TY - BOOK AU - Pinch,William R. TI - Warrior ascetics and Indian empires T2 - Cambridge studies in Indian history and society SN - 9780521851688 AV - DS470.A68 P56 2006 U1 - 294.54470954 22 PY - 2006/// CY - New Delhi PB - Foundation Books KW - Anupgiri Gosain, KW - Warlordism KW - India KW - Biography KW - Soldiers KW - History KW - Asceticism KW - Hinduism KW - Social life and customs N1 - Includes bibliographical references (p. 260-271) and index N2 - Many people assume, largely because of Gandhi's legacy, that Hinduism is a religion of non-violence. the author shows just how wrong this assumption is.Using the life of Anupgiri Gosain, a Hindu ascetic who lived at the end of the eighteenth century, he demonstrates that Hindu warrior ascetics were an important component of the South Asian military labor market in the medieval and early modern Indian past, and crucial to the rise of British imperialism. Today, they occupy a prominent place in modern Indian imaginations, ironically as romantic defenders of a Hindu India against foreign invasion, even though they are almost totally absent from Indian history. The author's innovative and gloriously composed book sets out to piece together the story of the rise and demise of warrior asceticism in India from the 1500s to the present UR - http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0664/2006277396-d.html UR - http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0664/2006277396-t.html UR - http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0733/2006277396-b.html ER -