Being Hindu
Being Hindu

Author: Hindol Sengupta

Publisher: Ebury Press

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9780143425328

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One of the world's oldest forms of faith, Hinduism has an unbroken trajectory of beliefs and rituals that have continued for many millennia through the footsteps of pilgrims and the pedagogies of theologists; through myth, science and politics. But what does all that mean to the modern Hindu today? Why do Hindus call themselves so? Is it merely because their parents were Hindus? In what way does the faith speak to those who profess to follow it? What does Hinduism mean to the everyday-practising or sometimes-accessing ordinary Hindu? Away from the raucous debate around religion, this is the journey of a common Hind, an attempt to understand why, for so many Hindus, their faith is one of the most powerful arguments for plurality, for unity in diversity, and even more than the omnipresent power of God, the sublime courage and conviction of man. Being Hindu is an exploration of Hinduism in a way you have never seen before, almost through your own eyes. This is the first book on Hinduism to have won the Wilbur Award given by the Religion Communicators Council of America for excellence in writing about religion.

Being Indian
Being Indian

Author: Pavan K. Varma

Publisher: Arrow Books

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780099486824

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India is very close to becoming the second largest consumer market in the world, with a buying middle class numbering over half a billion. The Indian economy is already the fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It is in the top ten overall GNP. Yet at least 200 million Indians remain desperately poor. Illiteracy rates are high. Drawing on sources as diverse as ancient Sanskrit treatises and Bollywood lyrics, Pavan Varma creates a vivid and compelling portrait of India and its people, helping to make sense of these contradictory facets of Indian culture.

Being Hindu, Being Indian
Being Hindu, Being Indian

Author: Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav

Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published: 2024-02-29

Total Pages: 482

ISBN-13: 9357085831

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In popular imagination, Lala Lajpat Rai is frequently associated with Bhagat Singh, who, by assassinating J.P. Saunders, avenged Rai’s death, caused by a police lathi charge, and was hanged for it. Lajpat Rai is also remembered for his fervent opposition to British rule. In recent decades, however, historians have converged with the Hindu Right in rediscovering Lajpat Rai as an ideological ancestor of Hindutva. But what then explains Rai’s wholehearted approval of Congress–Muslim League cooperation, and attempt to endow Hindus and Muslims with bonds of common belonging? Why did he reinterpret India’s medieval history to highlight peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims? Have our hasty conclusions about Lajpat Rai’s nationalist thought concealed its complexities and distorted our understanding of nationalism in general? Meticulously researched and eloquently written, Being Hindu, Being Indian offers the first comprehensive examination of Lajpat Rai’s nationalist thought. By revealing the complexities of Rai’s thinking, it provokes us to think more deeply about broader questions relevant to present-day politics: Are all expressions of ‘Hindu nationalism’ the same as Hindutva? What are the similarities and differences between ‘Hindu’ and ‘Indian’ nationalism? Can communalism and secularism be expressed together? How should we understand fluidity in politics? This book invites readers to treat Lajpat Rai’s ideas as a gateway to think more deeply about history, politics, religious identity and nationhood.

Why I Am a Hindu
Why I Am a Hindu

Author: Shashi Tharoor

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1787380459

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Hinduism is one of the world's oldest and greatest religious traditions. In captivating prose, Shashi Tharoor untangles its origins, its key philosophical concepts and texts. He explores everyday Hindu beliefs and practices, from worship to pilgrimage to caste, and touchingly reflects on his personal beliefs and relationship with the religion. Not one to shy from controversy, Tharoor is unsparing in his criticism of 'Hindutva', an extremist, nationalist Hinduism endorsed by India's current government. He argues urgently and persuasively that it is precisely because of Hinduism's rich diversity that India has survived and thrived as a plural, secular nation. If narrow fundamentalism wins out, Indian democracy itself is in peril.

Being Indian
Being Indian

Author: Pavan K. Varma

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780143033424

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Misconceptions About India And Indians Abound, Fed By The Stereotypes Created By Foreigners, And The Myths About Themselves Projected By Indians. In Being Indian, Pavan K.Varma Demolishes These Myths And Generalizations As He Turns His Sharply Observant Gaze On His Fellow Countrymen To Examine What Really Makes Indians Tick And What They Have To Offer The World In The 21St Century. Varma S Insightful Analysis Of The Indian Personality And The Culture That Has Created It Reaches Startling New Conclusions On The Paradoxes And Contradictions That Characterize Indian Attitudes Towards Issues Such As Power, Wealth And Spirituality. How, For Example, Does The Appalling Indifference Of Most Indians To The Suffering Of The Poor And The Inequities Of The Caste System Square With Their Enthusiastic Championing Of Parliamentary Democracy? The Book Also Examines India S Future Prospects As An Economic, Military And Technological Power, Providing Valuable Pointers To The Likely Destiny Of A Nation Of One Billion People. Drawing On Sources As Diverse As Ancient Sanskrit Treatises And Bollywood Lyrics, And Illuminating His Examples With A Wealth Of Telling Anecdotes, Pavan Varma Creates A Vivid And Compelling Portrait Of Indians As He Argues That They Will Survive And Flourish In The New Millennium Precisely Because Of What They Are, Warts And All, And Not Because Of What They Think They Are Or Would Like To Be. This Book, Which Will Stimulate Reflection, Discussion And Controversy, Is A Must Read For Both Foreigners Who Wish To Understand Indians And Indians Who Wish To Understand Themselves.

What does it mean to be ‘Indian’?
What does it mean to be ‘Indian’?

Author: S.N. Balagangadhara, Sarika Rao

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2021-09-04

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 1685097723

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Why ask this question today? After all, a lot is written about India, her culture, her past, her society, the psychology and sociology of individuals and groups. Why is that not enough? It is because what we have learnt so far is either false or fragmentary. If Indian culture is not a slightly inferior, slightly idiosyncratic variant of Western culture, as the received view has it for a very long time, what else is it? Research into culture and cultural differences gives novel and surprising answers. Written for an intelligent but lay public, this book shares the results of 40 years of scientific investigations in the research programme Comparative Science of Cultures. It transcends the political distinction between ‘the right’ and ‘the left’ by looking deeper into ideas on human beings, society, culture, experience, the past, impact of colonialism etc. Today, the question ‘What does it mean to be ‘Indian’?’ is both important and difficult to answer. Is there something ‘Indian’ about this culture that goes beyond the differences between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Jains? What does it überhaupt mean to belong to Indian culture?

Modern Hinduism
Modern Hinduism

Author: William Joseph Wilkins

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-10-11

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13: 9780265154663

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Excerpt from Modern Hinduism: Being an Account of the Religion and Life of the Hindus in Northern India It may perhaps appear strange to some readers to see several subjects treated of in this book which professes to be an account of the Hindu religion but it must ever be borne in mind that, with the Hindu, religion is not a thing for times and seasons only, but professes to regulate his life in all its many relations. It orders ceremonies to be performed on behalf of a man before he is born, and gives instructions to his descendants, which they must follow in order that his happiness may be secured after death. It regulates the ceremonies attendant on his birth, his early training, his food and its cooking, his style of dress and its manufacture, his employment, marriage, amusements - his whole life from before his birth until generations after his death. Religion seeks to regulate not only the private life of the Hindu, but also his domestic and national relations, and no contingencies are possible for which it has not provided laws. To treat, then, of the ordinary life of the Hindu is to describe the Hindu religion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Modern Hinduism
Modern Hinduism

Author: William Joseph 1843-1902 Wilkins

Publisher: Legare Street Press

Published: 2021-09-09

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 9781013382697

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.