Beyond Hindu and Muslim

Argues that the categories 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' are inadequate to represent the identities of actual individuals in India. This work analyses the narratives of the past from residents of several villages, both Hindu and Muslim. It discovers that these villagers understand themselves to have religious identity, gender, family, caste, and more.

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Questioning the conventional depiction of India as a nation divided between religious communities, Gottschalk shows that individuals living in India have multiple identities, some of which cut across religious boundaries. The stories narrated by villagers living in the northern state of Bihar depict everyday social interactions that transcend the simple divide of Hindu and Muslim.