Between Nation and 'Community'

📘 Book Details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

• Author: Laurence Gautier

• Language: English

• Binding: Hardcover

• Pages: 360

• Release Date: 04-07-2024

• ISBN: 9781009358491

• Dimensions: 9.0 x 6.0 x 1.3 inches

📝 About The Book

Muslim Universities in Post-Colonial India by Laurence Gautier offers a profound and timely exploration of the political and cultural roles played by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) in shaping post-independence Muslim identity and discourse in India. Drawing on extensive archival research and fieldwork, this book examines how these universities became critical arenas for debating citizenship, secularism, minority rights, and national integration.

The study presents these institutions not merely as educational bodies, but as intermediaries between the Indian state and the Muslim community, reflecting the state’s often ambivalent stance towards Muslim citizens. Through detailed chapters on themes such as composite nationalism, minority politics, Islamic empowerment narratives, and women’s roles in Muslim universities, the author offers a nuanced understanding of how these universities have evolved as bastions of intellectual, religious, and political engagement.

This scholarly work is especially relevant for readers interested in South Asian politics, education policy, Muslim identity, post-colonial nation-building, and the intersection of religion and state. Laurence Gautier, currently Head Researcher in History, Politics, and Society at the Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH), New Delhi, brings both academic depth and contemporary relevance to this insightful volume.