Encyclopedia of Hinduism

K xxxvi Encyclopedia of Hinduism

1948

¶ Establishment of Sarva Seva Sangh, Gandhian

movement for new social order (sarvodaya).

¶ Mohandas Gandhi is assassinated on January

30 in retaliation for his embracing of Muslim

demands in India.

¶ The last British troops leave India on February

28.

1949

¶ India’s new constitution, authored chiefly by

B. R. Ambedkar, declares there shall be no

“discrimination” against any citizen on the

grounds of caste, jati, and abolishes the practice

of “untouchability.”

1950

¶ India is declared a secular republic. Prime Minis-

ter Jawaharlal Nehru (r. 1947–64) is determined

to abolish caste and industrialize the nation.

1964

¶ India’s Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu

religious nationalist movement, is founded to

counter secularism.

¶ Rock group the Beatles practice Transcendental

Meditation (T.M.), making Maharshi Mahesh

Yogi famous.

1965

¶ U.S. immigration law is rewritten to cancel

racial qualifications and restore rights of natu-

ralization to Asians. The first Hindu teacher to

benefit from the lifting of immigration quotas

is Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, famous

Vaishnavite guru and founder of International

Society of Krishna Consciousness. Annual

immigration from India shifts from 100 (1925)

to 170,000 (1985) per year.

1966

¶ Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi,

becomes prime minister of India, world’s largest

democracy.

1973

¶ Neem Karoli Baba (1900–1973), Hindu mystic

and siddha, dies.

1975

¶ Netherlands gives independence to Dutch Guy-

ana, which becomes Suriname; one-third of

Hindus (descendants of Indian plantation work-

ers) immigrate to Netherlands for better social

and economic conditions.

1979

¶ Shivaya Subramuniyaswami founds Hinduism

Today, international journal to promote Hindu

solidarity.

1980

¶ Hindu nationalist party, Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP), is founded.

1984

¶ Indian soldiers under orders from Prime Minis-

ter Indira Gandhi storm Sikh Golden Temple in

Amritsar and crush rebellion. Gandhi is assas-

sinated later in the year by her Sikh bodyguards.

Her son Rajiv takes office.

1986

¶ Swami Satchidananda (1914–2002) dedicates

Light of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS) at

Yogaville, Virginia, in the United States.

¶ Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986), Indian phi-

losopher, lecturer, and author, known for his

teaching of radical self-awareness, dies.

1992

¶ Hindu radicals demolish Babri Masjid, built in

1548 on Rama’s birthplace in Ayodhya by Mus-

lim conqueror Babur after he destroyed a Hindu

temple marking the site.

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