6.MythofHinduism

8/13/2019 6.MythofHinduism

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ORIENTALISMAND THE MODERN MYTH OF "HINDUISM"RICHARD KING

SummaryIsthereeallysinglencienteligionesignatedy he atch-allermHinduism'or s the erm erelyfairlyecentocial onstructionfWesternrigin?his aperexamineshe ole layed yOrientalistcholarsn heonstructionfWesternotionsof ndian eligiony n examinationf the riginsfthe onceptf Hinduism'.It sarguedhat henotionf Hinduism's a singleworldeligions a nineteenthcenturyonstruction,argely ependentpon heChristianresuppositionsftheearlyWesternrientalists.owever,xclusivemphasispon he ole fWesternOrientalistsonstitutesfailureoacknowledgehe ole layed ykeyndigenousinformantsmostlyromhe rahmanaastes)n he onstructionfmodem otionsof theHindu eligion'.o ignorehe ndigenousimensionfthe nventionf'Hinduism'sto rase he olonialubjectromistorynd erpetuatehemythf hepassive riental.he aperoncludes ith discussionf he ccuracynd ontinualusefulnessf he ermHinduism'.

[I]twouldppearhatheresan ntrinsiconnectionetweenheHinduism'thatsbeingonstructednthe oliticalrenand he Hinduism'f cademicstudy.Today,herereperhapswopowerfulmagesncontemporaryWesternharacterizationsfEasterneligiosity.ne s the ontinually

enduringotionf hemysticalast' a powerfulmage reciselybecause or ometrepresentshat smost isturbingnd utdatedabout asternulture,hilst or therstrepresentshemagic,hemysterynd the enseof the piritual hichhey erceiveobelackingnmodemWesternulture.hedepravityndbackwardness' Friedhelm ardy 1995), "A Radical Reassessment f theVedicHeritageTheAcaryahrdayamnd itsWider mplications,"nVasudhaDalmia andH. vonStietencron1995),Representinginduism: heConstructionfReligious raditionsandNationaldentitySagePublications,ewDelhifThousandaks/London),.48.

? KoninklijkerillNV,Leiden 1999) NUMEN,Vol.46


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Orientalismnd theModemMythf"Hinduism" 147oftheOrient hus ppearso sit sidebysidewithtsblossomingspiritualityndculturalichness.oth f thesemotifsave longhistoricaledigree,erivingromhe opesnd ears f he uropeanimaginationnd ts erennialascinationith he ast.The econdmagefEasterneligion one ndeedhats ncreas-inglyomingo he orenWesternircles,s that f he militanta-natic.' uch characterizationlsohas considerablencestry,einga contemporaryanifestationfolder olonialmythsbout rientaldespotismnd herrationalityf he olonialubject.heparticularnaturef his onstructs of ourse eavilynfluencedy he ecular-istperspectivefmuchfmodemWesternulture.he mage f hemilitantanaticrreligiousfundamentalist,'hilstrequentlynter-woven iththemystical'haracterizationparticularlyn he mpha-siswhichWesternommentatorslace pon hereligious'imensionof onflictsuch sAyodhydn ndia),t srarelyxplicitlyssociatedwithhe otionf themysticalast'preciselyecausemodemWest-emunderstandingsf themystical'end oprecludehe ossibilityof n authenticysticalnvolvementnpoliticaltruggle.heother-worldlyastern ysticannote nvolvedna this-worldlyoliticalstruggleithoutallingntouestionhe trongulturalppositione-tween hemysticalnd he ublic ealms.hediscontinuityetweenthese wo ulturalepresentationsf the asthasfrequentlyreatedproblemsorWesternndWestern-influencedbservers hofindtdifficulto econcileotionsf piritualetachmentitholiticalandsometimesiolent)ocial ctivism.2Thus, n the modem ra we findHinduismeing epresentedboth s a globalizedndall-embracingorld-religionndas anintolerantndvirulentorm freligious ationalism.espite heapparentncongruityf hese wo epresentations,will rguenthispaperhatnefeature hich oth haracterizationsharencommonis the ebt heywetoWesternrientalism.y argumentoesnotentailhathemodemonceptf"Hinduism"smerelyhe roduct

2See MarkJuergensmeyer1990),"What heBhikkhuaid:ReflectionsnTheRise OfMilitant eligiousNationalism,"nReligion 0,pp.53-76.


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148 Richard ingofWesternrientalism.esternnfluenceas necessaryut otsufficientausal actorn he ise f his articularocial onstruction.To argue therwiseould e to ignorehe rucial oleplayed yindigenousrahmanicaldeologyn he ormationf arly rientalistrepresentationsfHindueligiosity.OrientalismndtheQuest or Post-Colonialiscourse

[A]nthropologistshowould tudy,ay,Muslim eliefsndpractices illneedsomeunderstandingfhow"religion" as come to be formeds concept ndpracticenthemodemWest.For while eligions integralomodernWesternhistory,here re dangers n employinguch a normalizing onceptwhentranslatingslamic raditions.3This tatementyTalalAsadcanbeequallywellappliedo thestudyf Asian ulturengeneral.n recent ears cholarsnvolvedin such tudyave ecomencreasinglyware f he xtentowhichWesterniscoursesbout sia eflectowerelationsetween esternandAsian ocieties.n the ostcolonialra,thasbecomemperative,therefore,o xaminehis elationshipith riticalcumen.In1978 dward aidpublishedisground-breakingork, rien-talism.Westernonceptionsf heOrient.4nthis ook, aid auncheda stingingritiquefWesternotionsf he ast nd hewaysnwhich"Orientalistiscourse"as egitimatedhe olonialggressionnd o-liticalupremacyf heWesternorld.Said'swork,owever,snotableor numberf bviousmissions.His analysisfFrench,ritishnd, o a limitedegree, merican

3Talal Asad 1993),Genealogies fReligion:Disciplinesnd ReasonsofPowerinChristianitynd slam John opkins niversityress, ondon), . 1.4Said's work s clearlyndebted oearlierworkswhich ave focused pon heWesternonstructionf mages fAsian ulturend tspeople. mportantorks ereareRaymondchwab1950),TheOriental enaissance: urope'sDiscovery fndiaand the ast,1680-1880English ranslation,984,Columbia niversityress,NewYork) nd JohnM. Steadman1969), TheMyth fAsia (Macmillan, asingstoke).However,hefirst orkwhich ppears ofocusupon heway n whichOrientalismfunctionsdeologicallys a supportor olonialhegemonysAnwarAbdelMalek's(1963),"OrientalismnCrisis,"nDiogenes 4.


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Orientalismnd theModemMythf"Hinduism" 149Orientalismoes not ouch pon he trongraditionfOrientalistscholarshipnGermany,heretwasnot ccompaniedy colonialempiren the ast. nfact,heldon ollock asshown owGermanOrientalistnalysisf ndian edicore, rofoundlyffectedermanyby urnishingracially-based,ndo-Europeanythf he ure ryanrace,whichould ubsequentlye usedtodistinguishheSemitesas "non-Aryan."5hus, ot nly as Said'sworkgnoredmportantcurrentsithinuropeanrientalistiscourse,thas alsotendedoignorehewaysnwhichuch iscoursesffecthe olonizers wellasthe olonized.6ndeed,he xamplesfGerman rientalistsn heonehand,ndJapannthe ther,astdoubt pon aid'sthesis hatOrientalistiscourses always ssociated ithn imperialgenda,sinceGermanyad noEasternmpireomanipulatendcontrol,andJapan as ubjectedoOrientalistiscoursesithoutver eingcolonizedy heWest.7Sheldonollock's iscussionfGerman rientalismuggestshatthe uthoritativeowerf such iscoursesould qually e appliedat home ocreate powerfulinternalarrative,'nthis ase nstru-mentaln the onstructionfa German ationalonsciousness,ndultimatelynthe andsf heNationalocialistsn"the olonizationanddominationfEuropetself."ayantele has rguedhatswellas ts bviousonsequencesor sia,Orientalismlsofunctionso n-sulate heOccidentromhe elf-analysishich ould e nvolvedna properngagementithhe ulturesndperspectivesfthenon-Westernorld. e furtheruggestshat rientalistiscoursesensureattemptso nalyseheWestn self-criticalnd omparativeanner,

5SheldonPollock 1993), "Deep Orientalism? otes on Sanskritnd PowerBeyond heRaj," n Carol A. BreckenridgendPetervan der Veer eds.) (1993),Orientalismnd the Postcolonial redicamentUniversityf Pennsylvaniaress,Philadelphia),p.76-133.60ne shouldnote here that nsofar s Said ignores he effect f Orientalistnarrativespon he olonizer edoesnot ollow oucault's nalysis hich ttemptsodemonstratehe ense n which iscoursesonstructoth he ubjectnd he bject.7Richard . Minear1980),"Orientalismndthe tudy fJapan,"nJournalfAsianStudies XXIX,No.3,pp.507-517.


