The Robe and the Sword examines how strands of modern Buddhist nationalism have intersected with state power, ethnic conflict and majoritarian politics in parts of Asia, particularly Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The book is built on reportage, historical reconstruction and close reading of religious and political movements, tracing how Buddhist identity has been mobilised in moments of colonial disruption, post-independence nation-building and contemporary democratic backsliding.
The author situates present-day movements within longer histories, including colonial rule and anti-colonial mobilisation, to show how ideas of religious protection and civilisational threat took institutional form. In Sri Lanka, the narrative follows the role of monks and religious organisations in debates over nationhood, minority rights and the civil war, documenting how sections of the clergy moved from moral authority into overt political advocacy. In Myanmar, similar patterns are traced through the rise of militant monastic networks and their relationship with military power and popular anxieties about demographic and cultural change.
Rather than treating violence or exclusion as aberrations, the book details how legal reforms, public rituals, media campaigns and administrative decisions gradually normalised hard-line positions. Case studies include campaigns around religious law, citizenship, economic life and everyday practices, showing how pressure exerted by religious actors translated into policy shifts and social fear, particularly for Muslim communities. The work also records dissenting voices within Buddhist traditions, including monks and lay figures who challenged these developments and faced marginalisation as a result.
Published by HarperCollins, ‘The Robe and the Sword’ by Sonia Faleiro will be released on 8 December on SoftCover, ThePrint’s online platform for launching non-fiction books.
Journalist and author Sonia Faleiro is known for long-form reporting that combines fieldwork with historical and political analysis. She has reported extensively from South and Southeast Asia, focusing on religion, nationalism, conflict and social change, and has written for international publications. Her work typically foregrounds lived experience while situating it within larger institutional and ideological frameworks, an approach that also shapes her examination of contemporary Buddhist nationalism in this book.
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