Koenraad Elst is a
BelgianThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Belgium, including ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population...
writer and
orientalistOriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
(without
institutionalAcademic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university.- Types of academic institutions include :...
affiliation).
He was an editor of the
New RightNew Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
Flemish nationalist journal
Teksten, Kommentaren en StudiesTeKoS is a Belgian "Nieuw Rechts" publication. It is published by the DeltaFoundation .As with other Nouvelle Droite publications, the themes in TeKoS are related to European culture, European nationalism, anti-egalitarianism and ecologism...
from 1992 to 1995, focusing on
criticism of IslamCriticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...
, various other conservative and Flemish separatist publications such as Nucleus,
't Pallieterket Pallieterke is a satirical Flemish weekly. It is part of the Flemish movement and advocates Flemish independence. It is largely conservative in its editing, and although officially non-partisan, it is a close supporter of the far-right party Vlaams Belang....
, Secessie and
The Brussels JournalThe Brussels Journal is a conservative blog, founded by the Flemish journalist Paul Beliën. It was founded in 2005, and has both an English language section with various international contributions, and a Dutch section...
. Having authored fifteen English language books on topics related to Indian politics and
communalismThis article deals with the use of the word communalism in South Asia, as a name for a force separating different communities based on some form of social or sectarian discrimination...
, Elst is one of the most well-known western writers (along with
François GautierFrançois Gautier, born 1959 in Paris, is a writer and journalist based in India. He came to India at the age of 19 and spent his first eight years in the "international city" of Auroville India at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. He has been living in India since the 70's and is married to...
) to actively defend the
HindutvaHindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...
ideology. His writings are frequently featured in right-wing publications.
Biography
Elst was born in
LeuvenLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, Belgium into a Flemish Catholic family. Some of his family members were Christian missionaries or priests. He graduated in
IndologyIndology is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent , and as such is a subset of Asian studies....
,
SinologySinology in general use is the study of China and things related to China, but, especially in the American academic context, refers more strictly to the study of classical language and literature, and the philological approach...
and
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the
Catholic University of LeuvenThe Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
. He then obtained a
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the same university. The main portion of his Ph.D. dissertation on Hindu revivalism and Hindu reform movements eventually became his book
Decolonizing the Hindu MindDecolonizing the Hindu Mind - Ideological Development of Hindu Revivalism is a book by Koenraad Elst.Elst states in the book that it is "based on the main part of my doctoral dissertation, accepted by Katholicke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium in 1998...
. Other parts of his Ph.D. thesis were published in Who is a Hindu and
The Saffron SwastikaThe Saffron Swastika: The Notion of Hindu "Fascism" is a book written by Koenraad Elst and published as two volumes in 2001. It discusses in detail the concepts of Hindutva and Hindu nationalism. He also argues against the idea that the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh...
. He also studied at the
Banaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
in India. Several of his books on communalism and Indian politics are published by the
Voice of IndiaVoice of India is a New Delhi publishing house, supportive of Hindu nationalist sentiment and political ideology. It was founded by Ram Swarup in 1983 and later joined by Sita Ram Goel, who themselves published extensively under the label...
publishing house.
In his twenties, he participated in the New Age movement, worked in a New Age bookstore and organized New Age events, although he later seemed to depart from New Age groups. In the 1990s he became interested in the European Neopagan movement: he co-edited the extreme
New RightNew Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
from 1992, together with "pagan high priest"
Koenraad LoggheKoenraad Logghe used to be a Flemish proponent of the European New Right and former "high priest" of folkish Asatru , founder of the Werkgroep Traditie neopagan organization . which he left in the summer of 2008...
, whom he joined at the "
World Congress of Ethnic ReligionsThe European Congress of Ethnic Religions , formerly known as the World Congress of Ethnic Religions , is an organisation for the cooperation between associations which promote the indigenous ethnic religions of Europe...
".
