Gods Guns & Missionaries: A Prehistory of Hindu Nationalism

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 un...See More