A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji

by John D. Kelly

Overview

Kelly opens new questions about dialogue, colonial power, and
changing conditions of political possibility by examining the
connection between politics and sexual morality in the British
colony of Fiji from 1929 to 1932.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226430300
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	01/15/1992
Edition description:	1
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John D. Kelly is professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, where he serves on the faculty board of the Human Rights Program. He is the author, coauthor, or coeditor of several books.  

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Public Debates and Political Crisis, 1929-1932: The Strange Place of Discourse on Sexuality in Fiji Indian History
The Fiji Indians
The Debates in Context
Virtue and Sexuality
Discourse and Colonial Authority
2. Indenture and the Discourse That Ended It: Sexual Exploitation and a Hindu Moral Rhetoric
Plantation Violence in Fiji
Colonial Hegemony and Indian "Religion"
Counterhegemonic Discourse and the End of Indenture
Bhakti and the Power of Indian Nationalism
3. "The Indian Problem" Before the End of Indenture
Labor Commodities and Citizens of Empire: The First Version of "The Indian Problem"
Politics and "Free" Indians in Indenture Fiji
Education and Citizenship
4. The 1920s: Policy Debates and Indian Withdrawal
Strikes and Political Leadership
Law and Marriage
Religion and Education
5. The Mission of the Arya Samaj
Self-Representations
The Arya Samaj in India
The Arya Samaj Project in Fiji
6. The New "Indian Problem"
"The Indian Problem" in Election Rhetoric
Boycott and Reaction
7. Policy Debates: Panchayats, Education, and Marriage Reconsidered
Panchayats
Education
Marriage
Pearson's Departure
8. "The Need Is for Pure and Holy Patriots": The Religious Debates and the Fall of Vishnu Deo
The Collapse of Fiji Indian Political Unity
The Arya Samaj and the Sanatan Dharm
The Obscenity Prosecution
The Aftermath
9. Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse: A Politics of Virtue and the Failure of the Arya Samaj
The Focus on Sexual Morality
The Arya Samaj and Colonial Authority
Bibliography
Index