Hindutva and Indian Religious Traditions

Description

The spirit of intolerance and bigotry was never akin
to Indian religious traditions. Then how comes that
Hindutva has become so powerful in India today?
Dr. Sebastian Kappen addresses himself to this question
in the five papers that are compiled in this volume.
He explores the fascist character of Hindutva, and outlines a
new vision of the future. Kappen finds the roots of
Hindutva not so much in the Brahmanic scriptures
as in the Judeo-Christian myths. To him what is
happening is, not exactly a revival of Hinduism but
its betrayal and semiticization.

About the Author

Sebastian Kappen (1924 - 1993)
Sebastian Kappen, an Indian Jesuit theologian, doctored in 1961 from the Gregorian University, Rome, with a thesis on “Praxis and Religious Alienation according to the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of Karl Marx." His subsequent studies had been geared to the requirements of transformative social action in India. This led him to an investigation
into the liberative and humanizing potential of the original teachings of
the historical Jesus as well as of Indian religious traditions, particularly
the tradition of dissent represented by the Buddha and the medieval
Bhakti Movement. He has written and lectured extensively on the cultural
restructuring of Indian society.

In 1973 appeared Kappen's major work in English, Jesus and Freedom
(Orbis Books, New York). It was followed by Marxian Atheism (1983),
Jesus and Cultural Revolution - an Asian Perspective (1983), Liberation
Theology and Marxism (1986), and The Future of Socialism and Socialism
of the Future (1992). His posthumous publications are: Tradition
Modernity Counterculture (1994), Hindutva and Indian Religious Traditions
(2000), Divine Challenge and Human Response (2001), Jesus and
Society (2002) and Jesus and Culture (2002).
Sebastian Kappen had been visiting professor to the Ponti_cal Seminary(
Pune), Vidyajyoti(Delhi), The Catholic University of Louvain(Belgium)
and Maryknoll Seminary(New York). Mother Earth called him back on
30 November 1993.

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