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'''Dr. Koenraad Elst''' is a [[Belgian]] writer, scholar and researcher. He is the author of over ten books on topics related to [[Hinduism]], [[Indian history]], and [[Indian politics]].

== Biography ==
{{Hindu politics}}
{{Hindu politics}}
'''Dr. Koenraad Elst''' was born in [[Leuven]], [[Belgium]], on [[7 August]] [[1959]], into a [[Flemings|Flemish]] [[Catholic]] family. He graduated in [[Philosophy]], [[China|Chinese Studies]] and [[Indo-Iranian]] Studies at the [[Catholic University of Leuven]].
He was born in [[Leuven]], [[Belgium]], on [[7 August]] [[1959]], into a [[Flemings|Flemish]] [[Catholic]] family. He graduated in [[Philosophy]], [[China|Chinese Studies]] and [[Indo-Iranian]] Studies at the [[Catholic University of Leuven]].


During a stay at the [[Benaras Hindu University]], he discovered India’s communal problem and wrote his first book about the budding [[Ayodhya]] conflict. While establishing himself as a columnist for a number of [[Belgian]] and [[India]]n papers, he frequently returned to India to study various aspects of its ethno-religio-political configuration and interview Hindu and other leaders and thinkers. His research on the ideological development of [[Hindu revivalism]] earned him his Ph.D. in Leuven in 1998. He has also published about [[multiculturalism]], [[language policy]] issues, ancient [[Chinese history]] and [[philosophy]], [[comparative religion]], and the [[Aryan invasion]] debate. Dr. Elst became a well-known author on Indian politics in the 1990s. He also met the Hindu writer [[Sita Ram Goel]] in India, and was influenced by his writings.
During a stay at the [[Benaras Hindu University]], he discovered India’s communal problem and wrote his first book about the budding [[Ayodhya]] conflict. While establishing himself as a columnist for a number of [[Belgian]] and [[India]]n papers, he frequently returned to India to study various aspects of its ethno-religio-political configuration and interview Hindu and other leaders and thinkers. His research on the ideological development of [[Hindu revivalism]] earned him his Ph.D. in Leuven in 1998. He has also published about [[multiculturalism]], [[language policy]] issues, ancient [[Chinese history]] and [[philosophy]], [[comparative religion]], and the [[Aryan invasion]] debate. Dr. Elst became a well-known author on Indian politics in the 1990s. He also met the Hindu writer [[Sita Ram Goel]] in India, and was influenced by his writings.
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{{cquote|''When it was my turn, I was heckled somewhat by the Leftist crowd, especially by a well-known Indo-American Communist academic, who was rolling his eyes like a madman and making obscene gestures until an elderly American lady sitting next to him told him to behave. At the end, Mathew came to collect a copy of my text (...), called me a “liar”, and told his buddies that they needed to write a scholarly rebuttal. Which is still being awaited today.''<ref>Koenraad Elst, Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple, chapter 11</ref>}}
{{cquote|''When it was my turn, I was heckled somewhat by the Leftist crowd, especially by a well-known Indo-American Communist academic, who was rolling his eyes like a madman and making obscene gestures until an elderly American lady sitting next to him told him to behave. At the end, Mathew came to collect a copy of my text (...), called me a “liar”, and told his buddies that they needed to write a scholarly rebuttal. Which is still being awaited today.''<ref>Koenraad Elst, Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple, chapter 11</ref>}}


Elst has also contributed to the conservative magazine [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleus_%28tijdschrift%29 Nucleus] <ref>[http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/dutch/afghanistan.html bharatvani.org op.cit.]</ref>, along with other interventions described as emanating from right-wing circles in Belgium<ref>See "some more reading matter about Dr. K. Elst" by Prof. R. Zydenbos in [http://www.angelfire.com/in/zydenbos/z2elst.html#elstinfo].</ref>. Koenraad Elst is also a contributor to the "conservative-libertarian" internet magazine [[The Brussels Journal]] and the flemish satirical weekly [['t Pallieterke]]. He also wrote a postcript to a book written by the neoconservative [[Daniel Pipes]] ("[[The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West]]").
Elst has also published many articles in Dutch, and he contributed to the conservative magazine [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleus_%28tijdschrift%29 Nucleus] <ref>[http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/dutch/afghanistan.html bharatvani.org op.cit.]</ref>, along with other interventions described as emanating from right-wing circles in Belgium<ref>See "some more reading matter about Dr. K. Elst" by Prof. R. Zydenbos in [http://www.angelfire.com/in/zydenbos/z2elst.html#elstinfo].</ref>. Koenraad Elst is also a contributor to the "conservative-libertarian" internet magazine [[The Brussels Journal]], the flemish satirical weekly [['t Pallieterke]] and other Belgian or Dutch publications. He also wrote for Indian magazines like Outlook India and the Kashmir Herald. He wrote a postcript to a book written by the neoconservative [[Daniel Pipes]] ("[[The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West]]").


