Publication Date:
2024-02-10
Description:
By studying the history and sources of the Thomas Christians of India, a community of pre-colonial Christian heritage, this book revisits the assumption that Christianity is Western and colonial and that Christians in the non-West are products of colonial and post-colonial missionaries. Christians in the East have had a difficult time getting heard—let alone understood as anti-colonial. This is a problem, especially in studies on India, where the focus has typically been on North India and British colonialism and its impact in the era of globalization.
This book analyzes texts and contexts to show how communities of Indian Christians predetermined Western expansionist goals and later defined the Western colonial and Indian national imaginary. Combining historical research and literary analysis, the author prompts a re-evaluation of how Indian Christians reacted to colonialism in India and its potential to influence ongoing events of religious intolerance. Through a rethinking of a postcolonial theoretical framework, this book argues that Thomas Christians attempted an anti-colonial turn in the face of ecclesiastical and civic occupation that was colonial at its core.
A novel intervention, this book takes up South India and the impact of Portuguese colonialism in both the early modern and contemporary period. It will be of interest to academics in the fields of Renaissance/Early Modern Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Religious Studies, Christianity, and South Asia.
Keywords:
Thomas Christians;Home Town;Indian Christians;East Indies;Western Sahara;Ship Owner;South Western India;Pero Da Covilha;Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crucis;Antonio De Gouvea;Chaldean Church;Nation Building;Missionary Christianity;Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu;Pope Calixtus II;Cheraman Perumal;European Missionaries;Gauri Viswanathan;Gorgias Press;Indian Christianity;Tawny Men;Gama’s Arrival
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bic Book Industry Communication::G Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTB Regional studies
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bic Book Industry Communication::H Humanities::HR Religion & beliefs::HRA Religion: general
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bic Book Industry Communication::R Earth sciences, geography, environment, planning::RG Geography::RGL Regional geography
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bic Book Industry Communication::H Humanities::HR Religion & beliefs::HRK Other non-Christian religions
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bic Book Industry Communication::D Literature & literary studies::DS Literature: history & criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: from c 1900 -::DSBH5 Literary studies: post-colonial literature
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bic Book Industry Communication::H Humanities::HR Religion & beliefs::HRC Christianity
Language:
English
Format:
image/jpeg
