Makarand R. Paranjape invites Pavan K. Varma to talk about the direct, sometimes confrontational stance he takes in his new book, The Great Hindu Civilization. “You are in a sense calling out the Hinduphobia of Romila Thapar and Amartya Sen,” Paranjape says, as he probes Varma on any explicit or implicit denialism that might have prompted him to defend Hindu civilization in his book.
The book, says Varma, is both a defence of Hinduism against the blanket disavowal of all aspects of it—the good, the bad and the ugly—and at the same time, a tribute to the many features of the civilization that are marked by “great antiquity, an astonishing continuity, peaks of artistic refinement, diversity and assimilation.”
He makes an attempt to rebut those who, “even though guided by good intentions”, end up “underplaying Hindu civilization.” So worried are they about the rise of ultra-Hindu nationalism, he says, that they would rather disassociate with any “verifiable and legitimate achievements of ancient India” than take the risk of reinforcing the lurch towards extremist Hinduism in the current context. Watch the entire session to hear Pavan K. Varma’s perspective on why making the distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva might have become the need of the hour.
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