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150 Richard ingbymisrepresentingoth sian ndWesternulture.hus,throughculturallymposedtupefactionf he eople" othWesternndnon-Westerneople remanipulatedndsubjugatedhroughhe sameprojectf ontrolnd xploitation."8his sa pointarelyoticedycriticsfOrientalism,amely,hatnrepresentingheOrients theessentializednd tereotypicalOther"f heWest,he eterogeneityand omplexityfboth rientalndOccidentalemainsilenced.9CriticsfSaid'swork ave uggestedhat eplaces oomuch m-phasisnthe assivityf he ative,10nd hat edoesnot eallyis-cuss, or ven llow or,hewaysnwhichndigenouseoplesf heEasthaveused,manipulatedndconstructedheir wnpositivee-sponsesocolonialismsing rientalistonceptions.omi habha'snotionf hybridity'or nstanceeflectsn awarenesshatolonialdiscoursesredeeplymbivalentndnot usceptibleo he onstraintsofa single ni-directionalgenda. hus, habha rgues,hemasterdiscourses appropriatedythenative hose ulturalesistancesmanifestedhroughhemimicrynd arodyf olonialauthority.11n

8Jayantele (1993),"Orientalismnd the ocial Sciences,"nBreckenridgendvanderVeereds.) 1993), bid., . 59.9AshisNandy 1983), The Intimate nemyOxfordUniversityress,Delhi),pp.71-74.Nandy, yway f broadlysychoanalyticccount f ulturalnterchange,suggestshat heOrientalistrojectionf theEast as theWest's nverse oubleor"other"s a reflectionfthe uppressedshadow' ide ofWesternulture.t s in thissense hatwe can see how theEnlightenmentubordinatedhepoetic, hemystical,andthe emininelements ithinuropeanulturendprojecteduch ualities ntotheOrient.10 ee fornstance, enita arry1992),"Overlappingerritoriesnd ntertwinedHistories:dward aid's Postcolonialosmopolitanism,"nM. Sprinkered.) 1992),Edward aid: A Critical eader Blackwell, xford), . 34. See also Peter an derVeer 1993), "TheForeignHand. Orientalistiscourse nSociology nd Commu-nalism,"nBreckenridgendvan derVeer eds.) (1993), ibid.,p. 23, and RosalindO'Hanlon 1989),"CulturesfRule,CommunitiesfResistance: ender, iscourseandTraditionn Recent outhAsianHistoriographies,"nSocialAnalysis 5,p. 109.11 ee for nstance omi Bhabha 1985), "SignsTakenforWonders: uestionsof AmbivalencendAuthoritynder TreeOutsideDelhi,May 1817," nCriticalInquiry2,pp. 144-165.


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Orientalismnd theModemMythf"Hinduism" 151similarashionichard .Foxhaspointedo hewaysnwhichikhreformersn the1920's cceptedrientalisttereotypesfthe ikh,andyet sed hemo reate massmovementnoppositionoBritishcolonialism.12he ame ransformationanbe seenn heHinduon-text, here rientalistresuppositionsbouthe spirituality"f n-diaetc.were sed yreformersuch s Rammohunoy, ayinandaSaraswati,w~miVivekinandandMohandas. Gandhin he evel-opmentf nanti-colonialindu ationalism.hisno doubteflectsnot nly he evel fpermeationfOrientalistdeas mongsthena-tive opulationf ndiaespeciallyhe oloniallyducatedntelligent-sia), ut lso he act hatuch iscourseso not roceedn norderlyand traightforwardashion,eingnfactdaptednd ppliednwaysunforeseeny hosewho nitiatedhem.hus, rientalistiscourseswereppropriatedynativendiansnthe ineteenthenturynd p-pliedn uch way stoundercuthe olonialistgenda, hich,aidsuggests,s mplicatedn uch iscourses.Wehave lreadyeen hataid'sownnegativeppraisalfOrien-talism oesnot ppearo eave oom orndigenousppropriationsofOrientalistiscoursesor ositive,nti-colonialoals. qually,iswork laces ittlemphasisponwhat liffordalls "sympathetic,nonreductiverientalistradition."13ichardoxrefersothis trandas"affirmativerientalism"ndhas nmind uchWesternpologistsforndianultures the heosophistnnie esant, indu onvertis-ter ivedita,nd postlefnon-violence,olstoytc.14n hisontext,one shouldxamine hats probablyhemost cathingritiquefSaidtodate. avidKopfttacksaidfordroppingames,atesndanecdotes"nd ordoptingmethodwhichsprofoundlytructural

12Richard . Fox 1992), EastofSaid," nSprinkered.) 1992), bid., . 146.Butsee Peter an derVeer 1994),ReligiousNationalism. indus ndMuslimsn ndia(UniversityfCaliforniaress, erkeley/Losngeles/London),p.53-56,where t sarguedhat ikh dentityas utilized utnot onstructedytheBritish.13Clifford1988),The PredicamentfCulture: wentiethentury thnography,LiteraturendArtCambridge, ambridge niversityress), . 261.14Richard ox 1992), bid., . 152.


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152 Richard ingand ynchronic"nd husdiametricallypposedohistory.""5hilstKopf ees great ealofmeritnSaid'swork,edecrieshe seofthe ermOrientalism"o representsewerategoryor ll the ntel-lectualubbish esternersave xercisedn he lobalmarketplacefideas"p.498).Kopf,nfact,elieveshataidhasprovidednoverlynegativendone-sidednalysis,hich ails o take nto ccounthepositivelementsithinrientalistiscourses.esuggestshatmod-emOrientalismasbornnCalcuttan1784withhe stablishmentftheAsiaticocietyfBengalnd hat,ssuch, ritishrientalismanbesaid ohave iven irtho he engal enaissanceincet helpedIndiansofindn ndigenousdentitynthemodem orld"p.501).Kopfuggestshathese rientalistsweremen f ocial ction, ork-ing omodernizeinduulturerom ithin"p.502).These re obecontrasted,opf rgues, ithhenti-Orientalistesternizers,srep-resentedy he taunchnglicisthomas .Macauley,orwhom asinglehelff goodEuropeanibraryasworthhewhole ativeliteraturef ndia ndArabia."'6opfomments,It s curiousomethataid ompletelygnoreshis eryroupfproto-imperialistshowerenti-Orientalist.t stheirdeologyndnot hatf he rientalistswhichaidreviewsnhiswork"p.503).Ifweexamineopf's osition orelosely e shall eethe ourceofdisputendconfusionetween im ndSaid.Kopfpraiseshemodernizingffortsf he rientalistsho,served s avenues inkingheregional litewith hedynamic ivilizationfcontemporaryurope.heyontributedo he ormationf newndian iddle

15DavidKopf 1980),"HermeneuticsersusHistory,"n JournalfAsianStudiesXXXIX,No. 3,May 1980,p. 499. RosaneRocher lso argues hat aid's approach"does toorientalistcholarshiphatt ccuses rientalistcholarshipfhaving oneto the ountriesastofEurope;tcreates single iscourse,ndifferentiatednspaceand ime nd cross olitical,ocial nd ntellectualdentities."osaneRocher1993),"British rientalismn theEighteenthentury: he Dialectic of Knowledge ndGovernment,"nBreckenridgendvanderVeer eds.) 1993), bid., . 215.16Macauley'sMinute fEducation1835),quotednKopf1980), bid., .504,butoriginallyuotednKopf 1969),British rientalismndTheBengalRennaissance(UniversityfCaliforniaress, erkeley/Losngeles/London),. 248.


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OrientalismndtheModemMyth f"Hinduism" 153class and assisted n theprofessionalizationf theBengali ntelligensia.heystartedchools, ystematizedanguages, rought rintingnd publishingoIndia,and encouragedheproliferationf books, ournals,newspapers,ndothermediaof communication.heir utput asurbanndsecular. heybuiltthefirstmodem cientificaboratoriesnIndia andtaught uropeanmedicine.Theywereneithertatic lassicists or verse o the deaofprogress,ndtheyhistoricizedhe ndian ast nd timulatedonsciousnessfhistorynthe ndianintellectual.17

Whats strikingbout his escriptionf the ctivitiesf BritishOrientalistsn ndia sthat opf raiseshemounequivocally,hilstcriticsuch sSaid and wouldnclude yselfere) induch ctiv-ities eeplyroblematic.opf's ispute ith aid sreally debateabouthe xtento whichnecan differentiateodernizationromwesternization.opf's iew s thathe wo anbeeasily ifferenti-ated nd hatheQrientalistsere olelynfavourfmodernization,whilst nglicistsikeMacauley ere erventlynfavourfboth.s1Thus,ccordingoKopfnineteenthenturyurope asnot omuchtheource fmodernitys twas he ettingormodernizingrocessesthat ere hemselvesransformingesternultures,"nd hatorheOrientalist,themportanthing as to set ntomotionheprocessofmodernizationhroughhichndiansmighthangehemselvesc-cordingo heirwn alueystem."19However,t eemstbest aivelyimplistic,nd tworstownrightfalse,o uggesthat ecandrive firm edge etween esterniza-tionndmodernization.hat suallyountss"modernity"eems obeboundpwithttitudesnd ocial hangeshat eriveromhe u-ropeannlightenment.hus, espitehe laimedulturalnd olitical17DavidKopf 1969), ibid.,p. 275,quotedbythe uthorn Kopf 1980), ibid.,pp.502-503.18DavidKopf 1969), bid., p.275-276.19DavidKopf 1969), ibid.,pp. 277-278.ForKopfthen t s merely historicalaccident hat he ocialprocess f modernizationegan nEurope p. 276).However,even f hiswere he ase, t s stillnaive o believe hat ne canexporthe esults f

this rocesswithoutlso exportinghosefeatures hich repeculiarlyuropeannnature.


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154 Richard ingneutralityftheanguagef modernization,"nd heirispute iththeAnglicists,opf'saffirmative)rientalistsere tillnvolvednthe uropeanizationf he rient,nd, venwhenheyppearedobepromotinghe ernacularnd hendigenous,heir ethods,oals ndunderlyingalues resupposedhe upremacyfEuropeanulture.That his s socanbe seen ven y n examinationf he uotationswhich opf licitss evidencef he rientalists'ppositionowest-ernization.hus, equotes . H.Wilson, hom edescribess "oneof he reatestrientalists"spromotinghe ultivationf anskritothat ative ialectsmay embodyuropeanearningnd cience."20Again,W. H.MacNaughtensquoteds attackinghewesternizer'spositionnthe roundshatifwewisho nlightenhe reatmass fthe eoplen ndiawemust se s our nstrumentshe anguagesfIndia...our bjects to mpartdeas, otwords.."21 Thus, espiteKopf's rotestationothe ontrary,heOrientalistsere lsoactingincomplicityithuropeanmperialspirationsven f heirhetoricwas ess onfrontational,ggressivend ondescending.he omplex-ity f hessues urroundingheAnglicistss.theOrientalistsnthepostcolonialra sreflected,ornstance,nGayatripivak'sefusalto ndorseblanketeturno native"anguagesn ndia.t sperhapsimportantonote hatnglishasbecomencreasinglynativized"ncolonialnd ostcolonialndia,nd till epresentsmuchreatero-tentialornternationalnteractionalbeitue oBritishmperialege-mony)hanhenative'anguages.evertheless,pivak uggestsn"inter-literary"pproach,rguinghat the eachingfEnglishitera-ture anbecome riticalnlyf t s intimatelyokedothe eachingof heiteraryr ulturalroductionn hemotherongue."22Thecolonial rejudicesf such eminentcholars'ftheOrientas William ones ndJamesMill fatherf John tuartMill), sevidentn heir ork.William ones asbeen escribeds theWestern

20DavidKopf 1980), bid., . 505.21DavidKopf 1969), bid., . 250,quoted gain nKopf1980), bid., .504.22Gayatri hakravortypivak 1993),"TheBurden fEnglish,"nBreckenridgeandvanderVeer eds.) 1993), bid., . 151.


