Utopias in Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in Modern IndiaThis compact, incisive study by a senior scholar explores two sources of violent conflict in India: religion and nationalism. Showing how the political aspects of religion and the ideological character of nationalism have led inexorably to struggle, Ainslie T. Embree argues that the tension between competing visions of the just society has determined the social and political life of India. In India, as elsewhere in the world at the end of the twentieth century, religions legitimized violence as people struggled for what they regarded as their legitimate claims upon the future. As examples of the tension between religious and nationalist visions of the good society, Embree examines two explosive cases—one involving Muslim-Hindu communal encounters, the other, the separatist movement of the Sikhs. Thought-provoking and searching, Utopias in Conflict should interest anyone concerned about fundamentalism, the problems of national integration, and politics and religion in the Third World. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990. |
Contents
The Question of Hindu Tolerance | 19 |
The Politics of Religion in Contemporary | 39 |
Religious Pluralism National Integration | 55 |
Muslims in a Secular Society | 75 |
A Sikh Challenge to the Indian State | 113 |
Notes | 133 |
Other editions - View all
Utopias in Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in Modern India Ainslie Thomas Embree Limited preview - 1990 |
Utopias in Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in Modern India Ainslie T. Embree Limited preview - 2024 |
Utopias in Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in Modern India Ainslie T. Embree Limited preview - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
argued Arif Khan Arun Shourie assertion attitudes Babri Mosque belief Bhindranwale British Christian claim concept conflict context court Damdami Taksal defined Delhi democratic dian dominant economic factor faith forces fundamental Gandhi gions gious goals Golden Temple Guru Hindu Hindu radical right Hindu tolerance Hindu-Muslim Hinduism human ideas identify identity ideology important Indian civilization Indian culture Indian National Congress Indian nationalists Indian political Indian society insisted interpretation Islam Juergensmeyer Kashmir Khalistan leaders leadership ligious lims majority Mark Juergensmeyer ment modern India movement Muslim Muslim minorities nation-state national integration Nehru neo-Hindu nineteenth century Nirad Chaudhuri Pakistan Punjab question reality regional reli religion and nationalism religious communities religious groups role rulers Sayyid Ahmad Khan scholars secularism Shah Bano Shiv Sena Sikh Sikhism situation social and political structure subcontinent temple tion tional traditional true truth ture understanding unity utopian visions values violence Western women