Religion, Politics and Society in South and Southeast Asia

Contents: Foreword/N.N. Vohra. A word about the seminar/J.N. Dixit. Introduction/Karan Singh. 1. Trends, features and prospects of religion development in South Asia/Huang Xinchuan. 2. Lifeworld, science and technology: an Indian perspective/D.P. Chattopadhyaya. 3. Religions' potential contribution to harmonious regional relations in south and Southeast Asia: a Maldivian perspective/Abbas Ibrahim. 4. Religion in Myanmar culture and history/Khin Muang Nyunt. 5. Religion, socio-economic welfare and regional co-operation in the reign of Sherab Wangchuk (1744-1763), the 13th desid of Bhutan/Mynak R. Tulka. 6. Hindu culture in Thailand/Satya Vrat Shastri. 7. Religion, politics and the state in Bangladesh/Anisuzzaman. 8. Bangladesh--a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia: utopian dream or present-day imperative/A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed. 9. Multiculturalism, national-building and regionalism: the Southeast Asian experience/K.S. Nathan. 10. Economic reform effected society in Vietnam/Nguyen Dinh Vinh. 11. Islam, political evolution and national identity in Maldives/V. Suryanarayan. 12. Religion and politics in Sri Lanka/V. Suryanarayan. 13. The rise of Islam in the Muslim Majority States of Southeast Asia/Naimah Talib. 14. Christianity, the state and civil society in the Philippines/Mary Racelis. 15. Rethinking education on the verge of globalization/Pipob Udomittipong. 16. Globalisation, cross-cultural interaction and renewal of religious/K.K. Bhargava. 17. Holistic values and harmony of religions needed for the emergence of Asia in 21st century/Swami Jitatmananda. 18. Critical elements in the knowledge system for a culturally relevant paradigm of South Asian development/Ponna Wignaraja. 19. Inter-faith complexity in South Asian religions/Baidyanath Saraswati. Index.

"The end of the Cold War brought change in the international scenario. However, tensions generated by the cross-currents of conflicting interests continue to affect the lives of people all over the world. This fermentation is more intense in the Asian countries which, after attainment of freedom, are still struggling to establish their national identities.

"There has been continuing discussion on how political, economic and security aspects influence the evolution of societies and inter-state relations. Not enough attention has been devoted to study the extent to which cross cultural and civilisational factors impact national policies and in turn, the relations between countries.

"In December 1997 the India International Centre, New Delhi, organised an international seminar to focus on the historical, cultural, civilisational and intellectual under-currents influencing socio-economic developments and political processes and policies and to study how far the social and civilisational impulses have determined the value systems and attitudes of the Asian countries in their relations with each other.

"This volume, which contains the papers presented at the seminar and a rapid summing up of the discussions which took place, is expected to serve as a useful resource for all those interested in fostering peace, harmony and productive relations among the countries in the region." (jacket)