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The book critically examines and assesses the literary evidence available through Vedic and allied literature portraying the nature of Vedic polity, the functionalities of its various institutions, and the various social and religious practices. The book is not a narrative but critically examines the nature of changes in a host of these areas that occurred at each stage of Vedic polity from early Vedic period to post Ṛig-Vedic period. It outlines in historical perspective the various stages involved in the development of Vedic polity and Vedic canon and how the two processes have gone along together. It contains extensive discussions on political system and institutions, religious and social practices as they obtained during the Rig-Vedic and post Rig-Vedic periods. It provides a fresh approach to the cult of sacrifice and fire rituals practiced by Vedic Aryans along with an in-depth analysis of the Vedic view of Nationalism, Sovereignty and State as discernible from Vedic texts .The book also features an extensive discussion on the institution of kingship, administrative machinery, role of various entities in the polity including the Purohita, the Sabha and the Samiti, position of women, Varna system and features of tribal kingdoms, such as the Kuru-Panchalas and Kosala-Videhas. Isolating political and social aspects from the essentially religious character of Vedic literature, an attempt has been made to show with due corroboration that the tribal polity was not deficient in political content contrary to the stance of some scholars to depict Vedic Aryans as apolitical and inward looking. The present book partakes both the current and previous scholarship on the subject but breaks a new path with its exclusive focus on the Rig-Vedic and Post Rig-Vedic polity, together with a balanced and objective assessment of their features. It brings all the relevant and connected issues on to one platform, and deals with them in a holistic manner. Its unique features include: The \"Vedic Grid\": a graphical representation and tabulations of the characteristics of each of the about 50 Vedic tribes, including information on the location of their habitat, their time line, the names of their chieftains and their linkage with priestly clans. A special focus on the Second Urbanization taking place in the Gangetic valley between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. It explains how towards the end of the later Vedic period, the polity underwent a change in political, social and economic spheres which blossomed later during the period of Mauryas. Two appendices dealing with the theories of Aryan migration and the relationship of the Vedic Aryans with the Harappa culture and what can be ascertained by Vedic literature.

The Hindu World is the most complete, authoritative and up-to-date one-volume guide to Hindu faith and culture available today. With twenty-four dedicated chapters written by the world's leading Hinduism scholars, it elucidates the history, philosophy and practice of one of the world's great religious traditions. The perfect reference for all students of Hinduism, it is ideal for both for introductory-level study and for use as a definitive reference source. Proving invaluable for its wealth of historical material, in addition, The Hindu World also offers new insights into all aspects of Hindu life, ranging from the devotional texts of the Vedas and Ramayana to current perspectives on dharma and kama, temple architecture, sacred food, ritual, caste, cosmic philosophy, history and modernization. The Hindu World emphasizes Hinduism's classical heritage and daily practice as well as contemporary approaches to Hindu scholarship. Exploring the enormous diversity of Hindu devotion whilst considering Hinduism's academic status as a category for analysis, the book achieves a distinctive creative balance between the beliefs and values of Hindus themselves, and scholarly 'outsider' perspectives.

This paper is about a particular construction of nationalism at the hands of Romesh Chunder Dutt (1848–1909), the well-known exponent of ‘economic nationalism’, in colonial Bengal from 1870 onwards till his death in 1909. In this construction of nationalism, which today scholars would best describe as ‘cultural nationalism’, the categories ‘Hindu’ and ‘national’ converged and became conflated. Through a discussion of Dutt’s ‘literary patriotism’, the paper seeks to answer why it was so in the case of someone like R C Dutt, and what implications we can draw from this regarding our understanding of colonial Indian nationalism and its origins. With reference to Dutt, Sudhir Chandra pointed out that the neat distinction that we draw between ‘economic nationalism’ and ‘cultural nationalism’ is fallacious. The paper reiterates and reinforces this argument by showing how cultural and political nationalisms were enmeshed together in the case of R C Dutt. Furthermore, the glorious past that Dutt reconstructed through his literary patriotism could not but be a Hindu past; he was not a vilifier of Muslims, but somehow he shelved the question of the place of Muslims in his construction of Indian nationhood.

