Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia
Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia
NZD$109.95
inc GSTThis book challenges the view, common among Western scholars, that precolonial India lacked a tradition of military philosophy. It traces the evolution of theories of warfare in India from the dawn of civilization, focusing on the debate between Dharmayuddha (Just War) and Kutayuddha (Unjust War) within Hindu philosophy. This debate centers around four questions: What is war? What justifies it? How should it be waged? And what are its potential repercussions? This body of literature provides evidence of the historical evolution of strategic thought in the Indian subcontinent that has heretofore been neglected by modern historians. Further, it provides a counterpoint to scholarship in political science that engages solely with Western theories in its analysis of independent India's philosophy of warfare. Ultimately, a better understanding of the legacy of ancient India's strategic theorizing will enable more accurate analysis of modern India's military and nuclear policies.
- Contextualizes Indian theories of warfare in a global perspective
- Challenges the binary model of Eastern (Oriental) and Western (Occidental) ways of warfare
- Traces the gradual evolution of Hinduism and its effect on warfare and statecraft in India from the dawn of civilization till present times
Product details
October 2012Hardback
9781107017368
305 pages
235 × 158 × 21 mm
0.53kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Religious ethic and the philosophy of warfare in vedic and epic India:
- 1500 BCE–400 BCE
- 2. Buddhism, Jainism, and Asoka's Ahimsa
- 3. Kautilya's Kutayuddha:
- 300 BCE–300 CE
- 4. Dharmayuddha and Kutayuddha from the Common Era till the advent of the Turks
- 5. Hindu militarism under Islamic Rule:
- 900 CE–1800 CE
- 6. Hindu militarism and anti-militarism in British India:
- 1750–1947
- 7. Hindu military ethos and strategic thought in post-colonial India
- Conclusion.
