An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America. This book is a chronicle of an important attempt to start a new kind of dialog in India-related cultural and post-colonial studies. The book documents essays, critiques and surveys of western scholarship on religions and traditions in India |
Invading The Sacred
India, once a major civilizational and economic power that suffered centuries of decline, is now newly resurgent in business, geopolitics, and culture. However, a powerful counterforce within the American Academy is systematically undermining core icons and ideals of Indic Culture and thought. For instance, scholars of this counterforce have disparaged the Bhagavad Gita as “a dishonest book”; declared Ganesha’s trunk a “limp phallus”; classified Devi as the “mother with a penis” and Shiva as “a notorious womanizer” who incites violence in India; pronounced Sri Ramakrishna a pedophile who sexually molested the young Swami Vivekananda; condemned Indian mothers as being less loving of their children than white women; and interpreted the bindi as a drop of menstrual fluid and the “ha” in sacred mantras as a woman’s sound during orgasm.
Are these isolated instances of ignorance or links in an institutionalized pattern of bias driven by certain civilizational worldviews?
Are these academic pronouncements based on evidence, and how carefully is this evidence cross-examined? How do these images of India and Indians created in the American Academy influence public perceptions through the media, the education system, policymakers and popular culture?
Adopting a politically impartial stance, this book, the product of an intensive multi-year research project, uncovers the invisible networks behind this Hinduphobia, narrates the Indian Diaspora’s challenges to such scholarship, and documents how those who dared to speak up have been branded as “dangerous”. The book hopes to provoke serious debate. For example:
- How do Hinduphobic works resemble earlier American literature depicting non-whites as dangerous savages needing to be civilized by the West?
- Are India’s internal social problems going to be managed by foreign interventions in the name of human rights?
- How do power imbalances and systemic biases affect the objectivity and quality of scholarship?
- What are the rights of practitioner-experts in “talking back” to academicians?
- What is the role of India’s intellectuals, policymakers, and universities in fashioning an authentic and enduring response?
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Aditi Banerjee received a B.A. in International Relations, magna cum laude, from Tufts University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. She is a practicing attorney in New York. Her publications include: The Hyphenated Hindus, in Outlook India; Hindu-American: Both Sides of the Hyphen, in Silicon India; and Hindu Pride, in Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America (Jon Butler et al. eds., Oxford University Press.) She is interested in the preservation and revival of the traditional ways of knowledge rooted in Sanatana Dharma.
Antonio T. de Nicolas, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He was educated in Spain, India and the United States receiving his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University, New York. He is presently a director of the Biocultural Research Institute in Florida. He is the author of several books on Philosophy and Hinduism such as Avatara The humanization of Philosophy through the Bhagavad Gita, Meditations through the Rig Veda and Habits of Mind: An introduction to Clinical Philosophy.
Krishnan Ramaswamy, Ph.D. is a scientist with a background in psychometric research. His areas of research include clinical outcomes trials in major mental and neurological illnesses. He is active in rural education projects in India, particularly among disadvantaged children. He works with the Infinity Foundation and is a student of the Vedas, Vedanta, Sanskrit, and Panini, and has had a lifelong interest in bhakti poetry from various regions of India, particularly Maharashtra.


The Bhagavad Gita is not as nice a book as some Americans think . . . Throughout the Mahabharata . . . Krishna goads human beings into all sorts of murderous and self-destructive behaviors such as war . . . The Gita is a dishonest book; it justifies war.
Wendy Doniger, in Philadelphia Inquirer1
There is generally, therefore, an inverse ratio between the worship of goddesses and the granting of rights to human women. Nor are the goddesses by and large compassionate; they are generally a pretty bloodthirsty lot. Goddesses are not the solution.
Wendy Doniger, in Washington Post2
Indeed, hateful speech and false information can create a climate in which . . . violence is to be expected . . . So how long will it be before a crazed gunman attacks a crowded Hindu temple in America, believing, . . . that Hindus are possessed by demons? How many children will grow up believing Hinduism is a ‘filthy’ religion, or that Hindus worship the devil? When they grow up, how will such children treat their Hindu co-workers and neighbors? Will they give them the respect due to a fellow citizen and human being?
Jeffery D. Long, Chair, Department of Religious Studies Elizabethtown College
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Wendy Doniger
The BBC-linked site introduces her as follows: “Professor Wendy Doniger is known for being rude, crude and very lewd in the hallowed portals of Sanskrit Academics.

