Incoherence of Indian scholars on secularism
Sasheej Hegde in his EPW article says: “A theory of secularism in the sense of a theory about possessing the concept ‘secular’ is quite distinct from a theory about how…
Read moreCriticism: Are we living in barrenness?
I do not assume that, as you put it, “we are living in complete barrenness of thought but for the light which Balu has thrown.” One would be doing the…
Read moreEnlightenment vs. Mysticism
(1) What is called ‘mysticism’ in the western culture is not the same kind of experience that the different Indian traditions talk about. (2) I do think, as a corollary,…
Read moreScholars and their freedom of opinion
Some have expressed the ‘opinion’ that we should all be properly grateful that people express a point of view, even if they do not enter into a debate with the…
Read moreHindering the emergence of alternative explanations: Colonialism
1. Earlier, I suggested that the psychoanalytical explanations (like the transformation of Linga into a penis as a fertility symbol etc.) not only trivialize and distort but also deny access…
Read moreBJP does not have Intellectuals!
As I see it, the issue is not whether Arun Shourie is an intellectual (or whether Prakash Karat and EMS Namboodaripad represent intellectuals). The point I was trying to make is…
Read moreIs laukika-adhyatimika distinction same as secular-sacred distinction?
The theories (and discussions) about secularism constitute a test case for the claims advanced in ‘The Heathen in his blindness: Asia, the West and the dynamic of religion’ about the…
Read moreComparing India and the West—S.N. Balagangadhara
[Original, published in ASIANetwork Exchange XVI (1): 57–63.] During the last two decades, I have been pursuing an unorthodox way of studying cultural differences, focusing mainly on the Indian and the western…
Read moreReview of Imagining Hinduism
Review of Imaging Hinduism: A Postcolonial perspective. By Sharada Sugirtharajah. Routledge, 2003. 164 pages This book is the first of its kind to bring post-colonial perspectives into a study of Hinduism. Consequently,…
Read moreTranslations or Travesty of Traditions? –S.N.Balagangadhara
In one sense, the title of the piece captures the nature of the tasks facing the contemporary generation, whether in India or in the Diaspora. This generation, unlike many from…
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