Author: Rustom Bharucha
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 197
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195648897
Description
This bold and challenging new book charts the shifting dynamics of religion, community and civil society in an era which has seen the concurrent rise of mass media, globalization and religious fundamentalism.
It is a vital book for all those interested in the future of secularism in India, and is an important contribution to the fields of film, performance and cultural studies.
From the cultural movements of the 1940s to the present day, writers, artists and directors have countered fascist and imperialist pressures through a variety of popular cultural forms. Apart from engaging with the conflicting secularist ideologies of films as diverse as Mani Ratnam's Roja and Anand Patwardhan's Father, Son and Holy War, the book also focuses on different forums for cultural activism, from Sahmat in New Delhi to the mohalla peace committees in the slums of Mumbai.
MEDIA REVIEW:
Bharucha's handling of the issue is so intelligent, his reading so vast and his solution so plausible, that it makes for compulsive reading and can be an effective eye-opener in many ways. - Sunday Observer