Hare Krishnas in Singapore: agency, state, and Hinduism

The members of the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore have been subjected to state and social disapproval since the late seventies. In order to gain legitimate space and approval they have adopted various strategies of negotiating their identity within the social structure of Singapore. In this pape...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sojourn
Main Author: Parameswaran, Ashvin (Author)
Contributors: Sebastian, Rodney (Other)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Institution 2008
In: Sojourn
Further subjects:B Group
B Religious identity
B Self-understanding
B Singapore
B Sect
B Singapore Religiöse Vereinigung Religious organization Sect Verhältnis Religionsgemeinschaft - Staat Religious movement Identity Rollenverständnis gesellschaftlicher Gruppen Hinduism Religiöse Bevölkerungsgruppe
B Religious community
B Hinduism
B Population group
B Association
B State
B Religious organization
B Identity
B Religious movement
Description
Summary:The members of the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore have been subjected to state and social disapproval since the late seventies. In order to gain legitimate space and approval they have adopted various strategies of negotiating their identity within the social structure of Singapore. In this paper, we investigate the transformation of the relationship between State and Hare Krishna and popular Hinduism and Hare Krishna over the past four decades. This paper also serves as a documentation of the growth of the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore. It will be shown that Hare Krishna devotees, while cautious not to provoke the state into sanctioning them, have persisted in their devotional practices and gradually expanded in terms of numbers and social spaces. The social oppression they face has also caused them to re-negotiate their ambiguous identification with popular Hinduism. Interviews with them suggest that the negotiation of identity with Hinduism is complex. Although all of them have a similar understanding of the Hare Krishna philosophy, they employ different definitions of Hinduism and act accordingly. (Sojourn/GIGA)
ISSN:0217-9520
Contains:In: Sojourn