Essays on Violence: Pollution, Sacrifice and Madness

(Hardback)

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This book changes the way we think of caste ideologies, histories and academic representations. It traces how the magico-religious beliefs on pollution as a state of danger inhering potency of violence were transformed into notions of dirt. The varying formulations and cultural beliefs founded on distinctive conceptions of pollution led to caste violence. It analyses the cultural and religious mechanisms of normalization of violence through the concepts of Matsyanayana and Vadho-avadhah that are central to discussions on danda and dharma and justification of violence. The modern discourse of othering through caste categories is legitimised through the Brahminic and Vedic interpretations. This historical dimension presents an alternative form and autonomous space for understanding ritual violence. The historical transition is examined through modern cult figures such as Savarkar, Gandhi and Ambedkar.

Author Bio

Priyadarshini Vijaisri is associate professor at CSDS, Delhi and a cultural historian.