Indian Secularism: A Social and Intellectual History, 1890-1950Many of the central issues in modern Indian politics have long been understood in terms of an opposition between ideologies of secularism and communalism. Observers have argued that recent Hindu nationalism is the symptom of a crisis of Indian secularism and have blamed this on a resurgence of religion or communalism. Shabnum Tejani unpacks prevailing assumptions about the meaning of secularism in contemporary politics, focusing on India but with many points of comparison elsewhere in the world. She questions the simple dichotomy between secularism and communalism that has been used in scholarly study and political discourse. Tracing the social, political, and intellectual genealogies of the concepts of secularism and communalism from the late nineteenth century until the ratification of the Indian constitution in 1950, she shows how secularism came to be bound up with ideas about nationalism and national identity. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Nationalism | 25 |
1 A Hindu Community in Maharashtra? Cow Protection Ganpati Festivals and Music before Mosques 18931894 | 27 |
Swadeshi and the New Patriotism in Maharashtra 19051910 | 76 |
Communalism | 111 |
Muslims and the Debates around Constitutional Reform 19061909 | 113 |
The Khilafat Movement and the Separation of Sind 19191932 | 144 |
Secularism | 197 |
Acknowledgements | viii |
Glossary | xi |
Abbreviations | xvii |
Introduction | 1 |
Nationalism | 25 |
1 A Hindu Community in Maharashtra? Cow Protection Ganpati Festivals and Music before Mosques 18931894 | 27 |
Swadeshi and the New Patriotism in Maharashtra 19051910 | 76 |
Communalism | 111 |
Gandhi Ambedkar and the Depressed Classes Question 1932 | 199 |
Defining the Secular Citizen 19461950 | 234 |
Bibliography | 266 |
Index | 297 |
Back cover | 303 |
Contents | v |
Maps | vii |
Muslims and the Debates around Constitutional Reform 19061909 | 113 |
The Khilafat Movement and the Separation of Sind 19191932 | 144 |
Secularism | 197 |
Gandhi Ambedkar and the Depressed Classes Question 1932 | 199 |
Defining the Secular Citizen 19461950 | 234 |
Bibliography | 266 |