ABSTRACT
The “Hindu temple dance” or dances associated with the Hindu temple tradition were reborn in Europe and the United States with predominantly “white dancers” performing and transforming religious rituals. Scholars specializing in the history of the Hindu religion and its traditions claim it is the “world's oldest religion” based on textual evidence from the Rig Veda. Scottish historian and philosopher James Mill, in The History of British India, distinguished three phases in the history of India: Hindu, Muslim and British civilisations. From the late nineteenth century onwards, as William Gould notes, “the gears of communal conflict” in India are often “lubricated by competition over social and political resources, rather than the deliberate manipulation of religious symbols.” The definition of India as an ocean or a space for plurality, peace and regard for multiple traditions is important.
