International Journal for the Study of Hinduism Volume 27 No. 1 &2. July/December 2015 ISSN 1016-5320 Nidān International Journal for the Study of Hinduism July/December 2015 Durban, South Africa Published at University of KwaZulu-Natal Nidān is an international journal which publishes contributions in the field of Hinduism and related Indian religions Articles published in Nidān have abstracts reflected in the Index to South African Periodicals Nidān is now distributed only through electronic media as a freely accessed journal from its main website: [http://nidan.ukzn.ac.za] Articles published in Nidān are also available on Sabinet [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_nidan.html] This periodical is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database® (ATLA RDB®), www: http://www.atla.com) Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief P. Pratap Kumar (Emeritus Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal) Associate Editor Ajaya K Sahoo (Associate Professor, University of Hyderabad, India) Local Editorial Board P. Pratap Kumar (Emeritus Professor of Hinduism, University of KwaZulu-Natal) Anand Singh (Professor of Anthropology, University of KwaZulu-Natal) Michel Clasquin (Professor of Religious Studies, University of South Africa) Goolam Vahed (Professor of History, University of KwaZulu-Natal) Brij Maharaj (Professor of Geography, University of KwaZulu Natal) International Editorial Board T.S. Rukmani, (Emeritus Professor Concordia University, Canada) William Harman (Emeritus Professor, University of Tennessee, USA) Knut A. Jacobsen (Professor, University of Bergen, Norway) Martin Bauman (Professor, Universität Luzern, Switzerland) Purushottama Bilimoria (Melbourne University, Australia) Yoshitsugu Sawai (Professor, Tenri University, Japan) Ramdas Lamb (Professor, University of Hawaii, USA) Kim Knott (Professor, University of Leeds, UK) ISSN 1016-5320 © 2015 Copy Right Reserved: Nidān: International Journal for the Study of Hinduism Acknowledgements The editorial board wishes to thank Prof Kalpana Hiralal (University of KwaZulu Natal) for sourcing the articles and also for seeing through the peer review process for this edition of Nidān. Editor-in-Chief Criteria for Submission of Articles Articles should relate to the study of any aspect of Hinduism or related Indian religions. As such, the study of Hinduism is broadly conceived to include, not merely the traditionally recognized areas within the discipline, but includes contributions from scholars in other fields who seek to bring their particular worldviews and theories into dialogue with Hindu studies. Articles that explore issues of history, ecology, economics, politics, sociology, culture, education and psychology in relation to Hinduism are welcomed. Papers will be subject to evaluation by referees drawn from a pool of local and international scholars. Papers are blind reviewed by two scholars anonymously. Papers should be prefaced by an abstract of approximately 100 words, setting out the gist of the paper and should include key words below the abstract. Although generally we encourage scholars not to exceed a word length of 6000 – 7000 words, editors are often flexible about the length at their discretion. 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For those who access Nidān through Sabinet website the following rates will apply: Subscription rates: Africa R 250-00 Other Countries: US $ 40 Cheques should be made payable to: ‘UKZN-Nidān (V809)’ and must be sent through to the correspondence address. Correspondence Address The Editor: Nidān c/o School of Religion, Philosophy & Classics Private Bag X10, Dalbridge, 4041, Durban, South Africa. Tel: +27(31) 260 7303/7539 Fax: +27(31) 2607286 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Volume 27, No. 1 & 2. July/December 2015 International Journal for the Study of Hinduism Table of Contents EDITORIAL P. Pratap Kumar i THE PHENOMENON OF RAMLEELA/RAMLILA THEATRE IN TRINIDAD Kumar Mahabir and Susan J. Chand 1 CHURCH AND STATE, RELIGION AND POLITICS: THE HINDU STANCE ON EDUCATION IN MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY TRINIDAD Vashti Singh 22 HINDUISM TRANSFORMED? A CASE STUDY OF HINDU DIASPORA IN THAILAND Ruchi Agarwal 43 THE TRADITIONAL HINDU PERSPECTIVE ON ENVIRONMENT AND M.K.GANDHI’S VIEWPOINT Namita Nimbalkar 57 Special Review Essay Review of Pedro Machado, Oceans of Trade: South Asian Merchants, Africa and the Indian Ocean, c. 1750-1850 Gail M. Presbey 71 Book Review Archana Venkatesan, trans., Nammāḻvār, A Hundred Measures of Time: Tiruviruttam Davesh Soneji 79 Nidān, Vol 27, Nos. 1&2, 2015, pp. i-iii EDITORIAL P. Pratap Kumar Emeritus Professor, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa [email protected] The present volume of Nidān focuses on expressions