By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : The Ghent University of Belgium is to organize a conference on the theme “Rethinking Religion in India II: Rethinking Secularism” in New Delhi from 10-13 January, 2009.
It is a follow-up to its first conference on the theme Rethinking Religion in India which was held in Ghent early this year.
The 4-day event will deal with what it terms as “an ideological struggle between secularism and Hindutva” and seek to arrive at an adequate understanding of the problems posed by communal strife in India , which has existed since her independence in 1947 despite India being a secular state.
The Research Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap ( Ghent University ), India Platform UGent ( Ghent University ), the Centre for the Study of Local Cultures (Kuvempu University, India ) and the Karnataka Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities ( Karnataka , India ) have jointly organized the conference .
Speakers from universities in India , Belgium , the UK , the USA and Australia will take part in the main sessions of the conference.
A call for papers is open for sessions which will deal with Indian Religion and the issue of conversion; the caste system and Indian religion; colonialism and religion in India, religion and law in India ; and rethinking religion in Asia .
Abstracts are invited for these sessions, the deadline for which is 30 September.
More information is available on the website: www.cultuurwetenschap.be/conferences/RRI