The Marriage between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj

This chapter explores the relationship between the Theosophical Society and the Indian Arya Samaj during the period between 1878 and 1882. While some of the overall details of these events are well known, this chapter offers new insight into how the two parties imagined and misrepresented each other and how these misrepresentations were reflections of the wider contemporary cultural representations of East and West. The chapter charts the relationship between the founders of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, and Swami Dayananda Saraswati of the Arya Samaj over the course of their initial written correspondence and their subsequent personal encounters in India, which began enthusiastically on both sides but ultimately ended in a public breaking of ties.

Čovjek, ali najbolji

Polazeći od paradoksa da Romi kao tradicionalni unutarevropski migranti u današnjoj “migrantskoj krizi” Evrope jedva predstavljaju temu, tekst obrađuje negativnu figuru “neradničkog nomada” koji od prvih početaka akademske refleksije o Romima u 18. stoljeću suodređuje njihovo razumijevanje u jednakoj mjeri kao i pitanje etničkog, rasnog i jezičnog porijekla; osobito u umjetnostima, predodžba o Romima obilježena je orijentalisitčkom figurom slobodnjaštva i seksualizirane drugosti premda sama književna građa često daje uporišta za drugačije samorazumijevanje Roma, protivno radno-teorijskom stereotipu. Nasuprot tome, rijetko prisustvo Roma u teorijskom diskursu filozofije odaje karakteristike anonimnog recikliranja povijesti Roma za pojmovni aparat filozofije. Taj se proces može očitati na postmodernoj kritici Kanta i formaciji pojma “nomadsko mišljenje” koje se u radu povezuje s Kantovom poredbom skeptika kao nomada i podvrgava detaljnijoj retoričkoj i logičkoj analizi. U drugom dijelu rada tematizira se ponovno “otkrivanje” Roma u kontekstu indijske kulturne i nacionalne politike 20. stoljeća na ideološkim pretpostavkama neohinduističkog pokreta Arya Samaj iz kasnog 19. stoljeća za “oplemenjivanje” (arijanizaciju) svijeta i konfrontira s predratnim nacističkim pokretom za “arizaciju” cijelog kulturnog svijeta u zloglasnom projektu Ahnenerbe [Nasljeđe predaka]. U završnom dijelu rada nacistička uzurpacija arijstva valorizira se kao potpuna simbolička deprivacija Roma koja čini podlogu za najradikalniji oblik obeščovječenja u nacističkom holokaustu bez potrebe za ikakvim opravdanjem, i konfrontira s paradigmatskim razumijevanjem čovječnosti, sadržanim u samom imenu “Rom”.

‘Hindi–Hindu’ discourse in late colonial Punjab

One of the major spheres in which the communal divide in India especially in the north has manifested itself is that of language, around the controversy over Hindi and Urdu. It raged in colonial Punjab as well, despite the fact that neither language was spoken over the larger part of it. In a sense, therefore, it was imported from the then North-Western Provinces (now UP), where the original dialect had given rise to a common language (Khari Boli, Hindustani) with two scripts, around which Hindi and Urdu came to be created as literary languages. Though Urdu remained in colonial times the main print and school language in pre-1947 Punjab, the language controversy continued to play a communally divisive role. In Punjab, the Arya Samaj was the main torchbearer for Hindi, with even nationalists like Lala Lajpat Rai in its camp.

Jain Identity and the Public Sphere in Nineteenth-Century India

The author focuses on the creation of a new sense of religious identity across Indian religions over the nineteenth century, analysing in particular the process in which a pan-Indian concept of being ‘Jain’ developed. The chapter discusses two conflictual cases that turned around whether or not it is proper for Jains to worship icons of the Jinas. The cases involved Ḍhuṇḍhiyā or Sthānakvāsī and Mūrtipūjak Jains, critiques and proponents of icon worship, and, in the case of the second dispute, also the founder of the Arya Samaj, Dayanand Saraswati. Whereas in the 1820s, identity was primarily defined by caste, sixty years later the common identity was that of shared religious belonging. Demonstrating the role of the new public sphere, the author argues that two colonialism-driven projects came together here, the introduction of the British legal system, and the introduction of new technologies of travel, communication, and dissemination of information.

Arya Samaj

The Arya Samaj (ārya-samāj, ‘The Association of Nobles’) is a Hindu reform movement founded in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824–83). Based on the supposition that the true religion of India was put forth in the ancient Vedas, rather than in later epics and cycles of myths, the principal aim of the Arya Samaj is to purge modern Hinduism of beliefs and practices associated with the devotional and mythic literature of India. Condemning the hereditary caste system and dismissing the practice of using icons and idols in worship, the society favoured a more rationalistic, humanistic and nationalistic form of Hinduism as India entered the modern era.

Cow Protection in India

Cow protection, a potent tool in the hands of cow vigilantes for atrocities against Muslims and Dalits, has become a heavily politicised issue in contemporary India. Its roots, connecting the themes of caste-Hindu religious sentiment, communalism and economic reasoning, can be traced to the late nineteenth century, though basic problems over the intriguingly complex use of cattle are clearly much older. This article relates contemporary cow protection debates specifically to Arya Samaj arguments against cow slaughter in the late nineteenth century and publication of a special issue of the journal Kalyan, titled Gau Ank, in 1945. The discussion shows how cow protection debates in the Constituent Assembly of India and in subsequent post-independence judicial verdicts were heavily influenced by these two earlier discourses. Analysing two landmark judicial decisions on cow slaughter, the article argues further that recent judicial endorsement of cow protection legitimises Hindu majoritarian sentiments in the law, while depriving millions of Indians, not just Muslims, of fundamental rights to food and livelihood. The conclusion attempts to consider some possible solutions to the current impasse.

The New Context

In the new context after Independence, the most urgent problems before the governments of India and Punjab were rehabilitation, the language issue, and integration of the princely states. Rehabilitation created Hindu majority in the province, with Sikh majority in six districts. The Sachar Formula to solve the language issue enabled the Arya Samaj leaders of the Punjabi region to exercise their preference for Hindi over Punjabi as the medium of education. Sardar Patel considered various possibilities and decided to form the Patiala and the East Punjab States Union (Pepsu). The caretaker government formed under Gian Singh Rarewala kept the Akalis out. Article 371 of the Constitution of India enabled Sardar Patel to intervene in the affairs of the Pepsu more effectively than in the affairs of the Punjab.