Politics and Muslim Ethnicity in South India

Benson, Janet E.

doi:10.1086/jar.39.1.3629815

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Movements reinterpreting Islamic practices have long been identified as a reaction to political inequality, ranging in scale from colonial encounters (Geertz 1968) to competition with other religious groups (Benson 1983), as well as being a form of status competition between Muslims themselves (Mines 1975). The anthropological tradition that has developed around the study of Muslim society has drawn heavily on Weber's sociology (Turner 1974).…”

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Migration and Islamic reform in a port town of western India

Simpson

2003

Contributions to Indian Sociology

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This article explores some of the social consequences of migration for a port town in western India. The town has a long history of immigration and emigration, and in the first part of this article it is suggested that the origins of migrants arriving in the town in ancient times have formed the basis for ordering social hierarchy among local Muslims. In modern times the town's fleet takes a large number of men overseas each year to the ports of the Gulf. The second part of the article is concerned with looking at the ways in which the fruits of such migrations are integrated into local society when the ships return during the monsoon. Exchanges of gifts, ideas, and social and religious practices are described as ways of articulating a profound conflict between the ancient immigrants and the new returning emigrants. While this conflict is most obviously between rival versions of Islamic orthodoxy, I argue that such orthodoxies are primarily expressions of the types of migration, travel and economy that form and sustain them.

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Migration and Islamic reform in a port town of western India

Simpson

2003

Contributions to Indian Sociology

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“…A large number of empirical studies have demonstrated that an ethnic group can be understood in terms of both the primordial dimension and the circumstantial context (Esman 1977;Epstein 1978;Nagata 1981;Benson 1983;Woon 1985;Rosaldo 1988;Bun and Kiong 1993). For example, in research on ethnicity and ethnic boundaries of the Sino-Vietnamese in Victoria, Canada, Woon (1985) identified that the Sino-Vietnamese utilized ethnic charters, including national origin, language and ancestry, in order to obtain instrumental help and comparative advantages, but emotional needs of the individual for self-esteem, a sense of the past, and of belonging are also fundamental for them.…”

Section: ⅳ Concluding Remarks: the Synthesis Of The Two Approaches And A New Termmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review of Approaches to Ethnicity

Seol

2008

International Area Review

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This article attempts to critically review established approaches to ethnicity and to suggest a new term to it. Most researchers on ethnicity have located their own work conceptually in either the primordial perspective or the circumstantial perspective. However, the dichotomy has been overdrawn. At an analytical level, one the one hand, the synthesis of these two approaches has been emphasized. Ethnic groups form, persist and are related to the wider society because of many factors; some factors derive from cultural heritage and others are of a situational or circumstantial nature. On the other hand, a large number of empirical studies have demonstrated that an ethnic group can be understood in terms of both the primordial dimension and the circumstantial context. In short, any theory or empirical study of ethnicity should take into account not just the instrumental functions of ethnicity in the pursuit of social interests, but also the cultural formulations and the shared sense of descent that people derive from their ethnic identities. Viewed in this way, ethnic expression changes and primordial ties of ethnicity can be transformed into rational and instrumental interests. I also maintain that an ethnic group should be understood in terms of both the expressive dimension and the instrumental aspect, and both aspects should be understood in dialectical relationship with one another. In this paper, I suggest the term ‘mediating reference point’ to help overcome the theoretical limitations of the primordial-circumstantial dichotomy and to provide a richer interpretation of ethnicity. In my view, ethnicity, which mediates between diverse human relations and between different values and norms, is expressed and utilized differently at both the individual and collective levels, whether it influences the life process of ethnic groups either positively or negatively.

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“…This category primarily consists of the converts from the ex-untouchables. SeeAhmad (1977),Ahmad (1978),Chakravarti (1981), andBenson (1983).5 Indian Islam is characterized by a wide spectrum of doctrinal variety. The Shias, the Sunnis, the Wahabis, the Bohras and the Agha Khanis are just a few examples of a large number of differentiations based on religious or quasi-religious beliefs and ritual practices.6 The bloody riots between Shias and Sunnis; the tension between Deobandis and Brailvis and between the Urdu and Bangla speakers, and between Bangla and Assamese speaker Muslims are not unknown in India.…”

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“…This category primarily consists of the converts from the ex-untouchables. See Ahmad (1977), Ahmad (1978), Ahmad and Chakravarti (1981), and Benson (1983).…”

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Electoral Participation and Political Choice Among Muslims

Alam

2023

Studies in Indian Politics

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Muslims are the largest minority group in India. As a minority group, their electoral participation and expression has drawn wide religious attention of scholars. However, much of the discussion around Muslims’ electoral participation and political preference is either based on speculations or on sketchy field studies. This article, drawing upon large scale representative surveys, analyses Muslims’ electoral participation and choices since 1990s. It argues that inferences about the community’s electoral behaviour at the national level are misleading. Its electoral behaviour can better be understood by locating them in politically differentiated contexts.

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Politics and Muslim Ethnicity in South India

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Migration and Islamic reform in a port town of western India

Migration and Islamic reform in a port town of western India

A Critical Review of Approaches to Ethnicity

Electoral Participation and Political Choice Among Muslims

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