The question of the original home of the Aryans and their migrations to India is only part of the problem of their \"elusiveness.\" Their subsequent assimilation and nativization in India also contributed to this elusive quality. This socio-cultural process can be traced through a study of their gods, rituals, and philosophy. Thus changes in the nature and function of Rgvedic gods; the appearance of upstart gods in the late Rgvedic period; the elaboration of the soma ritual with elaborate supplementary rituals; the introduction of the new ritual of Agnicayana; the rise of the eschatology of \"punarjanma\" (rebirth) and \"samsara\" (eternal return) based on \"karma\"; and the ideal of \"mukti\", or liberation from life, in place of the former ideal of a life of \"saradah satam\" (a hundred autumns) are symptoms of, as well as a witness to, the transformation of the original identity of the Aryans as revealed in the Family Books of the Rgveda.

Extrait: \"Grâce aux travaux encore trop peu connus des Indianistes modernes, on ne peut plus mettre en doute en ce moment la très haute antiquité de la civilisation hindoue. Il y a cinquante ans environ, des hommes de grande valeur et dont l'esprit pénétrant devançait celui de leur époque, se doutaient bien que l'Inde avait été le berceau du Monde, ...\"

Western Asia extends from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to India in the east, and from the Central Asian republics (Uzbekistan, in particular) to the Indian Ocean. It has advantages for tourism development. It is close to Europe, one of the World's major emitting markets. It is thus part of the major axis of world civilizations, which extends from the Mediterranean to China and Japan. North India, marked by Hindu civilizations, but also by the Muslim presence and then by European colonization, is articulated around three major places: Delhi, Agra and finally Jaipur. New Delhi is the gateway to northern India, one of the busiest regions in West Asia. The analysis of the World connectiveness of places highlights several particularities that characterize the Western Asia. Indeed, Western Asia remains a particularly unstable region of the world.

Scientific institutions are modern icons. These came to India as part of the colonial baggage and soon became the carriers of new ideas and in fact symbolized modernity itself. Was it is a smooth process? What debates did institutionalization spark? Quest for knowledge has never been alien to Indian society. And there were institutions too in pre-colonial times. What new changes came in the nineteenth century? Can these be explained in terms of metropolis–periphery relationship or impact/response studies? Did the process of institutionalization differ in colonial and non-colonial settings? Same could be true for the process of professionalization also. How to ‘straddle the spatial and epistemological divide’ between metropolis and colony? Was this a one-way transfer? One can add, was this knowledge merely or largely derivative? Could it produce autodidacts or intellectual migrants who could hold on their own? Is indigenous ‘original and unsullied’ to be seen mostly in opposition to modern/scientific knowledge? Could they interact? Could they change? Was a synthesis or coproduction possible? The present paper attempts to address these questions with the help of examples and illustrations from a colonial city, Calcutta. Even before South Asia was properly colonized, numerous travelers and traders had brought to fore the characteristics and peculiarities of it people and society. India was no tabula rasa. But as the conquest began, new forts, ports, and cities were established. Thus came into being the new port cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. These were to witness a distinct break with the past. In the new cities, new institutions were to be established, not in the older cities of Delhi, Hyderabad, or Lahore; some of these institutions were to become the carriers of new knowledge. It is not easy to see in them sites for exchange of knowledge as it involves a two-way process, which colonial conditions would seldom permit. They mostly functioned as sites for dissemination and also contestation. The transfer of knowledge, though purported to be osmotic, was not really a one-way simple process; it sparked debates and produced cross-currents. This can be seen in full-flow, for example, in the history of Calcutta.

Based on preliminary ethnographic research in five Javanese communities with major Hindu temples, I explore the political history and social dynamics of Hindu revivalism. I reject formalist approaches to the study of religion, including the notion of ‘syncretism’ and instead, treat the Hindu revival movements as an illustration of how social agents employ religious or secular concepts and values in their strategic responses to the particular challenges and crises they may face in a specific cultural, social, political and historical setting. Expectations of a great crisis at the dawn of a new golden age among followers of the Javanese Hindu revival movement are an expression of utopian prophesies and political hopes more widely shared among contemporary Indonesians. These expectations are set to shape the prospects of Indonesia's fledgling democracy. The paper reflects on the historical conditions under which these and similar utopian expectations and associated social movements may either incite violent conflict or serve a positive role in the creation or maintenance of a fair society.