Politics And Religion In Eighteenth Century India

This book explores the contribution of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology to polity and public engagement during the reign of Jaisingh II in the early eighteenth century in North India. The book analyses specialised treatises produced by the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas which provide theological foundations to endorse and encourage responsible public conduct. Using a two-fold approach, the book offers a close reading and examination of Sanskrit primary sources combined with an exploration of the key themes in these works in light of the wider political context. These works were born in a precise historical context; thus, to fully appreciate these works, this book adopts an approach that smudges the boundaries between history, religion and politics. It provides a historical account of the rise of the Kachvāhā clan to become the chief partners of the Mughal regime, exploring the effects, reign and governance of the celebrated Kachvāhā King Jaisingh II and examines the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava community’s trials and tribulations as they entered an intensely political world. A detailed analysis of a fascinating period within Gauḍīa Vaiṣṇva history, this book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of South Asian Studies, Indology, Religious Studies, South Asian History and Hindu Studies.

The phenomenon of caste has probably aroused more controversy than any other aspect of Indian life and thought. Susan Bayly's cogent and sophisticated analysis explores the emergence of the ideas, experiences and practices which gave rise to the so-called 'caste society' from the pre-colonial period to the end of the twentieth century. Using an historical and anthropological approach, she frames her analysis within the context of India's dynamic economic and social order, interpreting caste not as an essence of Indian culture and civilization, but rather as a contingent and variable response to the changes that occurred in the subcontinent's political landscape through the colonial conquest. The idea of caste in relation to Western and Indian 'orientalist' thought is also explored.

Religious Tradition and Culture in Eighteenth Century Northern India contends that the 'decline' in the political scenario of eighteenth century India did not imply an all-round decay and stagnation of society, especially in its religious and cultural realms. The emergence of regional forces, following the disintegration of the Mughal empire, greatly aided the promotion of regional centres which provided the grounds for a religious and cultural efflorescence. Shifting the focus away from the oft-examined political and economic aspects of the eighteenth century transition, the book studies a wide array of primary sources in Persian and in Urdu, to instead bring the study of intellectual and cultural trends to the centre-stage of historiography. It has brought into prominence the vibrant religious-intellectual outpouring, the Shia-Sunni polemics, educational innovations, growth and spread of Urdu and its entanglement with regional sensibilities and regional networks of patronage.

The eighteenth century in Sikh history stands for a political revolution in which the erstwhile peasants and artisans who had joined the Khalsa order instituted by Guru Gobind Singh replaced first the Mughal and then the Afghan authority in the province of Lahore (Punjab). Based on a wide range of contemporary sources, the present study takes a fresh look at the political processes, and explores for the first time the accompanying transformation in the religious, social, and cultural life of the Sikhs. The aspects specifically taken up for study are the political resurgence of the Sikhs; their system of government; conception of God and the Guru; the institution of Gurdwara and the emergence of Amritsar as the premier centre of the Sikh world; rites, ceremonies, and ethics of the Khalsa; vertical and horizontal lines of demarcation among them; issues of caste and gender; literary articulation of the Sikhs; and their interest in art and architecture. A convergence of all these developments led to the crystallization of a distinctive Sikh identity by the end of the century. In a very real sense, the eighteenth century emerges in this book as a bridge between the earlier and later history of the Sikhs.

Contributed articles.

This volume traces the evolution of Whig and Tory, Puritan and Anglican ideas across a tumultuous period of British history, from the mid-seventeenth century through to the Age of Enlightenment. This volume, a tribute to Mark Goldie, traces the evolution of Whig and Tory, Puritan and Anglican ideas across a tumultuous period of British history, from the mid-seventeenth century through to the Age of Enlightenment. Mark Goldie, Fellow of Churchill College and Professor of Intellectual History at Cambridge University, is one of the most distinguished historians of later Stuart Britain of his generation and has written extensively about politics, religion and ideas in Britain from the Restoration through to the Hanoverian succession. Based on original research, the chapters collected here reflect the range of his scholarly interests: in Locke, Tory and Whig political thought, and Puritan, Anglican and Catholic political engagement, as well as the transformative impact of the Glorious Revolution. They examine events as well as ideas and deal not only with England but also with Scotland, France and the Atlantic world. Politics, Religion and Ideas in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Britain will be of interest to later Stuart political and religious historians, Locke scholars and intellectual historians more generally. JUSTIN CHAMPION is Professor of History at Royal Holloway, University of London. JOHN COFFEY is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leicester. TIM HARRIS is Professor of History at Brown University. JOHN MARSHALL is Professor of History at John Hopkins University. CONTRIBUTORS: Justin Champion, John Coffey, Conal Condren, Gabriel Glickman, Tim Harris, Sarah Irving-Stonebraker, Clare Jackson, Warren Johnston, Geoff Kemp, Dmitri Levitin, John Marshall, Jacqueline Rose, S.-J. Savonius-Wroth, Hannah Smith, Delphine Soulard

What did the forefathers of today's Indian Muslims think of the fair-skinned foreigners who flocked to their shores in the 18th century? The author makes a comparative study of the perceptions of 18th-century Muslims towards the West as evinced from their writings. The text is intended for historians, sociologists and political scientists.

What is secularism? -- Secularism in Western societies -- Secularism diversifies -- The case for Secularism -- The case against Secularism -- Conceptions of Secularism -- Hard questions and new conflicts -- Afterword: the future of Secularism