Secular Nations and Specters of Iconoclasm
Secular Nations and Specters of Iconoclasm
This chapter traces the representation of iconoclasm in the Qutb Minar and the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque from the colonial past to the postcolonial present. As a group of Islamic monuments built from the fragments of Hindu and Jain structures, modern histories of the Qutb complex have cast it as symbolic of the violent intrusion of Islam into the subcontinent. Such representations, articulated variously by colonial authorities, global preservation bodies, Hindu nationalists, and the secular nation-state, have positioned the Qutb Complex precariously between national and international reverence and religious reclamations that appear as modern iconoclasms themselves.
Keywords: Qutb Minar, Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, World Heritage Monument, UNESCO, iconoclasm, Hindutva, Babri Masjid, Somanatha
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
