This book deals with post-Vedic developments in understanding the con-cept of sacrifice (yajna) and the response of the Bhagavad Gita to it. Concepts such as Karma, Brahman and Tapas originated in the context of Vedic ritual and were the generators of autonomous power in the performance of sacrifice. The book argues that the Upanishads are not ......
In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) adopted the Doi Moi (Renovation) policy at its sixth national congress, opening up a new chapter in the country's modern history. Under Doi Moi, Vietnam has undergone significant socio-economic, political and foreign policy reforms that have transformed the country in many meaningful ways. This ......
Vietnam has officially admitted its failure to achieve industrialized economy status by 2020. This failure is partly due to its inability to grow a strong local manufacturing base and develop key strategic industries. The participation of Vingroup, the country's largest private conglomerate, in the automotive industry has sparked new hopes for ......
This unique volume draws together a compelling collection of studies on the diverse and transformatory experiences of women as they encounter the forces of modernization altering the face of contemporary Borneo. The authors, all locally based scholars specializing in gender issues, shed much-needed light upon this hidden academic area. It presents ......
Published in association with Centre de Sciences Humaines, New DelhiHow do we understand those ascetics who have developed an extremely elaborate martial tradition and yet have taken strict vows of non-violence, especially when, for some ascetics today that tradition has been put at the service of the most extreme forms of Hindu militancy? And how ......
How Should Indonesia Strengthen Its Policies to Curb Sex Work in Response to Its Extramarital Sex Criminalization
Similar to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia is, simultaneously, infamous for its prevailing sex tourism economy, sex industry and sex trafficking activities. On 6 December 2022, Indonesia's parliament passed the criminal code to criminalise extramarital sex. The anti-extramarital sex legalisation was established to help reinforce ......
In an era, when Islam ostensibly lies at the heart of a volatile nexus of a global campaign of/war on terrorism, simplistic notions and dangerous misunderstandings about the cultures and nature of Southeast Asian Islam, in all its variants, are used to inform and justify policies. This collection of contemporary primary source material is designed ......
Voyages to the East Indies: 1680 to 1686/1676 to 1683 by Christopher Fryke and Christopher Schweitzer was first published in 1700. Both were minor employees of the Dutch East India Company; one a surgeon and the other who volunteered to be a ship's steward. Engaged for the most part in the humdrum routine of trade, administration and police in the ......
