Suchergebnisse

This article compares history teaching in two types of Hindi-language textbooks used in India. One group of sources includes textbooks issued by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, a central public institution. The other one contains those published by Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan, a network of private schools run by Hindu nationalists. The objective of this study is to analyse what political, identity-building purposes these two conflicted narratives on history reveal. Unsurprisingly, the author's conclusion is that the Hindu nationalist textbooks are biased in a number of ways. They portray India as continuously assaulted by foreign forces across the ages and united by the Hindu religious traditions. The government textbooks also stress Indian national unity at times but do not build it on the bedrock of Hindu religious traditions. While part of their contents is tilted politically to the left, they are still more balanced than the publications of Hindu nationalists. They recognise diversity much more, challenge some of the common myths and biases, admit India's various historical challenges and include perspectives of various social groups to a certain degree. The article's concluding remarks also muse on whether and in what ways such debates on Indian history affect the country's present domestic politics and foreign policy.

Abstract
This article focuses on how Hindu nationalists interpret the term 'secularism' in
Hindi. I will refer to two Hindi translations of 'secularism':
dharmnirpekṣtā and panthnirpekṣtā. The
first one means indifference towards religion and the second indifference
towards communities. My main point is that the Hindu nationalists' strategy of
referring to old, Sanskrit meanings of dharm (which means 'law'
and 'order' aside 'religion' and other concepts) make it possible for them to criticise dharmnirpekṣtā and choose
panthnirpekṣtā instead. Their position is that the state
can only be indifferent to communities and not to dharm, as the
latter would also mean being indifferent to 'law' and 'order'. Such an approach
helps the Hindu nationalists to claim to be in agreement with the idea of
secular Indian state on one hand and promote their religion-linked ideology on
the other.

The Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man's Party, AAP) has taken over part of the program of the Indian National Congress. The AAP was able to include new solutions within the traditional political repertoire. In Delhi the AAP took over the traditional Congress electorate but was also able to reach out to the middle-class voter.