Reading History with the Tamil Jainas

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxx

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2. On Reading History, and a Community

   • R. Umamaheshwari

   Pages 1-36

3. Jaina Studies: A Historical Overview

   • R. Umamaheshwari

   Pages 37-81

4. Community Narratives, Inscriptional Records: A Chronicle of Journeys Through Tamil Jaina Villages

   • R. Umamaheshwari

   Pages 83-204

5. ‘Retrieving’, Seeking, the Tamil Jaina Self: the Politics of Memory, Identity and Tamil Language

   • R. Umamaheshwari

   Pages 205-298

6. On Mapping the Layers of Community Histories: Some Concluding Remarks

   • R. Umamaheshwari

   Pages 299-304

7. Back Matter

   Pages 305-326

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This book provides a social history of the Tamil Jainas, a minority community living in Tamil Nadu in south India. It holds special significance in the method of studying the community, living in villages of Tamil Nadu and retrieving their perspectives on their past. This is a new approach in terms of historiography from extant works on Jainism in south India. A major feature of this book is the hitherto uncovered aspect of the question of language and identity, caste and the modern socio-political movements in Tamil Nadu, such as the Self-Respect Movement (initiated by ‘Periyar’), in which some Tamil Jainas were active participants. Special features in the book include photographs of the community and monuments, maps, and a unique style, which combines a journalistic approach and academic historical research. This book is of interest to readers of Tamil language and history, and to anyone working on the idea of politics of marginalisation of religious identities, ide

as of memory, and community narratives of shared history in the face of religious persecution. 

• Diganmabara Jainas
• Indian atheistic traditions
• community identity and marginalisation
• the dialogue between doctrine and practice
• community history
• self-respect movement of Tamil Jainas
• Tamil linguistic heritage
• oriental perceptions of Tamil Jainas
• inscriptional records of Jaina settlements

“The most readable books written by a historian, and for that reason, I would strongly recommend it. Unlike many of the scholarly books written on community history or the history of religion, this book does not merely present you with a set of ‘facts,’ but invites you to enter into a dialogue with the author. … It is a good read and a valuable albeit debatable, piece of research into a community as ‘imagined’ or ‘imaged’ by the author.” (Vijaya Ramaswamy, Economic & Political Weekly, December 28, 2019)

• Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, India

  R. Umamaheshwari

R. Umamaheshwari is an independent journalist-academic researcher and former fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. She has received several journalism and academic fellowships for her work on the displacement of marginalised communities on account of developmental projects, on issues associated with development politics and for her work on Tamil Jaina history. She has authored two books: When Godavari Comes: People’s History of a River; and From Possession to Freedom: the Journey of Nili-Nilakeci.  

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