Networks of Power in the Nineteenth Century: The Sampradaya, Princely States and Company Rule

Abstract This article reconsiders a religious institution in India during the early colonial era as a manifestation of regional influence, or a non-statist public force. Founded by Sahajanand Swami, the Hindu devotional (bhakti) community known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya expanded in the area that is today Gujarat in western India. The community arose as a source of popular influence in a region that lacked a dominant state at this time. Its creation was forged in relation to local struggles for power and resources, involving princely states, Maratha and East India Company powers, Kathi chieftains, and broader social and cultural changes in the nineteenth century. Historically examining the process of community expansion in the region through aspects like patronage and cultural production, I argue that the sampradaya’s articulation of devotion internalized political acumen to navigate material realities successfully. Effectively, the modern articulation enabled adherents to broker power from diverse networks and strengthen the community’s complex, multifaceted authority in Gujarat.