Public Hinduisms

Public Hinduisms critically analyses the way in which Hinduism is produced and represented as an established feature of modern public landscapes. It examines the mediation, representation and construction of multiple forms of Hinduism in a variety of social and political contexts, and in the process establishes it as a dynamic and developing modern concept. The essays in this volume are divided into themes that address different aspects of the processes that form modern Hinduism. The book includes discussions on topics such as ecumenical initiatives, the contemporary interpretation of particul.

List of plates -- Preface -- Section A: Researching public Hinduisms / edited by John Zavos -- Public Hinduisms : an introduction / John Zavos -- Will the real mango please stand up? : reflections on defending Dharma and historicising Hinduism / Shana Sippy -- Engaging the "practitioner" : boundary politics in the academic study of Hinduism / Maya Warrier -- Snapshot : scholars and practitioners, a personal reflection / Raymond Brady Williams -- Section B: Ecumenical constructions / edited by Raymond Brady Williams -- Ecumenical constructions : an introduction / Raymond Brady Williams -- Hindu organisation and the negotiation of public space in contemporary Britain / John Zavos -- What is American about American Hinduism? : Hindu umbrella organisations in the United States in comparative perspective / Prema Kurien -- Snapshot : devotional fandom : the Madhuri Dixit temple of Pappu Sardar / Shalini Kakar -- Fusing the ideals of the math with the ideology of the Sangh : Vivekananda Kendra, ecumenical Hinduism and Hindu nationalism / Pralay Kanungo -- Sathya Sai Baba : at home abroad in midwestern America / Chad Bauman -- Snapshot : "practising Hindus", Hindutva and multiculturalism …