Prophets Facing Backward : Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India

The leading voices in science studies have argued that modern science reflects dominant social interests of Western society. Following this logic, postmodern scholars have urged postcolonial societies to develop their own “alternative sciences” as a step towards “mental decolonization”. These ideas have found a warm welcome among Hindu nationalists who came to power in India in the early 1990s. In this passionate and highly original study, Indian-born author Meera Nanda reveals how these well-meaning but ultimately misguided ideas are enabling Hindu ideologues to propagate religious myths in the guise of science and secularism. At the heart of Hindu supremacist ideology, Nanda argues, lies a postmodernist assumption: that each society has its own norms of reasonableness, logic, rules of evidence, and conception of truth, and that there is no non-arbitrary, culture-independent way to choose among these alternatives. What is being celebrated as “difference” by postmodernists, however, has more often than not been the source of mental bondage and authoritarianism in non-Western cultures. The “Vedic sciences” currently endorsed in Indian schools, colleges, and the mass media promotes the same elements of orthodox Hinduism that have for centuries deprived the vast majority of Indian people of their full humanity. By denouncing science and secularization, the left was unwittingly contributing to what Nanda calls “reactionary modernism.” In contrast, Nanda points to the Dalit, or untouchable, movement as a true example of an “alternative science” that has embraced reason and modern science to challenge traditional notions of hierarchy. Annotation The leading voices in science studies have argued that modern science reflects dominant social interests of Western society. Following this logic, postmodern scholars have urged postcolonial societies to develop their own "alternative sciences" as a step towards "mental decolonization." These ideas have found a warm welcome among Hindu nationalists who came to power in India in the early 1990s. In this passionate and highly original study, Indian-born author Meera Nanda reveals how these well-meaning but ultimately misguided ideas are enabling Hindu ideologues to propagate religious myths in the guise of science and secularism. At the heart of Hindu supremacist ideology, Nanda argues, lies a postmodernist assumption: that each society has its own norms of reasonableness, logic, rules of evidence, and conception of truth, and that there is no non-arbitary, culture-independent way to choose among these alternatives. What is being celebrated as "difference" by postmodernists, however, has more oftenthan not been the source of mental bondage and authoritarianism in non-Western cultures. The "Vedic sciences" currently endorsed in Indian schools, colleges, and the mass media promotes the same elements of orthodox Hinduism that have for centuries deprived the vast majority of Indian people of their full humanity. By denouncing science and secularization, the left was unwittingly contributing to what the author calls "reactionary modernism." In contrast, Nanda points to the Dalit, or untouchable, movement as a true example of an "alternative science" that has embraced reason and modern science to challenge traditional notions of hierarchy 1. Prophets Facing Backward: Betrayal Of The Clerks -- Pt. I. Hindu Nationalism And Vedic Science -- 2. Dharma And The Bomb: Reactionary Modernism In India -- 3. Vedic Science, Part One: Legitimation Of The Hindu Nationalist Worldview -- 4. Vedic Science, Part Two: Philosophical Justification Of Vedic Science -- Pt. Ii. Postmodern Critiques Of Science -- 5. Epistemic Charity: Equality Of All Ethnosciences -- 6. We Are All Hybrids Now! Paths To Reactionary Modernism -- 7. A Dalit Defense Of The Deweyan-buddhist View Of Science -- Pt. Iii. Postmodernism And New Social Movements In India -- 8. The Battle For Scientific Temper In India's New Social Movements -- 9. The Ecofeminist Critique Of The Green Revolution -- 10. The Hindu Left, Agrarian Populism, And The Hindu Right -- 11. Conclusion: Prophets Facing Forward. Meera Nanda. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 271-298) And Index. List of Abbreviations Preface Chapter 1: Prophets Facing Backward: Betrayal of the Clerks Chapter 2: Dharma and the Bomb: Reactionary Modernism in India Chapter 3: Vedic Science, Part One: Legitimation of the Hindu Nationalist Worldview Chapter 4: Vedic Science, Part Two: Philosophical Justi.cation of Vedic Science Chapter 5: Epistemic Charity: Equality of All “Ethnosciences” Chapter 6: We are All Hybrids Now!: Paths to Reactionary Modernism Chapter 7: A Dalit Defense of the Deweyan-Buddhist View of Science Chapter 8: The Battle for Scientific Temper in India’s New Social Movements Chapter 9: The Ecofeminist Critique of the Green Revolution Chapter 10: The “Hindu Left,” Agrarian Populism, and the Hindu Right Chapter 11: Conclusion: Prophets Facing Forward Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index About the Author In the crash of the falling World Trade Center towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, one could hear, loud and clear, the intimation of an old specter rising: fascism.