Public Hinduisms - Tapa dura

[The book] is such a welcome contribution to the field...The thirty-two pieces in this collection make for a long but surprisingly readable book... Public Hinduisms is a thoughtful, well-crafted, and important set of essays that demonstrates forcefully that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are not the only public religions nor the only ones that are fighting for their place in the public sphere and for their particular universal truths. Reading this book...is a good corrective and lights the way to a better, more nuanced, and inevitably contested approach to religions in general.

The essays in this volume are divided into themes that address different aspects of the processes that form modern Hinduism. The book includes discussions on topics such as ecumenical initiatives, the contemporary interpretation of particular sampradaya and guru traditions, modes of community mobilisation and the mediation strategies of different groups. It also provides India and diaspora-focused case studies as well as 'Snapshot' views elaborating on different themes.

Taking a critical approach to the idea of Hinduism and the way it becomes public, the book provides an interesting read on contemporary Hinduism.