Till Luge
Ph.D. Candidate in South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania


 Introduction  |  Education & Awards  |  Languages  |  Specialization  |  Academic Work  |  Dissertation  |  Research Experience  |  Teaching & Administrative Experience  |  Hindi-Urdu Workshop: Josh Malihabadi  |  Hindi-Urdu Workshop: Mir Dard 
From Silsilah to Sampradāy: The Transformation of a Sufi Order into an Orthodox Vaishnava Sect

This dissertation project examines the history of a lineage of North Indian poet-saints that originated in the Mughal imperial capital Delhi in the 17th century, but later relocated to various towns situated between Banaras and Lucknow, then capitals of regional Hindu and Muslim rulers. Along with the geographical shift came a change in religious allegiance: initially a Sufi order, it is now recognized as part of ‘orthodox’ Hindu Vaishnavism. As political power in the region was transformed from Muslim imperial to British colonial and finally to democratic rule, the literature and religious practice of this tradition developed increasingly complex polysemic strategies, reconciling the poet-saints’ upward movement within the caste system with the mixed religious background and the low-caste status of many of its followers. My dissertation examines the various shifts in identity of this community, relating its religious expressions in several medieval and modern Hindi dialects to Hindu-Muslim relations, matters of caste and class, and the socioeconomic changes of the region under various political regimes. To this end, I evaluate primary sources in Braj Bhasha, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit, and European languages.

I work under the joint supervision of  Dr. John S. Hawley, Professor in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, and  Dr. Jamal J. Elias, Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.




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