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156 Richard ingThe extentowhich heAnglicist acauleywas successfulnhis im"to form classwhomaybe interpretersetweens and themillionswhomwe govern; classofpersons,ndian n bloodandcolour, utEnglishn taste,n opinions,nmorals, nd n intellect,"27illbe-comereadilypparentaterwhenwe considerhedevelopmentntheeighteenthndnineteenthenturiesf thenotion f a single eligiousentitynown s "Hinduism."he notion f a Hindureligion, sug-gest,was initiallyonstructedyWestern rientalistsaseduponaJudaeo-Christiannderstandingfwhatmightonstitutereligion.Thisconstruct,fcourse,wassubsequentlydopted yHindunation-alists hemselvesnthe uestforhomerule swaraj)and nresponseto Britishmperial egemony.Orientalismnd ndology

Edward aid'sexamplesremainlyaken romhe Middle-Eastern"context,odoubt reflectionfhisownPalestinianrigins,nd thasbeen eftootherso xplorehemplicationsfhiswork urtherfield.In recent ears,with hepublicationf Wilhelm albfass1988), n-diaandEurope.AnEssay nUnderstanding,ndRonald nden1990),Imaginingndia, heOrientalistroblematicasbeendiscussednre-lation othe tudy f ndian eligionndphilosophy.28nden, orn-stance, uggestshatndological nalysis unctionsoportrayndianthoughts,nstitutionsndpracticess aberrationsrdistortionsfnor-mativei.e.,Western)atternsfbehaviour.29ccordingo nden,n-dological iscourseransformsndians nto ubjugatedbjects f su-

27Macauley 1835), Minute nIndian ducation,'uotednTejaswiniNiranjana(1990), "Translation,olonialism ndRise ofEnglish,"nEconomic ndPoliticalWeeklyXV,No. 15,April 4th 990,p. 778.28For a recent ollection f works espondingoHalbfass' nterventionsn theOrientalistebate see Eli Franco and KarinPreisendanzeds), (1997), BeyondOrientalism.heWork fWilhelm albfass nd its mpact n Indian and Cross-Cultural tudies Rodopi,Amsterdam,oznani tudies n thePhilosophyf theSciences ndtheHumanities),73pp.29Ronald nden 1986), "Orientalistonstructionsf India," n ModemAsianStudies 0,No. 3,p.411.


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Orientalismnd theModemMyth f"Hinduism" 157periori.e.higher-order)nowledge,hichemainsnthe ossessionof heWesternndologicalxpert.his s becausendologicalorksdo not rovide erelyescriptiveccountsfthat hichheytudy,but lsoprovideommentarieshichlaim orepresenthe houghtsand ctionsf hendianubjectn uch manners to ommunicatetheireneralaturer essence"o theWesterneader.ndensalsocriticalf hegemonic'ccounts hichrovideeductionistnd ausalexplanationsorhe irrational"ehaviourf ndiansirrationaln hesense hattrequiresxplanationothe ational esterner).uch e-ductionistccountsuggesthat

Indian civilizations, thus, nlike heWest,fundamentallyproduct f itsenvironment,nd defectiveroducttthat. uropeanivilizationsthe roductofrational umanction. specially ince he o-called nlightenmentheWesthas beenguidedbyscientificeason n shapingts nstitutionsndbeliefs....Modemsciencehas acquired rivileged nowledge f thenaturalworld. thas made a 'copy' of that xternalealitynprecedentedn itsaccuracy. heinstitutionsftheWest ave hereforeomemore losely o conformowhats,inthis iscourse,natural'. raditionalndnon-Westernocieties ave, ecauseoftheirnaccuraterfalse opiesofexternaleality, aderelativelyneffectiveadaptationsotheirnvironments.heyhavenot volved s fast s themodemWest.30Inden, owever,eems o overstateis case at times. do not

accept hat ll explanationsf ndian houghtndbehaviourmplytherrationalityf ndians.xplanationsrenecessaryecausendiancultures differentromWesternulturenmanyespects;ejectingOrientalistrojectionsf an "Other", illnot mooth ver hesedifferences.rovidingn insightfulccount f Indian houghtortheWesterneader, hilsttmay nvolveomedistortionfthematerialnder onsiderations necessaryor his eason ndnotbecauseuropeansre uperiorrmoreationalhanndians.qually,reductionistccountsanbe,and ncreasinglyrebeing,ppliedoWesternistorynd ulturetself.nfact,nemightrguehat hecurrentave fpostmodernnxietybouthe oundationsfWestern30 nden1986), bid., .441,415.


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158 Richard ingcivilizations partly consequencef historicistndreductionistanalysiseingppliedeflexivelyo heWesttselfInden,hus rovidess with highlyolemicalndgenerallyeg-ative ccount f ndologicalcholarship.31isanalysis,owever,sinsightfuln nnumerableccasionsnd ontainsnumberf alientpoints. e suggestshatndologicalcholarshipn the asthasbeendominatedy he rivilegedoice f hepositivist'nd heempiricalrealist'.32nden,ttimeseminiscentftheneo-pragmatisthiloso-pher ichardortynd he hilosopherf cience aul eyerband,e-jectswhat edescribess thepositivist'laimhat heres "a single,determinateeality"nd hathe ools fWesterncience ave rivi-legedccess o hatealityhroughormsfknowledgehichirectlycorrespondr mirror't.

I reject hedualityfknowernd known resupposedythis pisteme.t smypositionhat nowledge othparticipatesn the constructionfrealitynd sitself ot imply aturalinthe ense fnecessaryndgiven), ut,n arge art,constructed.33Inden lsosuggestshathe ssentialismnherentnmost rien-talist iscourseshould ecomprehensivelyefuted.his s the en-dency ithin ostndologicalccountso laimohave ncoveredhe"essence"f he bject nderonsideration,hrougharefulcholarlyanalysis.hus, orks hichurporto xplainheOriental ind-set"or he Indianmentality"tc., resupposehatheres a homogenous,and lmost-Platonicessence"r nature"hichanbedirectlyntu-ited y hendologicalxpert.ndenscorrect,nmy iew,oattack31RichardG. Fox criticizesnden for his condemnationf "all SouthAsian

scholarships Orientalist". ccording o Fox, Inden'sworkdisplaysust thosestereotypingendenciesnhisapproachoOrientalistcholarships heattacksn thescholarshiptself,houghhismayreflectlackofappreciationn Fox'spart f theextent owhich ven "affirmativerientalism"ontributesoEuropeanhegemonyoverthe East. See RichardG. Fox (1992), "East of Said," in M. Sprinker,bid.,pp. 144-145.32Inden1986), bid., .440.33 nden 1986), bid.,pp.444-445.As with dward aid,we canclearly ee theinfluencefFoucault n nden'swork.


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OrientalismndtheModemMythf"Hinduism" 159such ssentialism,ooteds t s nthe nlightenmenteliefna uni-fied umanature,otust ecausetmisrepresentshe eterogeneityof he ubject-matter,ut lsobecause f hewaynwhichuch ssen-tialismesultsn the onstructionf culturaltereotypehichmaythen e used osubordinate,lassifynddominatehenon-Westernworld.Inden's ork,owever,salso nterestingor is riticalnalysisf"affirmativerientalism."his trandfOrientalistiscourse,abelled'romantic'y nden ecausef ts ndebtednessoEuropeanomanti-cism,sgenerallyotivatedy nadmirationor,nd ometimesyfirmeliefn, he uperiorityfEasternultures.heromanticmageof ndia ortraysndianulturesprofoundlypiritual,dealisticndmystical.hus,sPeterMarshallointsut

As Europeans avealways ended o do,they reatedHinduismn their wnimage.Their tudy f Hinduism onfirmedheir eliefs nd Hindus mergedfrom heirwork s adheringo somethingkinto undogmaticrotestantism.LatergenerationsfEuropeans,nterestedhemselvesnmysticism,ere bletoportrayheHindus smystics.34Wewoulddo well to note hereasonwhy nden riticizesheRomanticonceptionf ndia s theLoyalOpposition.'his eflectsthe act hatRomanticrientalism'greeswith he revailingiewthatndia s themirror-oppositefEurope;tcontinuesopostulateculturalessences"nd, hus,erpetuateshe ameor t east imilar)culturaltereotypesbout heEast. TheRomanticistiewof theOrient,hen,s still distortion,venfmotivatedt imesy respectforhe rient.ssuch,tparticipatesn he rojectionf tereotypicalformshichllows or domesticationnd ontrolf he ast.Whats interestingbout he mystical"r"spiritual"mphasiswhichredominatesn heRomanticistonceptionf ndiasnotustthatthasbecomeprevalenthemen ontemporaryesternmagesof ndia, ut lso hatthas xertedgreatealof nfluencepon he

34PeterMarshall 1970), TheBritish iscovery fHinduism n theEighteenthCenturyCambridge niversityress, ambridge),. 43-4, uoted n nden 1986),ibid., . 430.


