Galton, Jonathan;
(2023)
Fake Gods and False History: Being Indian in a contested Mumbai neighbourhood.
[Book].
UCL Press: London, UK.
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Abstract
In an age where history is a global battleground and fake news proliferates, culture wars are being waged across India over its future – majoritarian or inclusive, neoliberal or socialist, religious or secular? Fake Gods and False History takes us to the BDD Chawls, a central Mumbai neighbourhood of tenement blocks (chawls) on the brink of a controversial redevelopment. It reveals how contested narratives of Indian history play out in the daily life of this divided neighbourhood and how the legacies of certain godlike but very human historical figures, such as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji, are invoked by different communities. Jonathan Galton draws on research conducted among the formerly untouchable Dalit Buddhist community, who are staunchly opposed to the redevelopment plans and deeply critical of the religious nationalism they perceive in their Hindu neighbours. We also meet young male migrants living in village-linked dormitory rooms called Gramastha Mandals, trapped in a liminal space between urban and rural. Throughout the book, which is woven through with candid reflections on methodology and research ethics, readers are challenged into drawing connections with their own experiences of history impinging on their lives. A story that might initially seem parochial will thus resonate with a diverse global audience.
| Type: | Book |
|---|---|
| Title: | Fake Gods and False History: Being Indian in a contested Mumbai neighbourhood |
| ISBN-13: | 9781800085787 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.14324/111.9781800085787 |
| Publisher version: | https://10.0.55.244/111.9781800085787 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. This licence allows you to share and adapt the work for non-commercial use providing attribution is made to the author and publisher (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work) and any changes are indicated. Attribution should include the following information: Galton, J. 2023. Fake Gods and False History: Being Indian in a contested Mumbai neighbourhood. London: UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781800085787 Further details about Creative Commons licences are available at https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/ |
| Keywords: | India, Mumbai, urban, anthropology, history, religion, nationalism, South Asia, ethnography |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute > IOE - Social Science Research Unit |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10181580 |
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