Peter Heehs
Encyclopedia
Peter Heehs is an American historian living in Pondicherry, India who writes on modern Indian history, Indian spirituality and religion. Much of his work focuses on the Indian political and spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo
. His publications include nine books and more than fifty articles in journals and magazines.
Peter Heehs was born and educated in the United States but has lived in India since 1971. He has worked as an editor at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Archives since its founding, and has contributed to the editing of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library
and The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo.
As a historian of modern India, Heehs has written on the swadeshi period
of the Indian independence movement
and on the early phase of the Indian revolutionary movement. His 1992 study The Bomb in Bengal highlighted the importance of the Maniktala
secret society, which was a predecessor of the Jugantar Group. In this book and other publications, Heehs made it clear that the Indian freedom struggle had a violent as well as a non-violent side, and that the violent revolutionaries helped prepare the country psychologically for the later mass movements led by Mahatma Gandhi. In the second edition of The Bomb in Bengal (2004), Heehs distinguished the aims and methods of early Indian revolutionaries from those of later terrorists in India and elsewhere.
Heehs has also written on problems of Indian historiography
in History and Theory, Postcolonial Studies, and other journals. He has also contributed to popular magazines such as History Today.
As a scholar of religion, Heehs has edited the textbook Indian Religions and has contributed to journals and edited volumes dealing with new religious movements in India. He has also discussed the problems of Indian communalism
.
Heehs's ninth book, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (Columbia University Press, 2008) was intended for scholarly readers. It received positive reviews in the United States, but was objected to by conservative devotees of Aurobindo, who have delayed the publication of the book in India.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
. His publications include nine books and more than fifty articles in journals and magazines.
Peter Heehs was born and educated in the United States but has lived in India since 1971. He has worked as an editor at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Sri Aurobindo Ashram
The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo on the 24 November 1926 . At the time there were no more than 24 disciples in the Ashram...
Archives since its founding, and has contributed to the editing of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library
Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo
The Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo were published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1972, on occasion of Sri Aurobindo's centenary...
and The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo.
As a historian of modern India, Heehs has written on the swadeshi period
Swadeshi movement
The Swadeshi movement, part of the Indian independence movement, was an economic strategy aimed at removing the British Empire from power and improving economic conditions in India by following the principles of swadeshi , which had some success...
of the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
and on the early phase of the Indian revolutionary movement. His 1992 study The Bomb in Bengal highlighted the importance of the Maniktala
Maniktala
-Location:The Maniktala crossing is the intersection of Vivekananda Road and Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road — two main thoroughfares in north Kolkata. The adjacent area is known as Maniktala.-Landmarks:...
secret society, which was a predecessor of the Jugantar Group. In this book and other publications, Heehs made it clear that the Indian freedom struggle had a violent as well as a non-violent side, and that the violent revolutionaries helped prepare the country psychologically for the later mass movements led by Mahatma Gandhi. In the second edition of The Bomb in Bengal (2004), Heehs distinguished the aims and methods of early Indian revolutionaries from those of later terrorists in India and elsewhere.
Heehs has also written on problems of Indian historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
in History and Theory, Postcolonial Studies, and other journals. He has also contributed to popular magazines such as History Today.
As a scholar of religion, Heehs has edited the textbook Indian Religions and has contributed to journals and edited volumes dealing with new religious movements in India. He has also discussed the problems of Indian communalism
Communalism (South Asia)
This article deals with the use of the word communalism in South Asia, as a name for a force separating different communities based on some form of social or sectarian discrimination...
.
Heehs's ninth book, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (Columbia University Press, 2008) was intended for scholarly readers. It received positive reviews in the United States, but was objected to by conservative devotees of Aurobindo, who have delayed the publication of the book in India.
Books
- India's Freedom Struggle (1988)
- Sri Aurobindo: A Brief Biography (1989)
- Modern India and World History (textbook, 1991)
- The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India (1993)
- Essential Writings of Sri Aurobindo (1998)
- Nationalism, Terrorism, Communalism: Essays in Modern Indian History (1998)
- Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience (2002)
- Nationalism, Religion and Beyond: Writings on Politics, Society and Culture (2005)
- The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008)