Vishnu's Crowded Temple: India since the Great Rebellion

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 592 pages
• Published by: Yale University Press March 31, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0300137214
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0300137217
• Book Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Weighs: 1.9 pounds

As it enters its sixtieth year of independence, India stands on the threshold of superpower status. Yet India is strikingly different from all other global colossi. While it is the world’s most populous democracy and enjoys the benefits of its internationally competitive high-tech and software industries, India also contends with extremes of poverty, inequality, and political and religious violence.

This accessible and vividly written book presents a new interpretation of India’s history, focusing particular attention on the impact of British imperialism on Independent India. Maria Misra begins with the rebellion against the British in 1857 and tracks the country’s advance to the present day. India’s extremes persist, the author argues, because its politics rest upon a peculiar foundation in which traditional ideas of hierarchy, difference, and privilege coexist to a remarkable degree with modern notions of equality and democracy. The challenge of India’s leaders today, as in the last sixty years, is to weave together the disparate threads of the nation’s ancient culture, colonial legacy, and modern experience.

About The Author

Maria Misra is university lecturer in modern history and fellow of Keble College, Oxford University. She is the author of Business, Race, and Politics in British India. She lives in Oxford.

Reader Reviews
How do we choose from the bumper crop of great new books out of India? Elsewhere on Amazon, I've strongly recommended the new Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire (Philip E. Lilienthal Book in Asian Studies) as a first choice. If your interest in India is broader than Gandhi, though, or if his biography whets your appetite for more -- then this new historical analysis of modern India by Oxford scholar Maria Misra is an intriguing choice. No, this is not a sweeping narrative of dramatic scenes from the Raj to the modern scene. It's actually more valuable, because it uses history to explore why this emerging global superpower still mystifies the world with its complex religious, cultural and social divisions. One of Misra's most striking arguments is that, rather than passively observing India's caste system, the Raj actually manipulated and hardened caste distinctions to make the country easier for the British to rule. Here's a good test of your interest: If you occasionally enjoy flipping the pages of Foreign Policy or the Economist, then this book's style is right for you Comment | | (Report this)