Word: hindu
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...next portion of the exhibit consists largely of works by Raja Ravi Varma. A late 19th-century painter, Varma is easily the most famous artist in India. He used European techniques to illustrate Indian subject matter: various sari-clad women, figures from Hindu mythology, and scenes from everyday Indian life...
...Still, there's no better guide to Angkor Thom than Zhou's text, which breathes life into the mute, inanimate temples - unlike most of the Angkor-related books hawked in the tatty gateway tourist town of Siem Reap. Those are mostly bogged down with encyclopedic elucidations of Hindu and Buddhist iconography, with which Zhou hardly bothers. The Bayon, with its weird smiling heads, widely considered to be hybrids of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara's face and that of the Bayon's famous Buddhist builder, Jayavarman VII, is for Zhou simply a "gold tower." The few times he does play the amateur...
...Strident Hindu nationalism worked in the 1990s, channeling upper-caste Hindu resentment at the rising political power of the lower castes, and giving voice to urban middle-classes who backed pro-market, liberalizing reforms. Back then, the BJP successfully occupied a nationalist space ceded to it by a weakened Congress - staging events harking back to an idealized Hindu past, such as the theatrical "rath yatra" (literally, a chariot ride, but used here to allude to the mythical Lord Rama's quest to slay the evil Ravana) that motivated frenzied crowds of Hindus to demolish an ancient mosque in December...
...elections this year, Indian voters seem to have rejected the politics of religious polarization in favor of stability and economic growth. "Hindu nationalism worked in the 1990s, but today, it is on the margins. It goes against the popular mood," says New Delhi-based political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan. In terms of economic reforms, the BJP seems to have placed itself against a growing consensus. When in opposition, it has been an outspoken critic of the Congress party-led government's liberalization policies, seeking to speak for workers and small businesses perceived to have been disadvantaged by reforms. This marks...
...only hope for the BJP, says Jyotirmaya Sharma, professor of politicalscience at the University of Hyderabad, lies in becoming a more mature, modern conservative party espousing the Hindu cause but without the corrosive influence of radical ultra-nationalism. "They need to clarify their stand on a range of issues from liberalization and foreign policy, especially Pakistan, to their stance vis-a-vis religious and other minorities," he says. Sharma agrees that the BJP's current leadership is incapable of leading the party in this direction. Also, as many political analysts have pointed out, the BJP's sectarian agenda is often...