Outside the Fold

Focusing on the concept of religious conversion, Gauri Viswanathan presents it as an interpretive act intertwined with cultural criticism. The book explores colonial and postcolonial contexts to challenge secular ideologies, particularly the discourse of rights within the British empire. By linking the legal emancipation of religious minorities in England with the acculturation of colonial subjects, Viswanathan argues that conversion often serves as resistance rather than assimilation, positioning it as a significant act of cultural crossing and a means of embracing difference.