How do religious communities engage with questions of empire, power, peace, and political action? And what can these debates tell us about global histories of non-violence? I’m Robert Taylor, a History DPhil student at New College, researching the post-1945 British counterculture’s interest in India. Today I’m joined by Floris de Ruiter, a PhD candidate at the Institute for History, University of Leiden, whose research examines intellectual debates around violence and non-violence within ashram communities. In this episode, we’re exploring ashrams and the history of ideas about violence and non-violence in 20th-century South Asia.

What is Sufism? How do we investigate its global history? And through what processes did it come to influence those in the West? I’m Robert Taylor, a History DPhil student at New College, researching the post-1945 British counterculture’s interest in India. Today I’m joined by Nile Green, a Professor at UCLA. Nile is a historian of South Asia with a diverse range of publications spanning global, social, religious, cultural, and literary history. He studied in Britain and taught at Oxford, before moving to the United States.

What is Hinduism? Where does it come from? How do we look at it comparatively? And which ideas have made it so influential outside of South Asia? I’m Robert Taylor, a History DPhil student at New College, researching the post-1945 British counterculture’s interest in India. Today I’m joined by Professor Gavin Flood at Campion Hall. Gavin is Professor Emeritus of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at Oxford.