Course Syllabus: Modern Religious and Secular Movements in India

Course Details:

• Course Code: BRS09
• Program: BD IV, Semester II
• Credit Hours: 4
• Examination: Final Examination 100%

Course Objectives

1. To acquaint students with the socio-economic-political and religious situation of India at the beginning of the 19th century and the factors responsible for its renaissance.
2. To understand the different types of modern movements in the country, the issues they addressed, and their impact.
3. To discern the implications of the modern movements for the mission and ministries of the church.

Methodology

1. Historical-Descriptive-Analytical-Critical Method will be used.
2. Visits to sites of historical and religious importance as well as to centers of modern movements may be arranged as far as practicable.
3. Group assignments may be given to study certain subjects such as Guru movements, Political parties, etc.

Course Outline

Unit I: Introduction

1. The Socio-Economic-Political and Religious Situation in India from the 18th century on.
2. Conceptual Clarification of Terms: Modern, Renaissance, Reformation, Secular, etc.
3. Factors that contributed to the renaissance in India.

Unit II: Socio-Religious Movements within Hinduism

1. The Brahma Samaj
2. Arya Samaj
3. Ramakrishna Mission
4. Narayan Guru Movement
5. Ayyavazhi Muthukutty (Kanyakumari District)
6. Influential Thinkers: Mahatma Gandhi, Aurobindo Ghose, and S. Radhakrishnan
7. Bhakti Vedanta Prabhupada – ISKCON
8. Prajapati Brahmakumaris
9. Any other regional and local movements.

Unit III: Socio-Religious Movements within Other Communities

1. Islam
   1. Aligarh Movement
   2. Ahmadiyah Movement
   3. Influential Thinker: Sir Muhammad Iqbal
2. Sikhism
   1. Singh Sabha Movement
   2. Gurudwara Reform Movement
   3. Nirankari Movement Radha Soami Satsang
3. Buddhism
   1. Ambedkar and the Neo-Buddhist Movement / Sri Lanka.

Unit IV: Guru Movements

1. General Characteristics of the Modern Guru Movements.
2. Special Study of the following Gurus:
   1. Shirdi Sai Baba Tradition with special reference to Sathya Sai Baba
   2. Maharshi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental Meditation
   3. Rajneesh and His Movement
   4. Mata Amritananda Mayi
   5. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Unit V: Religio-Political and Secular Movements

1. Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
2. Sarvodaya and Bhoodan Movement
3. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Sangh Pariyar
4. Reform and Independence Movements: Dravidian, Dalit, Tribal and Adivasi.

Unit VI: Contemporary Issues and the Response of Churches

1. Fundamentalism and Communalism
2. Secularism, Minority Rights, Freedom of Religion and Conversion
3. A post-colonial, post-modern Christian critique of the events of the 19th and 20th century in India
4. Political parties, civil society movements, and the church.

Bibliography

Essential Reading

• Augustine, John S. Religious Fundamentalism. Bangalore: SATHRI, 1993.
• Baird, Robert D. Religions in Modern India. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 1998.
• Bali, D.R. Modern Indian Thought. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1988.
• Bharatiya V.P. Religion-State Relationships and Constitutional Rights in India. New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 1988.
• Coward, Harold. Modern Indian Responses to Religious Pluralism. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991.
• Dietrich, Gabriele & Bas Weilenga. Towards Understanding Indian Society. Madurai: TTS, 1997.
• Farquhar, J.N. Modern Religious Movements in India. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1977.
• Mangalwadi, Vishal. The World of Guins. New Delhi: Nivedit Good Books, Distributors, 1987.
• Sarma, D.S. Hinduism Through the Ages. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1930.
• Thomas, M.M. Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance. Madras: CLS, 1970.
• Wilkinson, T.S. and M.M. Thomas. Ambedkar and the Neo-Buddhist Movement. Madras: CLS, 1972.

Supplementary Reading

• Aleaz, K.P. Harmony of Religions: The Relevance of Swami Vivekananda. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1993.
• Ansari, Iqbal A. The Muslim Situation in India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1989.
• Bajwa, Harcharan Singh. Fifty Years of Punjab Politics (1920-1970). Chandigarh, 1979.
• Bakshi, S.R. Arya Samaj: Swami Dayananda and His Ideology. New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 1991.
• Chatterji, S.K. The People, the Parliament and Fundamental Rights. Madras: CLS, 1969.
• Copley, Antony, ed. Gurus and Their Followers: New Religious Reform Movements in Colonial India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Cornel Judith. Amma, A Living Saint. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2001.
• Durrany, K.S. The Impact of Islamic Fundamentalism. Delhi: ISPCK, 1993.
• Eist, Koenraad. Decolonizing the Hindu Mind: Ideological Development of Hindu Revivalism. New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 2001.
• Geeta V. A. and S.V. Rajendran. Towards A Non-Brahmin Millennium: From Jothee Das to Periyar. Madras: Samya Press, 1998.
• Ghose, Shankar. Political Ideas and Movements in India. Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1975.
• Goel, Sita Ram. History of Hindu-Christian Encounters. New Delhi: Voice of India, 1996.
• Haidar, Dipankar. Kingdom of God in the New Testament and Neo-Vedanta. Raghabpur-West Bengal: Raghabpur Seva Niketan, 2012.
• Iqbal, Muhammad. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in India. London: Oxford University Press, 1934.
• Kantowsky, D. Sarvodaya, The Other Development. New Delhi: Vikas Publication, 1980.
• Karunakaran, K.P. Religion and Political Awakening. Delhi: Meenakshi Prakasan, 1965.
• Lalrinawma, V.S. Liberation of Women in and through the Prajapita Brahma Kumari Movement. Delhi: ISPCK, 2004.
• Malkani, K.R. The RSS Story. New Delhi: Impex India, 1980.
• Maliekal, J. Indian Political Parties and Ideologies. Bangalore: CS A, n.d.
• Moon, Vasant. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches. Bombay: Education Dept, Govt, of Maharashtra, 1989.
• Moses, M. Justin. Aiyya Vazhi Cult’s Representative Attempts for Social Justice: A Model for Common Humanity, Indian Journal of Theology 48/1&2 (2006): 112-127.
• Moses, M. Justin. The Contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in the Study of Religion. Amidst Theologies of Twenty-First Century: Some Pedagogical Issues. Edited by Pratap Chandra Gine (Serampore: Council of Serampore College, 2011): 84-118.
• Pruthi, R.K. Social and Religious Reform Movements in Modern India. New Delhi: Commonwealth Publishers, 2014.
• Ralte, Rodinmawia. Hindus and Hindutva: Hindu Tolerance, Hindutva Exclusivism, Emergence of Assertive Hinduism. Kolkata: PTCA, 2014.
• Ryerson, C. A. Regionalism and Religion: The Tamil Renaissance and Popular Hinduism. Madras: CLS, 1988.
• Singh, Khushwant. A History of the Sikhs. Vol. II. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984.
• Singh, Amrik. Punjab in Indian Politics: Issues and Trends. New Delhi, 1979.
• Singh, Dalip. Dynamics of Punjab Politics. New Delhi, 1981.
• Vanlaltlani, T. A Study of Religious Identity among the Bru of Mizoram. Delhi: ISPCK, 2007.
• Varghese, C. Kunjappan. The Religious Movements in India during the First Half of the Twentieth Century. Kerala Theological Journal 1/3 (February, 2011): 4-19.
• Varghese, C. Kunjappan. Pandita Rama Bai: A Journey from Hinduism to Christian Revivalism. Kerala Theological Journal 1/2 (February, 2010): 6-17.
• Zachariah, Aleyamma. Modern Religious and Secular Movements in India. Bangalore: Theological Book Trust, 1992.

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