The Fuzzy Boundaries
Julaha Weavers’ Identity Formation in Early Twentieth Century United Provinces
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20179415 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sanjeev Kumar Rai (0000-0001-7640-6582, University of Delhi, corresponding author), Santosh Kumar Rai |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 117-143 |
| Publication date | 2013-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Indian Historical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0376-9836 • E-ISSN: 0975-5977 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0376983613475861 |
| OpenAlex | W1967856121 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 6 |
This article addresses the fluid, changeable and ambiguous character of religious and cultural identities, held by Julahas; claiming different local and sectarian backgrounds. The Barelvi, Wahabi and Deobandi schools of Indian Islam provided a polarising platform to the Julaha identity discourse from the late nineteenth century onwards, leading to a wider ‘shift’ towards supra-caste, supra-locally-based concepts of community and collective religious identity, yet this ‘shift’ did not ‘replace’ other forms of collective identities along sectarian, caste, community and regional lines. These ‘blurred boundaries’ in the Julaha Ansari identity discourse defy their concrete positioning within the framework of India’s Islamic landscape. The challenges triggered by a stagnant capitalist transformation under the colonial state and the official records reinforce a static image of the Julaha community, ascribing to it innate conservatism, recalcitrant to change fostered by the ‘modernising impulse’ of the colonial government. The self image of the community was no doubt deeply affected by this ascription by the powerful ‘other’ but nevertheless remained distinct. This process was accompanied by renewed efforts at setting up community institutions such as panchayats and by constructing community mosques. Societal changes like the simultaneous formation as well as breakup of communities along with the communal pooling of labour were part of the larger development. The article further locates and scrutinises the influence of this sort of polarisation on the mind of Muslim weavers and Hindu merchants
Aesthetics · Caste · Collective identity · Colonialism · Hinduism · Islam · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · History · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Religious studies · South Asian Studies and Diaspora
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |