ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses an under-researched subject of contention amongst colonial officials, Christian missionaries, Hindu reformers and Bengali nationalists in its exploration of image worship debates during the nineteenth century. During the nineteenth century the Bengali literati began to ask self-reflective questions about what it meant to be Hindu. Such questions were informed and conditioned by colonial understandings of Hinduism, which were often embellished with Orientalist notions of paganism and idolatry. Before addressing the intellectual debates surrounding murtipuja it is necessary to briefly introduce the role of murtis amongst Hindu devotees and their modes of worship. Condemned by colonial officials and Christian missionaries, murtipuja became a contested practice during the nineteenth century, compelling the Bengali literati to debate and question its validity and place in Hindu culture. The Reverend Hastie reflected the views of many colonial officials, Christian missionaries and Hindu reformers in his assertion that 'idolatrous worship' was 'sucking the life-blood out of the very hope of community'.
