scholarly journals Living the Bhagavad Gita at Gandhi’s Ashrams

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karline McLain
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Intentional Communities ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Bhagavad Gita ◽  
The Core ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Bhagavad Gītā ◽  
The 19Th Century

The Bhagavad Gita is a philosophical Hindu scripture in which the god Krishna imparts lessons to the warrior prince Arjuna about sacred duty (dharma) and the path to spiritual liberation (moksha). This classical scripture has had a long and active interpretive life, and by the 19th century it had come to be regarded as a core text, if not the core text, of Hinduism. During the colonial period, interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita considered the relevance of Krishna’s lessons to Arjuna in the context of British colonial rule. While some Indians read a call to arms into their interpretation of this scripture and urged their fellow Indians to rise up in armed resistance, Gandhi famously read a nonviolent message into it. This article argues that equally as important as Gandhi’s hermeneutics of nonviolence is his commitment to enacting the lessons of the Bhagavad Gita as he interpreted them in the daily life of his intentional communities. When explored through the lens of daily life in these intentional communities (which Gandhi called ashrams), we see that Gandhi’s interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita emphasized not just nonviolence but also disciplined action, including self-sacrifice for the greater good.

6. Hinduism, colonialism, and modernity

2016 ◽  
pp. 62-73
Author(s):  
Kim Knott
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
British Colonialism ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
The 19Th Century

What impact did the presence of the Arabs and Turks, then the Europeans in India, have on the religious ideas and practices of Hindus? ‘Hinduism, colonialism, and modernity’ considers this question and, in particular, looks at the effect of British colonialism on Hinduism. Many of the new Hindu initiatives of the 19th century were pervaded in some way by the influence of western culture and Christian ideas. Many Hindu reformers, such as Gandhi, developed their ideas and actions from the context of British colonial rule. Gandhi sometimes imitated, sometimes resisted, but was always influenced by western conceptions of India and Hinduism.

scholarly journals “Imperium in Imperio”: The Corporation, Mining, and Governance in British Southeast Asia, 1900–1930

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
DAVID BAILLARGEON
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
State Model ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Corporate Ventures

This article examines the history of mining in British Southeast Asia during the early twentieth century. In particular, it focuses on the histories of the Burma Corporation and the Duff Development Company, which were located in British-occupied Burma and Malaya, respectively. It argues that despite being represented as “rogue” corporate ventures in areas under “indirect” colonial rule, the contrasting fates of each company—one successful, one not—reveal how foreign-owned businesses operating in the empire became increasingly beholden to British colonial state regulations during this period, marking a shift in policy from the “company-state” model that operated in prior centuries. The histories of these two firms ultimately demonstrate the continued significance of business in the making of empire during the late colonial period, bridging the divide between the age of company rule and the turn toward state-sponsored “development” that would occur in the mid-twentieth century.

British Rule and Tribal Revolts in India: The curious case of Bastar

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 1619-1644 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJAY VERGHESE
Keyword(s):  
Colonial Period ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
British Rule ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
Princely State ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Colonial Policies

AbstractBritish colonial rule in India precipitated a period of intense rebellion among the country's indigenous groups. Most tribal conflicts occurred in the British provinces, and many historians have documented how a host of colonial policies gave rise to widespread rural unrest and violence. In the post-independence period, many of the colonial-era policies that had caused revolt were not reformed, and tribal conflict continued in the form of the Naxalite insurgency. This article considers why the princely state of Bastar has continuously been a major centre of tribal conflict in India. Why has this small and remote kingdom, which never came under direct British rule, suffered so much bloodshed? Using extensive archival material, this article highlights two key findings: first, that Bastar experienced high levels of British intervention during the colonial period, which constituted the primary cause of tribal violence in the state; and second, that the post-independence Indian government has not reformed colonial policies in this region, ensuring a continuation and escalation of tribal conflict through the modern Naxalite movement.

scholarly journals The Pyramid of Values: Value-based Leadership Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 01-9
Author(s):  
Nanjundappa S Harshavardhana ◽  
Kuravanka G Srinivas
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Role ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Active Listening ◽  
Bhagavad Gita ◽  
Religious Perspective ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
The Will ◽  
Nervous Breakdown ◽  
Bhagavad Gītā ◽  
Leadership Lessons

