Postcolonial critique of reason: Spivak between Kant and Matilal

The paper ponders the location of Gayatri Spivak in the discursive space between Kant and Bimal K. Matilal (but she is also dis-located by her own enactments, disavowals). So it wonders what a postcolonial critique of reason would look like. In the chapter on philosophy, Spivak (1999) develops a sustained critique of just this kind by decoding the works of the \u27Three Wise Men of Continental Europe\u27 (Kant, Hegel, Marx), pointing, via the European impact on the Third World, to the ultimate \u27foreclosure: [in the fashion of] the native informant\u27. But the paper detects another triangular imaginary of reason - this time without an apex, and with limited strategies, each deconstructing and challenging the other. Kant is thus important in spite of his own cosmopolitheia, Matilal for his rational realism of \u27moral love\u27. What both fell short of was a genuine critique of the rational, and therefore also of one of its unfortunate beneficiaries, the postcolonial \u27informant\u27; and this critique is Spivak\u27s \u27gift\u27.<br /

Hindu-Christian Dialogue in the Making in Australia

It would not be an exaggeration to say at the outset that Hindu-Christian dialogue is still in its infancy in Australia when compared, for instance, to Buddhist-Christian, Jewish-Christian, Muslim-Christian, and even Muslim-Jewish dialogue. However, there have been some developments in recent times and there is something of a history, albeit discontinuous, of Hindu-Christian encounters in Australia

Dies of culture and religion : India and Australia, from settlement to post/modern times

In historical sketches of India-Australia or Australia-India relations, the important dimensions of the cultural and religious connections from the shared colonial period and Gandhi\u27s nationalist voice echoing in all corners of the Empire, through to the diasporic migration, settlement and temple culture, is largely overlooked. This essay intends the redress that absence in current research and contribute toward a critical appraisal of that rather \u27esoteric\u27 part of history, arguably still in its infancy. The story begins close to the early white settlement period to the aftermath of the events of 9/11 (2001 in New York) and Bali (2002). The focus will be on Hindus with some reference to Sikhs, Muslims, Sri Lankan Tamils, and migrants from the subcontinent, as the conduits for the particular Indian-Australian diasporic connection and \u27spiritual diplomacy\u27 being explored