04-23-2005, 02:44 AM
Please take time and read this critque on the study of "Hindutva" from Yvette Rosser (Ram Rani). Besides being verbose the article has far too many points that deserve to be highlighted.
I present only an excerpt, but urge all to please read this article in its entirety.
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/...osse_puzzle.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Many scholars who specialize in "South Asian Studies" have a very negative preconceived notion of the "Hindu revivalist movement" in particular, and strangely enough, towards Hinduism and Indic civilization in general, especially as "Hindu India" interfaces with modernity in the socio-political realm. At conferences at American universities on the religion and history of South Asia, "Hindu" seems to be used mainly as a derogatory term. The modern Hindu cultural-political movement is referenced by its detractors as "Hindu Nationalism", "Hindu Chauvinism", "Hindu Fundamentalism", "Right-wing Hinduism", "Hindu Fanaticism", "Obscurantist Hinduism", "Hindu Fascists", and other pejorative terms. The term "Saffron", the traditional ochre color of a Hindu holy man's robes, is used as a retrogressive, pilloried classification, a blanket term inferring all of the above named negative characteristics. This "Hindu Revivalist Movement", as less critical analysts might call it, is invariably criticized by the academic community in the West and represented in the popular media as if it were synonymous with Nazism. Scholars who study the "Hindu Revivalist" movement in contemporary India and its manifestations in the Indian ex-pat community, known as non-resident Indians (NRI), may, if they do not write negative critiques with allusions to fascism, find themselves accused of cavorting with "Hindu-Nazis". I experienced this during my own travels and travails through academia.</b>
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I present only an excerpt, but urge all to please read this article in its entirety.
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/...osse_puzzle.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Many scholars who specialize in "South Asian Studies" have a very negative preconceived notion of the "Hindu revivalist movement" in particular, and strangely enough, towards Hinduism and Indic civilization in general, especially as "Hindu India" interfaces with modernity in the socio-political realm. At conferences at American universities on the religion and history of South Asia, "Hindu" seems to be used mainly as a derogatory term. The modern Hindu cultural-political movement is referenced by its detractors as "Hindu Nationalism", "Hindu Chauvinism", "Hindu Fundamentalism", "Right-wing Hinduism", "Hindu Fanaticism", "Obscurantist Hinduism", "Hindu Fascists", and other pejorative terms. The term "Saffron", the traditional ochre color of a Hindu holy man's robes, is used as a retrogressive, pilloried classification, a blanket term inferring all of the above named negative characteristics. This "Hindu Revivalist Movement", as less critical analysts might call it, is invariably criticized by the academic community in the West and represented in the popular media as if it were synonymous with Nazism. Scholars who study the "Hindu Revivalist" movement in contemporary India and its manifestations in the Indian ex-pat community, known as non-resident Indians (NRI), may, if they do not write negative critiques with allusions to fascism, find themselves accused of cavorting with "Hindu-Nazis". I experienced this during my own travels and travails through academia.</b>
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