Is Bathou Hindu? Consolidated Hinduism and assertions of a traditional religion among the Boros of Assam

Bibliographic Data

ID3631432
AuthorsRoshni Brahma (0009-0009-9525-5754, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume58
Issue6
Pages1713-1736
Publication date2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0026749x24000349
OpenAlexW4406773207
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

This article is an attempt to understand the vexed question of how the Boros of Assam have come to define and realize their 'traditional' religious identity amid contemporary assertions of Hindu nationalism in India. Since the early twentieth century, shaped by colonial anthropology and the consolidation of Hinduism, there have been attempts to categorize the Boros as either Hindus or animists. Subsequently, there have been efforts on the part of the Boros themselves to assert and consolidate their 'traditional' religious practices into a unified religion called Bathou.1 The process has continued in the complex arena of Boro identity assertion. As this article demonstrates, contemporary efforts at the consolidation of Hinduism by the Sangh Parivar and of Bathou by the Boros have often coincided and, at times, collided with each other, therein producing intricate transactions between traditional religionists and the votaries of Hindutva

Ancient history · Hinduism · Anthropological Studies and Insights · History · Indian History and Philosophy · Philosophy · Religious studies · South Asian Studies and Conflicts

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