Understanding Hindu Civilization

The problematic encounter between Westernizing modernity and Hindu civilization is—more than that of Christian missionary activity (continuing unabated in foreign-funded proselytizing), (institutional legacies of) colonial rule and administrative measures, increasing integration into a globalizing capitalist economy (with upper-caste Hindus having ended up the wealthiest immigrant community in the United States), hegemony of new disciplines (history, archaeology, linguistics, psychoanalysis, etc.) now being studied by Indians themselves, Hindu mobilization to defend their traditional values (with the global diaspora beginning to take a leading role)—primarily the challenge of translating between two diametrically opposed taxonomies of knowledge, conflicting ways of organizing the world around us. Given that the Indian state—through its electoral setup, education curriculum, economic policies, etc.—is the single largest determinant of the future of its religious constituencies, the overt and sometimes aggressive politicization of this 'civilizational' agenda in the form of 'Hindutva' was perhaps even more inevitable than is Christian fundamentalism in the United States today.


Dialogues

Some of these dialogues—often multilogues—have been compiled, edited and reformatted into digests that are enumerated as hyperlinks within the last (Dialogues) item under participant's name below. Contributors should feel free to modify their views in the light of the evolving discussions.

FRIENDS

Alfred Collins

[Alfred Collins' Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 298 times since 14 March 2009]

Alvaro Enterría

[Alvaro Enterria's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 146 times since 10 March 2007]

Antoine Soucé Pitchaya (français)

[Antoine Soucé Pitchaya's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 139 times since 10 March 2007]

Antonio de Nicolas (Christ, español)

Ashok Chowgule

[Ashok Chowgule's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 913 times since 10 March 2007]

Bharat Gupt (Abhinava, Athens, Friends)

[Bharat Gupt's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 831 times since 10 March 2007]

Carl Vadivelle Belle

[Carl Vadivelle Belle's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 169 times since 10 March 2007]

Carlos Aramayo (español)

[Carlos Aramayo's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 212 times since 10 March 2007]

Chitra Raman (Friends)

[Chitra Raman's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 29 times since 10 March 2007]

David Dubois

David Peter Lawrence

Dileep Karanth (Indo-Roma, Mecca-Benares)

[Dileep Karanth's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 534 times since 31 March 2007]

Félix Ilarráz

Francesco Brighenti (italiano)

Frank Burch Brown

Gautam Sen

[Gautam Sen's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 169 times since 10 March 2007]

Ian Whicher

[Ian Whicher's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 135 times since 10 March 2007]

Jacqueline and Roland Bouchet

Jakob De Roover

[Jakob De Roover's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 206 times since 10 March 2007]

Jayant R. Kalawar (Christ)

[Jayant R. Kalawar's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 298 times since 10 March 2007]

Jeffery D. Long

[Jeffery Long's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 110 times since 27 October 2009]

Karine Ladrech

[Karine Ladrech's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 126 times since 10 March 2007]

Koenraad Elst

[Koenraad's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 26 times since 01 June 2009]

 

Makarand Paranjape

Mary Searle-Chatterjee

McKim Marriott

[McKim's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 106 times since 07 July 2009]

Mohan Thampi, G. Bala

Mukur K. Khisha (español)

[Mukur Khisha's Hindu Civilization profile has been visited 191 times since 10 March 2007]

Oscar Pujol Riembau