Amiya P. Sen retired as Professor of Modern Indian History from the Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Currently, he is Honorary Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Oxford, UK.

Preface x

PART I

Introduction 3

PART II

Selected Writings 79

A

Autobiographical 81

1 Reminiscences of My Childhood 83

B

The Philosophical and Social Foundations of Hindutva 91

2 What Is Hindutva? 93

3 Soaham (I Am Thou) 97

4 Loy (Dissolution of the Soul) 103

5 Kaa Pantha? (Which Is the Correct Path to Adopt?) 110

6 Nishkam Dharma 115

7 Hindu Polytheism: Political Sagacity in Religion 118

8 The Varna System and the Formation of Our National Character 124

9 The Ideal Hindu Diet 128

10 Forbearance in the Hindu Tradition 133

11 The World as a Mart: The Source of Happiness and Aesthetic Delight 141

12 Lessons in Self-disciplining and the Foundations of Character 144

C

Hindutva as Patriarchy 147

13 Hindu Marriages 149

14 Shakuntalatattva: A Critique of Kalidas's Abhigyanshakuntala 161

15 Savitritattva: Savitri's Tale 172

16 Two Hindu Wives 180

D

Thoughts on Language and Literature 185

17 Tale of the English Scholar 187

18 Of Biographies 193

19 The State of Contemporary Bengali Literature 196

20 Thoughts on Bankim's Anandamath 206

21 The Prodigious Poet 209

Appendix A 211

Appendix B 213

References 216

Index