Missionaries and the Craft of Narrative

Hinduism contains multitudes -- and is contained by multitudes. Any simple story you tell about it is bound to be false.

Welcome to Episode 76 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay put together a potted history of Hinduism that goes beyond simple narratives and acknowledges its complexity. They also try to make sense of the historical circumstances and incentives that shaped it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: Not a Name, But a River 03:32 Chapter 1: The Early History 17:09 Chapter 2: The Role of Religion 20:07 Chapter 3: The Puranic Period 29:35 Chapter 4: The Arrival of Islam 34:43 Chapter 5: The Open-Source Epics 37:56 Chapter 6: The Missionaries 46:20 Chapter 7: Colonialism 52:18 Chapter 8: The Movements Within Hinduism 58:14 Chapter 9: Arriving at Hindutva 1:05:43 Chapter 10: The Question of Caste 1:11:09 Chapter 11: Hinduism Today 1:14:45 Chapter 12: Recommendations

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