On the ideological side, it was claimed that K. Elst's citations, referred authors and developments take place in the general framework of nationalist and reformist ideologies, which appeared in India in the late XIXth century and in the beginning of the XXth century<ref>For a description of the rising of reformist ideologies in India see [[René Guénon]] "Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines", chapter "Vedanta Westernized".</ref>.
On the ideological side, it was claimed that K. Elst's citations, referred authors and developments take place in the general framework of nationalist and reformist ideologies, which appeared in India in the late XIXth century and in the beginning of the XXth century<ref>For a description of the rising of reformist ideologies in India see [[René Guénon]] "Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines", chapter "Vedanta Westernized".</ref>.


== Works ==
== Bibliography ==
*''Dr. Ambedkar - A True Aryan'' (1993)
*''Dr. Ambedkar - A True Aryan'' (1993)
*''[[Ayodhya, The Finale]] - Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate'' (2003) ISBN 81-85990-77-8
*''[[Ayodhya, The Finale]] - Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate'' (2003) ISBN 81-85990-77-8
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* Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid. A Case Study in Hindu-Muslim Conflict. Voice of India, Delhi 1990.
* Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid. A Case Study in Hindu-Muslim Conflict. Voice of India, Delhi 1990.
*''[[The Saffron Swastika|The Saffron Swastika - The Notion of Hindu Fascism.]]'' (2001) ISBN 81-85990-69-7
*''[[The Saffron Swastika|The Saffron Swastika - The Notion of Hindu Fascism.]]'' (2001) ISBN 81-85990-69-7
*''[[Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate]]'' (1999) ISBN 81-86471-77-4
*''[[Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate]]'' Aditya Prakashan (1999) ISBN 81-86471-77-4
*''[[Who is a Hindu?]]'' (2001) [http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/wiah/index.htm] ISBN 81-85990-74-4
*''[[Who is a Hindu?]]'' (2001) [http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/wiah/index.htm] ISBN 81-85990-74-4

=== Other publications ===
*Linguistic Aspects of the Aryan Non-Invasion Theory, In {{cite book|
*Linguistic Aspects of the Aryan Non-Invasion Theory, In {{cite book|
title=Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History|
title=Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History|
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publisher=Routledge/Curzon|
publisher=Routledge/Curzon|
id=ISBN 0-7007-1463-4}}
id=ISBN 0-7007-1463-4}}
*Postcript to [[Daniel Pipes]]: [[The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West]] (1990), Transaction Publishers, paperback (2003) ISBN 0-7658-0996-6
*The Rushdie affair's legacy. Postcript to [[Daniel Pipes]]: [[The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West]] (1990), Transaction Publishers, paperback (2003) ISBN 0-7658-0996-6
*Gujarat After Godhra : Real Violence, Selective Outrage/edited by Ramesh N. Rao and Koenraad Elst. New Delhi, Har-Anand Pub., 2003, 248 p., ISBN 81-241-0917-6.
*Gujarat After Godhra : Real Violence, Selective Outrage/edited by Ramesh N. Rao and Koenraad Elst. New Delhi, Har-Anand Pub., 2003, 248 p., ISBN 81-241-0917-6.
* “The Ayodhya demolition: an evaluation”, in Dasgupta, S., et al.: The Ayodhya Reference, q.v., p. 123-154.
* “The Ayodhya demolition: an evaluation”, in Dasgupta, S., et al.: The Ayodhya Reference, q.v., p. 123-154.
* “The Ayodhya debate”, in Pollet, G., ed.: Indian Epic Values. Râmâyana and Its Impact, Peeters, Leuven 1995, q.v., p. 21-42. BJP Hindu Resurgence. Voice of India, Delhi 1997.
* “The Ayodhya debate”, in Pollet, G., ed.: Indian Epic Values. Râmâyana and Its Impact, Peeters, Leuven 1995, q.v., p. 21-42. BJP Hindu Resurgence. Voice of India, Delhi 1997.
*The Ayodhya debate: focus on the "no temple" evidence, World Archaeological Congress, 1998
*India's Only Communalist: In Commemoration of Sita Ram Goel (edited by Koenraad Elst, 2005) ISBN 81-85990-78-6
*India's Only Communalist: In Commemoration of Sita Ram Goel (edited by Koenraad Elst, 2005) ISBN 81-85990-78-6


