Paul R. Brass is Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Washington. He is the author of many books, most recently Riots and Pogroms, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Theory and Comparison, and The Politics of India since Independence (2nd edition), a volume of the New Cambridge History of India.

"An impressive attack on 'primordialist' explanations of contemporary violence in north India. Paul Brass, who is among the best-known political scientists working on India, writes on a controversial topic in an engaging way that will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers interested in interethnic violence."—Benedict Anderson, Cornell University

• List of Figures and Tables ix Preface xi List of Abbreviations xv CHAPTER 1 Text and Context 3 CHAPTER 2 Background 32 CHAPTER 3 Theft of an Idol 58 CHAPTER 4 Rape at Daphnala 97 CHAPTER 5 Horror Stories 129 CHAPTER 6 Horror Stories Untold 177 CHAPTER 7 Kala Bachcha: Portrait of a BJP Hero 204 CHAPTER 8 Conclusion 260 Index 289

Paul R. Brass is Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Washington. He is the author of many books, most recently Riots and Pogroms, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Theory and Comparison, and The Politics of India since Independence (2nd edition), a volume of the New Cambridge History of India.

"An impressive attack on 'primordialist' explanations of contemporary violence in north India. Paul Brass, who is among the best-known political scientists working on India, writes on a controversial topic in an engaging way that will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers interested in interethnic violence."—Benedict Anderson, Cornell University

• List of Figures and Tables ix Preface xi List of Abbreviations xv CHAPTER 1 Text and Context 3 CHAPTER 2 Background 32 CHAPTER 3 Theft of an Idol 58 CHAPTER 4 Rape at Daphnala 97 CHAPTER 5 Horror Stories 129 CHAPTER 6 Horror Stories Untold 177 CHAPTER 7 Kala Bachcha: Portrait of a BJP Hero 204 CHAPTER 8 Conclusion 260 Index 289

Paul R. Brass is Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Washington. He is the author of many books, most recently Riots and Pogroms, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Theory and Comparison, and The Politics of India since Independence (2nd edition), a volume of the New Cambridge History of India.

"An impressive attack on 'primordialist' explanations of contemporary violence in north India. Paul Brass, who is among the best-known political scientists working on India, writes on a controversial topic in an engaging way that will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers interested in interethnic violence."—Benedict Anderson, Cornell University

• List of Figures and Tables ix Preface xi List of Abbreviations xv CHAPTER 1 Text and Context 3 CHAPTER 2 Background 32 CHAPTER 3 Theft of an Idol 58 CHAPTER 4 Rape at Daphnala 97 CHAPTER 5 Horror Stories 129 CHAPTER 6 Horror Stories Untold 177 CHAPTER 7 Kala Bachcha: Portrait of a BJP Hero 204 CHAPTER 8 Conclusion 260 Index 289