| Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India, 1863-1937: Contending with Marginality Contributor(s): Mallampalli, Chandra (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0415323215 ISBN-13: 9780415323215 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $171.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: March 2004 Annotation: An issue often raised by scholars of Christianity in Africa, South Asia and other non-Western societies is whether being or becoming Christian displaces converts from local institutions and marginalizes them from national culture. This book describes a condition of marginality faced by Catholic and Protestant elites of the Madras Presidency, but argues that this condition was far from inevitable. Imperial policies, particularly in the form of judicial decisions, alienated so-called 'Native Christians' from the basic institutions that make one Indian, namely, family and caste. In spite of being the second largest minority in India, Christians have factored minimally into the writing of India's political history. This book redresses the balance, by describing how Christians became isolated from the national mainstream. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - India & South Asia - Religion | Christianity - History - History | Social History |
| Dewey: 275 |
| LCCN: 2003021309 |
| Physical Information: 0.93" H x 6.52" W x 9.24" (1.36 lbs) 320 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1851-1899 - Religious Orientation - Christian - Chronological Period - 1900-1949 - Cultural Region - Indian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book tells the story of how Catholic and Protestant Indians have attempted to locate themselves within the evolving Indian nation. Ironically, British rule in India did not privilege Christians, but pushed them to the margins of a predominantly Hindu society. Drawing upon wide-ranging sources, the book first explains how the Indian judiciary's 'official knowledge' isolated Christians from Indian notions of family, caste and nation. It then describes how different varieties and classes of Christians adopted, resisted and reshaped both imperial and nationalist perceptions of their identity. Within a climate of rising communal tension in India, this study finds immediate relevance. |