OBJECTIONABLE PASSAGES
Wendy Doniger – DailyO
RISA Lila – 1: Wendy’s Child Syndrome – Rajiv Malhotra …
A Critique of Wendy Doniger’s – Hindu Review
The interpretation of gods – The University of Chicago …
What Hindus can learn from Batra vs. Doniger | Swarajya …
Sookta Sumana: PLAINTIFF HAS A LEGITIMATE CASE …
Interrogating Wendy Doniger:: What Hindus Need To Know
Objectionable passages from Wendy Doniger’s second …
Wendy Doniger’s derogatory Hinduism studies … – IndiaFacts
10 Controversial Quotes from Wendy Doniger’s ‘The Hindus’
@SandeepWeb’s tweets on Wendy Doniger’s book/quotes …
Wendy Doniger – Alternate History or Altering the History?
Wendy Doniger: An academic caricature – Vijayvaani






WENDY UNDER ATTACK AGAIN!
HAF Urges NBCC Not Honor Doniger’s Latest Book – Hindu …
Another book ‘On Hinduism’ by Wendy Doniger under attack …
India braces for Wendy Doniger’s The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex …
APPENDIX II ESSAYS ON HINDUISM BY WENDY DONIGER
Wendy Doniger’s New Book, “The Hindus” – Robert Lindsay
OPPONENTS OF BOOK BANNING
How Wendy Doniger and her publisher can rescue ‘On …
Indian Censorship and the Curious Case of Wendy Doniger …
Wendy Doniger | The Accidental Theologist
Some thoughts on the banning on Wendy Doniger’s “The …
What is Wendy Doniger’s Book About? – India Opines
The Wendy Doniger controversy: An Alternative View …
A possibly good side to the Wendy Doniger affair
A response to Wendy Doniger’s NYT OpEd – Daily Kos
Author Of Book Yanked In India Says Move Has Backfired …
Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus and so-called Hindu Zealots


Baltimore, Maryland, USA:
ARTICLES CONDEMNING PAUL COURTRIGHT
RISA Lila – 2 – Limp Scholarship and Demonology | Sulekha …
RISA Lila – 2 – Limp Scholarship And Demonology – Rajiv …
ten years after limp phallus fantasy of prof. courtright was …
Exposing Academic Hinduphobia by Prof. V.V. Raman
ARTICLES SUPPORTING PAUL COURTRIGHT
Amardeep Singh: Much ado about Ganesha: Paul Courtright …
A Place at the Multicultural Table – Vedic Illuminations
Beyond Batra and Doniger: Reflections on the study of …
Communalism Watch: Pulped: Why have publishers failed to …
After rewriting history in Indian textbooks the Hindutva Neo …
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Christophe Jaffrelot

Please add another anti-India intellectual: Christophe …
Current Members – American Society for the Study of Religion
Shadow Warrior: Fwd: Do Western religious scholars err in …
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SHELDON POLLOCK
ARTICLES OPPOSING SHELDON POLLOCK
Rajiv Malhotra – In his famous essay titled “The Death of…
Geopolitics And Sanskrit Phobia – Rajiv Malhotra | Infinity …
Response to Prof Sheldon Pollock’s interview published in Indian Express | IndiaFacts
Unmasking Sheldon Pollock’s blatant and unabashed Hinduphobia
Jayarava’s Raves: Truth and Philology
My response to Sheldon Pollock’s recent interview in India Express http://indiafacts.org/response-to-prof-sheldon-pollocks-interview-pubhished-in-indian-express/ … @mamidala90 @chintamani36 @SunilAmbekarM @heeraman98 @MakrandParanspe @kumarnandaj
Response to Prof Sheldon Pollock’s interview published in Indian Express | IndiaFacts
A response by Prof. Girish Nath Jha, Dean, School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, JNU to a recent interview of Prof Sheldon Pollock published in …
indiafacts.org
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Unmasking Sheldon Pollock’s blatant and unabashed Hinduphobia
Hinduphobia—pure and simple.
opindia.co
Glad that @IndiaToday carried this criticism of the Hinduphobic @AudreyTruschke who is being built up by Breaking India forces
Lost in translation
Is it right to reduce a layered (besides being revered) character like Rama to a caricature in a contemporary American comic strip?
indiatoday.in
25 years ago, Goldman would not bother to address the concerns of the Hindu community. Now he is forced to behave more sensitively at least in public, thanks to the social media activists.
The Scholar Whom Audrey Truschke Cites Finds Her Tweet ‘Shocking’
Will Ms. Truschke apologize now?
swarajyamag.com
The arguments used are also the same. Attack, then play the victim. Refuse to engage, claim “threats.” This is a tactic used for centuries. “Native Americans” were “savages” for resisting attacks.
Dead Peoples Tell No Tales
Locating Doniger in the discourse of power “I set out to grasp the mechanisms of the effective exercise of power, and I do this because of the…
sankrant.org

