06-05-2005, 12:36 AM
Spare Us These Hindu-Sympathisers
The Weekend Observer, January 31, 1998
Spare Us These Hindu-Sympathisers
J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas
------------------------------------
Review of
Bharatiya Janata Party
vis-Ã -vis Hindu Resurgence
by Koenraad Elst
Published by Voice of India
pp. 177. Rs. 90
-------------------------------------
We have got into the habit of looking at ourselves and the world from otherâs perspective. Few of us have dared to see things in the light of our own self-interest and our own understanding of man and the universe. Shri Ram Swarup and Shri Sita Ram Goel are amongst the rare Indian scholars and public figures who have tried to do just that. And they have not done it merely as an academic exercise for themselves; instead, having looked at the world from an Indian perspective, they have tried to educate Indians about what they have seen. They have told us about the essential nature of the alien religions and ideologies with which we are surrounded, and some of which have taken root in India. They have shown us how these religions and ideologies militate against the essential Indian ways of comprehending and living in the world.
Later, in the early 1980âs, they started âVoice of Indiaâ, an intellectual organization aimed at, as they put it, âproviding an ideological defense of Hindu society and culture through a series of publicationsâ. And since then they have published a number of books, explaining the nature and practice of Hindu thought, and that of Islam and Christianity. They have continuously meditated on defending the essence of Hinduism, from both the ignorance of Hindus themselves and the designs of alien religions and cultures.
Theirs is indeed a stupendous effort. To think seriously about Indian religion, culture and civilization and about ways of defending it against alien incursions at a time when most of thinking India had decided to forget about herself and to learn the new secular ways of the modern West, required extraordinary courage and commitment. Many of the books that they have written during this period offer an enlightening experience of the immense depth of Indian thought, and about the immensity of the effort mounted by Islam and Christianity to subdue the Indian way of thinking and being.
Sri Ram Swaroop and Sri Sita Ram Goel have been proposing a considered approach of their own to these questions. And it is probably true that the answers they have proposed and the dangers that they have pointed out have not been adequately addressed by those who ought to be concerned about such issues. Being the elders of our society, they indeed have the right to be angry and even to rebuke the present day Hindus for being careless and lazy.
http://www.cpsindia.org/art_symp.html
The Weekend Observer, January 31, 1998
Spare Us These Hindu-Sympathisers
J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas
------------------------------------
Review of
Bharatiya Janata Party
vis-Ã -vis Hindu Resurgence
by Koenraad Elst
Published by Voice of India
pp. 177. Rs. 90
-------------------------------------
We have got into the habit of looking at ourselves and the world from otherâs perspective. Few of us have dared to see things in the light of our own self-interest and our own understanding of man and the universe. Shri Ram Swarup and Shri Sita Ram Goel are amongst the rare Indian scholars and public figures who have tried to do just that. And they have not done it merely as an academic exercise for themselves; instead, having looked at the world from an Indian perspective, they have tried to educate Indians about what they have seen. They have told us about the essential nature of the alien religions and ideologies with which we are surrounded, and some of which have taken root in India. They have shown us how these religions and ideologies militate against the essential Indian ways of comprehending and living in the world.
Later, in the early 1980âs, they started âVoice of Indiaâ, an intellectual organization aimed at, as they put it, âproviding an ideological defense of Hindu society and culture through a series of publicationsâ. And since then they have published a number of books, explaining the nature and practice of Hindu thought, and that of Islam and Christianity. They have continuously meditated on defending the essence of Hinduism, from both the ignorance of Hindus themselves and the designs of alien religions and cultures.
Theirs is indeed a stupendous effort. To think seriously about Indian religion, culture and civilization and about ways of defending it against alien incursions at a time when most of thinking India had decided to forget about herself and to learn the new secular ways of the modern West, required extraordinary courage and commitment. Many of the books that they have written during this period offer an enlightening experience of the immense depth of Indian thought, and about the immensity of the effort mounted by Islam and Christianity to subdue the Indian way of thinking and being.
Sri Ram Swaroop and Sri Sita Ram Goel have been proposing a considered approach of their own to these questions. And it is probably true that the answers they have proposed and the dangers that they have pointed out have not been adequately addressed by those who ought to be concerned about such issues. Being the elders of our society, they indeed have the right to be angry and even to rebuke the present day Hindus for being careless and lazy.
http://www.cpsindia.org/art_symp.html