of Hinduism in a global context of the Indian diaspora. Although such expressions are based on the original cultural locations from where the diaspora originated, it is invariably the case that new locations and their cultural and social conditions influence the perpetuation of religious beliefs through various cultural institutions and art forms. Often the diaspora communities have a much stronger desire and cultural as well as social need to continue their traditions which their forebears had brought with them to the new society. This phenomenon can be exemplified through documented accounts from various parts of the world where the diaspora communities live. The Hindu diaspora is none the different in this regard. In offering this editorial introduction, I do not wish to provide simply an overview of the papers presented in this volume, but rather to place them in a broader comparative context of the Hindu diasporic experience with a view to signify their theoretical salience both in the study of Hinduism as well as in the broader social sciences. The Ramlila that originated in the northern parts of India is one such religio-cultural expression that dominates the Hindu diasporic experience. Ramlila is a dance form that is based on the Ramayana story derived from the Hindi version of Ramcharitramanas which the Hindi speaking Hindu diaspora have come to cherish both as an art form as well as an identity marker. While in Trinidad and Fiji this particular art form is famously celebrated and continued, there is less evidence of it in South Africa where the story of Rama through the telling of Tulsidas’ Ramcharitramanas continues to be very significant, but its expression through theatre and drama seem to have disappeared. It continues more as a form of recitation in ritual context rather than as a popular art form. Not only is it true of Ramlila in South Africa, it is also the case with the Terukkuttu dance associated with the Firewalking ritual observed by the Tamil Hindus in South Africa. Terukkuttu dance used to be a prominent religious art form performed by Tamil communities during the Draupadi Amman festival when the Firewalking ritual is observed. But it is no longer observed during the festival as there are no artists left to perform this ancient art form in South Africa. The reason for the survival of Ramlila as a religious art form in Trinidad and its i Editorial/Kumar absence among Hindus in South Africa perhaps has to do with the nature of the two communities in Trinidad and South Africa respectively. While the Trinidadian Hindus predominantly live in the rural setting where such older traditions are still strongly preserved, the South African Indian community generally became more urbanized and gradually lost the folk religious art forms. However, while this observation is one possible way to explain the differences, future researchers in the field of the Ramlila studies must explore the reasons for such divergences within the Hindu diaspora. What is particularly interesting from a sociological point of view is the fact that in Trinidad, as Mahabeer and Chand point out (see Mahabeer and Chand’s paper in this volume), the Ramlila continues to be influential not only among Hindi speaking Hindus, but also among their Mulsim counterparts who are just as much a part of the audience of the drama. It is this cultural influence of one religious expression across multiple religious communities is one that must interest sociologists of religion as well as religionists to engage in a comparative study of this phenomenon. Despite the unifying influence of religion in the lives of Hindus and Muslims through popular religious art forms such as Ramlila, it would be oversimplification if we were to assume that religion is a sufficient ground to unify communities. On a practical level, religious matters are personal and communal, and religious communities therefore resort to using their individual religious identity to gain access to political power which is essential for the survival of the immigrant community. This invariably means that individual religious communities deploy their particular religious resources to build pressure on the dominant society. In other words, Hindus would have to use their particular religious resources to build institutions that would provide them with social and political advancement and not rely on others’ religious resources. A case in point is the Sanathana Dharma Maha Sabha’s initiative to build schools in Trinidad and the head of the organization to use them as leverage to enter politics to secure political rights for the Hindus. In the face of the attempt of the dominant society to use secular ideology as a way to discourage religious involvement in politics, the Hindu leadership successfully deployed its Hindu identity.