36.3399, Reviews: Weaponizing Language: Ila Nagar (2025)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3399. Thu Nov 06 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3399, Reviews: Weaponizing Language: Ila Nagar (2025)

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Date: 06-Nov-2025
From: Troy E Spier [tspier2 at gmail.com]
Subject: Ila Nagar (2025)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/36-2510

Title: Weaponizing Language
Subtitle: Legislating a Hindu India
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
           http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics
Book URL:
https://www.cambridge.org/universitypress/subjects/languages-linguistics/sociolinguistics/weaponizing-language-legislating-hindu-india?format=HB&isbn=9781009480291

Author(s): Ila Nagar

Reviewer: Troy E Spier

SUMMARY
Containing seven chapters ranging from six to forty pages, Weaponizing
Language examines how ‘linguistic trickery’ is employed by Hindus on
the political right—through “slogans, speeches, writings,
parliamentary debates, laws, social media, and media interviews” (p.
19)—-to demonize and legislate against Muslims in India while
simultaneously reinforcing Hindutva (‘Hindu Nationalism’). Numerous
examples are provided in English, whether original or translated, to
illustrate these rhetorical tactics. Similarly, six excerpts are
reproduced in the appendix, and an excellent glossary of relevant
terms in Arabic, Hindi, and Sanskrit is provided.
The introduction establishes the exigence for the book, stating that
it “argues that specific types of language use [...] can lead to
substantive legislative actions and judicial outcomes in the lives of
people whom those in power, the language users, are intending to
sideline” (p. 1). In order to do this, the author notes that the
resulting analysis is centered around case studies, the data for which
arrives in the form of speeches, affirmations, poetry, and more. Three
fundamental assumptions inform this book, namely that Indian elections
are fair and independent, India has a democratic government, and
metadiscursive analysis is useful. Finally, the chapter closes by
establishing that “[t]his book treats propaganda and rhetoric as
harmful speech [...speaking,] to the way the Hindu Right has used
language to attack rights of Indian Muslims” (p. 7).
Chapter 1 opens with a discussion on the historical partition into
India and Pakistan. Recognizing that the secular intentions of the
early state have been realized as planned, it notes two pernicious
consequences: the early founders have been vilified with the passage
of time, and those who criticize the ‘Hinduness’ of India are branded
as outsiders. In this way, citizenship has been conceptualized on the
basis of one’s religion, and the definitional criteria for a
Hindu-based identity is examined. As a natural result, legislation
against not only those belonging to lower castes, but also against
Muslims, has become increasingly pronounced. To close the chapter, a
brief consideration of research on (critical) discourse analysis is
presented, and analogous examples are provided, such as the comments
made about and between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda. Narendra Modi
is also characterized essentially as Schrӧdinger’s Leader: of the
people through humble origins, yet catering to the elites.
Chapter 2 relays an anecdote in which recitations of the Ramayana
would prevent people from getting anything done over a
twenty-four-hour period, including the author’s attempts to study for
class. Next, an in-depth, diachronic treatment of the Babri Masjid is
presented. Built in the sixteenth century and believed to sit on the
place of Rama, the existence of the Babri Masjid led to anti-Muslim
discourse and its ultimate demolition in 1992. Three levels of
analysis are undertaken here. Referencing Butler (1997), the author
states that “[l]anguage and speech are each constitutive of the
subject and also have the power to injure the subject” (p. 55). For
this reason, the bulk of the chapter addresses how language usage in
slogans and speeches creates and reinforces narratives, such as those
of Narendra Modi against Indian Muslims. To justify the demolition of
the Babri Masjid, then, it is necessary to mobilize such narratives to
argue centuries after its construction that Lord Ram was born there
and, as further evidence, ‘appeared’ there in the form of a child in
the mid-twentieth century.
Chapter 3 problematizes more concretely the ways in which religious
stereotypes impact adherents of both Islam and Hinduism. Bewafaa se
Wafaa, a Bollywood film, presents a married couple in which the wife
encourages her husband to take a second wife; although he initially
declines, he ultimately relents. This film represents yet another
entry in the long history of those that describe Muslims with a focus
on plural marriage and immediate divorce of wives for minor offenses.
Two legal cases, those of Shah Bano in the 1980s and Sharaya Bano in
the 2010s, are employed to illustrate the tension between personal,
religious law and state law. The former addressed the maintenance of
Muslim women post-divorce; the latter, the legality of triple-talaq as
a speech act. In contrast to Hindu women whose rules of inheritance
were limited until very recently, Muslim women were entitled to
inheritance while simultaneously being viewed as destitute and
agentless. This has led to a situation where the Muslim woman is
framed “as a victim that cannot improve her life due to Muslim men
[leading to] a discourse that Muslim women need to be emancipated by
the state” (p. 119).
Chapter 4 investigates the intersection of nationality, ethnicity, and
religion as a significant factor in determining who is an ‘ally’ and
who is an ‘enemy.’ For instance, Kashmiris and Pakistanis are painted
as inherent opponents. More than this, though, the status of Kashmir
serves as a bargaining chip: If it is reclaimed by India, then it
reaffirms the Hindu right’s claim over the territory and the concept
of ‘Indianness’ more generally. Due to the rapid drawing of these