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160 Richard ingself-awarenessf he eryndians hichtpurportsodescribe.omemightrgue,s DavidKopf learlyoes, hatuchndorsementy n-dians hemselvesuggestshe nti-imperialaturef uch iscourses,yet ne cannotgnorehe ensen which ritisholonialdeology,throughhe ariousmedia fcommunication,ducationnd nstitu-tional ontrolasmade substantialontributionothe onstructionofmodemdentitynd elf-awarenessmongstontemporaryndians.

European ranslationsf ndian exts reparedor Westernudience rovidedto the educated' ndian wholerange fOrientalistmages.Evenwhen heanglicisedndianpoke language ther han nglish,he' would avepreferred,becauseof the ymbolic ower ttachedoEnglish, ogainaccess tohisownpast hroughhe ranslationsndhistoriesirculatinghrougholonial iscourse.English ducationlsofamiliarisedhe ndianwithways f eeing, echniquesftranslation,r modes frepresentationhat ame obeaccepted s natural.'35

Perhapsheprimaryxamplesfthis re thefiguresfSwaimiVivekinandandMohandas . Gandhi.36ivekinanda1863-1902)founderf heRamakrishnaission,norganizationevotedothepromotionf contemporaryormfAdvaita edentanon-dualism),placed articularmphasispon he piritualityf ndianulturesacurativeo he ihilismndmaterialismfmodemrnesternulture.nVivekinanda'sands, rientalistotionsf ndia s "other orldly"and mystical"ere mbracedndpraiseds India's pecial iftohumankind.hus he ery iscourse hichucceedednalienating,subordinatingndcontrollingndiawasusedbyVivekSinandas areligiouslarion-callor hendian eople ounite nderhe annerof universalisticnd ll-embracinginduism.

Up India, ndconquer heworldwithyour pirituality...urs s a religionfwhich uddhism, ith ll itsgreatnesss a rebel hild ndof which hristianityis a very atchymitation.35TejaswiniNiranjana1990),"Translation,olonialismndRise ofEnglish,"nEconomicnd PoliticalWeeklyXV,No. 15,April 4th 990,p. 778.36MohandasGandhi, oo,wasalso influencedyWestern,rientalistonceptionsof India,onlyreallydiscoveringhefruitsf India'sreligious raditionshroughtheRomanticistorks ftheTheosophical ociety. or a discussion f this nd tsrelevanceotheOrientalistebate eeFox 1992), nSprinker1992), bid, p.152f.


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OrientalismndtheModemMyth f"Hinduism" 161The salvationfEurope ependsna rationalisticeligion,ndAdvaita non-duality,heOneness, he dea ofthempersonal od, is the nly eligionhatcan have nyholdonany ntellectualeople.37

Colonialstereotypesherebyecame ransformedndusedinthefightgainst olonialism.espite his,tereotypesheyemain iveki-nanda's mportance,owever,ar utweighsis nvolvementith heRamakrishnaission.He attendedwithoutnvitation)he irstWorldParliamentfReligionsnChicago n 1893,delivering lecture nHinduismor t east n hisown onceptionfthenaturefHinduismand ts elationshipithhe therworld-religions").ivekinanda asa greatuccess nd nitiatednumberf uccessfulours f heUnitedStates ndEurope. n theWesthe was influentialn the reinforce-ment f heRomanticistmphasisponndian pirituality,nd n ndiaVivekSinandaecame hefocus fa renascentntellectual ovement,whichmightmore ccuratelye labelled Neo-Hinduism"r"Neo-Vedinta" atherhan Hinduism."TheMyth fHomogeneitynd theModemMythf Hinduism'

Scepticismbout theapplicabilityf globalized, ighly bstractand univocal ystemsfthoughtnto hereligiousxperiencef hu-mankindasmanifestedy he world-religions"pproacho he tudyofreligions) as beenexpressed y scholars ike Wilfred antwellSmithn the roundshat uch napproachrovidesswith noverlyhomogenizedicturefhuman ulturaliversity.38ecan seethem-plicationsf thismore learlyfwequestionhe laim, upportedysuchfiguress Gandhi, arvepalliRadhakrishnanndVivekdinanda,

37Swarmiivekiinanda,ollectedWorks. ol II,p. 275and I,p. 139.38With egard o our current iscussion antwell mith tates hat, The term'Hinduism' s, inmy udgement, particularlyalseconceptualization,ne that sconspicuouslyncompatibleithny dequate nderstandingfthe eligiousutlookof Hindus."W.Cantwell mith1964],TheMeaning nd Endof Religion, . 61).Morerecentlyriedhelm ardy 1990) has suggested,That theglobal title f'Hinduism' asbeengiven o [this arietyfreligions]must e regardeds an actofpure espair."TheReligions fAsia,Routledge,ondon/Nework, .72).


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162 Richard ingthat heresa singleeligionalled Hinduism,"hich anbe mean-ingfullyeferredo sthe eligionf heHindu eople.Thenotionf Hinduism"s itselfWestern-inspiredbstraction,whichntilhe ineteenthenturyoreittlernoresemblanceo hediversityf ndianeligiouseliefndpractice.he ermHindu"sthe ersianariantf he anskritindhu,eferringo he ndus iver,andwasusedbythe ersiansodenote he eople f that egion.39TheArabicAl-Hind,'herefore,s a termenotingparticulareo-graphicalrea.Althoughndigenousseof he ermyHindus hem-selves anbefoundsearlys the ifteenthnd ixteenthenturies,tsusagewasderivativefPersian uslimnfluencesnddidnot epre-sentnythingorehan distinctionetweenindigenous'r native'andforeignmleccha).40or nstance,hen elgian hierryerhelstinterviewedn ndianntellectualromamilNaduhe recordedhefollowingnterchange,

Q:Are ou Hindu?A:No, grewriticalf tbecause f asteism... ctually,ou hould ot skpeoplef heyreHindu. his oesnotmeanmuch.fyou sk hem hatheirreligions, hey ill ay,Ibelongo hisaste.'4139H. vonStietencronrgueshat his sageofthe ermsattestedo nOld Persiancuneiformnscriptionsromhetime fDarius , whoexpanded isempire s faras the ndus n517 B.C.E. H. vonStietencron1991), nGiinter . SontheimerndHermann ulke eds.) (1991),Hinduism econsideredManohar ublications,ewDelhi),p. 12.40RomilaThapar 1989), "ImaginedReligiousCommunities?ncientHistoryand theModemSearchfor Hindu dentity,"nModemAsianStudies 3,No. 2,p. 224 (reprintednThapar 1992]).See also Narendra . Wagle 1991), "Hindu-MuslimnteractionsnmedievalMaharashtra,"nSontheimerndKulke eds.) 1991),ibid.,pp. 51-66,andJoseph . O'Connell 1973), "GaudiyaVaisnava ymbolismofdeliveranceromvil," nJournal ftheAmerican riental ociety 3,No. 3,pp.340-343.41Thierry erhelst1985), Cultures, eligionsndDevelopmentn ndia: nter-viewsConductedndrecordedyThierryerhelst,4to23-1-1985. PhDworkinggroup nReligionsndCultures,russels: roederliykelen,Mimeo, .9 quotednBalagangadhara1994),p. 16.


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OrientalismndtheModemMythf"Hinduism" 163Indeed,t s clear hathe ermHindu,"venwhen sedbytheindigenousndian,idnot ave he pecificallyeligiousonnotationswhicht ubsequentlyevelopednder rientalistnfluencesntilhenineteenthentury.42hus,ighteenthenturyeferenceso Hindoo"Christiansr "Hindoo"Muslims erenot ncommon.43s RomilaThapar ointsut nher iscussionfthe eceptionfMuslimsntoIndia,Thepeople f ndia o not eem ohave erceivedhenewarrivalss a unifiedody fMuslims. hename Muslim' oesnotoccurnthe ecordsfthe arlyontacts.heterm sedwaseitherethnic,uruska,eferringotheTurks,rgeographical,avana, r

cultural, leccha.""44neshouldlso note hedistinctivelyegativenaturefthe erm,heprimaryunctionf which s toprovidecatch-allesignationor he Other,"hetheregativelyontrastedwithhe ncientersians,ithheir uslimescendants,rwithhelater uropeanrientalistsho ventuallydoptedhe erm.ndeedthe amesapparentromn examinationfmodemndianaw.Forexamplehe 955HinduMarriagect, ection(1)defines'Hindu'as a categoryncludingot nlyllBuddhists,ainsnd ikhs ut lsoanyone ho snot Muslim,Christian,Parsee r Jew.hus venin the ontemporaryontexthe ermsHindu' nd Hinduism're42Partha hatterjee,nfact,rgues hat henotion f "Hindu-ness"as nospecif-

ically eligiousonnotationo tand that The deathat Indiannationalism's syn-onymous ith Hindunationalism's notthevestige f somepremoderneligiousconception.t s anentirely odem, ationalist,ndhistoricistdea.Like othermod-em deologies,t allowsfor centraloleofthe taten themodernizationfsocietyand tronglyefends he tate's nityndsovereignty.tsappeal s notreligious utpolitical.n this ense heframeworkf tsreasonings entirelyecular." ee ParthaChatterjee1992),"HistoryndtheNationalizationfHinduism,"nSocialResearch59,No. 1,p. 147.43R.E. Frykenberg1991), "Theemergencef modernHinduism' s a conceptand n nstitution:reappraisal ith pecial eferenceo Southndia,"n SontheimerandKulke eds.) 1991), bid., . 31.44RomilaThapar1989), bid., . 223 reprintednThapar1992]).


