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Item Open Access The Bhakti Cult’s Vision of Religious Reformation: A Secular Strategy for The Modern World(University of North Bengal, 2025) Bhattacharya, ApabritaThis paper aims to explain the origin and significance of the Bhakti cult in medieval India. Though it has significant social and religious overtones, the Bhakti movement is fundamentally spiritual. The Bhakti movement may also be viewed as an effort to lessen animosity among various religious groups. Even though the movement originated in South India, its secular worldview quickly expanded throughout the nation. During the era of the Bhakti movement, there was a noticeable and profound shift in society. It encourages the idea of religious cooperation and fights against bigotry and social injustice. This paper has attempted to define the role played by Bhakti saints in fostering social cohesion. Secularism seeks to foster a few tolerant, cooperative ideals in our contemporary culture to create an unbiased, conflict-free environment. In this paper, I intend to demonstrate the principles of religious unity, emphasised by a few well-known Bhakti saints, that offer a secular perspective and strive for social welfare.Item Open Access Perspectives on Humanism: Swami Vivekananda and Deendayal Upadhyaya (Comparative study)(University of North Bengal, 2025) Parida, Alakananda; Sahu, Sangita‘Humanism’ underlines the centrality of human agency. It offers a philosophical and ethical perspective against which individual and society are viewed. It came as a revolt against religious authoritarianism, prevailing dogmas and asserted the freedom of man and encouraged critical thinking, leaving no room for the ‘transcendental’ or ‘mystical’. True to his Vedantic conviction he considered ‘man’ as the highest manifestation of divinity on Earth. As everyman is potentially divine one deserves fair opportunities to grow into perfection. He was critical of the traditional dogmas, social discriminations and poverty of the mass. He was in favor of the synthesis of the East and West and encouraged ‘Education’ as the potent means as it promotes awareness among the people. He articulated the idea of ‘universal religion’ because for him cardinal values constitute the secular core of the ‘sacred’ and envisioned a society without distinction and dogma, where the Vedantic ideals are translated into day today living. Deendayal Upadhyaya, a philosopher sociologist, economist and politician in one, articulated a socio-economic model in which human beings remain at the centre of development. He was in favor of a sustainable consumption of natural resources such that the resources can be replenished and diversity can be preserved. He was critical of both Capitalism and Communism because both make room for individualism and consider the body and mind to be the only realities. He envisages a classless, casteless social system based on the cardinal values such as Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksa. He was a strong advocate of the view that an ideal society and political system can be in place when it is based on dharma. Dharma for him is a sustaining principle of the society and universe. The highest good of man consists in living for the wellbeing of others (lokasamgraha). Different religions have shared objectives, irrespective of the way they pursue different paths leading to the highest goal.Item Open Access Islamic feminists’ view on muslim women’s equality and empowerment(University of North Bengal, 2024-03) Khatun, NajmunThis paper aims to focus on gender equality, especially on women’s equal rights, opportunities and empowerment from Islamic feminists’ point of view. The Qur’an is generally alleged as a main source of women’s subordination or oppression. Islamic feminists argue that there is no single verse in the entire Qur’an that subordinates women. For them, the Qur’an is the main source of women’s empowerment and gender equality. However, the patriarchal society has interpreted and represented the Qur’anic teaching in a wrong way throughout the centuries. Thus, Islamic feminists rise with contextual interpretation of the Qur’anic verses to substantiate their own view. They show that male and female both are equal in all respects. They both are moral individual agents, and for this, they earn equal recompense for their duties. Islamic feminists argue that women’s empowerment is not possible if both male and female are not equally treated in rights and opportunities. Thus, they give importance to build gender equality in Islam.Item Open Access Equality in difference: an analysis with reference to ‘motherhood’(University of North Bengal, 2024-03) Datta (Majumdar), KasturiGender discrimination is one of the important topics of Practical Ethics. Any kind of discrimination hinders the growth of society. All human beings deserve equal rights and opportunities irrespective of race, caste, religion, sex. Biological differences of individuals could never be taken as criteria of gender discrimination. Motherhood is considered as glorified aspect of women’s life, but this is a patriarchal ploy to keep women in a cage. Now this is the time when we should re-think our traditional theories in order to assure equality to women.Item Open Access BANKIMCHANDRA ON SOCIETY, EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S EDUCATION(University of North Bengal, 2023-03) MONDAL, SUJAYItem Open Access Pros & cons of Triple Talaq: post Shayara Bano judgment(University of North Bengal, 2022-09) Singh, Amrita; Verma, Ravi Kant“We are the nation which proudly professes about it being the largest democracy and ensures to both men and women equal rights meanwhile it claims itself to be a secular state. However, under all these pretty claims there lies heinous and discriminatory laws which jeopardize the lives of many people who are in most cases unable to earn a living for themselves. The different courts in India have passed various judgements in the cases of Triple Talaq which is not helping the Muslim women as well. Triple Talaq, a patriarchal practice should be banned because first, it is unconstitutional; secondly, it leaves the women who are divorced and dependent in acute poverty; thirdly, it is un-Quranic.Item Open Access LGBT Movement in India: The Journey towards an Inclusive Society(University of North Bengal, 2021-09) Das, SagnikaEquality in the society between the individuals irrespective of race, sex, religion, caste, place of birth or colour is a sign of a progressive society as it lays the path towards stability and harmony. Every human being has the right to be treated equally. However, Social hegemony2has tendency to exclude persons with “differences” which violates their inalienable Basic Human Rights. Till the year 2018, the LGBT community in India was suffering from exclusion. These people were considered to be either sex workers or criminals. They demanded a positive radical social change. The LGBT movement took the urge for tolerance and inclusion to a whole new level. The judiciary responded to their plea for equality first in Suresh Kumar Koushalv. Naz Foundation3 which culminated in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India4 where the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional rights of the LGBTQ+ people. In this backdrop, the present paper intends to point out the factors which led to inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community and led to social transformation.Item Open Access Equality or Hierarchy: The Organisational Structure of a Sect in Bengal(University of North Bengal, 31-03-2021) Goswami, SumanaDuring the seventeenth and eighteenth century numerous deviant vaisnava and semi-vaisnava sects emerged among the lower orders of both the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal. Challenging the great traditions of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity these sects altogether rejected the Vedas, Shastras and most importantly the caste system. Dumont, while emphasizing the hierarchical characteristics of the Indian caste system, held that in opposition to castes sects have an egalitarian nature. The present paper is concerned with the structure of one such sect, namely Kartabhaja, which emerged as an anti-Vedic, anti-caste group and survives till date. The study attempts to examine whether the sect follows a true egalitarian structure or not. The necessary data for the study were gathered in the annual fair of the sect called Satimar Mela through personal visits for seven consecutive years (1999-2005) and again in 2012, 2016 and in 2018. The methods of non-participant observation and unstructured and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from about 100 sect members on a snowball sampling basis. Historical accounts were also used to construct a history of the sect. The study reveals that the sect, which rejected the exploitative caste hierarchy and emphasized on equality of human beings, irrespective of caste, religion and sex, had to develop a new form of three-level stratified system of Karta, Mahasaya and Barati for organizational solidity. These separate and independent groups within the sect could easily be distinguished through their different ritual performances. The formation and continuation of stratified structure within the sect obviously is contrary to the image of egalitarian structure of the sect.