Sunday, February 13, 2011

Kenneth Jones Socio-religious reform movements in British India


The title of the book is "Socio-religious reform movements in British India." The author is Kenneth W. Jones.

Kenneth W Jones was born in 1934. He died in 1996. He studied in University of California. He was employed with University of Kansas.

The title forms the part of the project of "The New Cambridge History of India". The book was produced under the General Editor Gordon Johnson, the Director, Center of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge and Fellow of Selwyn College. Johnson was assisted by C. A. Bayly and John F. Richards. The series of the New Cambridge History of India was started to incorporate the recent researches. They are written by a single person.

The title was first published in 1994. The edition used for this review was published in 2003 in paper back series. It was published by Foundation Books, New Delhi. The present book cost Rs. 150/-. The earlier editions were much more costly. The present edition is a personal copy bought at Lyall Book Depot, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. The isbn number is 81-85618-47-X.

It is not specified but as per the overall plan of the New Cambridge History of India which produced as per four part structure, it belongs to the third section that is "The Indian Empire and the Beginnings of Modern Society". The other three are as follows. The first one is 'The Mughals and their Contemporaries. The second one is " Indian States and the Transition to Colonialism. The fourth and the last one is The Evolution of Contemporary South Asia.


The book is dedicated to Professor Wolfram Eberhard.


The book contains eight chapters. They are (You can click on the title of the each chapter to read the contents)
2. Bengal and north-eastern India spread over 32 pages.
3. The Gangetic core: Uttar Pradesh and Bihar spread over 36 pages.
4. Punjab and the North-West spread over 26 pages.
5. The central belt and Maharashtra spread over 29 pages.
6. The Dravidian South spread over 31 pages.
7. The twentieth century: socio-religious movements in a politicized world spread over 25 pages.
8. Conclusion: religion in history spread over 11 pages.

The Bibliography, which is envisaged as an important feature of the New Cambridge series occupies 7 pages. It has a section on Glossary of Indian terms.