Parsi and Hindu Traditional and Nontraditional Responses to Christian Conversion in Bombay, 1839–45

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8200747
AutoresJesse S Palsetia (University of Guelph, autor de correspondencia)
Año2006
Volumen74
Número3
Páginas615-645
Fecha de publicación2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of the American Academy of Religion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-7189 • E-ISSN: 1477-4585
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jaarel/lfj001
OpenAlexW2167902684
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas24

This article examines two celebrated cases of the conversion of Indian youths to Christianity by missionaries in Bombay: the case of Dhanjibhai Nauroji of 1839 and the case of Shripat Sheshadri of 1843. The cases were precedents in Indians challenging Christian conversion by way of the law courts, and highlight the adaptive responses of the Parsi and Hindu communities of Bombay and western India to Christian proselytism, and the attractions and challenges of the larger colonial environment to Indians' ability to regulate and safeguard their community and caste norms. The article argues that in response to Christian proselytism and colonial power and ideology, Indians utilized traditional and nontraditional mechanisms that ultimately led to challenges, accommodations, and reassessments of Indians' place under the ideological framework of colonialism.

Ancient history · Hinduism · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Religious studies