‘A Nation without a Soul’

Religious Studies in the Indian University

Authors

  • John E. Llewellyn Department of Religious Studies, Missouri State University. Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v2i1.7

Keywords:

colonial india, higher education, Radhakrishnan, secularism

Abstract

This is an essay about the role of religion in one aspect of indian public life, higher education. Despite the fact that religion is ubiquitous in indian society, in universities the academic study of religion is conspicuous by its absence. At the conclusion to this essay, i will suggest two reasons for this surprising gap. Before that, the essay surveys conflicting ideas about the role of religion in education during the colonial period. then in the second section i will analyze the prescriptions for the study of religion early in the history of independent india.

Author Biography

  • John E. Llewellyn, Department of Religious Studies, Missouri State University.

    Jack LleWellyn is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Religious Studies, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri 65897, USA

References

Aggarwal, J. C. 1993. Landmarks in the History of Modern Indian Education. Delhi: Vikas, 2nd rev. edn.

Ali, Syed Shahid, Lecturer in the Department of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia. 2003. Interview by author, 15/9/2003. Notes. Delhi.

Ashby, Eric, with Anderson, Mary. 1966. Universities: British, Indian, African: A Study in the Ecology of Higher Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bhagavan, Manu. 2002. ‘The Rebel Academy: Modernity and the Movement for a University in Princely Baroda, 1908-1949.’ Journal of Asian Studies 61.3 (August): 919-47.

Carman, John B., (ed.). 1969. Study of Religion in Indian Universities: A Report of the Consultation Held in Bangalore in September, 1967. Bangalore: Bangalore Press.

Kopf, David. 1969. British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance: The Dynamics of Indian Modernization, 1770–1835. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Kothari Commission. 1970. Education and National Development: Report of the Education Commission 1964–1966. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Pannu, Harpal Singh, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, Punjabi University. 2003. Interview by author, 26/8/2003. Notes. Patiala, Punjab.

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli. 2000. An Idealist View of Life. Delhi: HarperCollins India.

Radhakrishnan Commission. 1950. Report of the University Education Commission (December 1948-August 1949). Delhi: Manager of Publications.

Satya Raju, R. 2000. ‘Human Values in University Management.’ In Negi, Usha Rai, (ed.), Value Education in India: 80-94. Selections from University News 7; Delhi: Association of Indian Universities.

Sri Prakasa Committee. 1960. Report of the Committee on Religious and Moral Instruction. N.p.: Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Universities Handbook. 2002. Delhi: Association of Indian Universities, 29th edn.

Van der Veer, Peter. 1994. Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Published

2008-10-10

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Llewellyn, J. E. (2008). ‘A Nation without a Soul’: Religious Studies in the Indian University. Religions of South Asia, 2(1), 7-22. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v2i1.7