Many of the central issues in modern Indian politics have long been understood in terms of an opp... more Many of the central issues in modern Indian politics have long been understood in terms of an opposition between ideologies of secularism and communalism. Observers have argued that recent Hindu nationalism is the symptom of a crisis of Indian secularism and have blamed this on a resurgence of religion or communalism. Shabnum Tejani unpacks prevailing assumptions about the meaning of secularism in contemporary politics, focusing on India but with many points of comparison elsewhere in the world. She questions the simple dichotomy between secularism and communalism that has been used in scholarly study and political discourse. Tracing the social, political, and intellectual genealogies of the concepts of secularism and communalism from the late nineteenth century until the ratification of the Indian constitution in 1950, she shows how secularism came to be bound up with ideas about nationalism and national identity
... CONTENTS vii Preface xi Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Rajeswari Sunder Rajan and Anuradha Di... more ... CONTENTS vii Preface xi Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Rajeswari Sunder Rajan and Anuradha Dimjumney Needham I. Secularism's Historical Background ... the Debate on Secularism: A Personal Statement Ashis Nandy 118 Living with Secularism Nivedita Menon 141 The ...
Ferry’s account of this early research is both lucid and detailed, and it provides a valuable pic... more Ferry’s account of this early research is both lucid and detailed, and it provides a valuable picture of the bumpy road to what became Perutz’s final “textbook” model of hemoglobin. In addition to the story of the development of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the indignities and injustices of wartime hysteria surrounding émigré scientists such as Perutz, Ferry gives us glimpses into Perutz’s family and personal life as well. He had a lifelong passion for skiing and an academic interest in glaciology; indeed, when the protein crystallography was going slowly, he would turn to glaciology for diversion. Overseeing the growth and development of research that straddled the more traditional disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology was a constant challenge for Perutz, yet he seemed well suited for the challenge. His administrative style was low key, persistent, and fundamentally conservative. Ferry’s description of Perutz the family man, the friend, and the colleague is enlightening. She describes a rather timid person with conventional tastes, loyal to family and friends. Perutz comes across as almost dull, certainly no wit or scintillating conversationalist. His scientific disputes, even with former colleagues, sometimes turned ugly, and he was given to strong and fixed views on scientific matters. (In the interest of full disclosure: this reviewer felt the full brunt of his displeasure upon taking issue with one of his book reviews, an episode that Ferry describes as “a rage of indignation”). This is a useful and balanced account of a remarkable life in science during a turbulent and troubled time. Although “the secret of life” involves more than the structure of the hemoglobin molecule, the story of its study and eventual solution is a landmark of modern molecular science.
campaign, his first attempt at mass anti-colonial mobilisation. It quickly became aligned with th... more campaign, his first attempt at mass anti-colonial mobilisation. It quickly became aligned with the Khilafat movement—a mobil-isation among Indian Muslims to protect the position of the Khalifa after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Scholars have seen this moment as the high point of cooperation between India’s Hindus and Muslims, with a real possibility for unity in the nationalist movement. However, the campaigns ended within two years and, after 1922, differences among the leadership intersected with violent conflicts between Hindu and Muslim communities in a number of different regions; the promise of the preceding years appeared shattered, some argue for ever. Scholarship on the Khilafat move-ment has been teleological, tending to read it either as part of the story of ‘Muslim separatism ’ or subsuming it into the forward march of Indian nationalism. Arguing that the picture drawn by the existing scholarship is misleading, this article asks if the Khilafat movement can really h...
Urban expansion in the early twentieth century had a profound impact on India's urban land ec... more Urban expansion in the early twentieth century had a profound impact on India's urban land economies. Historians argue that in this period, urban India went through an increasing marketization of land and that improvement trusts had a significant hand in accelerating land speculation. In the case of Bombay, we still understand little of the relationship between the activities of the Bombay Improvement Trust and rising land values. The article examines key legal disputes around compensation for land acquired by the Trust for public purpose before and after World War I. Such cases show how the Trust and the judiciary shaped changing expectations around what comprised ‘market value’ and consequently became deeply involved in Bombay's land economy. Where officials had earlier resisted valuations that they believed encouraged speculation, after the 1920s the resolution of disputes incorporated future value as a legitimate and necessary part of the economy.