The Bhagavad Gita (BG) is studied from spiritual, theological and religious perspective. It is a collection of 700 verses wherein beset by compassion and grief, Arjuna loses the will to fight and has a nervous breakdown. The supreme lord Srikrishna’s preachings by which he convincingly manages to motivate Arjuna to fight his enemies with determination constitutes the gist the BG. It is considered as ‘India’s book of Answers’ to all the problems of human civilization and has inspired generations over thousands of years. Srikrishna preaches three-fold path of: i) Action (Karma); ii) Devotion (Bhakti) and iii) Knowledge / Intellect (Jnana) emphasizing that the greatest battles are fought in one’s own mind. Wisdom from the BG is increasingly recognized in the field of leadership and management. It emphasizes that the core of leadership lies in one’s character and is influenced by ‘Value’ systems and combination of three key ‘Personality’ traits. A good leader should cultivate ‘Sattvic’ virtues and act selflessly for greater good of all with judicious use of power that comes with authority. The principle leadership lessons taught by BG are: i) To know thyself; ii) Practice renunciation by selfless service; iii) Fearless action with integrity; iv) Embrace formidable challenges with a  prepared mind to face them and v) Moral righteousness. The BG recommends one to approach leadership role with an attitude as a custodian who protects and motivates his team by practising the art of ‘Active Listening’. Incorporating the teachings of BG would facilitate a leader to be free of bias, observe equanimity and make wise decisions leading to contentment and inner peace. 

scholarly journals “Human Telephone Lines”: Flag Post Mail Relay Runners in British Southern Cameroon (1916–1955) and the Establishment of a Modern Communications Network

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (S22) ◽  
pp. 211-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Gam Nkwi ◽  
Mirjam de Bruijn
Keyword(s):  
Colonial Period ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Colonial Administration ◽  
Archival Research ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Communications Network ◽  
Southern Cameroon ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Communications System

AbstractThe flag post mail relay runners, a communications system established in Cameroon during British colonial rule, laid the foundations for the communications structure of this colonial state. They were a remnant of a pre-colonial communications system and, with the advancement of “modern” communications structures such as roads, telephone lines, and post houses, the flag post runner gradually disappeared. This article explores the role of the runners for the colonial administration in Cameroon and is based mostly on archival research. It describes the runners’ system and how it influenced the colonial communications landscape. In addition, the questions of how these runners were involved in the colonial state and what forms of resistance emerged among runners are analysed. Finally, the article discusses the degree to which the subsequent construction of roads, telegraphic communications, and postal networks reflected the role played by mail runners in the British colonial period up to the 1950s.

Identifying the ‘agriculturists’ in the Burma Delta in the colonial period: A new perspective on agriculturists based on a village tract's registers of holdings from the 1890s to the 1920s

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asuka Mizuno
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
New Perspective

According to the existing studies on Myanmar's economic history, agricultural land in the Lower Myanmar delta was transferred from ‘agriculturists’ to ‘non-agriculturists’ under British colonial rule. However, a clear distinction could not be drawn between the agriculturists and non-agriculturists as was generally thought with respect to their economic activity. More importantly, the categories could be applied interchangeably. The purpose of this study is to reconsider the very concept of ‘agriculturist’ as a colonial category in British Burma by exploring the hitherto unused register of holdings (Register IA, U pain hmatpoun sayin).

scholarly journals Pre-partition India and the Rise of Indian Nationalism in Amitav Ghosh’s 'The Shadow Lines'

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-165
Author(s):  
Sheikh Zobaer
Keyword(s):  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Colonial India ◽  
Indian Nationalism ◽  
Great Insight ◽  
Revolutionary Movements ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Insight Into

The Shadow Lines is mostly celebrated for capturing the agony and trauma of the artificial segregation that divided the Indian subcontinent in 1947. However, the novel also provides a great insight into the undivided Indian subcontinent during the British colonial period. Moreover, the novel aptly captures the rise of Indian nationalism and the struggle against the British colonial rule through the revolutionary movements. Such image of pre-partition India is extremely important because the picture of an undivided India is what we need in order to compare the scenario of pre-partition India with that of a postcolonial India divided into two countries, and later into three with the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. This paper explores how The Shadow Lines captures colonial India and the rise of Indian nationalism through the lens of postcolonialism.

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