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164 Richard ingessentiallyegativeppellations,unctioningsan ll-inclusiveubricfor henon-Judaeo-ChristianOther'.45"Hindu"nfact nly amento rovenancemongst esternersnthe ighteenthentury.reviously,he redominanthristianerspec-tive mongstheEuropeanslassifiedndian eligionnder he ll-inclusiveubricf Heathenism.nthis iew here ere ourmajorreligious roups, ews, hristians,ahometansi.e.Muslims),ndHeathens.embersf he ast ategoryerewidelyonsideredobechildrenf he evil, nd he ndian eathensere ut neparticularsect longsideheAfricansnd heAmericanswho ven odayrereferredo sAmericanIndians'nanattemptodraw parallele-tween hendigenousopulationsf ndia nd he re-colonialopu-lationf heAmericas).theresignationssed orefero he ndianswereBanians,' term hich erivesromhemerchantopulationsofNorthernndia,ndGentoos', hich unctioneds an alternativeto Heathen.'evertheless,sWesternnowledgend nterestn ndiaincreased,he ermHindu'ventuallyainedreaterrominencesaculturallyndgeographicallyorepecificerm.The ermHinduism,"hichf ourse erivesromhe requencywithwhichHindu' ame o beused,s a Westernxplanatoryon-struct.s suchtreflectshe olonialndJudaeo-Christianresuppo-sitionsf theWesternrientalistshofirstoined he erm.avidKopf raiseshisgift' romheOrientalistseeminglynawaref heEurocentricgendanderlyingt nd he xtentowhichhe uperim-positionf hemonolithicntityf Hinduism"ponndianeligiousmaterialasdistortednd erhapsrretrievablyransformedndiane-ligiosityn westernizedirection.hus, e tateshat,

45This has eadFrits taal,fornstanceoargue hat Hinduism oesnotmerelyfail obe a religion;t s not ven meaningfulnit fdiscourse. heres noway oabstractmeaningfulnitaryotionfHinduismrom he ndian henomena,nlessit s doneby xclusion..." Frits taal 1989],RitualWithouteaning, . 397).


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166 Richard ingwhatnevitableiven ritishontrolverhe olitical,ducationalndmedianstitutionsf ndia.fwenote,ornstance,he xtentowhichthe ritishstablishedneducationystemhichromotedhe tudyofEuropeaniterature,istorynd cience,nd he tudyfndianul-turehroughhemediumfEnglishr vernacularranslationsf heworkfWesternrientalists,fwealso cknowledgehe acthatllof ndia's niversitiesere stablishedy he ritish,nd ccordingoBritishducationalriteria,ecan eethe xtentowhich acauley'shope f n61itelass fAnglicizedndians asputnto ractice.Christianity,extualismndtheConstructionf"Hinduism"

Europeanolonialnfluenceponndian eligionndcultureasprofoundlylteredtsnaturen themodemra. nparticularwouldlike ohighlightwowaysn whichWesternolonizationas con-tributedo hemodemonstructionf Hinduism" firstlyy ocat-ing he ore f ndianeligiosityn certainanskritextsthe extual-ization f ndianeligion)nd econdlyy n mplicitand ometimesexplicit)endencyodefinendian eligionntermsfa normativedefinitionfreligionasedupon ontemporaryesternnderstand-ing f heJudaeo-Christianraditions.hese wo rocessesre learlyinterwovenn a highlyomplexashionnd nemightvenwish oarguehatheyre nfactmerelywo spectsf singlehenomenon- namelyhewesternizationf ndianeligion.evertheless,heye-quireome ttentionfwe are ograsphe ensenwhich hemodernconceptionfHinduisms ndeedmodemevelopmentWesterniteraryiashas contributedo a textualizationf ndianreligion.49his s not odenyhatndian ultureas ts wn iterarytraditions,athert sto mphasizehe ensenwhichWesternresup-positionsbout he ole f acredextsn religion'redisposedrien-talistsowardsocusingponuch extss the ssentialoundationor49 n fact ne couldargue hatnfocusingne'scritical ttentionponOrientalisttexts,he extualistaradigm hich nderlieshem emainsargelynchallenged.eefornstance, reckenridgend van derVeer eds.) (1993),p. 5, where his oint smade npassing utnever roperlyddressed.


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OrientalismndtheModemMyth f"Hinduism" 167understandingheHindueoples awhole. rotestantmphasisponthe extstheocus f eligion,herefore,laced particularmphasisupon heiteraryspectsf ndian ulturen thework fOrientalists.Academicsndhighlyducated esterndministratorsre lreadyn-clinedowardsiteraryormsfexpressionecause ftheirrainingand o t snot haturprisingofind rientalistsboth ld ndnew)being rawnowardsndianiteraryaterialsskey ources or n-derstandingndian ulture. any f he arly uropeanranslatorsfIndianexts ere lsoChristianissionaries,ho,n heirranslationsand riticalditionsf ndian orks,ffectivelyonstructedniformtextsnd homogenizedrittenanonhroughhempositionfWest-ern hilologicaltandardsnd resuppositionsntondian aterials.50Thus,he ral ndpopular'spectsf ndianeligiousraditionereeithergnoredrdecrieds evidencef he egradationf ontempo-rary indueligionntouperstitiousracticesn he roundshatheybearittlernoresemblanceo theirwn" exts.his ttitudeas as-ily ssimilatedith he ilranicallynspired,rahmanicaleliefn hecurrenteteriorationf ivilizationnthe geofkaliyuga.Thetextualistiasof Westernrientalistsas had far eachingconsequencesnthencreasinglyiteratendia f hemodernra.AsRosalind'Hanlon1989)writes

the rivilegingf cribalommunitiesnd uthoritativenterpretersf tradition'provided,n the nehand, n essential equirementfpracticaldministration.50Frykenbergvengoesas far s tosuggesthat hristian issionaryctivity asprobablyhe argest ingle actornthedevelopmentfa 'corporate'nd revivalist'Hinduismn ndia.See Frykenberg1991), bid.,p. 39. See alsoVinayDharwadker(1993),"Orientalismndthe tudy f ndianLiteratures,"nBreckenridgend vanderVeer eds.) (1993), bid., p. 158-185 or ninsightfuliscussion f theways nwhich he arious orms f Indian iterature"ere tudiedccordingothe uropeanliterarytandards f the time.Dharwadkerlso discusses henature f nineteenthcenturyuropean hilologynd tspresuppositionse.g.,pp. 175; 181).Dharwadkeralsodraws ttentionothe anskriticias of heWestern rientalists.ee alsoRosaneRocher1993),"British rientalismntheEighteenthentury,"nBreckenridgend

van derVeer eds.) 1993), bid., p.220-225 especially . 221),and Peter anderVeer1993), nBreckenridgendvanderVeer eds.) 1993), bid., .40.


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168 Richard ingOn the ther,tformed crucial omponentncolonialism'sarger rojecttselffor he extualizationfcultures,or he onstructionfauthoritativeodies fknowledgebout Hinducommunitiess the meansof securingfreedom'ofollowheirwn ustoms.51

William ones or xample,n hisrole s Supremeourt udgein India,nitiatedprojecto translateheDharmanastrasnthemisguidedeliefhathisepresentedhe aw f he indus,norderocircumventhat esaw s theculpableias'of he ativeandits.ntakinghe harmaidstrass a bindingaw-book,onesmanifestsheJudaeo-Christianaradigmithin hiche onceivedf eligion,ndthe ttemptoapplyuch bookuniversallyeflectsones'textualimperialism.'52heproblemithakingheDharmaastrasspan-Indiannapplications that he extshemselvesere epresentativeof a priestlylitethe rahmanaastes),ndnot fHindusntoto.Thus,venwithinheseexts,here asnonotionf unified,inducommunity,ut athernacknowledgementf a pluralityf ocal,occupationalndcaste ontextsnwhich ifferentustomsrrulesapplied.53twas husn hismannerhat

societywas made to conformo ancientdharmaSastraexts,n spite f thosetexts' nsistence hattheywereoverriddeny local and groupcustom. teventuallyllowedAnglicistdministratorsomanipulatehe orousboundarybetween eligion s defined ytexts ndcustoms heywished o ban.54 myitalics)Theres,ofcourse, dangerhatncriticallyocusingponOri-entalistiscoursesnemightgnorehemportancefnativectorsand ircumstancesn he onstructionfWesternonceptionsf ndia.Here erhaps eshould ote he ense nwhichertain6litistom-

51Rosalind 'Hanlon 1989), bid., . 105.52SeeBreckenridgend vanderVeer eds.) 1993), bid., .7.53See RomilaThapar1989), bid., p.220-221 reprintednThapar 1992]).SeealsoS. N.Balagangadhara1994),TheHeathennHis Blindness: sia,theWest ndthe ynamic fReligionE.J.Brill, eiden), p.16-17 nd haptersand4 ingeneral.54RosaneRocher 1993), inBreckenridgend van der Veer eds.) (1993), bid.,p. 242.


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Orientalismnd theModemMythf"Hinduism" 169munitiesithinndianotablyhe cholarlyrahmanaastes),xerteda certainegreef nfluencepon heWesternrientalists,herebycontributingo he onstructionf hemodem, esternonceptionf"Hinduism".hehighocial,conomicnd, o ome egree,oliticalstatusf he rahmanaastes as, odoubt,ontributedothe lisionbetweenrahmanicalormsf eligionnd Hinduism."his s mostnotableornstancen he endencyo mphasizeedic ndBrahman-ical textsndbeliefss centralndfoundationalo the essence" fHindueligiosityngeneral,nd n themodemssociationf Hindudoctrine' ith he ariousrahmanicalchools f heVedi.ntainpar-ticulardvaitaVed.nta).ndeed, eo-Veddntichetoricbout he n-derlyingnityf ndianeligionas endedto upportheWesterners'reconceivedotion hattwas onereligionheyweredealingwith. ince heywere sed o theChristianraditionf n absolute laimfor nly netruth,f powerfulhurchominatingociety,ndconsequentlyffierceeligiousnd ocial onfrontationithmembersfotherreeds,heywereunable ven oconceive f suchreligiousiberalitys wouldgivemembers fthe amesocietyhe reedom,y ndividualhoice, opracticehe eligionheyliked.As a result,WesterntudentsawHinduism s a unity. he Indianshad noreason ocontradicthis; othemhe eligiousnd culturalnity iscoveredyWesterncholarswashighly elcomentheir earch or ationaldentityn theperiod f truggleor ational nion.55

C.A.Bayly otes,ornstance,he xtentowhich he dministra-tive nd cademic emandor he iteraryndritualxpertiseftheBrahminslacedhemn positionfdirectontactnd nvolvementwith heirmperialulers;factorhat hould ot ounnoticednat-temptingo xplain hyWesternrientalistsendedo ssociaterah-manicaliteraturenddeologyith indueligionn oto.56t sclearthat,n this egardt east,Westernrientalists,orkingnder heaegis f Judaeo-Christianeligiousaradigm,ooked or ndfound55H. vonStietencron1991), n Sontheimernd Kulke eds.) 1991), bid., p. 14-15.56C.A. Bayly (1988), IndianSociety nd theMakingof the British mpire(Cambridge niversityress, ambridge),p.155-158.


