Networks of Power in the Nineteenth Century

The Sampradaya, Princely States and Company Rule

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8204186
AutoresShruti Patel (0000-0002-4641-1003)
Ano2023
Volume91
Fascículo1
Páginas14-34
Data de publicação2023-12-11
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of the American Academy of Religion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-7189 • E-ISSN: 1477-4585
EditoraOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jaarel/lfad039
OpenAlexW4388603665
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas31

This article reconsiders a religious institution in India during the early colonial era as a manifestation of regional influence, or a non-statist public force. Founded by Sahajanand Swami, the Hindu devotional (bhakti) community known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya expanded in the area that is today Gujarat in western India. The community arose as a source of popular influence in a region that lacked a dominant state at this time. Its creation was forged in relation to local struggles for power and resources, involving princely states, Maratha and East India Company powers, Kathi chieftains, and broader social and cultural changes in the nineteenth century. Historically examining the process of community expansion in the region through aspects like patronage and cultural production, I argue that the sampradaya’s articulation of devotion internalized political acumen to navigate material realities successfully. Effectively, the modern articulation enabled adherents to broker power from diverse networks and strengthen the community’s complex, multifaceted authority in Gujarat

Articulation (sociology) · Colonial rule · Colonialism · Hinduism · Institution · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Sociology · State (computer science) · Swami · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Religious studies