Misplaced Pages

Koenraad Elst: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 00:38, 4 November 2006 view sourceBondego (talk | contribs)860 edits rewrote neopagan from Elst article← Previous edit Revision as of 12:21, 6 November 2006 view source TwoHorned (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,931 edits →Controversies and influencesNext edit →
Line 15: Line 15:
== Controversies and Influences == == Controversies and Influences ==
Elst stated in 1999 to be a member of the Christian-Democratic trade-union<ref></ref>. He described himself as "a secular humanist with an active interest in religions, particularly ] and ], and keeping a close watch on the variegated ] revival in Europe."<ref></ref> Elst stated in 1999 to be a member of the Christian-Democratic trade-union<ref></ref>. He described himself as "a secular humanist with an active interest in religions, particularly ] and ], and keeping a close watch on the variegated ] revival in Europe."<ref></ref>
Elst was also involved for some years in the leftist and New Age scene.<ref></ref> In the 1990s he became interested in the Neopagan scene, and has written for some Neopagan publications until 1998.<ref></ref> Elst was also involved for some years in the New Age scene.<ref></ref> He has been presented by ''Voice Of India'' (his publishing house in ]) as being involved for some years in the ] movement. In the 1990s he became interested in the Neopagan scene, and has written for some Neopagan publications until 1998.<ref></ref>


Elst has published in English and ]. He contributed for example to the conservative magazine <ref></ref>. He is also a contributor to the "conservative-libertarian" internet magazine ], the Flemish satirical weekly ] and other Belgian & Dutch publications. He has also written for mainstream Indian magazines like ]. He wrote a postcript to a book written by American neoconservative, US government think tank convener and "middle-east scholar" ] ("''The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West''"). He has also been accused of connections to the ] by Sanjay Subrahmanyam (a professor at ]) in the Times of India, <ref></ref> and has contributed with other interventions described by Prof. R. Zydenbos on his homepage as emanating from right-wing circles in Belgium<ref>See "some more reading matter about Dr. K. Elst" by Prof. R. Zydenbos in his ] page .</ref>. On the ideological side, K. Elst's interest into modern Indian nationalism make his works, referred authors and developments take place in the general framework of nationalist and reformist ideologies that appeared in India in the late 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>For a description of the rising of reformist ideologies in India see ] "Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines", chapter "Vedanta Westernized".</ref><ref>See, among other references, ''Alexandre de Danaan'' "Bo Yin Ra, de la Taychou Marou au Grand Orient de Patmos" Arche Editions, Milano, 2004, pp 83-85.</ref> Elst has published in English and ]. He contributed for example to the conservative magazine <ref></ref>. He is also a contributor to the "conservative-libertarian" internet magazine ], the Flemish satirical weekly ] and other Belgian & Dutch publications. He has also written for mainstream Indian magazines like ]. He wrote a postcript to a book written by American neoconservative, US government think tank convener and "middle-east scholar" ] ("''The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West''"). He has also been accused of connections to the ] by Sanjay Subrahmanyam (a professor at ]) in the Times of India, <ref></ref> and has contributed with other interventions described by Prof. R. Zydenbos on his homepage as emanating from right-wing circles in Belgium<ref>See "some more reading matter about Dr. K. Elst" by Prof. R. Zydenbos in his ] page .</ref>. On the ideological side, K. Elst's interest into modern Indian nationalism make his works, referred authors and developments take place in the general framework of nationalist and reformist ideologies that appeared in India in the late 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>For a description of the rising of reformist ideologies in India see ] "Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines", chapter "Vedanta Westernized".</ref><ref>See, among other references, ''Alexandre de Danaan'' "Bo Yin Ra, de la Taychou Marou au Grand Orient de Patmos" Arche Editions, Milano, 2004, pp 83-85.</ref>

Revision as of 12:21, 6 November 2006

Koenraad Elst is a Belgian orientalist, writer and researcher. He has authored fifteen books on topics related to Hinduism, Indian history, and Indian politics.

Biography

Template:Hindu politics He was born in Leuven, Belgium, on 7 August 1959, into a Flemish Catholic family. He graduated in Indology, Sinology and Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven.