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170 Richard ingan ecclesiasticaluthoritykin oWesternodels f necclesiasticalhierarchy.nthe aseof he rahmanicalpriests'nd andits,lreadyconvincedf he egradationf ontemporaryndianivilizationn hepresentra fkaliyuga,hese cholarsenerallyoundreceptivendwillingeligious1ite,ho, orhateryeasonemainedmenableothe hetoricf eform.The Brahmanicaleligions,fcourse, ad lreadyeen ctiventheir wn ppropriationfnon-Brahmanicalormsf ndianeligionlong eforeheMuslimnd uropeannvasions.rahminization,iz.,the rocess herebyhe anskritic,high' ulturef he rahmins,b-sorbedon-Brahmanicalsometimesalledpopular,'r ventribal')religiousorms,as n ffectiveeans f ssimilatingiverseulturalstrands ithinne's ocality,ndofmaintainingocial ndpoliticalauthority.57heprocess orks othways,f ourse,ndmanyf hefeaturesfSanskriticeligionnitiallyerivedrom particular,o-calizedontext.58evertheless,n he aseof he ducatedbrahmanacastes,heBritishound loosely efinedultural6lite hat roved

57Brahminization,r thegeneral rocesswherebyon-Brahmanicalormsf n-dianreligionre colonized nd transformedy hegemonic rahmanicaliscourses,can be distinguishedrom hemore eneral rocess f Sanskritization.he confuta-tion f the wo tems rom mistakenssociation f Sanskriticulturexclusivelywith hebrahmanaastes.As Milton inger as suggestedanskritizationayfol-lowtheksatriya,aifya reven he0adramodelsMilton inger1964),"TheSocialOrganizationf ndian ivilization,"nDiogenes 5,pp.84-119.) rinivas,nhis aterreflectionspon anskritization,lsopointso the anidhBrahminsfWesternttarPradesh s evidencehathe ulturef heBrahminss not lways ighlyanskriticnnature.See Srinivas1968],Social Change n Modem ndia[Universityf Califor-niaPress, erkeley/Losngeles/London],. 20.Whilst rahminizationnthewidestsense, hen,annot e universallyquatedwith anskritization,hroughouthisworkI shalluse the ermBrahminization's a short-handerm or anskriticrahminiza-tion, hat s to denote particularpecies f Sanskritization.58The deologicalonstructsnd olonial aturefBrahmanicaliscourses,srep-resentedndistinctionsetween aidiki.e.derived rom heVedas), hastrikderivedfromhe 62astras),nd aukikworldly)ormsfknowledgelearly emonstrateshesense nwhich he mperialisthrustfOrientalisms not n isolatedhistoricalreven nexclusivelyWesternhenomenon.ora discussionf this ee Sheldon ol-


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Orientalismnd theModemMyth f"Hinduism" 171amenableo an deology hich laced hem t the pexofa singleworldeligiousradition.59fone skswhowouldmost ave enefit-tedfromhemodem onstructionf unifiedindu ommunityo-cusing pon he anskriticndBrahmanicalormsf ndianeligion,the nswer ould,fcourse,ethose ighlyducated embersfthe igherrahmanaastes,orwhommodemHinduism'epresentsthe riumphfuniversalized,rahmanicalormsfreligionver he'tribal'nd helocal'.Statistically,orxample,twould eem hatnpost-Independencendia he rahminastes ave ecomehe ominantsocial roup,illing6 to 63%of llgovernmentobs,despiteepre-sentingnly .5%ofthe ndian opulation.6s Frykenbergointsout,Brahmins ave alwayscontrollednformation.hat was their oast. It wastheywho had providednformationn indigenousnstitutionsforWesternorientalists].t was theywhoprovidedhis n a scale so unprecedentedhat,lock 1993), nBreckenridgend van derVeer eds.) 1993), bid., p.78; 96f; 107;117,note .59Fora discussion f this n relation o thepolitics f translationee RichardBurghart1991), "Somethingost,Somethingained:TranslationsfHinduism,"in SontheimerndKulke eds.) (1991), ibid.,pp. 213-225.See also PetervanderVeer 1993), in Breckenridgend vander Veer eds.) (1993), ibid.,p. 23, 26-27,40; Bernard ohn 1968),"Notes n theHistoryf theStudy f ndian ociety ndCulture,"n Milton inger nd Bernard ohn eds.) 1968),StructurendChange nIndian ocietyAldine, hicago), p.3-28;Jonathanarry1985) "TheBrahmanicalTraditionnd he echnologyf hentellect,"nJoanna veringed.) 1985),Reasonand MoralityTavistock ublications,ondon),pp. 200-225.Talal Asad (1993),provides cogent iscussion f thepoliticalmplicationsf inguisticnd culturaltranslationn the ight f nequalitiesfpower etween he ontexts fthe ranslatorandthe ranslatedpp. 189-199).Thus,Asad notes hat,Toput tcrudely,ecausethe anguages f third orld ocieties,.. are seen as weakernrelation o Westernlanguagesandtoday, speciallyoEnglish),heyremoreikelyo submitoforcibletransformationnthe ranslationrocess han he therway round"p. 190).60SeeKhushwantinghnSunday: 3-29December 990, . 19,quotednGeraldLarson1993),"DiscourseAboutReligion'nColonial ndPostcolonialndia," romNinian mart nd Shivesh hakureds.) (1993),Ethical ndPoliticalDilemmas fModernndia St.Martin's ress), p. 189-190.


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172 Richard ingat east tthe evelof All-Indiaonsciousness,newreligionmergedhe ikesofwhichndia ad erhapsever nownefore.61

TheSanskriticBrahmanization"f Hindu eligionitselfepre-sentingnestagenthe extualizationrocess), asfilteredhroughcolonial iscourses,herebyurnishingnew olisticnd nifiedon-ceptionf hemultiplicityf ndianeligioushenomenahroughouthistory.uch n pproachemainsrofoundlynti-historicaln ts os-tulationf nahistoricalessence"owhichll formsf Hinduism"are aid orelate. s Said hassuggested,uch nabstractnd yn-chronicpproachs oneway n which rientalistiscoursesunda-mentallyistinguishhe assivend historicalrientromhe ctiveandhistoricallyhangingccident.n thismanner,rientalsre f-fectivelyehumanizedsince enied n activeolenthe rocessesfhistory),nd hus,mademoremenableocolonialmanipulation.sRomila hapar uggests,his ewHinduism,urnishedith brah-manical ase,wasmerged ith lementsf"upperaste elief ndritual ith neeyeontheChristiannd slamicmodels,"hiswasthoroughlynfusedithpoliticalndnationalisticmphasis.hapardescribeshis ontemporaryevelopments "Syndicatedinduism,"andnotes hatt s"beingushedorwardsthe oleclaimantf heinheritancef ndigenousndianeligion."62This eflectshe endency,uringnd fteruropeanolonialism,forndianeligionobeconceivedyWesternersnd ndianshem-selves n a manneronduciveoJudaeo-Christianonceptionsf henaturefreligion;process hich eenaDas hasdescribeds the'semitification'fHinduismnthemodemra.Thus, ince he ine-61Frykenberg1991),ibid., . 34. For discussions fthe ctive artwhich ativeIndiansplayed n the constructionfOrientalistiscourses ee NicholasB. Dirks(1993), "ColonialHistories nd Native nformants:iographyf an Archive"ndDavidLelyveld1993),"TheFate fHindustani: olonialKnowledgend he rojectof a National anguage," othnBreckenridgend vanderVeer eds.) (1993), bid.,pp.279-313 nd189-214.62RomilaThapar 1985), "SyndicatedMoksha," n Seminar313 (September),p. 21.


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OrientalismndtheModemMyth f"Hinduism" 173teenthenturyHinduism" asdeveloped,nd s notable or, num-berofnewcharacteristics,hich eemtohave arisennresponseoJudaeo-Christianresuppositionsboutthenature freligion. hisnewformforganizedr, Syndicatedinduism"

seekshistoricityor he ncarnationsf itsdeities, ncourageshe dea of acentrallyacredbook,claimsmonotheisms significanto theworship fdeity, cknowledgesheauthorityf the ecclesiastical rganizationfcertainsects s prevailingver ll andhassupportedarge-scalemissionary ork ndconversion.hesechanges llow tto transcendaste dentitiesndreach ut olarger umbers.63In the ontemporaryra, hen,Hinduism"s characterizedyboth

an emerginguniversalistic"trand hich ocuses ponproselytiza-tion e.g.Neo-Vedinta,athya ai Baba, Bhagwan hreeRajneesh,Transcendentaleditation,tc.) s well s so-called fundamentalist,""revivalist"nd"nationalist"trandshat ocus pon hehistoricityfhumanncarnationsfVisnu,uch sRimaandKrsna, he acralityftheir urportedirthplaces,nd anantagonisticttitudeowards on-Hindu eligionsnotablyhendianMuslims).64nehardlyeedpointtothe ense nwhich hese evelopmentsimic raitssually ssoci-ated n theWestwith heJudaeo-Christianraditions.65Indeed,twould eem hat hekey otheWest'snitial ostulationftheunityf"Hinduism"erives rom heJudaeo-Christianresuppo-sitions f theOrientalistsnd missionaries.onvinceds theywerethat istinctiveeligionsould notcoexistwithoutrequentntago-nism, hedoctrinaliberalityf ndian eligionsemained mysterywithouthepostulationf anoverarchingeligious rameworkhichcouldunite he ndians nder heflag fa single eligiousradition.

