Antonio Rigopoulos, Università Cà Foscari

Description
The course intends to explore the thorny issue of human rights in modern and contemporary India in the light of the subcontinent's traditional hindu background. For this reason, attention will first be placed on the normative religious texts of brahma ' ical Hinduism (Veda -s, Dharma-.astra literature, the Epics, the orthodox philosophical systems), in an effort to uncover and understand in depth the key, complex ideology of dharma and of the caste system (var ' a , jati). Having portrayed this basic, priestly ideology centred on the principles of duty and hierarchical discrimination - which has dominated hindu India's self-understanding for around two millennia - we shall oppose and contrast it with the modern reinterpretations of dharma and caste which have come to the fore in so-called Neo-Hinduism, both before and after the attainment of political independence (1947). Here, the seminal role played by figures such as Rammohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, Swami Vivekananda, M. K. Gandhi, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan will be examined. In particular, the course will assess the fundamental role played by British colonial ideology, by Western religious and socio-political values in determining this new, innovative 'response' by Indian intellectuals and religious leaders. Indeed, the special ‘hermeneutic circle' and encounter occurring between India and Europe in the XIX and XX centuries will constitute the main focus of our investigation. The opposition between traditional caste duties and modern human rights illustrates such encounter (and clash) in a particularly revealing way. The overall objective of the course is precisely to show India's subtle epistemic dependence from the West (even after the attainment of political independence), and at the same time the ways in which the neo-hindu spiritual awareness has been successful in exporting itself to the Western world, perpetuating (and selling!) the myth of its supreme, mystical heritage and unsurpassed, immemorial wisdom (sanatana-dharma).

Course Outline
WEEK 1: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA AND THE FIVE COMPONENTS OF 'HINDUISM'
WEEK 2: THE BRAHMANICAL NOTIONS OF CASTE AND DHARMA (1)
WEEK 3: THE BRAHMANICAL NOTIONS OF CASTE AND DHARMA (2)
WEEK 4: COLONIAL INDIA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEO-HINDUISM
WEEK 5: THE MAJOR FIGURES OF NEO-HINDUISM: RAMAKRISHNA AND VIVEKANANDA
WEEK 6: THE NEO-HINDUISM OF M. K. GANDHI
WEEK 7: THE NEO-HINDU REINTERPRETATION OF CASTE AND DHARMA (1)
WEEK 8: THE NEO-HINDU REINTERPRETATION OF CASTE AND DHARMA (2)
WEEK 9: HINDU 'FUNDAMENTALISM' AND ITS OPPOSITION TO NEO-HINDUISM
WEEK 10: THE INTERSECTIONS OF RELIGION AND POLITICS: THE GURU INSTITUTE
WEEK 11: INDIA'S AGONY OVER HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ONGOING HERMENEUTICAL CIRCLE BETWEEN INDIA AND EUROPE
WEEK 12: CONCLUSIONS

Readings
A course pack will be prepared by the professor. It will be available at the beginning of the semester.