| ID | 108984 |
| Title Proper | Quest for purity in Gujarat hinduism |
| Other Title Information | a bird's-eye view |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Tambs-Lyche, Harald |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Gujarat has been profoundly marked by its location at the centre of traditional trade networks which, I have argued elsewhere, has strengthened the position of its merchant communities relative to other parts of India. Here I propose that merchant religion, with its stress on purity, has displaced folk Shaktism as well as Brahminic ritual among Gujarat's wider population, to form the core of a modern Gujarati Hinduism, which includes Hindutva. This development, I hold, has been imbricated in the spread of bourgeois culture, making for a particular religious colouring of modernity in Gujarat, and contrasting with the 'secularism' which-perhaps exaggeratedly-has been held to characterise Occidental modernity. |
| `In' analytical Note | World Policy Journal Vol. 28, No. 3: Dec 2011: p333-353 |
| Journal Source | World Policy Journal Vol. 28, No. 3: Dec 2011: p333-353 |
| Key Words | Gujarat ; Hinduism ; Merchants ; Bourgeoisie ; Non-violence ; modernity |