During a stay at the
Banaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
between 1988 and 1992, he interviewed many Indian leaders and writers. He wrote his first book about the
Ayodhya conflict. While establishing himself as a columnist for a number of
BelgianBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
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.
In 1989, Elst met
Sita Ram GoelSita Ram Goel , writer and publisher in late twentieth century. He had Marxist leanings during the 1940s, but later became an outspoken anti-communist that also spoke negatively about Islam and Christianity...
after reading Goel's book History of Hindu Christian Encounters. Elst later sent Goel a manuscript of his first book Ram Janmabhoomi Vs. Babri Masjid: A Case Study in Hindu Muslim Conflict. Goel was impressed with Elst's script: "I could not stop after I started reading it. I took it to
Ram SwarupRam Swarup , , born Ram Swarup Agarwal, was an independent Hindu thinker and prolific author. His works took a critical stance against Christianity, Islam and Communism. His work has influenced other Indian writers.- Life :He graduated in Economics at Delhi University in 1941...
the same evening. He read it during the night and rang me up next morning. Koenraad Elst's book, he said, should be published immediately." In August 1990, L. K. Advani released Koenraad Elst's book about the Ayodhya conflict at a public function presided over by
Girilal JainGirilal Jain , was an Indian journalist. He served as the editor of The Times of India from 1978 till 1988. He was sympathetic to Hindu nationalism and authored books on the subject, the best known of which, The Hindu Phenomenon, was published posthumously.-Personal life:Girilal Jain was born in a...
.
His research on the ideological development of Hindu revivalism earned him his Ph.D. at Leuven in 1998. He has also written about
multiculturalismMulticulturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
,
language policyMany countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
issues, ancient Chinese history and
philosophyChinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. The majority of traditional Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States era, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and...
,
comparative religionComparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
, and the Aryan invasion debate. Elst became a well-known author on Indian politics during the 1990s in parallel with the
BJPThe Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
's rise to prominence on the national stage. He describes himself as an independent scholar.
Elst says that his language has "softened and become more focused on viewpoints rather than groups of people such "the" Muslims or the Marxist historians." He writes that he has reoriented his scholarly interests towards more fundamental philosophical studies and questions of ancient history, rather than questions in the centre of contemporary political struggles.
Religion and politics
At the end of March 2008, Koenraad Elst ridiculed
Hugo ClausHugo Maurice Julien Claus was a leading Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, and poetry; he also left a legacy as a painter and film director...
's decision to undergo
euthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, claiming that it was influenced by the
purplePurple is a common term in politics for governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours...
agnostic lobby to embarrass the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
Nouvelle Droite and Vlaams Belang
Elst actively contributes to nationalist
New RightNew Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
Flemish publications, and has shown sympathy to the
Nouvelle DroiteNouvelle Droite is a school of political thought founded largely on the works of Alain de Benoist and GRECE .-Etymology and history:...
movement since the early 1990s. He has sometimes criticised that movement in relation to particular topics. He said that the collaborationist aspects of the careers of two Belgian writers were covered up in Nouvelle Droite articles, and that he suspected that "its critique of egalitarianism in the name of 'differentialism' could at heart simply be a plea against equality in favour of inequality, Old-Right style".
However, his endorsement with the Nouvelle Droite is still active:
Wisely or unwisely, I have not taken my scepticism to be a reason for any active hostility to the Nouvelle Droite people, some of whom I count as friends... Time permitting, I accept invitations from that side, so that I spoke at their conference in Antwerp in 2000, if only as a stand-in for an announced speaker who had cancelled at the last minute for health reasons (Pim FortuynWilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn was a Dutch politician, civil servant, sociologist, author and professor who formed his own party, Pim Fortuyn List ....
, no less, the Dutch liberal sociology professor who criticized Islam, subsequently went into politics, and ended up murdered by a leftist).
Jan De Zutter criticized Elst for being too close with the Vlaams Belang, as in June 1992, Koenraad Elst gave a speech directed against Islam at the
Vlaams BlokThe Vlaams Blok was a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence of Flanders. From its creation in 1978, it was the most notable militant right wing of the Flemish movement. Vlaams...
