Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India

Description

This volume in The New Cambridge History of India looks at the numerous nineteenth-century movements for social and religious change--Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian--that used various forms of religious authority to legitimize their reform programs. Such movements were both indigenous and colonial in their origins, and the author shows how each adapted to the challenge of competing nationalisms as political circumstances changed. The volume considers the overall impact of British rule on the whole sphere of religion, social behavior, and culture.

"...provides a masterly overview of this complex subject...a brilliant work of scholarly compression..." Choice "Drawing on recent historical research, including his own study of the development of Hindu consciousness in nineteenth century Punjab, Jones tells a fascinating story that serves as a valuable background to understanding modern communal conflict in South Asia and as an introduction to more detailed study of the movements themselves." Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr., Social Science Quarterly "...this is a useful compendium, to be used as a reference..." Eleanor Zelliot, Journal of Asian and African Studies