Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity

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Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity

Written by: Manu S. Pillai

Narrated by: Manu S. Pillai

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About this listen

When European missionaries first arrived in India in the sixteenth century, they entered a world both fascinating and bewildering. Hinduism, as they saw it, was a pagan mess: the worship of devils and monsters by a people who burned women alive, performed outlandish rites and fed children to crocodiles. But soon it became clear that Hindu ‘idolatry’ was far more complex than white men’s stereotypes allowed, and Hindus had little desire to convert.But then, European power began to grow in India, and under colonial rule, missionaries assumed a forbidding appearance. During the British Raj, Western frames of thinking gained ascendancy and Hindus felt pressed to reimagine their religion. This was both to fortify it against Christian attacks and to resist foreign rule. It is this encounter which has, in good measure, inspired modern Hinduism’s present shape. Indeed, Hindus subverted some of the missionaries’ own tools and strategies in the process, triggering the birth of Hindu nationalism, now so dominant in the country.In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, Manu S. Pillai takes us through these remarkable dynamics. With an arresting cast of characters―maharajahs, poets, gun-wielding revolutionaries, politicians, polemicists, philosophers and clergymen―this book is ambitious in its scope and provocative in its position. Lucid and exhaustive, it is, at once, a political history, a review of Hindu culture and a study of the social forces that prepared the ground for Hindu nationalism. Turning away from simplistic ideas on religious evolution and European imperialism, the past as it appears here is more complicated―and infinitely richer―than popular narratives allow.

Manu S. PillaiManu S. PillaiRandom House Audio

Hinduism

Modern

Hinduism Modern

Most relevant

This audiobook is pregnant with information, an endless stream of stories you didn’t know you were missing. From start to finish, it’s packed with incidents and perspectives that often slip through the cracks of popular history.

The structure and flow of the book make perfect sense, guiding you seamlessly through its chapters. Even the introduction sets the tone beautifully, leaving you curious and wanting more. It delves into the Portuguese perspective, the Company Raj, the British Empire, and the stalwarts of the independence movement. Yet, it does so through a lens that feels both refreshing and distinct.

I often shy away from listening to non-fiction audiobooks, because I fear that it would be information overload, however, the production of this book keeps you hooked. Sure, there will be mutiple times when you may rewind becasue your brain may become too busy processing what it just heard but that has never been a bad thing has it? It’s a journey that challenges your understanding and leaves you hungry for more. By the end, this isn’t just a book you’ve listened to and are done with, it’s a book you will want to keep re-visiting.