Near Ganjawe Hall Opp. Patrakar Bhavan
Pune, Maharashtra

Talk - Buddhism, bhakti and beyond: India's Great Tradition by Gail Omvedt. The 'Great Tradition' of India is usually considered to be the one based on the Vedas, Sanskrit and the brahmanic tradition. This fosters caste, arrogance, and a narrow belief in the superiority of India as 'Bharat.' But, the real great traditions of the whole subcontinent are in the 'Shramana' tradition going back to ancient times, perhaps to the Indus civilization, symbolized above all by Buddhism but also including Jainism and the Lokayata materialistic tradition; in the role played by the best representatives of Islam and Christianity from ancient times, and in the radical bhakti movement represented by poet saints like Kabir, Ravidas and Tukaram. This tradition was universalistic, rationalistic and equalitarian. I will talk about how the contest between these two traditions has gone on up to today. Gail Omvedt - Born in Minneapolis, U.S.A. and with an MA. and PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, Gail Omvedt has been living in India since 1978, settled in the village of Kasegaon in southern Maharashtra. She has been an Indian citizen since 1983 and works as a sociologist and writer. She has worked actively with social movements in India, including the Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental movements, farmers' movements and especially with rural women. She is also Research Director of the Krantivir Babuji Patankar Lokshastriya Samshodhan va Prabodhan Sanstha, or 'Krantivir Trust' and is a member of the board of trustees of the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (New Delhi) and National Institute of Dalit Studies (Ahmedabad). Besides many research projects and journalism, she has been a consultant for FAO, UNDP and NOVIB, and has served as a Dr. Ambedkar Chair Professor at NISWASS in Orissa, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Pune, as Asian Guest Professor at the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhagen and for five years as a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. She is currently Visiting Professor and Coordinator, School of Social Justice, University of Pune.

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Added by buzzintown india on May 26, 2009