Recent violence in India towards minority Muslim and Dalit communities in response to their alleg... more Recent violence in India towards minority Muslim and Dalit communities in response to their alleged killing of cows is shocking in its brutality. Those responsible maintain the cow is sacred to Hindus and a threat to its life is an attack on Hinduism itself. They claim a deep sense of hurt at what they see to be the historic violation of their religion. In contrast, liberal commentators argue that right-wing forces have become emboldened since Hindu nationalists came to power in 2014. Yet, Hindu nationalism alone cannot explain the widespread belief that people whose livelihoods depend on cattle are beyond the democratic norms of tolerance. Rather, we must consider ‘affect’ and the role of history to understand the currency of cow protection in the cultural politics of hurt in contemporary India.
... of truth'; form of polit... more ... of truth'; form of political agitation based on moral pressure pioneered by Gandhi descendant of the Prophet Muhammad; more generally denotes Islamic nobleman general term for the Hindu institutes of religion, law, or letters one versed in the shastras merchant, banker, trader ...
... However, Jinnah knew that not all Hindus supported Gandhi in this. He turned to Pandit Madan ... more ... However, Jinnah knew that not all Hindus supported Gandhi in this. He turned to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Congress member and leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, and asked him if he recognized the Muslim claim for special recognition. ...
Drawing on recent debates on secularism, this article addresses the methodological problem of wri... more Drawing on recent debates on secularism, this article addresses the methodological problem of writing histories of secularism in context. It considers the experience of India. I argue that a study of the issues from which secularism emerged historically offers a way out of the secularism-religion binary which, in India, has obscured contemporary problems related to democracy. These issues had to do with ensuring the public representation of minorities, both religious and caste, regardless of their relative size or social power. Scholarship on the minority question has begun with the constituent assembly and that on secularism centered on the category of religion. In contrast, this article argues that caste was central to the formulation of Indian secularism and requires a longer historical perspective. It maintains that secularism reified the religious minority and, in so doing, denied both its potential to overcome marginality and the legitimacy of the community in the nation.
Many of the central issues in modern Indian politics have long been understood in terms of an opp... more Many of the central issues in modern Indian politics have long been understood in terms of an opposition between ideologies of secularism and communalism. Observers have argued that recent Hindu nationalism is the symptom of a crisis of Indian secularism and have blamed this on a resurgence of religion or communalism. Shabnum Tejani unpacks prevailing assumptions about the meaning of secularism in contemporary politics, focusing on India but with many points of comparison elsewhere in the world. She questions the simple dichotomy between secularism and communalism that has been used in scholarly study and political discourse. Tracing the social, political, and intellectual genealogies of the concepts of secularism and communalism from the late nineteenth century until the ratification of the Indian constitution in 1950, she shows how secularism came to be bound up with ideas about nationalism and national identity
... CONTENTS vii Preface xi Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Rajeswari Sunder Rajan and Anuradha Di... more ... CONTENTS vii Preface xi Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Rajeswari Sunder Rajan and Anuradha Dimjumney Needham I. Secularism's Historical Background ... the Debate on Secularism: A Personal Statement Ashis Nandy 118 Living with Secularism Nivedita Menon 141 The ...
Ferry’s account of this early research is both lucid and detailed, and it provides a valuable pic... more Ferry’s account of this early research is both lucid and detailed, and it provides a valuable picture of the bumpy road to what became Perutz’s final “textbook” model of hemoglobin. In addition to the story of the development of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the indignities and injustices of wartime hysteria surrounding émigré scientists such as Perutz, Ferry gives us glimpses into Perutz’s family and personal life as well. He had a lifelong passion for skiing and an academic interest in glaciology; indeed, when the protein crystallography was going slowly, he would turn to glaciology for diversion. Overseeing the growth and development of research that straddled the more traditional disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology was a constant challenge for Perutz, yet he seemed well suited for the challenge. His administrative style was low key, persistent, and fundamentally conservative. Ferry’s description of Perutz the family man, the friend, and the colleague is enlightening. She describes a rather timid person with conventional tastes, loyal to family and friends. Perutz comes across as almost dull, certainly no wit or scintillating conversationalist. His scientific disputes, even with former colleagues, sometimes turned ugly, and he was given to strong and fixed views on scientific matters. (In the interest of full disclosure: this reviewer felt the full brunt of his displeasure upon taking issue with one of his book reviews, an episode that Ferry describes as “a rage of indignation”). This is a useful and balanced account of a remarkable life in science during a turbulent and troubled time. Although “the secret of life” involves more than the structure of the hemoglobin molecule, the story of its study and eventual solution is a landmark of modern molecular science.
