Decoding societal divides: Affective polarisation through caste, religion and politics in India

There have been different explanations put forth to explain affective polarisation in Western countries- ideology, identity, policy preferences, etc. The study examines the sources of affective polarisation in India. It explores to what extent affective polarisation in India can be explained through the role of identity. The sources of identity are complex in the case of India due to diversity in caste, religion, and languages. The paper focuses on the divides among different castes, religions and partisan preferences. It looks at the contrasts between supporters and opposers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The paper is part of a larger project that adopts a mixed-method approach: surveys, survey experiments, and semi-structured interviews in India. It highlights the need to adopt a complementary qualitative approach to understand affective polarisation better. This paper relies in particular on data from survey experiments conducted during the campaign of the upcoming 2024 general elections. The correlates of affective polarisation between supporters and opposers of Modi are assessed through vignette experiments and social distance measures. The paper contributes towards the literature on affective polarisation in the Global South. It looks at the influence of caste, religion, and partisan choices on affective polarisation. It strengthens the need to study affective polarisation in other non-Western contexts.