Colloquium where the party proposed its first version of its 70 point anti-immigration policy Elst said that he spoke there because it was the only party where the "problem of Islam" was brought up, but that he also explicitly said that he did not agree with the party's solution for that problem, and disapproved of their xenophobia. He stated that the VB can not be and was never his party because of its xenophobia and ethnocentrism. Since this event, he has often been accused of being the party's specialist on Islam and its link with the new
Pagan MovementWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. Though he himself denies any affinity to the party program, he admits to "lukewarm" sympathy for the Flemish cause (of independence). Lucas Catherine contrasted Elst's viewpoint with the viewpoint of
Filip DewinterPhilip Michel Frans "Filip" Dewinter is a Flemish politician in Belgium. He is one of the leading members of Vlaams Belang, a right-wing Flemish nationalist and secessionist political party...
, who according to him could not have been very happy with Elst's opinion that not Muslims, but Islam, is the problem.
Islam
Some of his books or articles contain harsh criticisms of
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as a whole (among others "Wahi: the Supernatural Basis of Islam", "From Ayodhya to Nazareth", an article written in the form of an open letter to the Pope and Indian church Bishop Alan de Lastic, whom Elst calls "Your Eminences", and in which he invites them to ask Muslims for repentance towards Christians, or "Ayodhya And After", a book in which he delves into the realm of establishing a purported link between Ayodhya and the conflict between Palestinians and Israel -section 2.2 Jerusalem and Ayodhya-, not an isolated attempt in some far-right European movements; similarly, section 13.2 of that book is called Islam and Nazism). More precisely, Elst argues often that "not Muslims but Islam is the problem".
His views on Islam are markedly in line with the neoconservative think-tank "
Middle East ForumThe Middle East Forum is an American conservative think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who also serves as its director. MEF became a 5013 non-profit organization in 1994...
", to which he has contributed.
Belgian journalist and neoconservative activist
Paul BelienPaul Belien, born 1959, is a Flemish journalist and founder of the conservative-libertarian blog The Brussels Journal.Belien is both known as both a pro-American and a prolific writer and author...
has reported that Elst thinks that "Islam is in decline, despite its impressive demographic and military surge" – which according to Elst is merely a "last upheaval."
Hinduism and Indian politics
Elst is one of the few western writers (along with
François GautierFrançois Gautier, born 1959 in Paris, is a writer and journalist based in India. He came to India at the age of 19 and spent his first eight years in the "international city" of Auroville India at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. He has been living in India since the 70's and is married to...
) to actively defend the
HindutvaHindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...
movement though he makes some secondary criticisms about particular points. For instance he claims, "there is no intellectual life in this Hindutva movement". He claims that Hindutva advocates have not developed a "wellfounded coherent vision on a range of topics which any social thinker and any political party will have to address one day", and that there is as yet very little original or comprehensive work being done in the Hindutva movement. According to Elst, "Hindutva is a fairly crude ideology, borrowing heavily from European nationalisms with their emphasis on homogeneity. Under the conditions of British colonialism, it was inevitable that some such form of Hindu nationalism would arise, but I believe better alternatives have seen the light, more attuned to the genius of Hindu civilization." Sometimes, Elst is critical of Hindutva for not going far enough in its criticism of Islam. He has also criticized fringe Hindutva writers for claiming that the
Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
is a Hindu temple, or for claiming that the Vedas contain all the secrets of modern science.
The same pattern also applies with respect to Elst and the
RSSRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
. Elst views the RSS as an interesting nationalist movement, while addressing some secondary critics, in which Elst criticizes the RSS for not going far enough in the nationalist realm. For instance, he says that RSS's intellectual output is minimal: "Most of its pamphlets and manifestoes contain a lot of puffed-up patriotism and wailing over the Partition of the Hindu motherland, but little penetrating analysis that could be the basis for imaginative policies and a realistic strategy."
