Passages through India - Indian Gurus, Western Disciples and the Politics of Indophilia, 1890–1940

Analyses the phenomenon of western Indophilia, its ideological and affective composition, and its political implications in late-colonial British India. Argues that Indophile deployments around transnational projects like abolishing indentured labour and global Hinduism, while anti-colonial, were not necessarily emancipatory.

List of contents

List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Section I. Introduction: Indophilia and Its Wider Worlds, 1890-1940; 1. Languages of Longing: Indian Gurus, Western Disciples and the Politics of Letter-Writing; Section II. 2. Home in the World: Indophiles and the Ashram; 3. India, Indophiles and Indenture: Cultural Politics of a Transnational Discourse, 1911-1931; Section III. 4. Practices of Discipleship: Vivekananda and His Women Disciples, 1890-1910; 5. Vedanta and Its Variables: The Politics of a 'World Religion', 1890-1910; Epilogue: What Settles After; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Somak Biswas is Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, London. He works on the intersections of South Asia, Britain, imperial and global history. He is also a member of the Global History and Culture Centre, University of Warwick.

Product details

• Authors: Somak Biswas, Somak (University of Warwick Biswas
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 27.02.2025
• EAN: 9781009608800
• ISBN: 978-1-009-60880-0
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 18 mm
• Weight: 505 g
• Illustrations: Worked examples or Exercises
• Series: Global South Asians
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; History, Asia, 20th Century, Social & cultural history, Asian History, Indian sub-continent, South Asia (Indian sub-continent), HISTORY / Asia / South / General