Description |
xiv, 298 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
Series |
Princeton studies in culture/power/history |
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Princeton studies in culture/power/history.
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Contents |
Machine derived contents note: Table of contents for Theft of an idol : text and context in the representation of collective violence / Paul R. Brass. -- Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog -- Information from electronic data provided by the publisher. May be incomplete or contain other coding. -- List of Figures and Tables ix -- Preface xi -- List of Abbreviations xv -- CHAPTER 1 Text and Context 3 -- CHAPTER 2 Background 32 -- CHAPTER 3 Theft of an Idol 58 -- CHAPTER 4 Rape at Daphnala 97 -- CHAPTER 5 Horror Stories 129 -- CHAPTER 6 Horror Stories Untold 177 -- CHAPTER 7 Kala Bachcha: Portrait of a BJP Hero 204 -- CHAPTER 8 Conclusion 260 -- Index 289 -- Library of Congress subject headings for this publication: Violence India Case studies, Violence Political aspects India Case studies, Riots India Case studies, Ethnicity India Case studies, India Ethnic relations Case studies, India Politics and government Case studies |
Summary |
"As collective violence erupts in many regions throughout the world, we often hear media reports that link the outbreaks to age-old ethnic or religious hostilities, thereby freeing the state, its agents, and its political elites from responsibility. Paul Brass encourages us to look more closely at the issues of violence, ethnicity, and the state by focusing on specific instances of violence in their local contexts and questioning the prevailing interpretations of them. Through five case studies of both rural and urban public violence, including police-public confrontations and Hindu-Muslim riots, Brass shows how, out of many possible interpretations applicable to these incidents, government and the media select those that support existing relations of power in state and society."--BOOK JACKET |
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"Adopting different modes - narrator, detective, and social scientist - Brass treats incidents of collective violence arising initially out of common occurrences such as a drunken brawl, the rape of a girl, and the theft of an idol, and demonstrates how some incidents remain localized while others are fit into broader frameworks of meaning, thereby becoming useful for upholders of dominant ideologies. Incessant talk about violence and its implications in these circumstances contributes to its persistence rather than its reduction. Such treatment serves in fact to mask the causes of violence, displace the victims from the center of attention, and divert society's gaze from those responsible for its endemic character. Brass explains how this process ultimately implicates everyone in the perpetuation of systems of violence."--BOOK JACKET |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
Subject |
Ethnicity -- India -- Case studies.
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Riots -- India -- Case studies.
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Violence -- Political aspects -- India -- Case studies.
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Violence -- India -- Case studies.
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SUBJECT |
India -- Ethnic relations http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008104973 -- Case studies.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2016001578
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India -- Politics and government http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064936 -- Case studies. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2016001578
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LC no. |
96009315 |
ISBN |
0691026505 (paperback: alk. paper) |
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0691026513 (alk. paper) |
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