Singing A Hindu Nation

Download or read book Singing a Hindu Nation written by Anna Schultz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-12-13 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Singing a Hindu Nation explores how the political becomes devotional through musical performance. At the heart of author Anna Schultz's study is r=ashtr=iya k=irtan, a western Indian performance medium that combines song, Hindu philosophical discourse, and nationalist storytelling. Performers of r=ashtr=iya k=irtan have impacted the political environment throughout the last century, inspiring Marathi-speaking people to resist colonial domination both violently and non-violently in the early twentieth century, supporting state health and national integration projects in the early post-colonial era, and in the last decade of the century, using their performances to buttress the rhetoric of Hindu nationalists as these groups rose to power. By performing in regional idioms with rich associations for Maharashtrian congregations, singers of r=ashtr=iya k=irtan use music to combine political and religious signs in ways that seem natural and desirable, and as a result effectively promote embodied experiences of nationalist devotion. As the first monograph on music and Hindu nationalism, Singing a Hindu Nation presents a rare glimpse into the lives and performance worlds of nationalists on the margins of all-India political parties and cultural organizations. The book is an essential resource for ethnomusicologists, as well as scholars of South Asian studies, religion, and political theory.