‘Rajesh Pradhan’s highly readable and fascinating book overturns stereotypical and simplistic views of sadhus for a more complex view of their lives, their values, their organizational capabilities and their commitment to a seemingly transcendent cause that propelled a political party into power and deepened Indian democracy. Based on interviews with a wide range of sadhus, Pradhan has shed light on their role in the rise and fall of Hindu fundamentalism and religious nationalism, and on the diversity of views and individuals that will always make their influence powerful and, often, ephemeral.’
—Diana L. Eck
Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Harvard University
Author of Banaras: City of Light and Darsan, and India: A Sacred Geography
‘In When the Saints Go Marching In: The Curious Ambivalence of Religious Sadhus in Recent Politics in India, Rajesh Pradhan untangles a specific puzzle: how was it possible for a relatively small group of religious actors who had renounced involvement with official political organizations to have helped affect major political change in India in 1992? Pradhan’s research provides a glimpse into the minds of India’s sadhus, “spiritual agents” who came together to help bring down the Babri Mosque and help elevate the position of the BJP. Although Pradhan’s work addresses one case in detail, it provides insights for some core questions of politics. Specifically, the book addresses the relationship between nationalism and religion, challenges assumptions about the organizational necessities for collective action, and provides a vivid illustration of the power and possibility of collective charisma.’
—Roger Petersen
Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Author of Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, and Resentment in Twentieth Century Eastern Europe.
Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict .