Manu S. Pillai’s new book, Gods, Guns and Missionaries, traces “The Making of Modern Hindu Identity" (as its subtitle says) through history, especially the trauma of colonial invasion and ...

As Manu says, Hinduism defies easy definition. “Some things can only be understood as composites, as dynamic, layered processes, often with contradictions,” he explains.

Excerpted with permission from Gods, Guns, and Missionaries: The Making Of The Modern Hindu Identity, Manu S Pillai, Penguin India. We welcome your comments at [email protected].

In conversation with host Dinyar Patel, historian Manu S Pillai examines how actors from Voltaire to VD Savarkar influenced one of the world’s oldest faiths.

Historian Manu Pillai discusses Hindu identity evolution in his latest book during Frontline's 40th anniversary session. June 18, 2025 e-Paper. LOGIN Account. eBooks Subscribe GIFT FRONT PAGE.

Sunday Times News: Even as anti-conversion laws spark debates in India, historian Manu Pillai’s latest book ‘Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu .

Manu Pillai’s book is a timely addition to the corpus of Hindu studies as well as to that of the history of India, in general. The book begins with the West’s encounter with Indian culture in ...

Hinduism is often imagined as a monolith of arcane and ancient rituals, ... Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity by Manu S Pillai Allen Lane £35, 624 pages.

KOCHI: Amid an ideological battle, author Manu S Pillai steps back centuries to trace the formation of the modern Hindu identity in his new book Gods, Guns &amp ...