Defence of Hindu Society
Sita Ram Goel's comprehensive diagnosis of threats to Hindu society from monotheistic creeds, leftist ideologies, pseudo-secularism, and the need for a spiritual-cultural revival rooted in Sanatana Dharma.
Defence of Hindu Society (1994, third revised edition) is Sita Ram Goel’s major work outlining the existential threats confronting Hindu society and proposing a path of spiritual and cultural renewal. The book is structured around eleven chapters that diagnose the siege from multiple fronts: prophetic creeds (Christianity and Islam), Marxist ideology, and a home-grown pseudo-secularism.
Core Argument
Goel argues that Hindu society faces a coordinated assault from three directions: monotheistic imperialism (Christianity and Islam), materialist dogma (communism), and phoney modernism (Nehruvian secularism). Each of these, he contends, is fundamentally incompatible with the pluralistic, experiential, and non-proselytising ethos of Sanatana Dharma.
Key Themes
- Sanatana Dharma vs. Prophetic Creeds: Goel draws a sharp distinction between the dharmic tradition—based on spiritual experience, pluralism, and self-realisation—and the Biblical tradition of exclusive truth claims, dogmatic revelation, and imperialist expansion.
- Spiritual Centre of Hindu Society: The author identifies the spiritual core of Hindu society in the Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, and the teachings of saints, sages, and reformers across millennia.
- Critique of Nehruvian Secularism: The “secular” state is characterised as a promoter of minority separatism that keeps Hindu society permanently on the defensive.
- Hindu-Baiters: Goel identifies four categories of critics—monotheists, human-rights crusaders, Marxists, and Westernised modernists—all of whom, he argues, attack Hindu society while refusing to subject their own traditions to similar scrutiny.
Sources Used
This page draws on the full text of Defence of Hindu Society and Hindu Society Under Siege, both by Sita Ram Goel.
See Also
- Hindu View of Christianity and Islam — Ram Swarup’s comparative study
- India’s Secularism — Critique of the secularism concept
- Hindu-Christian Encounters — Historical survey
- Islamic Imperialism in India — Islamic aggression pattern
