Abstract
In India, the Human Rights notions of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion are integrated in the Indian Constitution but interpreted from within an Indian framework of reference that has close links to premodern and modern forms of Hinduism. The doctrine of Human Rights cannot automatically count on meeting with approval from the part of the world’s religions. If the current Human Rights discourse is typically a ‘modern’ discourse based on an initially Western view of the human being, how does it relate to religions such as traditional Hinduism, Neo-Hinduism, and nationalist Hinduism that draw from both premodern and modern sources? More specifically, how do these forms of Hinduism view freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as stated in the Indian Constitution? It will be argued that Hindu approaches to religious freedom and conversion highly depend, not only on whether they are traditional or modern but also on whether Hindu traditions draw their external boundaries from within or from without.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call