Papers – Page 71 – ECSAS 2025

The Ethics of Evidence: Indian Muslims, Truth and Online Politics

The primary thesis I will present is that for many Indian Muslims, political conflict over public information is intertwined with moral claims concerning public personas and ethical self-formation. I will focus on how Indian Muslim non-legacy online practitioners position their evidence-related practices as part of their efforts to work on themselves and their moral personas […]

Self, sovereignty and politics in modern Kashmiri poetry

This paper explores the rise of modern ideas of self, sovereignty and politics in Kashmir through a study of Kashmiri poetry from the 1940s to the 1950s. Between the 1940s and 1950s as Kashmir transitioned from being a princely State in British India to the site of a conflict between India and Pakistan, Kashmiri poets […]

(In)compatible Human Rights? The Legal and Ethical Debate over the Jain Religious Practice of Fasting to Death

In 2006, the human rights activist Nikhil Soni filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Rajasthan High Court (RHC) to outlaw the Jain religious practice of fasting to death (sallekhanā). According to a common contemporary Jain view, the fast is a religious vow that involves the gradual renunciation of food, water, and nourishment, serving […]

An Ambedkarite Woman’s Perspectives on Buddhism and Human Rights: An Oral History

B.R. Ambedkar, enraged at the discrimination experienced by members of his Mahar caste and other Dalit castes, announced in 1936 that he would not die a Hindu. In 1956, he committed to Buddhism along with hundreds of thousands of other converts. Opposing religious doctrine that divided humanity and denigrated lower castes and women, he promoted […]

Alternative Narratives as Vehicles for Social Transformation: Learning from Ambedkar’s Approach to Buddhism and Particularized Justice

Alternative narratives serve a specific public function. They often enable critical reflection of entrenched institutional and structural relationships and provide avenues for reimagining and recentering the role of those otherwise silenced by prevailing traditions. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s approach to Buddhism can be linked to his radical and transformative constitutionalism and his commitment to principles of […]

Are the Concepts of Gender Equality and Autonomy Compatible with Hindu Religious Worldviews?: A Female Hindu Guru’s Perspective from India

This paper examines the leadership of a female Hindu guru named Trikal Bhavanta Saraswati ( “Mataji”) who appointed herself the status of a Śaṅkarācāryā (monastic head) in 2008 and organized a women’s monastic order in 2014. She lives in the politically volatile region of northern India in Uttar Pradesh, where the established religious patriarchy operates […]

Buddhist Nuns’ Pursuit of Gender Justice: From Sacred Texts to Monastic Life in Himachal

Buddhist scriptures have historically reflected a gender bias, with even the Buddha’s stance appearing ambivalent. While canonical texts often impose restrictions on women, there is ample evidence that the Buddha recognized their spiritual potential. However, the marginalization of such narratives has contributed to the perception of nuns as inferior within the monastic hierarchy. Defying the […]

Unlikely Alliances: Decolonizing Religion, Feminism, and Human Rights Discourses in the Thai Buddhist Monastic Context

This paper will explore Thai Buddhist monastic women’s relationship to feminism and women’s struggles for religious equality. In particular, it examines how local Thai religious women respond to the language, mission, and ethos of the global movement for women’s full ordination as Buddhist nuns (bhikkhuni) in Theravada Buddhism – aptly termed the “bhikkhuni movement – […]

Understanding (in)compatibilities between Religion and Human Rights

While most religious doctrines may not use a human rights language, they uphold the notion that humans as individuals hold equal moral worth and have inherent dignity. However, it is noted that despite religious principles that denote respecting human rights, in the practice this does not always happen. So, while it may be argued that […]

Thích Nữ Diệu Không, Moral Education, and Female Leadership in Vietnam’s Buddhist Protests of 1963

Between 1963 and 1966, Buddhists monks and laypeople, especially those from Hue, led protests government forces. Initially, these protests called for reforms and ultimately the removal of the Republic of Vietnam’s president Ngo Dinh Diem, but after Diem’s ouster, these protests continued, calling for the return to civilian government, a withdrawal of the United States […]