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On
the History of the Delhi Iron Pillar Revealed by Technical
Analysis of Characters of the Oldest Inscription
--
R
Balasubramaniam
Historical
and numismatic evidences have been first presented to show
that the Delhi Iron Pillar inscription of Chandra is not
a posthumous inscription. Technical analysis of the characters
of the inscription reveals that the characters were put
on the surface by the die striking operation using dies
of different characteristic shapes. The dies were struck
more than once to provide each imprint on the surface. Both
the die and material surfaces appear to have been in a cold
condition during the die striking operation. Evidences have
been provided to conclude that the inscription was die struck
on the Pillar when it was in the vertical erect condition.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Theorizing
Religious Diversity in
a Multicultural World
-- Victoria
S Harrison
This
paper examines a variety of intellectual responses to the
religious and philosophical issues raised by religious plurality.
While the specific questions raised by religious plurality
differ across traditions, the more general problem that
faces all religious intellectuals is how to provide a compelling
theoretical account of the relationship between the various
religions of the world. The paper briefly reviews religious
exclusivism and inclusivism, before focusing upon theories
of religious pluralism. After clarifying the distinction
between religious pluralism and relativism about religion,
and comparing and assessing various forms of pluralism,
the paper concludes that how compelling any particular theory
of religious diversity proves to be will be dependent upon
how convincing one finds the underlying understanding of
religion. This implies that the real priority for scholars
concerned with rival theories of religious plurality is
to strive towards a common understanding of the nature of
religion.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
A
Song, a New Translation, and Nationalisms Old and New: The
Literary Context of `Mother India'
-- Rini
Bhattacharya Mehta
The
premise of this paper is the continued struggle of the nation-state
against its own political past, in the boisterous and recently
globalized democracy of India. In September 2006, a political
frenzy erupted in India surrounding the celebration of 100
years of its national song, "Vande Mataram". The
unsavory quandary of Hindu hegemony resurfaced, and the
foundation of Indian nationalism, controversial for its
originary associations with Hinduism, was called into question.
India's resiliently secular nationhood that suffered setbacks
in its skirmishes with Hindu fundamentalism in recent years
hung in a delicate balance. This paper analyzes the historical
context of this "song" in an attempt to understand
the precarious relationship between nation and religion
in the Indian nationalist context.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Identity
Formation, Foundational Myths and Communalism: Western Europe
and India
-- Radhika
Seshan
This
paper examines some issues of identity formation, particularly
in relation to the question of communal identity. Communalism
in India has often been treated as a phenomenon peculiar
to India, and, depending on one's point of view, as a result
of either the Muslim invasions of India, or the period of
Colonial rule and the divide and rule policy followed by
the British in India. This policy, in turn, is seen as a
response to the situation in India, where the British, a
minority, sought to rule over the majority by disuniting
the latter. When identity is defined in terms of religion,
then there is, at some level, the creation of a social order
predicated on difference, which is identified in religious
terms. This difference becomes part of the myth-making process,
and then leads to the emergence of a number of stereotypes,
which further add to the myth itself. In such a construction,
historiography becomes very important, for it creates a
reality, which constantly redefines and reshapes the myth.
In the context of this paper, this has been termed as a
"foundational" myth. Such a foundational myth
locates itself in a particular historical time, even though
the process of myth-making takes place some other time.
Myth-making is thus seen as a historical process, and as
such, is a key element in identity formation. The construction
of identity in such a process would have the added benefit
of conferring the legitimacy of antiquity on that identity.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Urban
System and Political Dynamics on the Silk Route: A Case
Study of Ladakh
-- Ratan
Lal Hangloo
From
the very early times Ladakh was one of those principal regions
on the Silk Route which acted as a major center of inter
and intra-regional exchange system, facilitating economic,
cultural and political contacts between India, on the one
hand, and China, Tibet, Russia and the wider Central Asian
region, on the other. But in the post-colonial period, Ladakh
lost this position as an entrepot of international trade,
and was forced to adjust itself to a new economic order
which disallowed the region to reap the benefits of wider
political and economic transformation which is an ongoing
process on a global scale. Although within the major frame
of the mountainous mass of the Himalayas, the society is
undergoing transition, and this development is yet to find
any real stability in this region. The study of this phenomenon
in the Himalayas constitutes a vast subject and can be considered
from many angles. I do not have a single conceptual frame
that dominates my analysis, because the nature of the urban
system and political dynamics in the Himalayan region of
Ladakh is a product of many forces that shaped the lives
of the people and affected their fortunes from time to time.
They are far too complex to be subsumed under any specific
category. Therefore, I have tried to approach the study
of this region from varying analytical perspectives.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Book
Review
The
Corporation that Changed the World How the East India Company
Shaped the Modern Multinational
--
Authors : Nick Robins Reviewed by Dilip Menon
Towards
the end of 2004, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London,
organized an exhibition on the economic and aesthetic exchanges
between Europe and Asia during 1500-1800. The circulation
of goods, ideas and people was celebrated, and the emphasis
was on mutual profit. There was very little on the Bengal
famine of 1770, the violence of the East India Company's
suppression of agrarian dissent, and the destruction of
traditional handicrafts and entire communities of weavers.
Needless to add, there was no mention either of the lucrative
opium trade that the Company carried on with China, offsetting
the purchase of tea with the dumping of drugs on the population,
or the fact that the East India Company had many dubious
firsts to its credit: the first corporate multinational,
the first drug cartel and the first mercenary armies.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
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