THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS (Christianity and Hinduism in a Colonial Situation)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The challenge of Christianity played a very significant role in the resurgence of Bengal in the nineteenth century. The Hindu intellectuals had to reinterpret his theological position to meet this new challenge which also made him aware of his own religious heritage. It thus helped the growth of a religious nationalism which culminated into a political nationalism towards the close of that century. The nature of this confrontation between Christianity and Hinduism is the subject of this book.

Christianity appeared in Bengal as a western religion - the religion of her new ruler, and it posed a threat to the very way of life of a Bengali Hindu. The religious movements which grew out of its challenge did not remain confined to theological debates only, but had a wider area of operation and were associated with all other social movements which constituted and regulated the currents of the so called Bengal Renaissance. This book traces the history of the Hindu response of Christianity in its various stages and describes the nature of Hindu religious movements which reflect the complexities and confusions the aspirations and failures of the Bengali mind in search of a new ethics and a new set of values. The book thus provides a general model of the study of religious confrontation in a colonial situation.

About the Author:

Sisir Kumar Das stood first in first class in both B.A. (Hons) and M.A. examinations in the University of Calcutta. He also studied in the University of Calcutta. He also studied in the University of London and in Cornell University, New York, and received doctorate degrees both from Calcutta and from London University. He was a lecturer in Bengali in the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London for three years. At present he is the Reader in Bengali in the University of Delhi.

He is a poet, playwright and a literary critic. His Early Bengali Prose (1966) is a pioneering work in stylistics in this country. He received the Nehru Award of the West German government for his Western Sailors: Eastern Seas (1971). He has written a few books in Bengali also.

CHAPTER 1
The First Ambassadors

CHAPTER 2
Confrontation

CHAPTER 3
Revolt of the Youth

CHAPTER 4
The Brahma Dharma

CHAPTER 5
Myth and Reason

CHAPTER 6
Religion and Patriotism

CHAPTER 7
New Values

Bibliography

Index