Religion in Indian History
Contents: Preface. Introduction/Irfan Habib. 1. In search of the roots of religion or Dharma: Linguistic and social routes/D.P. Chattopadhyaya. 2. Religions in complex societies: the myth of the 'Dark Age'/K.M. Shrimali. 3. Social dimensions of the Cult of Rama/Suvira Jaiswal. 4. Eros and history: Sahajiya secrets and the Tantric culture of love/Nupur Chaudhuri and Rajat Kanta Ray. 5. Religion and material life in Ancient India: D.D. Kosambi and Niharranjan Ray/Barun De. 6. The Islamic background to Indian history: an interpretation of the Islamic Past/M. Athar Ali. 7. Kabir: the historical setting/Irfan Habib. 8. Akbar and the Theologians' Declaration (Mahzar) of 1579/Osamu Kondo. 9. The road to Sulh-i Kul: Akbar's alienation from theological Islam/Shireen Moosvi. 10. The philosophy of Mulla Sadra and its influence in India/Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi. 11. Women in the Sikh Discourse: liberation or ambivalence?/Kamlesh Mohan. 12. Constructing the Hindu identity/Dwijendra Narayan Jha. 13. From religious and social reform to economic nationalism: the Nineteenth-Century reformers of Andhra/V. Ramakrishna. 14. Reason and faith: a defence of Foucault's critique of post-enlightenment modernity/Farhat Hasan. 15. Contemporary communalism: textuality and mass culture/Nirmalangshu Mukherji. Contributors. Index.
"Religion has been, and is, an important element in Indian society and history. It is, however, rare for the subject to be discussed with the necessary degree of detachment. This volume was, therefore, planned with the object of providing a collection of studies that would deal with the role of religion in Indian history on the basis of a rigorous application of academic criteria. The results may surprise those who are more familiar with chauvinistic or apologetic interpretations. The editor's introduction and the fifteen chapters range over an extensive period, from prehistory to the present day, and take up specific problems of crucial significance in exploring the inter-relationship between religion and social change.
This volume draws on new research and is meant for academics as well as general readers, who may find here much that is of relevance to their social and intellectual concerns." (jacket)
