Abstract

This article examines the traditionalist and conservative trends in the environmental thinking in India, especially in the works of M. K. Gandhi and Deendayal Upadhyay. Special attention is paid to the latter’s concept of integral humanism, which has recently become a widely discussed idea in the Indian public discourse. Exploring their ideological bases, Gandhian spiritual radicalism and Deendayal’s integral humanism are placed into the broader trend of the Indian nationalist and environmentalist thinking, showing the possible convergence of ecology and social conservatism. Analyzing the implications of the authoritarian and non-egalitarian tendencies in the society, it shows how the Indian environmentalist movements drawing on Brahminical traditions and Gandhian thinking become prone to be hijacked by the Hindu nationalism. *** De Gandhi a Deendayal: contradições nas tendências conservadoras hindus no pensamento ecológico indiano ***Este artigo examina as tendências tradicionalistas e conservadoras no pensamento ambiental na Índia, especialmente nos trabalhos de M. K. Gandhi e Deendayal Upadhyay. Uma atenção especial é dada ao conceito de humanismo integral, desse último autor, que recentemente se tornou uma ideia amplamente discutida no discurso público indiano. Explorando suas bases ideológicas, o radicalismo espiritual de Gandhi e o humanismo integral de Deendayal são colocados na tendência mais ampla do pensamento nacionalista e ambientalista indiano, mostrando a possível convergência da ecologia e do conservadorismo social. Analisando as implicações das tendências autoritárias e não-igualitárias na sociedade, isso mostra como os movimentos ambientalistas indianos, baseando-se nas tradições bramânicas e no pensamento de Gandhi, tendem a ser sequestrados pelo nacionalismo hindu.Palavras-chave: Índia. Ambientalismo. Tradicionalismo. Hinduísmo. Nacionalismo hindu. Humanismo integral.

Highlights

  • The Hindu tradition provides us with many accounts on the relation between human and nature

  • 376 Civitas, Porto Alegre, v. 19, n. 2, p. 374-390, May-Aug. 2019 the Gandhian spiritual radicalism with its strong traditionalism and antimodernism, a special attention will be paid to Deendayal Upadhyay, whose political ideas of integral humanism, adopted as the official doctrine of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party, puts considerable emphasis on environmental protection and responsible use of natural resources, and who is presented as a figure comparable to Mahatma Gandhi by the contemporary Hindu nationalist forces

  • As Meera Nanda points out, integral humanism is almost an exact paraphrase of Gandhi’s vision of a future India: both seek a distinctive path for India, both reject the materialism of socialism and capitalism, both reject the individualism of modern society in favor of a holistic community based on varṇa and dharma, both insist upon an infusion of religious and moral values in politics, and both seek a culturally authentic mode of modernization that preserves Hindu values (Nanda, 2009, p. 217)

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Summary

Introduction

The Hindu tradition provides us with many accounts on the relation between human and nature. 374-390, May-Aug. 2019 the Gandhian spiritual radicalism with its strong traditionalism and antimodernism, a special attention will be paid to Deendayal Upadhyay, whose political ideas of integral humanism, adopted as the official doctrine of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party, puts considerable emphasis on environmental protection and responsible use of natural resources, and who is presented as a figure comparable to Mahatma Gandhi by the contemporary Hindu nationalist forces.

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