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A Politics of Virtue

Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji

Kelly opens new questions about dialogue, colonial power, and
changing conditions of political possibility by examining the
connection between politics and sexual morality in the British
colony of Fiji from 1929 to 1932.

282 pages | 6 x 9 | © 1991

Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology

Asian Studies: Southeast Asia and Australia

Gender and Sexuality

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Public Debates and Political Crisis, 1929-1932: The Strange Place of Discourse on Sexuality in Fiji Indian History
The Fiji Indians
The Debates in Context
Virtue and Sexuality
Discourse and Colonial Authority
2. Indenture and the Discourse That Ended It: Sexual Exploitation and a Hindu Moral Rhetoric
Plantation Violence in Fiji
Colonial Hegemony and Indian "Religion"
Counterhegemonic Discourse and the End of Indenture
Bhakti and the Power of Indian Nationalism
3. "The Indian Problem" Before the End of Indenture
Labor Commodities and Citizens of Empire: The First Version of "The Indian Problem"
Politics and "Free" Indians in Indenture Fiji
Education and Citizenship
4. The 1920s: Policy Debates and Indian Withdrawal
Strikes and Political Leadership
Law and Marriage
Religion and Education
5. The Mission of the Arya Samaj
Self-Representations
The Arya Samaj in India
The Arya Samaj Project in Fiji
6. The New "Indian Problem"
"The Indian Problem" in Election Rhetoric
Boycott and Reaction
7. Policy Debates: Panchayats, Education, and Marriage Reconsidered
Panchayats
Education
Marriage
Pearson’s Departure
8. "The Need Is for Pure and Holy Patriots": The Religious Debates and the Fall of Vishnu Deo
The Collapse of Fiji Indian Political Unity
The Arya Samaj and the Sanatan Dharm
The Obscenity Prosecution
The Aftermath
9. Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse: A Politics of Virtue and the Failure of the Arya Samaj
The Focus on Sexual Morality
The Arya Samaj and Colonial Authority
Bibliography
Index

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