The Cuch Bihar Crisis and the Search for Universal Religion

This chapter explores the motivations behind and the consequences of the disastrous marriage of Keshab Chandra Sen’s daughter, Suniti Devi, to the Maharajah of Cuch Bihar in 1878. It argues that Keshab sanctioned the marriage because of his commitment to public duty and his conviction that British rule in India was divinely sanctioned. The chapter goes on to explore Keshab’s establishment of the Church of the New Dispensation (Naba Bidhan), with himself as its prophet. The New Dispensation drew on traditions of universalism in Hinduism, Brahmoism and Christianity, and was connected to movements including Transcendentalism and Theosophy. The chapter argues that the New Dispensation was not a project of national transformation, but one of personal spiritual development, which enabled Keshab and his followers to ‘perform’ a vision of universalist philosophy that did not exist in reality.

Buddhism · Christianity · Conviction · Duty · Hinduism · Political science · Sociology · Theology · Universalism · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies