Racial and Religious Identity in 19th Century Colonial India

The 19th-century battle of Abraham v. Abraham and the questions it poses about religious identity and racism will be presented by Assistant History Professor Chandra Mallampalli at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in Hieronymus Lounge.

"Mallampalli’s talk, “Race, Religion and Law in British India: Abraham v. Abraham (1863),” is the Paul C. Wilt Phi Kappa Phi Lecture for fall semester. Sociology Professor Thomas Jayawardene and History Professor Shirley Mullen will respond.

Abraham v. Abraham took place in 19th-century India and involved a property dispute between different members of the same family. The case is different because not only were the opposing sides from the same family, they also belonged to two different races.

The decision London’s Privy Council came to in 1863 raises important questions about the relationship between racial and religious identity within a colonial context, Mallampalli explained.

“This case provides a springboard for addressing larger questions about the nature of Christian identity, cultural pluralism and colonial knowledge,” Mallampalli said.

Hieronymus Lounge is in Kerrwood Hall, the main administration building on the upper Westmont campus. For directions, visit www.westmont.edu. For more information, contact the public affairs office at (805) 565-7057 or pubaffairs@westmont.edu.