This is a radically new analysis of communalism along with nationalism and colonialism. It is a part of a larger exercise aimed at understanding the construction of Indian society, and politics in recent times by challenging the conventional analysis of communalism and providing alternative theoretical cues to grasp its nature and dynamics. The book also explores how nationalism and communalism are constructed out of shared as well as contested experiences and out of common and mutually contradictory visions and struggles. It is a milestone in contemporary debates on nationalist policies and modern political communities. Given the worldwide resurgence of religious nationalism and communalism, this new edition reopens many of the questions signalled in the first edition and carries the discussion forward. The centenary edition contains a new Foreword.

This book will be an important reading for scholars, teachers, and students of modern Indian history. It will also interest sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists.