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(1) Secularism and tolerance in India
On the one hand, it is commonly felt that secularism is the solution to religious violence in India, especially with regard to conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. On the other hand, secularism is fiercely contested by a variety of groups. Moreover, historically, notions of secularism and tolerance originated as solutions to problems related to religious strife in the West. Therefore, it is important for the study of religion to develop an understanding of which problems secularism and tolerance can solve, and whether or not these are also the problems that Indian society faces with regard to religious pluralism.
Some guiding questions:
- How can we make sense of secularism in the Indian context?
- What are the concerns in the Indian criticisms of secularism? Are they merely part of the political agenda of the Hindu right?
- Are Western solutions to religious violence, such as secularism, tolerance, religious freedom, etc. relevant in India?
- Is Indian pluralism different from religious pluralism in the West?
(2) Indian Religion and the Issue of Conversion
Indian religion and the issue of conversion
Religious conversion has become a controversial issue in contemporary India. One side of the debate on religious conversion is represented by those who claim that conversion and proselytisation are basic and inalienable human rights. The other side claims that the conversion activities of Christianity and Islam violate the integrity of Hindu traditions and disturb the social peace in a plural India. The aversion towards the proselytising drive of Christianity and Islam is widespread among a wide variety of Hindu groups. So far, the debate has not seen significant progress. The two positions on conversion are considered to be incompatible and are governed by feelings of mutual incomprehension, unease, and resentment.
Some guiding questions:
- How can we understand the controversy around religious conversion in India?
- How can we understand the Indian laws against religious conversion?
- Can Western solutions to religious conflicts, such as secularism, tolerance, religious freedom, etc. solve the problem of religious conversion in India? What would an alternative solution look like?
- What is the impact of conversion on the Indian traditions? What kind of violation is experienced?
- Back to the overview
(3) The caste system and Indian religion
There is a widely held belief that there is something strikingly immoral about the Indian social organisation. The Indian society is said to be determined by a rigid and hierarchically structured social system, namely the caste system, which is considered to be intrinsically related to Hinduism and its Brahmin priesthood. This system is seen as an impediment to development and social mobility. At the same time, empirical research shows that there is no recognisable hierarchy to be found in Indian society; that there is no authority to implement the ‘caste laws’; that so-called caste laws are not even known to most Indians; and so on.
Some guiding questions:
- Do descriptions of Indian society in terms of the caste system capture the diverse social structures and possible ways of living together in Indian society? If not, what would an alternative understanding of Indian society look like?
- What kind of a system is the caste system? How can a system like the caste system survive without a central authority to implement the caste laws?
- Is a characterisation of a whole culture on the basis of an intrinsically immoral social structure (viz. the caste system) plausible?
- How and in what way is Hinduism related to the caste system?
- Back to the overview
(4) Colonialism and Religion in India
It is commonly accepted that colonialism has had a determining impact on the Indian society. Some authors claim that it has created or constructed entities such as Hinduism that did not exist in pre-colonial India. Even though there is some truth to this claim, it also faces several problems. Long before colonialism, for instance, both Muslims and the early European travelers wrote about a Hindu religion in India. Today Hindus speak about “their Hindu religion” but scholars are still unable to identify Hinduism as a religion. As such, if it is indeed a colonial construction, it is unclear what the nature of this construction is and whether it is colonial rather than European.
Some guiding questions:
- What does it mean to say that Hinduism is a colonial construction? What is said to be constructed: an idea or a real phenomenon?
- Why did the colonials need to invent religion, rather than something else?
- How to explain that not only the British colonisers, but also the Muslims and the early European travelers perceived a Hindu religion in India?
- How can we explain why many Hindus speak about “their Hindu religion” today, and why have they never contested this notion of Hinduism?
- How, if not as religions, can we understand the Hindu traditions?
- Back to the overview
(5) Religion and Law in India
An important aspect of the British colonial government consisted of a codification of the ‘Hindu Law’. In line with the principles of religious neutrality and toleration, the British Raj decided that the Indians had to be governed according to their own laws in the personal and religious spheres. Hence a diverse range of traditions began to be codified into a systematic ‘sacred’ or ‘customary’ law: the British officials instructed the Orientalist scholars to identify ‘the ancient law giver’ and ‘the original legal texts’; they then asked the Brahmin pundits at the courts to give a definitive interpretation of the laws; subsequently, they fixed these in rules that became the guidelines for colonial jurisdiction. Important in the British policy was that the native Indian practices were tolerated if and only if they had foundations in the native religion. As such a new structure was forced upon these traditions, in which they began to defend and justify practices in terms of ‘true doctrines, laws and texts.’
Some guiding questions:
- Can we understand ‘fundamentalist’ movements in India today as a result of colonial secularism and its policy of religious toleration?
- Why did the British tolerate only those practices sanctioned by scriptures and law texts and not all traditional customs?
- Why were they obsessed with finding the ‘ancient law giver’, the local equivalent of Moses?
- Is there a link between secularism and ‘fundamentalism’, and if so, can we relate it to the history of liberal secularism and to its origins in European Christianity?
- Back to the overview
(6) Rethinking Religion in Asia
A new theme was introduced to the parallel paper sessions, to allow a broader audience from all over Asia to participate. It is meant to address the general theme of Rethinking Religion in India, but with a focus on similar experiences in other Asian countries: the experience of colonialism, debates on conversion, debates on religion and law, etc.
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