Post colonial frame of reference |
One of the most widespread beliefs in modern India is that religion has always been the main way people identify with politics. This belief, however, does not withstand historical scrutiny. A growing body of studies suggests that the politicisation of religious identity in India is not a historical remnant but a modern construct heavily shaped by colonial administration.
Before the 19th century, religion was vital for social and moral life, but it wasn’t a strict political identity. People were more likely to be politically loyal because of their service, where they lived, who they knew, and who protected them than because of their religious beliefs. Colonial administration methods significantly contributed to the establishment of religion as a permanent political category.
India Prior to Colonisation
Historians such as Irfan Habib (The Agrarian System of Mughal India, 1963) and Muzaffar Alam (Languages of Political Islam in India, 2004 ) have demonstrated that in pre-colonial Indian states were pragmatic in outlook and governed with secular principals. The Mughal government, for instance, depended on collecting taxes, military service, and bureaucratic expertise instead of religious compliance.
The Mughal mansabdari system unified Muslims, Hindus, Jains, and others within a singular governance framework. Maratha, Rajput, Sikh, and Deccan states also relied on service elites from a variety of faiths. C. A. Bayly, in his Empire and Information (1996) argues that political authority in early modern India was personal and negotiated, not communal.
Religion was very significant in everyday life, but it didn’t have the same effect on political identity as it does now. People were different people at different times and places. For instance, an individual may........