Holy Warriors - Hardcover

Fernandes, Edna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846270960 ISBN 13: 9781846270963

Publisher: Portobello Books Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

This is an eye-opening exploration of India's incendiary religious mix - based on a series of face-to-face encounters with all flavours of the faithful, the fervent and the fanatical. It is suitable for those with an interest in India (fans of Suketu Mehta, Pankaj Mishra, William Dalrymple, Mark Tully and V. S. Naipaul) and those with an interest in religious fundamentalism and terrorism (Jason Burke, Gilles Keppel, Peter Bergen). Home to all the major religions, India is also, inevitably, host to virtually every type of religious fanatic. No other nation has witnessed as much proselytization or heard as many war cries in the name of God as India. For centuries, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and Muslims have waged bloody wars, sought violent conversion and declared jihad against their enemies, as their religions have been hijacked by the forces of fundamentalism. In "Holy Warriors", British-Indian journalist Edna Fernandes travels to the country's recent and past theatres of religious extremism - from Kashmir to Gujarat, Punjab to Goa - to meet the generals and foot soldiers of communal wars who assert their faith in rhetoric and rage. Theirs are stories of bigotry and bloodshed, insecurity and despair, but Fernandes listens with understanding, tolerance and a deft sense of humour, and paints a uniquely vivid and clear-sighted picture of a country divided by dogma.

About this title

Review:

"Above all, Fernandes offers a valuable reminder of the dark side of the
economic miracle that is modern India."
-- The Guardian, July 2007

"The reportage is even-handed and responsible and even delightfully witty.
Fernandes's asides are precise and wicked." -- The Guardian, July 2007

"What a cast of characters make their way through this sharp-witted and
straight-talking book." -- The Guardian, July 2007 Guardian The Guardian, July 2007 The Guardian, July 2007

'[Fernandes's] travelogues are attractive; she is a witty caricaturist, and
a stubborn interviewer... often fun, always informative.' -- Telegraph Review

An entertaining and insightful thematic travelogue, a tour of Indian flashpoints. -- Economist Book Review

`This energetic account of religious violence and prejudice in India is
witty, informative - and disturbing.' -- Telegraph Review

A powerful book, Holy Warriors is as fair and objective an
assessment of the perils that lie ahead in India as any that I have ever
read -- Khushwant Singh, Hindustan Times

A remarkable, brave, moving, disturbing, funny and at times
beautiful book -- Simon Long, Economist

Holy Warriors shows up the cancer of religious bigotry and
intolerance that afflicts all communities - Sikhs, Christians, et al,
besides Hindus and Muslims. It is a vivid and shocking mosaic -- Business World

The book conveys extraordinarily well and with great sensitivity,
how the construction of the `Other' as an object of fear...gives rise to a
spiral of fear and hate
-- Professor John Harriss, Director, Development Studies(LSE)

About the Author:

EDNA FERNANDES is a British Indian journalist who has worked for many of the leading international news organizations from AP-Dow Jones and Reuters in London to the FT in New Delhi. Her articles have been reproduced in the Wall Street Journal and International Herald Tribune. She is now at work on her second book for Portobello, The Last Jews of Kerala.

About this edition

• Publisher: Portobello Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1846270960
• ISBN 13: 9781846270963
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368