63RomilaThapar1989), bid., .228.64See Daniel Gold (1991), "Organized induism: romVedic Truth o HinduNation,"n Martin . Martynd R. ScottApplebyeds.) (1991), FundamentalismsObservedUniversityfChicagoPress), p.531-593, or n outline fcontemporary"fundamentalist"nd nationalist"rendsn ndia.65See Hans Bakker 1991), "Ayodhyd: HinduJerusalem. n Investigationf'HolyWar' s a Religiousdea n the ight f Communal nrestn ndia,"n NumenXXXVIII,No. 1,pp.80-109.


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174 Richard ingHow lse an he elativelyeacefulo-existencef he arious indumovementseexplainedithoutome ense freligiousnity? hyelse wouldHindus fdifferingectarianffiliationsccepthe xis-tence f ival ods nlessheyelongedo he ame eligiousradition?Failureo ranscendmodel freligionremisedn hemonotheisticexclusivismfWesternhristianityherebyesultedn themagina-tive onstructionf a single eligionalled Hinduism".fcourse,beingble o lassifyindusndersingle eligiousubriclsomadecolonialontrolndmanipulationasier. hefacthathe emblanceofunity ithinndia wed onsiderableebt o mperialule eemstohavebeenforgotten.he ackof anorthodoxy,fan ecclesiasti-cal structure,r ndeed fanydistinctiveeaturehichmightointtothe ostulationf single indu eligion,asdismissed,nd neconsequencef hiswas he endencyoportrayHinduism'sa con-tradictoryeligion,hichequiredome ormforganizationlongecclesiasticalnddoctrinalines,nd purgingf superstitious'le-mentsncompatibleithhehigh' ulturef Hinduism'.Thisnew pistime66reatedconceptualpacen he ormf ris-ingperceptionhatHinduism"adbecome corrupthadowf tsformerelfwhich asnowocatedn ertainey acredextsuch stheVedas,heUpanisadsnd he hagavad iti alltaken opro-vide nunproblematicccountf ncientindueligiosity).heper-ceivedhortcomingsf ontemporaryHinduism'n omparisono heideal orm,srepresentedn he ext,husreatedhe eliefamongstbothWesternersnd ndians)hat indu eligionad tagnatedverthe enturiesndwasthereforenneed freformation.hegapbe-tweenriginalideal) Hinduism'nd he ontemporaryeliefsndpracticesfHindus as oon illedf oursey he ise fwhat avebecome nowns 'Hindu eform ovements'nthenineteenthen-tury groupsuch sthe rahmoamaj,heAryaamaj nd he a-

661 amusing pistome ere n a broadly oucaultianenseto denote hatwhich"defines he onditionsfpossibilityf llknowledge, hetherxpressedn a theoryor ilentlynvestednpractice"Foucault 1973],TheOrder fThingsPantheon,ewYork), . 168.


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176 Richard ingbelieven he ameGod.67fwe henonsiderhe iversityf eligiousmovementssuallyubsumednderhe abel Hinduism"ewill inda similaricture.erhapshe ifferenceies nthe act hat ineteenthand twentiethenturyHindus" avegenerallyot bjectedo thepostulationfa single eligiousraditions a way funderstandingtheir eliefsndpractices,hereas ews, hristiansndMuslimsgenerallyemainery rotectiveftheirwngroupdentities.hisHinduttitudeoesnotmerelyeflecthe olonizationf heirhought-processesytheOrientalists.ostulationfHindu nity astobeencouragedn thedevelopmentf Indian utonomyrom ritishrule. waraj home ule)was seen obe inconceivableithoutheunificationf ndia longnationalisticndculturalines.Notonlythat,lthoughectarianlashes ave lwaysccurred,ngeneralndianreligiousroupsppearohave een ble o ive ogethern mannerunprecedentednthe istoryftheJudaeo-Christianeligionsn theWest.Consequently,tremainsnanachronismoprojecthenotion f"Hinduism"s t scommonlynderstoodnto re-colonialndian is-tory.eforehe nificationegunndermperialulend onsolidatedbythendependencef1947 tmakes osense otalk fan ndian'nation,'or fa religionalled Hinduism" hichmighte takentorepresenthe eliefystemftheHindu eople. oday fcoursethe ituationiffersnsofars one annow ointo loosely efinedculturalntityhichmighte abelledHinduism",r, s some re-fer,Neo-Hinduism"thoughhisatterermmplieshathere asunifiedulturalntitynowns"Hinduism"hichanbepinpointedin the re-colonialra).ThepresuppositionsftheOrientalistsan-not eunderestimatedn he rocess herebyineteenthnd wentiethcenturyndians ave ome operceiveheirwndentitynd ulturethrougholoniallyraftedenses.t sclear,hen,hatromhenine-teenthenturynwardsndianelf-awarenessasresultednthe e-velopmentf n ntellectualnd extually-basedHinduism"hichs67H. vonStietencron1991), bid., p.20-21.


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Orientalismnd theModemMyth f"Hinduism" 177thenread ack' ifyou ardonhetextual'un)ntondia's eligioushistory.ndeed,

The constructionf a unified indu dentitysofutmostmportanceorHinduswho iveoutsidendia.Theyneed Hinduismhat an be explainedooutsidersas a respectable eligion, hatcan be taught o their hildrenn religiouseducation,ndthat an form he asis for ollectivection.... Inan ronicwistofhistory,rientalismsnowbroughty ndians o ndiansivingntheWest.68As mentionedarlier,he nventionf"Hinduism"s a single"world"eligion asalsoaccompaniedythe ise f a nationalistconsciousnessn India ince henineteenthentury.69he modemnation-state,fcourse,s a productfEuropeanocio-politicalnd

economicevelopmentsromhe ixteenthenturynwards,nd heintroductionfthenationalistodelntoAsia s a furtheregacy fEuropeanmperialismnthis rea. t s somewhatronic,herefore,to find hat hevery indu ationalistshofoughto vehementlyagainstritishmperialistule,hemselvescceptedhe omogenizingconceptsf nationhood'nd Hinduism,'hich ltimatelyerivedfromheirmperialulers.70t s difficultoseewhat lternativehe68Peter anderVeer1993) inBreckenridgendvan derVeereds.) 1993), bid.,pp.42-43.69See Partha hatterjee1992),"HistoryndtheNationalizationfHinduism,"n

SocialResearch 9,No.1,pp. 111-149 ndChatterjee1986),Nationalist houghtand theColonial World. Derivative iscourse Zed BooksLtd,London);MarkJuergensmeyer1993), The New Cold War?ReligiousNationalism onfrontsheSecular State Universityf California ress,Berkeley/Losngeles/London).frelevance ere lso s thework f DavidLelyveld"TheFateofHindustani: olonialKnowledgend theProject f a National anguage,"nBreckenridgendvanderVeer eds.] 1993], bid., p.189-214) nthe olewhichHindustanindHindi layedin thefailed olonialproject fconstructingnationalanguagen India.See alsoArjunAppadurai'siscussion ftheway n which he uantificationrocessnitiatedbygatheringf statisticalnformationor heCensusetc.,functionss a means fconstructingomogeneity ("NumberntheColonialmagination,"nBreckenridgeandvanderVeer eds.] 1993], bid., specially p.330-334).70For a comprehensiveiscussion f the colonialroots of Indiannationalistconsciousness,ee Partha hatterjee1986), Nationalist houghtnd theColonialWorld A Derivative iscourse? Zed BooksLtd.,London).See also Chatterjee


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Orientalismnd theModemMyth f"Hinduism" 179Romila hapar onsolidateshis ositionypointingothe oliticalconsequencesf the onstructionf a common indu dentity.hus,she rgues hat,Since t waseasytorecognizetherommunitiesn thebasisofreligion,uchas Muslims ndChristians,neffort asmadeto consolidate parallelHinducommunity... InGramsci'serms,he lass whichwishes obecomehegemonichas to nationalizetselfnd the nationalist' induism omesfrom hemiddleclass.72

The tatus f heTerm Hinduism"Given he videncewhichwe haveust onsidereds t till ossible

to use theterm Hinduism"t all? One mightwishto arguethatthetermHinduism"s a useful onstructnsofars it refersothegeneral eatures f "Indian ulture" ather han o a single eligion.Julius ipner asrecentlyrguedhat cholars hould etainhe erm"Hinduism"nsofars it s used n a non-essentialistanneroreferoHindu ulturendnot othe dea ofa single eligion. ipner uggeststhat heWesternermHinduism'when sed n this ense s effectiveso ong s itrepresentshedynamic olycentrism'fHindutaHindu-ness).73However, venLipner's haracterizationf 'Hinduism'remainsdeeplyndebted o Sanskriticrahmanism.t is difficultosee,evenonthisview,whyBuddhism nd Jainismre notthemselvesart fHindutd. espiteLipner's xplicit isavowal fan essentialistr rei-

72RomilaThapar 1989), ibid.,p. 230. Daniel Gold suggests hat PostcolonialHindu fundamentalisman thusappearas a new colonialism f thevictors.nrepresentingnemergencef ndicgroup onsciousnessnnewformshaped ythecolonial xperience,t caneasily ead toa tyrannyf themajority.or tkeeps heWesterndeaofreligiousommunitys an deally omogenousroup, ut bandonsthe deasofequalitymong ommunitiesndprotectionsorminoritiesntroducedwith ecular ritishdministration..."Gold 1991], bid., . 580.)73JuliusJ.Lipner 1996), "Ancient anyan:An Inquiryn to theMeaning f'Hinduness'n Religious tudies 2,pp. 109-126. ipner's se of Hinduta' eflectshis explicit voidance f the term Hindutva'whichhas beenappropriatedn thepoliticalrena yHindunationalistsseepp. 112-113).


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180 Richard ingfled enderingfthe erm, isdescriptionf Hinduism' s "macro-cosmicallynethoughmicrocosmicallyany, polycentrichenom-enonmbuedwithhe ame ife-sap,he oundariesnd micro)centresseeming o merge nd overlap n a complexus f oscillatingen-sions,"74s likely o continue ocausemisunderstanding,ustas it sis also likely obe appropriatedythe nclusivismfNeo-Vedinta(which ttemptso subsume uddhisminparticular]nder heum-brella fan absolutismftheAdvaita eddntaariety)ndHinduna-tionalistroups like.Althoughhemodem ndianConstitutionarti-cle 25 2)] classifiesllBuddhist,ainsndSikhs s Hindu,' hiss un-acceptable or numberfreasons. irstly,ecause trides oughshodoverreligious iversityndestablishedroup-affiliations.econdly,suchan approachgnores henon-Brahmanicalnd non-Vedicle-ments f hese raditions.undamentally,uch ssimilationffectivelysubvertshe uthorityfmembersf hese raditionso peak or hem-selves.n the ast nalysis, eo-Vedinticnclusivismemainsnappro-priate or he imple eason hat uddhistsndJains o notgenerallyseethemselvess followersf ectarianenominationsf Hinduism."

Lipner's ppealto polycentricism'ndperspectivisms character-isticof Hinduthoughtlso failsto salvagea recognizableenseofIndian eligious nityince t mountsostatinghat he nityf Hin-duism"or Hindutd)anbe foundna relativisticecognitionfper-spectiven a great eal ofHindu octrinendpractice.hiswillhardlysuffficefone wishes o usethe erm Hinduism"na waywhichs inanymeaningfulespectlassifiables a 'religion'nthemodemWest-ern enseof the erm. nemight ish opostulateHinduism"s anunderlyingulturalnityut his oo s ikelyoprovenadequatenceonemoves eyond eneralizedxaminationnd ppeals oculturalo-mogeneity.et ven fone ccepts Hinduism"sa culturalatherhanas a specificallyeligious nity,ne would hen eedtoacknowledgethe ense nwhich twas no longerdentifiables an "ism," herebyrenderinghe erm bsolete ratbestdownright isleading.o con-tinue o talkof"Hinduism" ven s a broadculturalhenomenons

74J.Lipner1996), bid., . 110.


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Orientalismnd theModemMythf"Hinduism" 181as problematics thepostulationfa unifiedulturalraditionnownas "Westernism."here regeneral eaturesfbothndian ndWest-ern ulture hich necanpinpointnd nalyse o a certainegree, utneithererm hould e reified.

IndologistWilhelmHalbfasshas attacked he claim that Hin-duism"s anOrientalistonstructiony appealing o theuniversalityofthe oncept fDharma npre-modernindu hought.We cannot educe hemeanings f dharma o one general rinciple; or sthere nesingle ranslationhatwould over ll itsusages.Nevertheless,hereis coherencen thisvariety;treflectshe lusive, etundeniableoherencefHinduismtself,tspeculiar nity-in-diversity.75

AccordingoHalbfass, espite pecificsectarian"llegiancese.g.toVaisnavismrSaivism) he heoreticiansnd iteraryepresentativesof hese raditionsrelatendreferooneanother,uxtapose r oordi-nate heireachings,nd rticulateheirlaims f mutualnclusionrtranscendence"n a mannerndicativef wider ense fHindu nityand dentity.76owever,he elusive'gluewhich pparentlyolds o-getherhediversityf ndian eligiousraditionss notfurtherlabo-rated ponbyHalbfass, or s thisunity-in-diversity's 'undeniable'as he suggests. s we haveseen, henineteenthenturyrientaliststended opostulatenunderlyingnityo Hindureligiousraditionsbecausethey ended o view ndianreligion rom Western hris-tian erspective.albfass t east swillingoadmit hat he ealityf"Hinduism"s "elusive" nd hathe se of he ermreligion'o trans-late he oncept fDharma sproblematic.77 evertheless,nmyviewhe fails o appreciatehe ense nwhich hepostulationf a single,underlyingeligious nityalled Hinduism"equires highlymagi-native ctofhistoricaleconstruction.o appeal othe ndian onceptofDharmaas unifyinghediversityf Hindureligiousraditionss75Wilhelm albfass1988), ndia ndEurope, . 333.76Wilhelm albfass,TheVeda ndthe dentityfHinduism,"n Halbfass1991),TraditionndReflection:xplorationsn ndianThoughtStateUniversityf New

York ress,Albany, .Y.),p. 15.77See Halbfass1988), ndia ndEurope,h. 18.


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182 Richard ingmoot inceDharma s not principle hich s amenable o a single,universalnterpretation,eingnfactppropriatedn diverse ays yvarietyf ndian raditionsallofwhom endedodefinehe onceptntermsf heirwngroup-dynamicnd dentity).heappeal oDharmathereforeshighlyuestionablen the ame ense hat nappeal othenotion ftheCovenant ouldbe inestablishinghatJudaism,hris-tianitynd slamwere ctuallyectarianffshootsf single eligioustradition.

Despite ll of hese roblems,nemightrgue hat herere num-ber freasonswhy ne should etainhe ermHinduism."irstly,heterm emains seful n a general, uperficialnd ntroductoryevel.Secondly,t s clear hat ince henineteenthentury,ovementsavearisennIndiawhich oughlyorrespondotheterm s it has beenunderstoodyOrientalists.ndeed, s I haveargued, rientalistc-countshavethemselvesad a significantoleto play n theriseofsuchgroups. hus, Hinduism" owexistsna sense n which t cer-tainly id notbeforehenineteenthentury hirdly,nemight ishto retainhe erm,s Lipner oes,with hequalificationhattsradi-callypolytheticature e understood.uchan approachwouldneedto be thoroughlyon-essentialistnapproachnd drawparticulart-tentionotherupturesnddiscontinuities,he riss-crossingatternsand family esemblances' hich reusually ubsumed yunreflec-tive ndessentialistsageof the erm. erro-Luzzi,or nstance,assuggestedhat heterm Hinduism" houldbe understoodo be a'polythetic-prototypical'oncept, olytheticecauseof itsradicallyheterogenousature,nd prototypical'n the ensethat he ermsfrequentlysedbybothWesternersnd ndians o refero a particu-lar dealized onstruct.rototypicaleaturesfHinduismunctionssuch ither ecauseof their igh requencymongst induse.g.theworshipf deities uch iva, Krsna ndGanesa, empleworship,hepracticefpiuja tc.), rbecause f heirrestigemongst induse.g.the o-calledhigh'culturefHindus,.e.,theBrahmanicalonceptsofdharma, amfara, arman,dvaita,vilistidvaita tc.),which e-mainmportantormativerprototypicalaradigmsor ontemporary


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184 Richard ingSimplisticallypeaking,e canspeak f wo ormsfOrientalistdiscourse,he irst,enerallyntagonisticnd onfidentnEuropeansuperiority,he econd,enerallyffirmative,nthusiasticnd ugges-tive f ndianuperiorityncertainey reas. oth ormsf Orien-talism,owever,ake ssentialistudgementshich osternoverlysimplisticnd omogenousonceptionf ndianulture.evertheless,it s mportanto cknowledgehat rientalistiscoursesrenot ni-vocal, or an heyesimplisticallyismissedsmereools fEuro-pean mperialistdeology.hus,henew' ndianntelligentsia,du-catedn oloniallystablishednstitutions,nd ccordingoEuropeanculturaltandards,ppropriatedhe omanticistlementsnOrientalist

dialoguesnd romotedhe dea f spirituallydvancednd ncientreligiousraditionalled Hinduism,"hichwasthe eligionftheIndiannation'.nthismanner, estern-inspiredrientalistndna-tionalistiscoursesermeatedndigenouself-awarenessndwerep-pliedn nti-colonialiscoursesyndianshemselves.owever,uchindigenousiscoursesemaineeplyndebtedoOrientalistresuppo-sitionsndhave enerallyailedo riticizehe ssentialisttereotypesembodiednsuch arratives.his ejectionfBritisholitical ege-mony,ut romstandpointhichtill cceptsmanyf he uropeanpresuppositionsboutndianulture,swhat shisNandy as alled'the econdolonization'f ndia.Inthis egard,henaturef ndian ostcolonialelf-identityro-vides ome upportorGadamer'suggestionhat necannotasilyescape henormativeuthorityftradition,or,nopposingritishcolonialule, indu ationalistsidnot ullyranscendhe resuppo-sitionsf heWest,ut atheregitimatedesternrientalistiscoursebyrespondingn a mannerhichidnot undamentallyuestionheOrientalists'aradigmThroughhe oloniallystablishedpparatusfthe olitical,co-nomic ndeducationalnstitutionsf India, ontemporaryndianself-awarenessemainseeplynfluencedyWesternresuppositionsabout he aturef ndia ulture.heprimexamplef his einghe

developmentince henineteenthenturyfan ndigenousense fIndian ationaldentitynd he onstructionfa singleworld" e-


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Orientalismnd theModemMyth f"Hinduism" 185ligion alled Hinduism."hisreligions now he ognitiveite fa powertruggleetweennternationally-orientedovementssuchas ISKCONandtheRdimakrsnaission)ndcontemporaryindunationalistovementssuch s theVishwa indu arishadndtheRashtriyavayamsevakangh). heprize noffers tobe able ode-fine he soul'or essence' fHinduism.y hesis asbeen hathis'essence' idnot xistat eastn he ense nwhichWesternriental-ists nd ontemporaryindumovementsave endedorepresentt)untiltwas nventedn he ineteenthentury.nsofars such oncep-tions f ndianulturendhistoryrevailnd hemythf Hinduism'persists,ontemporaryndiandentitiesemainubjecto henfluenceof westernizingndneo-colonialas opposedotrulyostcolonial)orientalism.79DepartmentfReligious tudies RICHARDKINGUniversityf tirlingStirling,cotland,K94LA,United ingdom

79Thispaper s partof a larger roject xamininghe nterfaceetween ost-colonial heoryndthe tudy freligion.ee Richard ing 1999),OrientalismndReligion. ost-colonialheory,ndia nd"theMystic ast" Routledge,ondon ndNewYork).

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