campaign, his first attempt at mass anti-colonial mobilisation. It quickly became aligned with th... more campaign, his first attempt at mass anti-colonial mobilisation. It quickly became aligned with the Khilafat movement—a mobil-isation among Indian Muslims to protect the position of the Khalifa after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Scholars have seen this moment as the high point of cooperation between India’s Hindus and Muslims, with a real possibility for unity in the nationalist movement. However, the campaigns ended within two years and, after 1922, differences among the leadership intersected with violent conflicts between Hindu and Muslim communities in a number of different regions; the promise of the preceding years appeared shattered, some argue for ever. Scholarship on the Khilafat move-ment has been teleological, tending to read it either as part of the story of ‘Muslim separatism ’ or subsuming it into the forward march of Indian nationalism. Arguing that the picture drawn by the existing scholarship is misleading, this article asks if the Khilafat movement can really h...
Urban expansion in the early twentieth century had a profound impact on India's urban land ec... more Urban expansion in the early twentieth century had a profound impact on India's urban land economies. Historians argue that in this period, urban India went through an increasing marketization of land and that improvement trusts had a significant hand in accelerating land speculation. In the case of Bombay, we still understand little of the relationship between the activities of the Bombay Improvement Trust and rising land values. The article examines key legal disputes around compensation for land acquired by the Trust for public purpose before and after World War I. Such cases show how the Trust and the judiciary shaped changing expectations around what comprised ‘market value’ and consequently became deeply involved in Bombay's land economy. Where officials had earlier resisted valuations that they believed encouraged speculation, after the 1920s the resolution of disputes incorporated future value as a legitimate and necessary part of the economy.
Recent violence in India towards minority Muslim and Dalit communities in response to their alleg... more Recent violence in India towards minority Muslim and Dalit communities in response to their alleged killing of cows is shocking in its brutality. Those responsible maintain the cow is sacred to Hindus and a threat to its life is an attack on Hinduism itself. They claim a deep sense of hurt at what they see to be the historic violation of their religion. In contrast, liberal commentators argue that right-wing forces have become emboldened since Hindu nationalists came to power in 2014. Yet, Hindu nationalism alone cannot explain the widespread belief that people whose livelihoods depend on cattle are beyond the democratic norms of tolerance. Rather, we must consider ‘affect’ and the role of history to understand the currency of cow protection in the cultural politics of hurt in contemporary India.
... of truth'; form of polit... more ... of truth'; form of political agitation based on moral pressure pioneered by Gandhi descendant of the Prophet Muhammad; more generally denotes Islamic nobleman general term for the Hindu institutes of religion, law, or letters one versed in the shastras merchant, banker, trader ...
... However, Jinnah knew that not all Hindus supported Gandhi in this. He turned to Pandit Madan ... more ... However, Jinnah knew that not all Hindus supported Gandhi in this. He turned to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Congress member and leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, and asked him if he recognized the Muslim claim for special recognition. ...
Drawing on recent debates on secularism, this article addresses the methodological problem of wri... more Drawing on recent debates on secularism, this article addresses the methodological problem of writing histories of secularism in context. It considers the experience of India. I argue that a study of the issues from which secularism emerged historically offers a way out of the secularism-religion binary which, in India, has obscured contemporary problems related to democracy. These issues had to do with ensuring the public representation of minorities, both religious and caste, regardless of their relative size or social power. Scholarship on the minority question has begun with the constituent assembly and that on secularism centered on the category of religion. In contrast, this article argues that caste was central to the formulation of Indian secularism and requires a longer historical perspective. It maintains that secularism reified the religious minority and, in so doing, denied both its potential to overcome marginality and the legitimacy of the community in the nation.
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