| adhyatmik |
spiritual |
|
| AIR |
All-India Radio |
|
| akhand |
unbroken, uninterrupted |
|
| akhara |
arena; martial monastery |
|
| AMU |
Aligarh Muslim University |
|
| archana |
worship |
|
| archanavatar |
worship-incarnation, idol |
|
| avarna |
outside the varna system |
|
| avatar |
incarnation of a god |
|
| Babarwadi |
follower of Babar; Indian secularist |
|
| Bajrang Dal |
“Hanuman Team” |
|
| bandh |
closing, strike |
|
| bhajan |
devotional song, psalm |
|
| bhakt |
devotee |
|
| Bharat |
India |
|
| Bharatiyatva |
Indian-ness |
|
| BHU |
Banaras Hindu University |
|
| BJP |
Bharatiya Janata (Indian People’s) Party |
|
| (AI)BMAC |
(All-India) Babri Masjid Action Committee |
|
| BMMCC |
Babri Masjid Movement Co-ordination Committee |
|
| bodhi |
awakening, enlightenment |
|
| brahmin |
varna of keeping and transmitting knowledge |
|
| BSP |
Bahujan Samaj (Masses’ Society) Party |
|
| burqa |
veil covering a Muslim woman’s face |
|
| chabootra |
platform |
|
| communalism |
ideology championing the political unity and secular interests of a religious community |
|
| Congress-I |
Indira Congress |
|
| CPI |
Communist Party of India |
|
| CPI(M), CPM |
Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
|
| crore |
ten million |
|
| dacoit |
armed robber, criminal |
|
| dalit |
oppressed, downtrodden |
|
| dharma |
duty; world order; religion |
|
| dharna |
sit-down strike |
|
| dhoti |
cloth covering hips and legs |
|
| DMK |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dravida Forward Group) |
|
| doordarshan |
television: India’s TV network |
|
| ekatmata |
“belonging to a single self”, integrated-ness |
|
| fatwa |
Islamic juridical opinion, verdict |
|
| garbha-griha |
womb-house, sanctum sanctorum |
|
| ghat |
bathing-place |
|
| gherao |
lock-in strike |
|
| goonda |
street fighter, criminal |
|
| Granth |
Sikh Scripture |
|
| granthi |
reciter from the Granth |
|
| guna |
quality, characteristic |
|
| gurudwara |
Sikh temple |
|
| Hadis |
traditions of the Prophet |
|
| harijan |
“God’s people”, the untouchables |
|
| HMS |
Hindu Maha Sabha (Great-Assembly) |
|
| imam |
prayer-leader in mosque |
|
| IPF |
Indian People’s Front |
|
| IUML |
Indian Union Muslim League |
|
| janmabhoomi |
birthplace |
|
| janmasthan |
birthplace |
|
| jati |
caste, endogamous group |
|
| JD |
Janata Dal (People’s Group) |
|
| jihad |
Islamic war against the Kafirs |
|
| Kafir |
non-Muslim, Pagan |
|
| kar seva |
manual service |
|
| khatib |
reader in mosque |
|
| kirtan |
devotional chant |
|
| kshatriya |
varna entrusted with defending and ruling |
|
| kula |
extended family |
|
| kulapati |
“family-leader” ; vice-chancellor |
|
| kurta |
loose shirt |
|
| lakh |
one hundred thousand |
|
| Lok Sabha |
People’s Assembly (lower house of Parliament, directly elected) |
|
| mahant |
temple high-priest |
|
| mandir |
temple |
|
| masjid |
mosque |
|
| math |
monastery, abbey |
|
| millat |
(the world Muslim) community |
|
| MIM |
Majlis-e Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (Muslims’ Unity Council) |
|
| MLA |
Member of Legislative Assembly |
|
| muazzin |
man who calls the Muslims to prayer |
|
| murti |
idol |
|
| mutwalli |
mosque manager |
|
| naib |
deputy |
|
| nambardar |
village functionary |
|
| nawab |
honorific plural of naib; governor |
|
| nirguna |
without characteristics, formless |
|
| PAC |
Provincial Armed Constabulary |
|
| padyatra |
foot-march |
|
| pagari |
turban |
|
| pajama |
loose trousers |
|
| panth |
school of thought, sect |
|
| parampara |
teacher-pupil chain, tradition |
|
| pradesh |
state of the Indian Union |
|
| PUCL |
People’s Union for Civil Liberties |
|
| puja |
devotional ritual |
|
| qaum |
nation, community |
|
| raj |
rule, British rule |
|
| Rajya Sabha |
States’ Assembly (upper house of Parliament, selected via the State Assemblies) |
|
| Ramzan |
month of fasting for Muslims |
|
| RSS |
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps) |
|
| rath |
chariot |
|
| rathyatra |
chariot-march, procession |
|
| sadbhavana |
goodwill |
|
| samiti |
committee |
|
| sampradaya |
sect |
|
| sanatana |
eternal |
|
| Sanatana Dharma |
philosophia perennis; Hinduism |
|
| sanskriti |
culture |
|
| secularism |
doctrine of separating state and religion |
|
| shuddhi |
purification, (re-)entry into the Hindu fold |
|
| shudra |
varna entrusted with serving |
|
| SS |
Shiv Sena (Shiva’s or Shivajis’ Army) |
|
| suba |
province |
|
| swaraj |
self-rule, independence |
|
| tabligh |
Islamic religious propaganda, especially to weed out non-Islamic practices among Muslims |
|
| talaq |
Muslim unilateral divorce |
|
| thekedar |
contractor |
|
| tilak |
mark on forehead |
|
| tirth |
ford; place of pilgrimage |
|
| tirthankara |
“ford-maker”, Jain sage |
|
| UP |
Uttar Pradesh, formerly United Provinces (of Agra and Oudh) |
|
| upajati |
sub-caste |
|
| vaishya |
commoner, varna entrusted with trade |
|
| varna |
“colour”, four function-wise groups in society |
|
| vedi |
altar |
|
| Vidhan Sabha |
Legislative Assembly of the states |
|
| VHP |
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) |
|
| yajna (yagya) |
sacrifical ritual |
|
| zamindar |
landlord |
|
| zimmi |
“protected one”, non-Muslim tolerated in Muslim society |
|