Revision as of 12:33, 26 September 2006

Dr. Koenraad Elst is a Belgian writer, scholar and researcher. He is the author of over ten books on topics related to Hinduism, Indian history, and Indian politics.

Biography

Template:Hindu politics He was born in Leuven, Belgium, on 7 August 1959, into a Flemish Catholic family. He graduated in Philosophy, Chinese Studies and Indo-Iranian Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven.

During a stay at the Benaras Hindu University, he discovered India’s communal problem and wrote his first book about the budding Ayodhya conflict. While establishing himself as a columnist for a number of Belgian and Indian papers, he frequently returned to India to study various aspects of its ethno-religio-political configuration and interview Hindu and other leaders and thinkers. His research on the ideological development of Hindu revivalism earned him his Ph.D. in Leuven in 1998. He has also published about multiculturalism, language policy issues, ancient Chinese history and philosophy, comparative religion, and the Aryan invasion debate. Dr. Elst became a well-known author on Indian politics in the 1990s. He also met the Hindu writer Sita Ram Goel in India, and was influenced by his writings.

Koenraad Elst has also written several books on the Aryan invasion debate, Ayodhya temple issue and issues related to Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.

Controversies and influences

Elst is a member of the Christian-Democratic trade-union.[1] He described himself as "a secular humanist with an active interest in religions, particularly Taoism and Hinduism, and keeping a close watch on the variegated Pagan revival in Europe."[2]

He seems not to have changed his religion, for he said: "I am neither a Hindu nor a nationalist. And I don’t need to belong to those or to any specific ideological categories in order to use my eyes and ears. (...) As I said, I am phasing out my involvement with communalism studies. The subject is really very simple, the problem as well as the solution. It isn’t all that challenging and interesting, it only seemed that way because of the artificial obstacles thrown up by the secularists." [3] And he wrote: "However, I do readily admit to being a “fellow-traveller” of Dharmic civilization in its struggle for survival against the ongoing aggression and subversion by well-organized hostile ideologies." [4]

Koenraad Elst has been at times a controversial figure, and some Indian Marxists have a negative view of Elst's works. Elst described some of these controversies in his works:

When it was my turn, I was heckled somewhat by the Leftist crowd, especially by a well-known Indo-American Communist academic, who was rolling his eyes like a madman and making obscene gestures until an elderly American lady sitting next to him told him to behave. At the end, Mathew came to collect a copy of my text (...), called me a “liar”, and told his buddies that they needed to write a scholarly rebuttal. Which is still being awaited today.[5]

Elst has also published many articles in Dutch, and he contributed to the conservative magazine Nucleus [6], along with other interventions described as emanating from right-wing circles in Belgium[7]. Koenraad Elst is also a contributor to the "conservative-libertarian" internet magazine The Brussels Journal, the flemish satirical weekly 't Pallieterke and other Belgian or Dutch publications. He also wrote for Indian magazines like Outlook India and the Kashmir Herald. He wrote a postcript to a book written by the neoconservative Daniel Pipes ("The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West").

On the ideological side, it was claimed that K. Elst's citations, referred authors and developments take place in the general framework of nationalist and reformist ideologies, which appeared in India in the late XIXth century and in the beginning of the XXth century[8].

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ Article from bharatvani.org
  2. ^ bharatvani.org op. cit.
  3. ^ Elst interview
  4. ^ Voice of Dharma review
  5. ^ Koenraad Elst, Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple, chapter 11
  6. ^ bharatvani.org op.cit.
  7. ^ See "some more reading matter about Dr. K. Elst" by Prof. R. Zydenbos in [1].
  8. ^ For a description of the rising of reformist ideologies in India see René Guénon "Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines", chapter "Vedanta Westernized".

See also

Controversies

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%3ADiff%2F77893238