N. Gerald Barrier

The Punjab Government and Communal Politics, 1870–1908

One of the most controversial interpretations of recent Indian history is that the British governed the subcontinent through a strategy of divide and rule which led to Hindu-Muslim conflict and ultimately the 1947 partition. Divide et Impera has often been portrayed in vernacular tracts, Congress publications, and scholarly works as a fundamental cause of communal tension. The similar assumptions, methodology, and sources upon which these assessments rest, however, have resulted in a clouding of key issues and a misreading of the historical record. The studies generally focus upon twentieth-century developments such as Hindu and Muslim political parties or communal riots and then project their findings backward to earlier periods. Because British attempts to play Hindu and Muslim against one another apparently intensified antagonism following the Morley-Minto reforms, it is argued that similar policies prior to 1900 helped create the initial estrangement between the two communities. Communal activities are admittedly easier to examine once Hindus and Muslims began to organize for elections and legislative proceedings, but preoccupation with formal competition and a concomitant simplistic explanation of the origins of communalism have postponed a much-needed investigation of the formative period in the nineteenth-century when British rule and changes within Indian society set the stage for subsequent communal organization.

Bishop Heber in Northern India: Selections from Heber's Journal.

List of illustrations and maps Preface Introduction Hebers Journal: 1. Bengal 2. Bihar 3. Banaras and Allahabad 4. Oudh 5. Rohilkhand and Kumaon 6. Delhi and Agra 7. Rajputana 8. Gujarat Glossary Select bibliography.

Competing visions of Sikh religion and politics: The chief Khalsa Diwan and the Panch Khalsa Diwan, 1902–1928

S THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ARE ENGAGED IN A VERY PUBLIC Struggle over control of institutions, debates over theology and history, and varying attempts to fuse religion and politics. A persistent crisis of identity underpins much of the activism. What often is ignored, both by the Sikhs and outside observers, however, is that the issues and confrontations are not new. Since the wave of reform and revival associated with the Singh Sabha movement a century ago, Sikhs have been struggling to define themselves and to institutionalise that understanding in public arenas. This essay explores a pivotal phase in recent Sikh history, the short-lived campaign of the Chief Khalsa Diwan [CKD] to unify Sikhs around a common platform of tradition, religious belief, and politics.