Introduction

Recent studies of South India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries concentrate primarily on political and social issues. Studies of specifically religious developments, of religious encounter, institutions and movements, especially in the nineteenth century, have been few and far between. A small number of publications, mostly chapters in books or articles, have attempted to present a broad Presidency-wide overview of particular types of development relating mostly to Hinduism. These include an analysis of British policies towards religious endowments, a study of the relationship between temples and political developments and a general account of the nature and growth of Hindu revivalism towards the end of the nineteenth century. ¹