Religious nationalism in India and how it relates to globalization Essay

Religious nationalism in India and how it relates to globalization - Essay Example Religious nationalism in India and how it affects the economic development of India has been well portrayed in the book "Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India" by Peter Van der Veer. The author has considered many factors such as religious movements, discourses and practices, which retard the progress of globalization process in India which are untouched by others so far. The book extensively reviewed the structure of major Indian religions Hindu and Muslim identities in India. The Ayodhya issue ( Babri Masjid demolition by Hindu fundamentalists) which contributed immensely to the current conflicts between the Hindus and Muslims in India. The author argues that larger frameworks of locality were already available in India before the colonial era and the religious nationalism has builds on such earlier frameworks. The rituals of the larger community, Hindu have been incorporated to religious nationalism in this book. He claims that the transnational experiences reinforce the nationalists and religious identity in India. He attributes the Ayodhya issue as a conscious, planned action by religious and political movement. The interpretations of history in favour of either community by the fundamentalists enlarged the Hindu Muslim conflicts further. The author argues that religious nationalism combines anti-historical feature of religious discourse with an empiricist search for â€Å"facts† that has been highly influenced by orientalism, in this book. In this book Van der Veer looks, from a comparative perspective, at the development of Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim religious communities. Religious nationalism in the past 2 centuries builds on the forms of religious identities. This book also discusses the features and implications of the languages Hindi and Urdu used by Hindus and Muslims. The author tries to relate these languages to sacred languages Sanskrit used by the Hindus and Arabic used by Muslims. The book tries to