In opposition to the Raj: Annie Besant and the dialectic of empire

History of Political Thought

Volumn 19, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 60-77

  Bevir, Mark ^a  

^a NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0043136544     PISSN: 0143781X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. A. Besant, 'India's Mission Among Nations', in India: Essays and Addresses (London, 1913), p. 3.
2. See especially E. Said, Orientalism (Harmondsworth, 1978); and R. Inden, Imagining India (Oxford, 1990).
3. See especially E. Said, Orientalism (Harmondsworth, 1978); and R. Inden, Imagining India (Oxford, 1990).
4. Given Said's debt to Michel Foucault, it is interesting to note the latter insisted all power creates opportunities for resistance. M. Foucault, 'The Subject and Power', in H. Dreyfus and P. Rabinow, Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics (Chicago, 1982), esp. pp. 222-3.
5. Perhaps, however, we need not have been so cautious in our choice of example. After all, the religious and cultural background to Indian nationalism lay in a Neo-Hinduism that Sanskritists typically identify as a break in the Hindu tradition, a break, moreover, produced by the impact of the West, its Christianity and its indology. See A. Bharati, 'The Hindu Renaissance and Its Apologetic Patterns', Journal of Asian Studies, 29 (1970), pp. 267-88; P. Hacker, 'Aspects of Neo-Hinduism as Contrasted with Surviving Traditional Hinduism', in Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta, ed. W. Halbfass (Albany, 1995), pp. 229-55; W. Halbfass, India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding (Albany, 1988), esp. pp. 219 ff; and, more generally, K. Jones, Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India (Cambridge, 1989).
6. Perhaps, however, we need not have been so cautious in our choice of example. After all, the religious and cultural background to Indian nationalism lay in a Neo-Hinduism that Sanskritists typically identify as a break in the Hindu tradition, a break, moreover, produced by the impact of the West, its Christianity and its indology. See A. Bharati, 'The Hindu Renaissance and Its Apologetic Patterns', Journal of Asian Studies, 29 (1970), pp. 267-88; P. Hacker, 'Aspects of Neo-Hinduism as Contrasted with Surviving Traditional Hinduism', in Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta, ed. W. Halbfass (Albany, 1995), pp. 229-55; W. Halbfass, India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding (Albany, 1988), esp. pp. 219 ff; and, more generally, K. Jones, Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India (Cambridge, 1989).
7. Perhaps, however, we need not have been so cautious in our choice of example. After all, the religious and cultural background to Indian nationalism lay in a Neo-Hinduism that Sanskritists typically identify as a break in the Hindu tradition, a break, moreover, produced by the impact of the West, its Christianity and its indology. See A. Bharati, 'The Hindu Renaissance and Its Apologetic Patterns', Journal of Asian Studies, 29 (1970), pp. 267-88; P. Hacker, 'Aspects of Neo-Hinduism as Contrasted with Surviving Traditional Hinduism', in Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta, ed. W. Halbfass (Albany, 1995), pp. 229-55; W. Halbfass, India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding (Albany, 1988), esp. pp. 219 ff; and, more generally, K. Jones, Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India (Cambridge, 1989).
8. Perhaps, however, we need not have been so cautious in our choice of example. After all, the religious and cultural background to Indian nationalism lay in a Neo-Hinduism that Sanskritists typically identify as a break in the Hindu tradition, a break, moreover, produced by the impact of the West, its Christianity and its indology. See A. Bharati, 'The Hindu Renaissance and Its Apologetic Patterns', Journal of Asian Studies, 29 (1970), pp. 267-88; P. Hacker, 'Aspects of Neo-Hinduism as Contrasted with Surviving Traditional Hinduism', in Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta, ed. W. Halbfass (Albany, 1995), pp. 229-55; W. Halbfass, India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding (Albany, 1988), esp. pp. 219 ff; and, more generally, K. Jones, Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India (Cambridge, 1989).
9. Besant published two versions of her autobiography, one before and one after she became a theosophist. See respectively A. Besant, Autobiographical Sketches (London, 1885); and A. Besant, An Autobiography (Adyar, Madras, 1983). The most detailed biography is A. Nethercot, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1961); and A. Nethercot, The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1963). A more reliable study is A. Taylor, Annie Besant (Oxford, 1992); a shorter one is R. Dinnage, Annie Besant (Harmondsworth, 1986).
