| Revision as of 15:53, 12 April 2014 editDarkness Shines (talk | contribs)31,762 edits Reverted good faith edits by Redtigerxyz (talk): Yes, and now we discuss a merger. (TW)← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 08:16, 27 April 2019 edit undoWinged Blades of Godric (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers40,041 edits Redirecting page to Koenraad Elst Not standalone notable (redirectify)Tag: New redirect | ||
| (30 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ⚫ | #REDIRECT ] | ||
| {{merge to|Koenraad Elst|discuss=Talk:Koenraad Elst#Proposed merge with Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society|date=April 2014}} | |||
| {{Infobox book | |||
| |name = Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society | |||
| |title_orig = | |||
| |translator = | |||
| |image = <!--Image deleted: ]--><!--FAIR USE of IMAGENAME.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/Image:IMAGENAME.jpg for rationale--> | |||
| |caption = | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| |illustrator = | |||
| |cover_artist = | |||
| |country = India | |||
| |language = English | |||
| |series = | |||
| |subject = | |||
| |genre = | |||
| |publisher = ] | |||
| |release_date = 1991 | |||
| |english_release_date = | |||
| |media_type = | |||
| |pages = | |||
| |isbn = | |||
| |preceded_by = | |||
| |followed_by = | |||
| }} | |||
| {{Ayodhya debate}} | |||
| '''''Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society''''' is a book by ] published in 1991 by ]. | |||
| The book is about the ] debate, but does also discuss Indian politics and ]. | |||
| Elst opines that reaching national integration "requires dropping the anti-Hindu separatist doctrines that have largely been created for the purposes of several imperialisms, and are now being kept afloat with a lot of distortive intellectual and propagandistic effort." | |||
| The book attempts to examine the polemics between 'communalists' and 'secularists' in India. He also writes about ] and ], and alleges "that a clear majority of the riots are started by Muslims". In another chapter, the author discusses the banning of books like ]'s ]. In the 14th chapter he discusses the concept of "Hindu Fascism". | |||
| Other books about the debate by Elst include ] and ]. | |||
| == The Ayodhya debate == | |||
| Elst believes that "in keeping with the internationally accepted standards of methodology and inference in scientific history-writing, we may conclude ... that the ] was built in replacement of a Hindu temple where Ram worship used to take place. In fact, this conclusion is merely a restatement of what was a matter of consensus until a few years ago." | |||
| But Elst does not believe in a forcible take-over of ancient temples. According to him, the Hindus should ask for a gesture of good will: | |||
| :''The Hindu leaders should say to the Muslim leaders : Look, we want these places back. For many centuries they have been our sacred places, and we have suffered the mosques built there only under duress. We do not believe in the forcible take-over of places of worship, we are not Babars and ]s. But we want from you a gesture of goodwill, a sign that you turn this infamous persecution page of history. We will not take any kind of revenge if you do not feel ready for this gesture, but we will expressly wait until you are ready.'' | |||
| In one chapter, the book describes the press reporting on the debate. Elst alleges that the media was controlled by the anti-Temple side, and that "the foreign press has not added any extra facts or perspective to the reporting on Ayodhya. It has mostly copied the bias of the Indian press." | |||
| ==Reception of his books on Ayodhya== | |||
| Elst has written several books on the Ayodhya debate. His first was ''Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid, a Case Study in Hindu-Muslim conflict'', while the book of the present article was his second. | |||
| Elst's book ''Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid, a Case Study in Hindu-Muslim conflict'' (1990) was the first book published by a non-Indian on the ].<ref name="After 1991">''Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society'' (1991)</ref> His opinion is that "until 1989, there was a complete consensus in all sources (Hindu, Muslim and European) which spoke out on the matter, viz. that the Babri Masjid had been built in forcible replacement of a Hindu temple."<ref>Koenraad Elst. ''Who is a Hindu?'' Chapter Nine</ref> He claimed that politically motivated academics have, through their grip on the media, manufactured doubts concerning this coherent and well-attested tradition.<ref name="After 1991"/> Elst alleges that the anti-Temple group in the Ayodhya conflict have committed serious breaches of academic ] and says that the "overruling of historical evidence with a high-handed use of academic and media power" in the Ayodhya controversy was the immediate reason to involve himself in the debate.<ref>Koenraad Elst. ''Who is a Hindu?'' Chapter Eleven</ref> | |||
| K. Elst sent Goel a manuscript of his first book ''Ram Janmabhoomi Vs. Babri Masjid: A Case Study in Hindu Muslim Conflict''. Goel was impressed with Elst's script: "I could not stop after I started reading it. I took it to ] the same evening. He read it during the night and rang me up next morning. Koenraad Elst's book, he said, should be published immediately."<ref name=Goel>Sitam Ram Goel, ''How I became a Hindu''. ch.9</ref> In August 1990, ] released Koenraad Elst's book about the Ayodhya conflict at a public function presided over by ].<ref name=Goel/><ref>''Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society'' (1991) Footnote 64</ref> | |||
| The book was reviewed by professor ]. <ref>http://www.rameshnrao.com/history-ayodhya-after.html</ref> | |||
| Indologist Gerald James Larson called the book a good treatment of the Neo Hindu interpretation of the evidence. <ref>India's Agony Over Religion By Gerald James Larson</ref> | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| *The Ayodhya demolition: an evaluation", in Dasgupta, S., et al.: The Ayodhya Reference, q.v., p. 123-154. | |||
| *The Ayodhya debate in Pollet, G., ed.: Indian Epic Values. Râmâyana and Its Impact. Leuven: Peeters. 1995, q.v., p. 21-42. (adapted from a paper of the International Ramayana Conference and the October 1995 Annual South Asia Conference in Madison, Wisconsin) | |||
| *The Ayodhya debate: focus on the "no temple" evidence, World Archaeological Congress, 1998 | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * | |||
| {{Koenraad Elst}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 08:16, 27 April 2019
Redirect to: