9 Religion in Contemporary India
The context
The practice of religion
Pilgrimages and festivals
Va ̄ra ̄n.asi
Pal
̄ani, Tamil Nadu
Festivals
Makara Vilakku, Sabaramala, Kerala
Bonalu, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Festivals in other religious communities
The shrine or temple as the focus of religious expression
Ritual in other religious communities
Religious innovation, hybridization, and reinterpretation
The changing faces of deities
Conversions of another kind
Gurus and their movements
The Brahma ̄ kumar ı ̄s
The Satya Sai Baba movement
The resurgent right
Recommended readingThe context
At midnight on August 15, 1947, India attained its independence from
Britain. For many on the subcontinent it proved to be a bittersweet moment,
for it resulted in the partition of India and Pakistan. Pakistan, a nation
primarily intended for Muslims, was divided into two parts: West Pakistan,
comprised of northern Panja ̄b and the provinces of Sind, Baluchistan, and
the Northeast Frontier, and East Pakistan, comprised of East Bengal. East