ISAS Working Papers

Religious fundamentalism is a distinctive set of beliefs and behaviour pattern in most modern religious communities. It is a religious way of being that manifests itself as a strategy among the believers to preserve the authenticity of their identity based on doctrines, beliefs and practices from a sacred past. This religious identity becomes the exclusive basis for a reimagined political and social order. There are numerous fundamentalist movements in South Asia. This paper focuses on four main movements namely: Arya Samaj, Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh or the RSS, Jamaat-i-Islami and Tablighi Jamaat. The first two are Hindu and the last two Muslim. It is argued that the genesis of these movements lies mainly in the challenges posed by modernity, political and cultural subordination, nationalism and colonialism. Like nationalism religious fundamentalist movements are intellectual projects led by charismatic intellectuals seeking to reform and remodel society using the sanctity and authority of sacred texts. All four movement have had significant impact on social and political processes in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, some of which are highlighted in the paper. The paper concludes by suggesting that religious fundamentalist movements are new form of traditionalisms. These movements use tools of modern science and technology to advance their goals but reject some of the key features of modernity such as secular rationality, individualism, religious and cultural pluralism and tolerance.