borders, though, the conversation is also complicated by ethnicity, as
the presence of Kashmiri Muslims, Dogra and Punjabi Hindus, and
Ladakh/Tibetan Buddhists prevents such a straightforward delineation.
Despite this, a poem by Atal Vajpayee (2006) concerning Kashmir is
shared, which argues that it will one day be reclaimed regardless of
American militaristic investment. As such, a discursive coalescence of
Kashmir with Pakistan and the demonization of Muslims more broadly as
the Other is “productive because it is a stand-in for threats, real
and perceived” (p. 147). Thus, once the ‘Muslim Problem’ has been
resolved, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, and Bangladesh will be ultimately
reunited into a single state.
Chapter 5 considers who ‘counts’ as a citizen in India, which is,
surprisingly, straightforwardly defined: anyone born in India is an
Indian, anyone born in present-day Pakistan or Bangladesh is an Indian
after a six-year residency, and anyone from elsewhere is an Indian
after a twelve-year residency. However, these definitions are at least
partially influenced by one’s professed religion, as “illegal
immigrants are Muslims and the ones seeking refuge are Hindus” (p.
149). What this indicates, then, is that non-Muslims from Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh have an expedited path toward citizenship,
itself a continuation of the idea that Muslims are dangerous. To
reinforce such a notion, words like ghuspaithiya (‘intruder’) and
deemak (‘termites’) are used to describe Muslims and, to cite
Meenakshi Lekhi, the ‘silent invasion’ (cf. pp. 176-177) for which
they are responsible.
The conclusion reiterates the overarching objective of the book, i.e.
to examine how anti-Muslim sentiments are reflected not only in speech
of, but also in legislation authored by, members of the Hindu Right.
Likewise, Hindu imagery serves a complementary role to speech, such as
through the invocation of particular colors or the representation of
specific flags.
EVALUATION
In a post-colonial world where borders fulfill a literal and
metaphorical function, Weaponizing Language provides an important,
interdisciplinary perspective on Hindu-Muslim relations in South Asia.
Extensive references and excerpts demonstrate that the author has
engaged deeply with the historical, cultural, religious, and
discursive literature; where necessary, footnotes provide additional
context to clarify the terms and concepts under consideration.
Moreover, the inclusion of anecdotes offered a personal, playful
‘touch’ that complemented the analysis offered. However, there are two
areas in which this book and its analysis could have been
strengthened.
First, ‘linguistic trickery’ as a neologism does not seem necessary
and is inconsistently defined in the book, though it is referred to
quite often. While the introduction describes it as the act of “using
language in ways that complicate or add to the meanings of an
utterance” (p. 1), the analysis is actually much stronger and much
broader than the definition suggests, as the book examines a range of
rhetorical strategies employed, e.g. the bifurcation of society into
Us vs. Them, the reproduction of metaphors that denigrate perceived
opponents, the construction of a pseudo-historical narrative at the
present moment to reinforce legislative actions, etc. Still, the very
light review of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and limited, overt
engagement with the most important concepts within, such as ‘power’
and ‘ideology,’ also impact the framing of the book. For instance,
seminal leaders in CDA like Fairclough, Wodak, and van Dijk are
recognized in passing, yet Foucault receives substantial space in
comparison. A valuable opportunity to incorporate van Dijk (1998), for
example, would have greatly strengthened the discussion.
Second, the author notes that a qualitative approach is privileged in
the book, not a quantitative one, as “[t]he number of times a
statement is made by someone in power is irrelevant; the fact that the
statement has been made holds more weight” (p. 2). This claim is
somewhat odd, though, as it stands in opposition to broader trends and
accepted practices in discourse analysis that rely on a mixed-method
approach. Put another way, if it makes no difference whether a
particular sentiment was realized more frequently than another, then
it would also follow naturally that a sentiment that arises only once
is not inherently significant, either. And, if that’s the case, then
the salience of the examples provided must have been derived
impressionistically, not empirically, which limits its
reproducibility.
Despite these areas for expansion and greater specificity, Weaponizing
Language is a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature
on discourse motivated by or oriented toward issues of religiosity
(see e.g. Johnston and von Stuckrad 2021, Ndaluka 2012, Pihlaja 2021),
whether practiced or performed.
REFERENCES
Butler, Judith 1997. Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative.
New York, NY: Routledge.
Johnston, Jay and Kocku von Stuckrad (eds). 2021. Discourse Research
and Religion: Disciplinary Uses and Interdisciplinary Dialogues.
Berlin, DE: Walter de Gruyter GmbH.
Ndaluka, Thomas Joseph. 2012. Religious Discourse, Social Cohesion and
Conflict: Muslim-Christian Relations in Tanzania. Oxford, UK: Peter
Lang Group.
Pihlaja, Stephen (ed). 2021. Analysing Religious Discourse. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press.
Vajpayee, Atal Bihari. 2006. Meri Ekyavan Kavitayein. New Delhi,
India: Kitabghar.
van Dijk, Teun A. 1998. Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Troy E. Spier is Assistant Professor of English and Linguistics at
Florida A&M University. He earned his MA and Ph.D. in Linguistics at
Tulane University, his B.S.Ed. in English/Secondary Education at
Kutztown University, and a graduate certificate in Islamic Studies at
Dallas International University. His research interests include
language documentation and description, discourse analysis, corpus
linguistics, and linguistic landscapes.



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