Gray, Neil. "Orientalism Inverted: the Rise of 'Hindu Nation.'" MUTE 2.8 (2008).

The roots of Hindu cultural nationalism lie, at least in part, in an inversion of romanticist orientalist epistemologies of the 19th century. This inversion effectively shifted social and political issues from the material to the spiritual plane – serving the needs of both the colonial masters and the privileged elites of Brahminical Hinduism. Sangh Parivar and Hindutva forces exploit this highly constructed mystical carapace as a counterfeit response to contemporary expropriations under neoliberalism. In this they are facilitated by western orientalist perceptions of India as an ‘essentially’ religious civilisation. Augmented by neo-conservative theorists like the execrable Samuel Huntington, contemporary Hindu nationalism acts as a neoliberal alibi, masking the extreme authoritarianism and primitive accumulation strategies of international and local capitalist elites in a supposedly ‘Shining India’. . . . Read the rest here: http://www.metamute.org/en/content/orientalism_inverted_the_rise_of_hindu_nation.

CFP: "Self, Identity and Culture: East and West," Society for Indian Philosophy, Kolkata, India, January 6-9, 2009.

Some Suggested Topics: Self and Personal Identity, Artificial Intelligence, Reductionist Theory, Empirical Self and Transcendental Self, Cultural Self, Self, Culture and Globalization, Tradition and Modernity, Dualism, Parallelism, Materialism, Split Personality, Individualism and Collectivism, Society, Culture and Religion, Personal Immortality, Cybernic Immortality, Immortality and Freedom, Yoga and Self realization, Atman and Brahman, Self-Consciousness and Identity, Consciousness and Unconsciousness, Cultural Relativism, Deconstructionism, Culture and Meaning. Selected papers from the conference will be published (subject to editorial review) in a special volume of the Journal of Indian Philosophy and Religion. Advisory Board: Kisor K. Chakrabarti (USA), Kate Bemis (USA), Wayne Borody (Canada), Thomas Brooke (UK), Linda B. Elder (USA), Ashoke Kumar Ganguly (India), Gordon Hais t (USA), Laurent Metzer (France), Isaac Nevo (Israel), David Rose (UK), G. T. Smith (USA), Andrew Ward (UK), Bill Wyllie (UK). Special arrangements have been made with local hotels for a limited number of hotels at a special conference rate. There will be also two trips for conference participants and interested scholars before and after the conference. "Encounter India" program will be offered before and after the conference. Kindly visit our web page for details. Detail information about publication of papers, hotel booking, registration, pre-conference and post-conference trip will be available on December 5, 2007. In addition to the main program, the meeting will also host book launches,artistic and cultural activities, exhibitions, plenty of space and opportunity for informal networking and alliance building. If you are interested to submit a paper proposal, please send by email an abstract (150 words)by February 5, 2008. Please include title of your paper, Full Name, Current affiliation, phone number and an email address. If you want to participate without presenting a paper, i.e., chair a session, organize a panel, conduct a round table session or any other offer please get in touch with Dr. Chandana Chakrabarti, Director Center for Spirituality, Ethics and Global Awareness, PO Box M, Bethany, WV 26032. Email: Chandana Chakrabarti cchakrabarti@bethanywv.edu; cchakrabarti@yPhone; Tel.: 304-829-752, Fax: 304-829-7926.