Asoka's "conversion" (Re: Nobel prize winner on Indian identity)

[Prasad Velusamy]

Prof. Y. Malaiya wrote:
>Religions "of-the-book" are today followed by a majority
>of the humanity. Many Hindus too feel compelled to come up
>with a definition of Hinduism that "fits" the formulas used
>to define Islam or Christianity. But is it necessary?

Islam was the rulers' faith for 6-7 centuries in the North.
Naturally, a syncretism did develop. For example, granth-sahib
mentions sahib 100s of times. Does Shri Dayanand Saraswati's
success in Punjab and his redefininitions of meanings of the
vedas reflect an urge in west India to show some books
(veda, gita) paralleling kitabi religions with emphasis
on koran, bible, etc.?

Sincerely yours,
Prasad


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