Vol. 4, Issue 9, Part C (2018)

The paper begins by discussing the history of religion in India before the arrival of the British. It then goes on to discuss the ways in which the British colonial government regulated religion. The paper argues that the British government was interested in regulating religion for several reasons including maintaining order and stability in India, to prevent religious conflict and to promote its own interests. This paper discusses the work of Nancy Cassels, David Gilmartin, Franklin Presley, and Peter van der Veer. These scholars have all written extensively on the regulation of religion in colonial India. The paper argues that their work is important because it provides insights into the ways in which religion was regulated in colonial India. It concludes by arguing that these studies should be situated in a global history framework. This is because the regulation of religion in colonial India was part of a larger global process of the regulation of religion.