Masks of Conquest traces modern English studies to its colonial origin. The book reveals that English literature as a subject in the curriculum was est ablished in India well before its institutionalization in England and had its begi nnings as a strategy of colonial management. The author probes tensions in Britis h policy making between secular and religious impulses and shows how these were de veloped in new cultural meanings for English literature. She argues that in the p olitical gamesmanship of colonial administration, the literary text served as a mi rror of the ideal Englishman removed from the material activities of the colonial state. With skill and clarity, the author demonstrates that English literature is inextricably linked to the politics of empire while she challenges contemporary a ssumptions about canon formation and modern literary study.