ABSTRACT
The anthropology of sovereignty has provided examples of the various practices of sovereign-performers that are radically different from the normative understanding of sovereignty. This chapter, while referring to the paradox in Rousseau’s theory of popular sovereignty, examines gurus who have become politically influential in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Backed by religious institutions, called mathas, these individuals are responsible for a variety of welfare enterprises—from education to health care. The popular constitution of this local authority reveals the contingent and contradictory character of the guru as a sovereign who tries to be a disinterested, wise legislator while encouraging people to rule themselves; a sovereign who embodies ‘the general will’ of the people while standing above the community he represents. This chapter explores the contradictions and possibilities of a sovereign-guru in the particular case of a dispute between villagers and local mining companies.
