic Perspectives.

• Author: Khan, Afshan

Edited by Irfan Ahmad and Jie Kang

Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, 386 pages, Open Access Book, ISBN: 9783030855802

Produced in the honor of Peter van der Veer, a renowned Dutch anthropologist, The Nation Form in the Global Age: Ethnographic Perspectives, edited by Irfan Ahmad and Jie Kang, delves into the trinity of religion, modernity, and globalization. The volume shows how nationalism has not only persisted but intensified as a medium of discrimination and marginalization despite the rhetoric of borderless globalization. The editors in the introduction cite the example of the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence to show the persistence of nationalism. They argue that the nation-states nationalized the borderless virus and vaccine science in response to the pandemic. The nationalization of the virus continued from its origin to its spread (p. 7). In many parts of the world, the Chinese and Muslims were blamed for the spread of the deadly virus. The pandemic proved that globalization has not led to what Arjun Appadurai termed 'de-territorialization' but re-territorialization.

In its attempt to unveil the relationship of nationalism with violence and destruction, the volume highlights literature written by self-claimed Western liberals and the so-called universal scholars and exposes their biases. It brings together critical perspectives of trained anthropologists based on their long-term fieldwork. It is distinct with its focus on the non-Western world, namely, Asia, Africa, China, and the Middle East. As most of the contributors give reference to Peter van der Veer's scholarship on religion and secularism, it becomes essential for the readers to understand the depth of his contribution to the field of anthropology. Irfan Ahmad, therefore, attempts to provide a critical assessment of the diverse writings of Peter van der Veer who is skeptical of nation-states and nationalism.

The editors divide the volume into five parts, which consist of fourteen engrossing chapters. Part one includes the introduction by the editors and the Oeuvre of Peter van der Veer by Irfan Ahmad, part two, three, four, and five are based on the case studies of India, China, South Africa and the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, respectively. Stefan Binder moots over the marginalization of atheists in the nationalist imaginary of India. He analyzes two Bollywood movies, OMG and PK. Both films are made on the subject of atheism but end up negating any possibility of atheism in India...