Kalpana Ram

Religion, Gender and the Postcolonial Crisis of the Present: Reflections on and from India

Introduction

Religion, gender and the postcolonial crisis of the present: reflections on and from india. India's postcolonial crisis: modernity's failure to address religion & gender. Examines rising Hindu nationalism, critiquing secular, feminist & socialist projects.

Abstract

The paper explores the crisis in modernity's incapacity to address the Other in various overlapping domains, those of 'religion', 'woman', 'tradition' and 'non-western societies'. It argues that this incapacity, intrinsic to the very construction of modernity, has seriously weakened secular modern emancipatory projects not only in the west, but within countries like India. In India, projects strong among Indian intellectuals, such as feminism, secularism and socialism, face a crisis in their capacity to oppose the rise of Hindu religious nationalism. The paper explores the weaknesses in these projects particularly in their understanding of human agency, through a detailed examination of the way religion has been constructed in modern understandings of belief, ritual, choice and tradition.

Review

This paper presents a timely and ambitious intervention, positioning itself at the critical intersection of religion, gender, and postcolonial studies, with a specific focus on India. The core argument, that modernity's inherent inability to adequately engage with the 'Other' – encompassing 'religion,' 'woman,' 'tradition,' and 'non-western societies' – has significantly undermined secular emancipatory projects globally and particularly within countries like India, is both compelling and highly relevant to contemporary academic and political discourse. By critically examining how this incapacity has weakened intellectual movements such as feminism, secularism, and socialism in India against the rising tide of Hindu religious nationalism, the paper promises a rigorous analysis of the foundational conceptual challenges facing modern thought. The abstract suggests several strengths that would make this a significant contribution to the field. Its promise of a "detailed examination of the way religion has been constructed in modern understandings of belief, ritual, choice and tradition" indicates a deep theoretical engagement, moving beyond superficial critiques to dissect the very epistemological frameworks that have shaped modern secular projects. This approach is particularly valuable in understanding the complexities of postcolonial societies, where Western-derived concepts often encounter local realities in unexpected ways. The paper's focus on "human agency" further suggests a nuanced exploration of individual and collective action within these contested spaces, offering the potential for fresh insights into the agency of those positioned as the 'Other' in modernity's gaze. While the abstract provides a strong theoretical framework, a more explicit indication of the methodology would further strengthen its appeal. It would be beneficial to understand how the "detailed examination" of religion's construction will be executed – through historical analysis, textual critique, case studies, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, while the paper effectively identifies the weaknesses in existing emancipatory projects, it would be interesting to see if it gestures towards potential pathways forward or alternative conceptualizations that might better address the crisis. Given the prominent inclusion of "gender" in the title and "woman" as an 'Other' in the abstract, clarifying how gender specifically intersects with the construction of religion and the crises of the mentioned projects would also enrich the paper's scope and impact.

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