This morality of communal politics: Paul Brass, Hindu-Muslim conflict, and the Indian state

Abstract

This review argues that while Paul Brass' The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India is well written and meticulously documented, its characterization of Hindu-Muslim violence in India as being in an inexorable downward spiral of increasing severity is flawed. The case study method as employed by Brass, while neatly supporting his thesis, fails to capture the reality of the overall pattern of Hindu-Muslim interaction. This is especially striking in contrast to its implementation to better effect in his earlier work, notably Theft to an Idol. In The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India Brass' selective case studies fail to convincingly make the transition from the particular to the general, and it lacks the historical depth and theoretical basis to contextualize Hindu nationalism within the greater framework of nationalism across the globe.