Customer Reviews

Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Seems like a collection of opinions from acquaintances and friends(a diplomat's wife labelling an organization fundamentalist followed by another friend from abroad refuting it, but is of course 'an apologist') - shocking University of Chicago press published such third rate work

I found this book a fasciniating study on big business, religion and politics and how they are often hand in hand in India. With this country in the news so much lately, I think it is a very timely study of how certain religious groups have become closely tied with political parties - often behind the scenes instead of up front. I found certain parallels with situations in other countries, including the US. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in India's politics and religion.

In this work, Lise McKean has produced one of most indepth insights into the socio-politico-economic mega machinery of the Sadhus and the right wing Hindu extremists in India. This book is particularly more relevent today than in the past due to the rise of the intolerant right-wing Hindu nationalist forces in the Indian political landscape that has claimed genocide after genocide of Indian religious, racial and ethnic minorities.

Some very glaring examples of shoddy scholarship exist through out the book. A fundamental rule of any debate is that new meanings should not be assigned to terms that have a altogether different meaning in teh mind of the person or persons being studied. McKean's definition of spirituality is very different from the meaning that the persons who use the phrase themselves attach to it. How can this be accurate then? Clearly McKean hears something entirely different when a guru or a swami talks of Spirituality. On what basis was this definition arrived at by McKean and why is it different from the well established contemporary definition of the term? Such problems exist throughout the book. There are no doubt professional spiritualists who dabble in politics, but the book makes no effort at understanding the POV of the many who dont. I can only hope that this is the case of shoddy scholarship rather than something more serious.

The only reason for still giving this book 2 stars in place of 1 is because it is one of the very few books that i know of that has made the connection between spiritual hinduism and political hinduism.

I cannot recommend this book to anyone who would want a balanced view of the subject as the book violates many fundamental guidelines of a balanced debate.

McKean imposes her leftist-feminist position in a most inappropriate manner on a very complex process. The result is a line of reasoning that is worthless. This is a book that deserves zero stars.