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Provincialising Pluralism
Difference and Diversity in South Asian Traditions
Provincialising Pluralism
Difference and Diversity in South Asian Traditions
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Description
How have South Asian traditions responded to plurality and difference? The question lies at the centre of this collection, inviting us to challenge established conceptions of pluralism and understand South Asian ways of thinking about difference, diversity, and 'the other'.
This diverse collection is the first in-depth treatment of the variety of ways that South Asian traditions theorise plurality. Bringing together case studies across South Asia's distinctive religious landscape, it marks a significant contribution to re-thinking pluralism in the 21st century.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Brian Black and James Madaio.
Part 1: Pluralisms in Ancient South Asia
Chapter 1: Claire Maes: '“I heard it through the grapevine.” Gossip and Rumour in the Pali Canon as Strategies to Deal with Religious Others'
Chapter 2: Sonam Kachru: 'Asoka's Principled Pluralism'
Chapter 3: Mark McClish: 'Pluralism and Religious Policy in the Arthasastra'
Chapter 4: Brian Black: 'The Mahabharata's Dharmic Pluralism'
Chapter 5: Vrinda Dalmiya: 'In Defence of Double-Think: Stances, Standpoints, and Justice in the Mahabharata and Feminist Epistemology'
Chapter 6: Jessica Frazier: 'Collaboration, Inference, and Virtue in the Caraka Samhita'
Chapter 7: Anil Mundra: 'Pluralistic Selves: Jain Engagements with Doctrinal Difference and Identity'
Chapter 8: Patrick Lambelet: 'Weaving Many into One: Plurality and Unity in the Buddhist Mantrayana'
Part 2: Pluralisms in Pre-Modern South Asia
Chapter 9: Nancy M. Martin: 'Forging Self and Sampraday: Inclusion, Equality, and Religious Diversity in Pre-Modern Bhakti'
Chapter 10: Pashaura Singh: 'Religious Pluralism and the Bhagat Bani in the Guru Granth Sahib'
Chapter 11: Jaroslav Strnad: 'Plurality of Spiritual Paths in the Dadupanthi Community of 17th Century Rajasthan'
Chapter 12: Rembert Lutjeharms: 'Encounters with the Inconceivable: Experience and Inclusivism in Early Gaudiya Vaisnava Theology'
Chapter 13: Rosie Edgley and Jacqueline Suthren Hirst: 'Addressing Plurality in Madhusudana Sarasvati's Bhagavadgita commentary'
Chapter 14: Supriya Gandhi: 'Reconciling Difference Through Tatbiq: Pluralism and Comparative Religion at the Mughal Court
Part 3: Pluralisms in Modern South Asia
Chapter 15: Scott R. Stroud: 'Ambedkar, Pragmatic Buddhism, and Democratic Pluralism'
Chapter 16: Elise Coquereau-Saouma: 'Witnessing and Realising Plurality in 20th Century Indian Philosophy'
Chapter 17: Arindam Chakrabarti: 'Seesaw Worlds, Interrogative Reality, and Alternative Theories of Error: From Kalidas Bhattacharya back to Abhinavagupta'
Chapter 18: James Madaio: 'Plurality and the Other in Ramchandra Gandhi's Hermeneutics of Being'
Chapter 19: Humeira Iqtidar: 'Is Tolerance Liberal? Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and the Non-Muslim Minority'
Chapter 20: Brian Black and James Madaio: 'Concluding Reflections: Thinking Pluralistically about Pluralism'
Product details

Published | Sep 04 2025 |
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Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 528 |
ISBN | 9781350436053 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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'Attempts to mine the past of India or China for philosophical purpose are often met with accusations of anachronism. Through detailed and sophisticated case studies, the authors of Provincialising Pluralism have demonstrated how the past can and does speak to the present. This is a master work of historical interpretation answering some urgent issues relating to pluralism in a globalised world.'
Patrick Olivelle, Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
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'This is a landmark volume in South Asian studies and intellectual history, distinguished by its capacious canvas and the scholarly depth of the essays. The contributors pluralize “pluralism” itself, making a distinctive contribution to the rich debates on pluralism and syncretism that have characterised South Asia's long intellectual and religious history.'
Vinay Lal, Professor, University of California at Los Angeles, USA
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'This stimulating collection of essays understands pluralism less as a modern social and political ethic and more as an epistemic framework for understanding plurality. It makes a convincing case that a long, varied tradition of South Asian understandings of diversities exist that has the potential to enrich how humans view each other's distinctiveness and try to respond to it.'
Rajeev Bhargava, Honorary Fellow and Director, Parekh Institute of Indian Thought, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, India
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'The essays included in this thoughtful volume analyse a variety of pluralisms across Indian philosophical discourses and time periods. It is a challenging collection which makes a timely intervention in our current debates about the past and the potential for pluralism in the future.'
Romila Thapar, Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India