During a stay in India and at the Benaras Hindu University between 1988 and 1992, he interviewed many Indian leaders and writers. He wrote his first book about the Ayodhya conflict. While establishing himself as a columnist for a number of Belgian and Indian papers, he frequently returned to India to study various aspects of its ethno-religio-political configuration and interview Hindu and other leaders and thinkers. He also met the Hindu writer Sita Ram Goel in India, and was influenced by his writings. His research on the ideological development of Hindu revivalism earned him his Ph.D. in Leuven in 1998. He has also written about multiculturalism, language policy issues, ancient Chinese history and philosophy, comparative religion, and the Aryan invasion debate. Dr. Elst became a well-known author on Indian politics in the 1990s.

Opinions

Elst has written at length about fascism and totalitarianism in India and the West. His book The Saffron Swastika analyses the rhetoric of "Hindu fascism". He argues that "while one should always be vigilant for traces of totalitarianism in any ideology or movement, the obsession with fascism in the anti-Hindu rhetoric of the secularists is not the product of an analysis of the data, but of their own political compulsions." According to him, the current tendency to accuse Hindu movements of “fascism” is nothing but a "replay of an old colonial tactic."

He seems not to have changed his religion, for he said: "I am neither a Hindu nor a nationalist. And I don’t need to belong to those or to any specific ideological categories in order to use my eyes and ears." And he wrote: "However, I do readily admit to being a “fellow-traveller” of Dharmic civilization in its struggle for survival against the ongoing aggression and subversion by well-organized hostile ideologies." . Further on the New Age theme, he also has stated that the pagans of Europe look to Hinduism for guidance

Controversies and Influences

Elst stated in 1999 to be a member of the Christian-Democratic trade-union. He described himself as "a secular humanist with an active interest in religions, particularly Taoism and Hinduism, and keeping a close watch on the variegated Pagan revival in Europe." Elst was also involved for some years in the New Age scene. He has been presented by Voice Of India (his publishing house in Delhi) as being involved for some years in the New Age movement. In the 1990s he became interested in the Neopagan scene, and has written for some Neopagan publications until 1998.

Elst has published in English and Dutch. He contributed for example to the conservative magazine Nucleus . He is also a contributor to the "conservative-libertarian" internet magazine The Brussels Journal, the Flemish satirical weekly 't Pallieterke and other Belgian & Dutch publications. He has also written for mainstream Indian magazines like Outlook India. He wrote a postcript to a book written by American neoconservative, US government think tank convener and "middle-east scholar" Daniel Pipes ("The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West"). He has also been accused of connections to the Vlaams Blok by Sanjay Subrahmanyam (a professor at University_of_California,_Los_Angeles) in the Times of India, and has contributed with other interventions described by Prof. R. Zydenbos on his homepage as emanating from right-wing circles in Belgium. On the ideological side, K. Elst's interest into modern Indian nationalism make his works, referred authors and developments take place in the general framework of nationalist and reformist ideologies that appeared in India in the late 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century.

Bibliography

Notes

  1. Elst
  2. Elst, K. Negationism in India
  3. Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society (1991)
  4. Was Veer Savarkar a Nazi?
  5. Elst interview
  6. Voice of Dharma review
  7. Pondering Pagans Hinduism Today - September/October 2001
  8. Article from bharatvani.org
  9. bharatvani.org op. cit.
  10. Hinduism, Environmentalism and the Nazi Bogey
  11. Hinduism, Environmentalism and the Nazi Bogey
  12. bharatvani.org op.cit.
  13. Sanjay Subrahmanyam in the Times of India, August 22, 2006
  14. See "some more reading matter about Dr. K. Elst" by Prof. R. Zydenbos in his Angelfire page .
  15. For a description of the rising of reformist ideologies in India see René Guénon "Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines", chapter "Vedanta Westernized".
  16. See, among other references, Alexandre de Danaan "Bo Yin Ra, de la Taychou Marou au Grand Orient de Patmos" Arche Editions, Milano, 2004, pp 83-85.

Related Authors

Hindu reform movements
Reform movements
Topics
Gurus and
revivalist writers
General

External links

Controversies

Categories: