A matter of identity

Manu S. Pillai discusses the making of his new book, an exhaustive look at the evolution of a composite Hindu identity through the lens of history.

- Somak Ghoshal

Manu S. Pillai's new book, Gods, Guns and Missionaries, traces "The Making of Modern Hindu Identity" (as its subtitle says) through history, especially the trauma of colonial invasion and missionary activity that have left an indelible mark on modern India's polity.

Although the topic has been well-trodden by eminent historians, Pillai's rigorous research, combined with his talent for mining littleknown anecdotes and razor-sharp insights, makes the work recognisably his. Most pertinently, it returns to scriptural sources to debunk many of the pernicious misconceptions that have ailed religious and caste-based politics in independent India, more so in the last decade.

Some of these notions-such as the HinduMuslim divide being an immutable religious truth rather than a self-serving narrative abetted by the British-have become entrenched in the popular consciousness through repeated iterations. These misguided agendas have escalated communal tension and spawned moves to rewrite history, distorting facts to create fictions that serve the interests of the majority community.

One of the fundamental questions that Pillai grapples with is "Who is a Hindu?" The answer, as he shows, varied widely and wildly, depending on regional contexts, the person who was asking this question, and the point in history it was being asked. Caste identities, such as those of Brahmin's, were equally nebulous to outsiders who came to rule India, frequently causing confusions and creating systems of control that skewed power dynamics in society-a legacy India bears to this day.