Subhedar's Son

A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian Conversion from Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra
Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-0-19-091404-2
Verlag: PAPERBACKSHOP UK IMPORT

Buch, Englisch, 268 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 570 g

The 19th century was a pioneering age for vernacular texts in India. Vernacular writings became popular for making the 'first' interventions of their kind, written by Indians for Indians, and establishing new genres such as the novel. The Subhedar's Son, an award-winning Marathi novel, was written in 1895 and published by the Bombay Tract and Book Society. The novel comprises overlapping personal and political trajectories.The author, The Rev. Dinkar Shankar Sawarkar, inscribed multiple viewpoints into his narrative, including that of his own father, the Shankar Nana (1819-1884), a Brahmin who was one of the early converts of the Church Missionary Society in Western India and served the CMS and the Anglican Church in various capacities for many years. Apart from Shankar Nana's conversion-story, Sawarkar provides readers with a blueprint of what a Brahminical journey towards Christian conversion encompassed, while describing his personal background of having lived a Christian life as a product of both Brahminism and Christianity. He in effect attempts to deconstruct Brahmanism through Christianity and as a Christian he claims Brahmin roots, with the aim of combatting the stigma of Christian conversion. Contextualized by the history of Maharashtra's early missions and the specificities of individual conversions, the novel allows modern researchers to appreciate the particularity of regional and vernacular Indian Christianity. This culturally-specific Christianity spurred the production of Christian vernacular print culture, associating 'being Marathi' with broader and more universal frameworks of Christianity. But this new genre also produced nativist forms of Christian devotion and piety. Deepra Dandekar introduces this annotated translation of The Subhedar's Son, with: an examination of the Church Missionary Society's socio- political context; a biography of Shankar Nana gleaned from archival sources; a brief summary of Sawarkar's biography; and an analysis of the multiple political opinions framing the book. An appendix contains a transcription of Shankar Nana's Christian witness.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Dandekar, Deepra

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religion & Politik, Religionsfreiheit
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introducing the Novel

- I. The Context of The Subhedar's Son

- II. Multiple Narratives in the Novel

- III. Shankar Nana, Parubai and the Author, Dinkar Shankar Sawarkar

- The Subhedar's Son (Subhedaracha Putra): An Annotated Translation

- Preface

- Announcement

- Table of Contents

- Preparing for Battle

- A Stranger among Friends and Relatives

- Enlightened Times

- Two Sons in Twelve Hundred Rupees

- A Favour is Never Wasted

- A Barrage of Losses

- Life's First Disappointment

- "I have no doubt that truth will be revealed!"

- Family Pride

- The Fiery Tongue is an Abode of Injustice

- The Sadasatsodhak Mandali

- Lurching in a Sea of Suspicion

- Reaching Harbour

- Ramaa

- Scenes from Life

- Afterword and Concluding Thoughts

- Selected References

Über Autor(innen)

Deepra Dandekar completed her training in history, anthropology and archaeology at Delhi University (St. Stephen's College) and Deccan College, Pune. Subsequently, she trained as an internee at various Non-Governmental Organizations in Pune on research projects concerning gender, religion and health. She has researched and published on women's health rituals, and the religious expression of political minorities in Maharashtra at the South Asia Institute and the Cluster for Excellence, University of Heidelberg. She is currently working on the research project on migration and exclusion at the Max Planck Institute of Human Development, Berlin.