ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I discuss postcolonial perspectives-or, postcolonialism,
the rubric under which the perspectives have come to be grouped and
known-in relationship to understandings of Hinduism. First, I provide a
brief understanding of my own use of postcolonialism and of Hinduism,
recognizing exactly the notorious imprecision of these terms. Second, I attend
to critical considerations of Orientalist knowledge that proved formative for
postcolonial understandings. Third, building on this discussion, I explore
debates surrounding the colonial construction of caste and the imperial
invention of Hinduism. Fourth, I consider the manner in which such debates
have been taken forward in newer understandings of community and history.
Finally, I highlight some of the ways in which postcolonial perspectives have