Elst has criticized alleged Anti-Hinduism and anti-Hindu biases. Elst writes for example that "when Hindus complain of factual problems such as missionary subversion or Muslim terrorism, it is always convenient to portray this spontaneous and truthful perception as an artefact of "RSS propaganda".
Elst's book Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid, a Case Study in Hindu-Muslim conflict (1990) was the first book published by a non-Indian on the
Ayodhya debateThe Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, located in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh...
. His opinion is that "until 1989, there was a complete consensus in all sources (Hindu, Muslim and European) which spoke out on the matter, viz. that the Babri Masjid had been built in forcible replacement of a Hindu temple." He claimed that politically motivated academics have, through their grip on the media, manufactured doubts concerning this coherent and well-attested tradition. Elst alleges that the anti-Temple group in the Ayodhya conflict have committed serious breaches of academic deontology and says that the "overruling of historical evidence with a high-handed use of academic and media power" in the Ayodhya controversy was the immediate reason to involve himself in the debate.
Elst's book Negationism in India: Concealing the Record of Islam makes the case that the Islamic history in India is being whitewashed. He claims that there is a larger effort to rewrite India's history and to whitewash Islam. He says that the goal and methods of this alleged history rewriting is similar to the denial of the Nazi holocaust, and that in India jihad negationists are in control of the academic establishment and of the press.
Elst's book
The Saffron SwastikaThe Saffron Swastika: The Notion of Hindu "Fascism" is a book written by Koenraad Elst and published as two volumes in 2001. It discusses in detail the concepts of Hindutva and Hindu nationalism. He also argues against the idea that the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh...
proposes an examination of the rhetoric of "Hindu fascism". He argues that "objective outsiders are not struck by any traces of fascism in the Hindutva movements, let alone in the general thought current of anti-imperialist Hindu awakening. While one should always be vigilant for traces of totalitarianism in any ideology or movement, the obsession with
fascismFascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
in the
anti-HinduAnti-Hindu prejudice is a negative perception or religious intolerance against the practice and practitioners of Hinduism. Anti-Hindu sentiments have been expressed by Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh, leading to significant persecution of Hindus in those regions, such as the 1971 Bangladesh...
rhetoricRhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
of the
secularistsThe Preamble to the Constitution of India declares that India is a secular country. The term secularism refers to the governmental practice of indifference towards religion. Secular politics attempt to prevent religious philosophies or bodies from influencing governmental policies...
is not the product of an analysis of the data, but of their own political compulsions."
In an article, he writes that the current tendency to accuse Hindu movements of "fascism" is nothing but a "replay of an old
colonialColonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
tactic."
On the topic of the "
Indigenous AryansThe notion of Indigenous Aryans posits that speakers of Indo-Aryan languages are "indigenous" to the Indian subcontinent.The "Indigenous Aryans" position may entail an Indian origin of Indo-European languages, and in recent years, the concept has been increasingly conflated with an "Out of India"...
" polemic within Hindu nationalism, Elst writes
"One thing which keeps on astonishing me in the present debate is the complete lack of doubt in both camps. Personally, I don’t think that either theory, of Aryan invasion and of Aryan indigenousness, can claim to have been "proven" by prevalent standards of proof; even though one of the contenders is getting closer. Indeed, while I have enjoyed pointing out the flaws in the AIT statements of the politicized Indian academic establishment and its American amplifiers, I cannot rule out the possibility that the theory which they are defending may still have its merits."
The Hindu nationalist N.S. Rajaram criticized Elst's book Asterisk in Bharopiyasthan because of Elst's alleged agenda of "rescuing Indo-European linguistics from oblivion". Elst's views on the Aryan Invasion Theory were also criticized by, for example, Hans Hock, Edwin Bryant George Cardona and by Michael Witzel.
