Gods Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity by Manu S. Pillai, Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar
Author: Manu S Pillai
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Book Overview
About This BookWhen European missionaries first arrived in India in the sixteenth century, they entered a world both fascinating and bewildering. Hinduism, as they saw it, was a pagan mess: the worship of devils and monsters by a people who burned women alive, performed outlandish rites and fed children to crocodiles. But soon it became clear that Hindu ‘idolatry’ was far more complex than white men’s stereotypes allowed, and Hindus had little desire to convert.But then, European power began to grow in India, and under colonial rule, missionaries assumed a forbidding appearance. During the British Raj, Western frames of thinking gained ascendancy and Hindus felt pressed to reimagine their religion. This was both to fortify it against Christian attacks and to resist foreign rule. It is this encounter which has, in good measure, inspired modern Hinduism’s present shape. Indeed, Hindus subverted some of the missionaries’ own tools and strategies in the process, triggering the birth of Hindu nationalism, now so dominant in the country.In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, Manu S. Pillai takes us through these remarkable dynamics. With an arresting cast of characters―maharajahs, poets, gun-wielding revolutionaries, politicians, polemicists, philosophers and clergymen―this book is ambitious in its scope and provocative in its position. Lucid and exhaustive, it is, at once, a political history, a review of Hindu culture and a study of the social forces that prepared the ground for Hindu nationalism. Turning away from simplistic ideas on religious evolution and European imperialism, the past as it appears here is more complicated―and infinitely richer―than popular narratives allow. Read moreBook DetailsAuthor: Manu S PillaiPublisher: Penguin Allen Lane (25 November 2024)Format: Hardcover – 25 November 2024Language: EnglishPages: 664ISBN: 978-0670093656Dimensions: 4.08 x 15.7 x 24 cmWeight: 943 g
Browse this title within our Social Sciences and Education collection. Edition details: Hardcover – 25 November 2024, English.
Book Specifications & Quick Facts
- Reading Level
- Students & Academic Researchers
- Language & Format
- English • Hardcover – 25 November 2024
- ISBN Reference
- Available on request
- Publisher
- Penguin Allen Lane (25 November 2024)
- Pan-India Delivery
- Dispatches in 24–48 Hours across India
What is this book about?
About This BookWhen European missionaries first arrived in India in the sixteenth century, they entered a world both fascinating and bewildering. Hinduism, as they saw it, was a pagan mess: the worship of devils and monsters by a people who burned women alive, performed outlandish rites and fed...
Who should read this book?
Valuable for university students, educators, and scholars seeking authoritative reference material and structured subject mastery.
Why Readers Pick This Edition
- You’ll love this book for how sharply and elegantly it explains the origins of modern Hindu identity without oversimplifying or preaching. Manu S. Pillai turns a complex colonial encounter into a gripping narrative, showing how Hindus adapted, resisted and reshaped ideas under missionary pressure. It deepens your understanding of religion, power and identity in India, and leaves you thinking long after the last page.
- Published by Penguin Allen Lane (25 November 2024).
- Language: English.
Catalog Description
About This BookWhen European missionaries first arrived in India in the sixteenth century, they entered a world both fascinating and bewildering. Hinduism, as they saw it, was a pagan mess: the worship of devils and monsters by a people who burned women alive, performed outlandish rites and fed children to crocodiles. But soon it became clear that Hindu ‘idolatry’ was far more complex than white men’s stereotypes allowed, and Hindus had little desire to convert.But then, European power began to grow in India, and under colonial rule, missionaries assumed a forbidding appearance. During the British Raj, Western frames of thinking gained ascendancy and Hindus felt pressed to reimagine their...
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