10. Besant published two versions of her autobiography, one before and one after she became a theosophist. See respectively A. Besant, Autobiographical Sketches (London, 1885); and A. Besant, An Autobiography (Adyar, Madras, 1983). The most detailed biography is A. Nethercot, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1961); and A. Nethercot, The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1963). A more reliable study is A. Taylor, Annie Besant (Oxford, 1992); a shorter one is R. Dinnage, Annie Besant (Harmondsworth, 1986).
11. Besant published two versions of her autobiography, one before and one after she became a theosophist. See respectively A. Besant, Autobiographical Sketches (London, 1885); and A. Besant, An Autobiography (Adyar, Madras, 1983). The most detailed biography is A. Nethercot, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1961); and A. Nethercot, The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1963). A more reliable study is A. Taylor, Annie Besant (Oxford, 1992); a shorter one is R. Dinnage, Annie Besant (Harmondsworth, 1986).
12. Besant published two versions of her autobiography, one before and one after she became a theosophist. See respectively A. Besant, Autobiographical Sketches (London, 1885); and A. Besant, An Autobiography (Adyar, Madras, 1983). The most detailed biography is A. Nethercot, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1961); and A. Nethercot, The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1963). A more reliable study is A. Taylor, Annie Besant (Oxford, 1992); a shorter one is R. Dinnage, Annie Besant (Harmondsworth, 1986).
13. Besant published two versions of her autobiography, one before and one after she became a theosophist. See respectively A. Besant, Autobiographical Sketches (London, 1885); and A. Besant, An Autobiography (Adyar, Madras, 1983). The most detailed biography is A. Nethercot, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1961); and A. Nethercot, The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1963). A more reliable study is A. Taylor, Annie Besant (Oxford, 1992); a shorter one is R. Dinnage, Annie Besant (Harmondsworth, 1986).
14. Besant published two versions of her autobiography, one before and one after she became a theosophist. See respectively A. Besant, Autobiographical Sketches (London, 1885); and A. Besant, An Autobiography (Adyar, Madras, 1983). The most detailed biography is A. Nethercot, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1961); and A. Nethercot, The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant (London, 1963). A more reliable study is A. Taylor, Annie Besant (Oxford, 1992); a shorter one is R. Dinnage, Annie Besant (Harmondsworth, 1986).
15. On Victorian Christianity, see B. Hilton, The Age of Atonement: The Influence of Evangelicalism on Social and Economic Thought, 1795-1865 (Oxford, 1988); and G. Rowell, Hell and the Victorians (Oxford, 1974).
16. On Victorian Christianity, see B. Hilton, The Age of Atonement: The Influence of Evangelicalism on Social and Economic Thought, 1795-1865 (Oxford, 1988); and G. Rowell, Hell and the Victorians (Oxford, 1974).
17. O. Chadwick, The Victorian Church (2 vols., London, 1971), esp. Vol. 2, ch. 2.
18. J. Altholz, 'The Warfare of Conscience with Theology', in The Mind and Art of Victorian England, ed. J. Altholz (Minneapolis, 1976), pp. 58-77.
19. On Victorian doubt, see L. Butler, Victorian Doubt: Literary and Cultural Discourses (London, 1990); and F. Turner, Between Science and Religion: The Reaction to Scientific Naturalism in Late Victorian Britain (New Haven, 1974).
20. On Victorian doubt, see L. Butler, Victorian Doubt: Literary and Cultural Discourses (London, 1990); and F. Turner, Between Science and Religion: The Reaction to Scientific Naturalism in Late Victorian Britain (New Haven, 1974).
21. On these roles, see C. Dyhouse, 'Mothers and Daughters in the Middle-Class Home, c. 1870-1914', in Labour and Love: Women 's Experience of Home and Family, 1850-1940, ed. J. Lewis (London, 1986), pp. 27-47. On the evangelical basis of the discourse justifying them, see C. Hall, 'The Early Formation of Victorian Domestic Ideology', in Fit Work for Women, ed. S. Burman (New York, 1979), pp. 15-32.
22. On these roles, see C. Dyhouse, 'Mothers and Daughters in the Middle-Class Home, c. 1870-1914', in Labour and Love: Women 's Experience of Home and Family, 1850-1940, ed. J. Lewis (London, 1986), pp. 27-47. On the evangelical basis of the discourse justifying them, see C. Hall, 'The Early Formation of Victorian Domestic Ideology', in Fit Work for Women, ed. S. Burman (New York, 1979), pp. 15-32.
