Title: Theft of an idol : text and context in the representation of collective violence /
Authors: Brass, Paul R.
Publisher: Princeton University Press,
Year: 1997
Subjects: Violence India Case studies.; Violence Political aspects India Case studies.; Riots India Case studies.; Ethnicity India Case studies.; India Ethnic relations Case studies.; India Politics and government Case studies.
Abstract: As collective violence erupts in many regions throughout the world, we often hear media reports that link the outbreaks to age-old ethnic or religious hostilities, thereby freeing the state, its agents, and its political elites from responsibility. Paul Brass encourages us to look more closely at the issues of violence, ethnicity, and the state by focusing on specific instances of violence in their local contexts and questioning the prevailing interpretations of them. Through five case studies of both rural and urban public violence, including police-public confrontations and Hindu-Muslim riots, Brass shows how, out of many possible interpretations applicable to these incidents, government and the media select those that support existing relations of power in state and society.
Contents: Text and Context -- Background -- Theft of an Idol -- Rape at Daphnala -- Horror Stories -- Horror Stories Untold -- Kala Bachcha: Portrait of a BJP Hero -- Conclusion.