White Mughals: East and West Before the Clash of Civilizations Connection Speed:    : White Mughals: East and West Before the Clash of Civilizations : 4/15/2003 : 108    : English / : World :  Human Development     : William Dalrymple | Related Material | Recommendations |Related B-SPAN Videos |    William Dalrymple, the author of "In Xanadu", "City of Djinns" and "The Age of Kali" visited the World Bank to discuss his most recent book, "White Mughals." The book is a historical narrative set 200 years ago against the backdrop of British colonialism in South Asia. According to Dalrymple, the book provides a perspective on many of the fundamental questions associated with our increasingly globalized world. In particular, the book addresses the historical roots of cultural interaction and the intersection of religions, civilization, and development. Dalrymple provided a brief overview of the historical relationship between Christianity and Islam and noted the similarities between the two that ore often overlooked. He then addressed the first of two central themes of the book: how these similarities influenced a large number of British in India to embrace Islam during the period 1760 to 1830 and their subsequent absorption into Indian culture. He provided evidence from correspondence between British colonials and their relatives in Britain that reflected a very different acceptance of Indian culture when compared to Victorian attitudes. The second theme of the book focused on the power of several generations of Muslim women in India. He presented excerpts from the book and from his research on how women during the time period exerted their influence and how they reacted to decisions that were made for them. Throughout his talk, Dalrymple noted how the stories in "White Mughals" were a vivid illustration of how notions of identity and multiculturalism have evolved though intermarriage and religious conversion.  RELATED MATERIALS   William Dalrymple’s website RELATED B-SPAN EVENTS Human Development (150)