Influences
Elst has published in English and
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. He contributed for example to the conservative magazine Nucleus. He is also a contributor to the conservative internet magazine
The Brussels JournalThe Brussels Journal is a conservative blog, founded by the Flemish journalist Paul Beliën. It was founded in 2005, and has both an English language section with various international contributions, and a Dutch section...
, the Flemish satirical weekly
't Pallieterket Pallieterke is a satirical Flemish weekly. It is part of the Flemish movement and advocates Flemish independence. It is largely conservative in its editing, and although officially non-partisan, it is a close supporter of the far-right party Vlaams Belang....
and other Belgian and Dutch publications. He has also written for mainstream Indian magazines like Outlook India. He wrote a postscript to a book written by
Daniel PipesDaniel Pipes is an American historian, writer, and political commentator. He is the founder and director of the Middle East Forum and its Campus Watch project, and editor of its Middle East Quarterly journal...
(The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West). He has also published critiques of
IslamismIslamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
in the West. According to Sanjay Subrahmanyam, he has connections to the far-right
Vlaams BlokThe Vlaams Blok was a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence of Flanders. From its creation in 1978, it was the most notable militant right wing of the Flemish movement. Vlaams...
.
He has described himself as "a secular humanist with an active interest in religions, particularly
TaoismTaoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
and
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, and keeping a close watch on the variegated
PaganNeopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
revival in Europe."
In his books, articles, and interviews, he describes some of his personal motivations and interests in Indian nationalism and communalism
Criticism
Manini Chatterjee, in a review in the Calcutta Telegraph, called Elst's book Ramjanmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid a "very bad book". She also said that it was marred by miserably tentative terminology, like "maybe" and "possibly". Paul Teunissen's review of the same book criticizes Elst for the unfavourable portrayal of Syed Shahabuddin.
Thomas Blom HansenThomas Blom Hansen is a Danish anthropologist and leading contemporary commentator on religious and political violence in India. He has worked on religious identities, local political organization and informal networks in Bombay and pursued an interest in the anthropology of politics, the...
described Elst as a "Belgian Catholic of a radical anti-Muslim persuasion who tries to make himself useful as a 'fellow traveller' of the Hindu nationalist movement".
Ashis NandyAshis Nandy is an Indian political psychologist, a social theorist, and a contemporary cultural and political critic. A trained sociologist and clinical psychologist, his body of work covers a variety of topics, including public conscience, mass violence, and dialogues of civilizations.He was...
criticized the alleged dishonesty and moral vacuity of Elst.
Sarvepalli Gopal-Background and education:He was born in a Niyogi Telugu Brahmin family. He was the son of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, India's first Vice-President [1952-1962] and second President [1962-1967].He completed his graduation at Presidency College, Madras, and D.Phil...
in the book Anatomy of a Confrontation calls Elst "a Catholic practitioner of polemics" who "fights the
CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
all over again on Indian soil". He also says that it is difficult to take serious an author who "speaks of the centuries when there were Muslim rulers in India as a bloodsoaked catastrophe".
Ayub Khan says that Koenraad Elst is the most prominent advocate of
Sangh ParivarThe Sangh Parivar refers to the family of organisations of Hindu nationalists which have been started by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or are inspired by its ideas. The Sangh Parivar represents the Hindu nationalist movement. It includes the RSS and several dozen smaller...
in the West. He further says: "Such is his importance in Hindutva circles that L.K. Advani quoted him at length while deposing before the Liberhans Commission investigation the demolition of Babri Masjid." In a reply to Ayub Khan, Elst says that he has been critical of the Sangh Parivar in his writings.
Christian Bouchet criticized Elst's book The Saffron Swastika for having placed far too much trust in Savitri Devi's autobiography, and for claiming that Savitri Devi was bisexual.
Elst has replied to most of his critics in books or in articles.
Books
- Ayodhya, The Finale
Ayodhya, the Finale - Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate is a book by self-described 'Hindu revivalist' Koenraad Elst published in 2003 by Voice of India....
- Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate (2003) ISBN 81-85990-77-8(transl: Pourquoi j’ai tué Gandhi, examen critique de la défense de Nathuram Godse par Koenraad Elst, Les Belles Lettres)
- Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid. A Case Study in Hindu-Muslim Conflict. Voice of India, Delhi 1990. (a large part of this book is included in Vinay Chandra Mishra and Parmanand Singh, eds.: Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid, Historical Documents, Legal Opinions & Judgments, Bar Council of India Trust, Delhi 1991.)
- Return of the Swastika, Koenraad Elst, Voice of India
- The Saffron Swastika - The Notion of Hindu Fascism.
The Saffron Swastika: The Notion of Hindu "Fascism" is a book written by Koenraad Elst and published as two volumes in 2001. It discusses in detail the concepts of Hindutva and Hindu nationalism. He also argues against the idea that the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh...
(2001) ISBN 81-85990-69-7
- Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate
Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate is a book by Koenraad Elst. The book discusses various aspects of the Indo-Aryan migration debate and concludes by proposing a chronological order for the events in the spread of Aryans Out of India....
Aditya Prakashan (1999) ISBN 81-86471-77-4
- India's Only Communalist: an Introduction to the Work of Sita Ram Goel.
Book chapters
- Linguistic Aspects of the Aryan Non-Invasion Theory, In
- 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. BJP Hindu Resurgence. Voice of India, Delhi 1997. (adapted from a paper of the International Ramayana Conference and the October 1995 Annual South Asia Conference in Madison, Wisconsin
- 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
- Foreword to: The Prolonged Partition and Its Pogroms Testimonies on Violence against Hindus in East Bengal (1946–1964) by A. J. Kamra.
See also
- Andrew Bostom
- Michel Danino
Michel Danino , is a French‐born Indian author who has been living in Tamil Nadu, India since 1977.He participated in the translation and publication of the works of Sri Aurobindo and of The Mother...
- Swapan Dasgupta
Swapan Dasgupta is a senior conservative Indian journalist. At various points in his career, he has held senior editorial posts at The Statesman, The Telegraph, The Times of India, The Indian Express and most recently India Today, where he was Managing Editor till 2003...
- Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci was an Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer. A former partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career...
- David Frawley
David Frawley is an American Hindu author, publishing on topics such as Hinduism, Yoga and Ayurveda. He is the founder and director of the American Institute for Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which offers courses on Yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and Hindu astrology...
- Girilal Jain
Girilal Jain , was an Indian journalist. He served as the editor of The Times of India from 1978 till 1988. He was sympathetic to Hindu nationalism and authored books on the subject, the best known of which, The Hindu Phenomenon, was published posthumously.-Personal life:Girilal Jain was born in a...
- G Anil Kumar
G. Anil Kumar is noted Indian journalist, columnist and writer. He is Editor-in-Chief of Karmaveera, a 90 year old Kannada weekly. Earlier he was Associate Editor of Samyukta Karnataka, the oldest Kannada daily...
- N. S. Rajaram
Navaratna Srinivasa Rajaram is an Indian mathematician, who is however notable for his publications with the Voice of India publishing house focusing on the "Indigenous Aryans" controversy in Indian politics, in some instances in co-authorship with David Frawley.He's also a member of Folks...
- Arun Shourie
Arun Shourie is an Indian journalist, author, intellectual and politician. He has been an economist with the World Bank , a consultant to the Planning Commission, India, editor of the Indian Express and Times of India and a minister in the government of India . He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay...
- The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
- Srđa Trifković
Srđa Trifković is a Serbian writer on international affairs and foreign affairs editor for the paleoconservative magazine Chronicles. He was director of the Center for International Affairs at the Rockford Institute until his...
- Ibn Warraq
Ibn Warraq is the pen name of a polemical author of Pakistani origin who is critical of Islam, and who founded the Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society . He is a senior research fellow at the Center for Inquiry focusing on Qur'anic criticism...
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