Religion-making in South Asia: An interstitial perspective
By: Singh, Nirvikar
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Material type: 
BookPublisher: The Indian Economic and Social History Review Description: 61(1), Jan-Mar, 2024: p.67-96.Subject(s): Hinduism, Contemporary academia, Controversy, Colonial construct, Historical antecedents, Scholarly middle ground, Evolution of Hinduism, Sikh tradition, Islam as a discursive tradition, Contestable representations, Knowledge and power, Collective aspirations, Self-definition, Muslims and Hindus, Religious category, Colonial period
In:
The Indian Economic and Social History ReviewSummary: The study of ‘Hinduism’ in contemporary academia has generated considerable controversy. Many scholars have argued that the idea of a single ancient religion is difficult to substantiate based on the historical record. A common alternative position is that Hinduism is a colonial construct, without well-defined historical antecedents. This paper contributes to a scholarly middle ground, which provides an empirically based yet still contingent analysis of the evolution of ‘Hinduism’, by drawing on evidence from the Sikh tradition. In doing so, it also draws on approaches which interpret Islam as a discursive tradition, subject to contestable representations, shaped by conditions of knowledge and power, as well as by collective aspirations. Sikh attempts at self-definition included distinguishing their tradition from the two larger, pre-existing traditions of Muslims and Hindus in an explicit and self-conscious manner. In doing so, Sikh leaders recognised ‘Hindu’ as a religious category to some degree, well before the colonial period.- Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00194646231222640
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Vol info | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | 61(1), Jan-Mar, 2024: p.67-96 | Available | AR132143 |
The study of ‘Hinduism’ in contemporary academia has generated considerable controversy. Many scholars have argued that the idea of a single ancient religion is difficult to substantiate based on the historical record. A common alternative position is that Hinduism is a colonial construct, without well-defined historical antecedents. This paper contributes to a scholarly middle ground, which provides an empirically based yet still contingent analysis of the evolution of ‘Hinduism’, by drawing on evidence from the Sikh tradition. In doing so, it also draws on approaches which interpret Islam as a discursive tradition, subject to contestable representations, shaped by conditions of knowledge and power, as well as by collective aspirations. Sikh attempts at self-definition included distinguishing their tradition from the two larger, pre-existing traditions of Muslims and Hindus in an explicit and self-conscious manner. In doing so, Sikh leaders recognised ‘Hindu’ as a religious category to some degree, well before the colonial period.- Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00194646231222640
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