23. A. Besant, Why I Do Not Believe in God (London, 1887), p. 4.
24. A. Besant, The Socialist Movement (London, 1887), p. 21.
25. Our Corner (February 1888).
26. M. Bevir, 'The West Turns Eastward: Madame Blavatsky and the Transformation of the Occult Tradition', Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 62 (1994), pp. 747-67; and B. Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement (Berkeley, 1980).
27. M. Bevir, 'The West Turns Eastward: Madame Blavatsky and the Transformation of the Occult Tradition', Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 62 (1994), pp. 747-67; and B. Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement (Berkeley, 1980).
28. A. Besant, The Ancient Wisdom (Adyar, Madras, 1939). Besant, of course, followed Blavatsky's teachings, for which see H. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy (2 vols., London, 1888).
29. A. Besant, The Ancient Wisdom (Adyar, Madras, 1939). Besant, of course, followed Blavatsky's teachings, for which see H. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy (2 vols., London, 1888).
30. National Reformer (30 June 1889).
31. Lucifer (15 June 1889).
32. Compare G. Studdart-Kennedy, British Christians, Indian Nationalists, and the Raj (Delhi, 1991).
33. Although many theosophists, like Blavatsky and Besant, opposed Christianity, some were more neutral, and a few even tried to tie theosophy to a tradition of Christian mysticism.
34. A. Besant, What is Theosophy? (Adyar, Madras, 1912), p. 9. One of her earliest theosophical articles considered the relationship between karma and social action. See Lucifer (August 1889).
35. A. Besant, What is Theosophy? (Adyar, Madras, 1912), p. 9. One of her earliest theosophical articles considered the relationship between karma and social action. See Lucifer (August 1889).
36. A. Besant, The Basis of Morality (Adyar, Madras, 1915), p. 26.
37. A. Besant, 'Eastern Castes and Western Classes', in India: Essays, pp. 48-9.
38. Besant, Ancient Wisdom, p. 308.
39. A. Besant, 'The Place of Politics in the Life of a Nation', in India: Essays, p. 131.
40. A. Besant, The East and the West (Adyar, Madras, 1908), p. 9.
41. Besant developed a spiritual, occult and theosophical science as an alternative to the materialist one that dominated Western culture. See A. Besant and C. Leadbeater, Occult Chemistry (Adyar, Madras, 1909).
42. Besant, Ancient Wisdom, p. 229.
43. Ibid., p. 274.
44. A. Besant The Duties of the Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, 1917), p. 25.
45. Ibid.
46. Besant, 'Place of Politics', p. 152.
47. Compare Studdart-Kennedy, British Christians. On the way Besant's Indian activities transformed such debates, see P. Robb, The Government of India and Annie Besant', Modern Asian Studies, 10 (1976), pp. 107-30.
48. Compare Studdart-Kennedy, British Christians. On the way Besant's Indian activities transformed such debates, see P. Robb, The Government of India and Annie Besant', Modern Asian Studies, 10 (1976), pp. 107-30.
49. Besant, The East and The West, pp. 22-3.
50. A. Besant, Four Great Religions (London, n.d.), p. 10.
51. New India (26 December 1915).
52. Besant, India: Essays, p. 19.
53. A. Besant, How India Wrought for Freedom (Adyar, Madras, 1915), pp. 1v-1vi.
54. A. Besant, India: A Nation (London, 1917), pp. 12, 11.
55. A. Besant, 'East and West', in India: Essays, p. 78.
56. A. Besant, India and the Empire (London, 1914), p. 16.
57. Besant, How India Wrought for Freedom, p. xxxv.
58. A. Besant, 'The Means of India's Regeneration', in India: Essays, p. 119.
59. Besant gave a normal account of her entry into nationalist politics in A. Besant, The Future of Indian Politics (Adyar, Madras, 1922). Later she added the occult explanation that she had acted under the orders of the Rishi Agartya, the Mahatma responsible for guiding the Indian nation. See Theosophist (November 1929).
60. Besant gave a normal account of her entry into nationalist politics in A. Besant, The Future of Indian Politics (Adyar, Madras, 1922). Later she added the occult explanation that she had acted under the orders of the Rishi Agartya, the Mahatma responsible for guiding the Indian nation. See Theosophist (November 1929).
61. H. Owen, 'Towards Nation-Wide Agitation and Organisation: The Home Rule Leagues, 1915-18', in Soundings in Modern South Asian History: ed. D. Low (London, 1968), pp. 159-95.
62. M. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Ahmedabad, 1938); and J. Nehru, The Discovery of India (Calcutta, 1956).
63. M. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Ahmedabad, 1938); and J. Nehru, The Discovery of India (Calcutta, 1956).