The Saint in the Banyan Tree : Christianity and Caste Society in India

Manohar Publishers and Distributors

The Saint in the Banyan TreeChristianity and Caste Society in India\nAuthor(s): David Mosse\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Manohar Publishers and Distributors, India\nImprint: Manohar Publishers and Distributors\nISBN-13: 9789360808013, 978-9360808013\nSynopsis\nThe Saint in the Banyan Tree is a nuanced and historically persuasive exploration of Christianitys remarkable trajectory as a social and cultural force in southern India. Starting in the seventeenth century, when the religion was integrated into Tamil institutions of caste and popular religiosity, this study moves into the twentieth century, when Christianity became an unexpected source of radical transformation for the countrys untouchables (dalits). Mosse shows how caste was central to the way in which categories of religion and culture were formed and negotiated in missionary encounters, and how the social and semiotic possibilities of Christianity lead to a new politic of equal rights in South India. Skillfully combining a.