A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist
A Life History of Rahul Sankrityayan
Price: 995.00
ISBN:
9780199466870
Publication date:
30/06/2016
Hardback
340 pages
Price: 995.00
ISBN:
9780199466870
Publication date:
30/06/2016
Hardback
340 pages
Alaka Atreya Chudal
This book is a biographical study of Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963), a well-known figure in the field of Buddhist studies and Hindi literature. It views Rahul Sankrityayan as he passes through the struggle of a life of changed identities and relating this to his status as a nationalist. The book observes Sankrityayan’s life and work within the wider frame of the Indian subcontinent during the first half of the 20th century.
Rights: World Rights
Alaka Atreya Chudal
Description
Vaishnava sadhu.
Arya Samajist.
Buddhist monk.
Hindi nationalist.
Communist.
These are the identities Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963), born a sanātanī Brahmin, donned during the early 20th century. Widely known in the field of Buddhist studies and Hindi literature, Sankrityayan was also a prolific writer whose varied ideological stances have baffled his critics and admirers alike.
While several works have tried to analyse Sankrityayan’s life through the lens of these identities, few have delved deep into the ambivalence that marked his thoughts and writings as he shifted his allegiance between these identities. A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist takes, as its starting point, the insight that Sankrityayan’s personality was a product of the Indian renaissance period, and situates his life and work critically within the wider framework of his times. By exploring the thread that held together the different aspects of his personality, it presents a multifaceted picture not just of the man, but of India itself.
About the Author
Alaka Atreya Chudal is Senior Lecturer at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna, Austria.
Alaka Atreya Chudal
Table of contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration, Translation, and Citation
Introduction: Rahul Sankrityayan in the Context of His Age
Chapter One: Rahul Sankrityayan’s Autobiography: The Product of a Prison Cell
Chapter Two: The Arya Samaj: A ‘New Light’
Chapter Three: Buddhism: A Source of Indian Pride
Chapter Four: Hindi: An Indian Voice
Afterword: Rahul Sankrityayan—A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist
Apendices
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Alaka Atreya Chudal
Description
Vaishnava sadhu.
Arya Samajist.
Buddhist monk.
Hindi nationalist.
Communist.
These are the identities Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963), born a sanātanī Brahmin, donned during the early 20th century. Widely known in the field of Buddhist studies and Hindi literature, Sankrityayan was also a prolific writer whose varied ideological stances have baffled his critics and admirers alike.
While several works have tried to analyse Sankrityayan’s life through the lens of these identities, few have delved deep into the ambivalence that marked his thoughts and writings as he shifted his allegiance between these identities. A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist takes, as its starting point, the insight that Sankrityayan’s personality was a product of the Indian renaissance period, and situates his life and work critically within the wider framework of his times. By exploring the thread that held together the different aspects of his personality, it presents a multifaceted picture not just of the man, but of India itself.
About the Author
Alaka Atreya Chudal is Senior Lecturer at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna, Austria.
Table of contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration, Translation, and Citation
Introduction: Rahul Sankrityayan in the Context of His Age
Chapter One: Rahul Sankrityayan’s Autobiography: The Product of a Prison Cell
Chapter Two: The Arya Samaj: A ‘New Light’
Chapter Three: Buddhism: A Source of Indian Pride
Chapter Four: Hindi: An Indian Voice
Afterword: Rahul Sankrityayan—A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist
Apendices
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author
The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice
Gavin Flood