Hindu Education Foundation USA shared an update on California State Board of Education: Stop Demonization Of Hindus And Indians In California School Textbooks Check it out and leave a comment![]() |

“THEN HAWAII, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR SO-CALLED ‘PERFECT’ PATHETIC HINDU 1000 GODS LEADER ALONG WITH YOUR PATHETIC ‘CAREER POLITICIAN’ BUDDHIST HANABUSA, AND YOUR PATHETIC AMERICAN TRAITOR, AND MY FAMILY AND I WILL GO OUR MERRILY WAY,” KAAIHUE SAID. SHE ALSO RIDICULED GABBARD’S “MOON-CRATER CHEEKS.”GABBARD IS HINDU, HANABUSA IS BUDDHIST AND IGE IS JAPANESE-AMERICAN. KAAIHUE IS A CHRISTIAN RUNNING ON A PLATFORM BASED ON INSTILLING RELIGION IN GOVERNMENT.
AS CHAIRMAN OF THE HAWAII REPUBLICAN PARTY, I WANT IT UNDERSTOOD BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND THE MEDIA THAT THE RECENT INFLAMMATORY COMMENTS MADE BY CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS (CD2) ANGELA KAAIHUE DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS, VALUES, OR THE SENTIMENTS OF OUR PARTY AND ITS MEMBERS. HER VULGAR, RACIALLY-BIGOTED, AND RELIGIOUSLY-INTOLERANT DESCRIPTIONS OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATES ARE OFFENSIVE, SHAMEFUL, AND UNACCEPTABLE IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE. I UNCONDITIONALLY DENOUNCE HER DESPICABLE STATEMENTS. I STRONGLY URGE ALL HAWAII REPUBLICANS TO JOIN ME IN DISAVOWING HER CANDIDACY.
Kaaihue didn’t take that particularly well, filling her own Facebook comments section with denunciations of the state GOP, naturally enough:
THE BIGGEST LIAR AND DECEIVER IS SATAN, THE DEVIL. TO CALL ONE A RACIST BIGOT, WHEN THEY HAVE TAKEN OVER OUR AMERICA, GOD’S COUNTRY, AND WHILE MOST PEOPLE DO NOTHING, AND ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN, YOU ARE GUILTY FOR NOT STANDING UP FOR GOD. THE BIGGEST LIAR TO CALL ONE A RACIST BIGOT! TAKE A STAND FOR GOD, CHRISTIANITY IS THE BIRTH RELIGION OF AMERICA.YOU ‘ATTACK’ THE “MESSENGER OF GOD”, YOU IDENTIFY AND TAKE ON THE MARK OF THE BEAST. REPENT AND BEG GOD FOR FORGIVENESS, YOU HAVE SINNED! THE ROAD TO LIFE IS NARROW, THE ROAD TO DESTRUCTION IS BROAD! YOUR JUDGEMENT DAY IS NEAR ONCE AGAIN! LET “THY KINGDOM COME”. YOU WILL BE JUDGED!BE SURE YOU BOW ALL THE WAY DOWN TO YOUR HANDS AND KNEES, AND KISS HER FEET LIKE THEY DO IN SOME CULTURES! REPENT, AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED!

If nothing else, it looks like Kaaihue is ready to get that ABBA cover band off the ground. In a phone interview with the Honolulu Civil Beat Saturday, Kaaihue — a fervent supporter of Donald Trump, you’ll be astonished to learn — explained that by condemning her, the state party chair had sold out both God and America:
“I AM TALKING ABOUT GOD, PREACHING ABOUT GOD, RESTORING HIS KINGDOM BACK INTO HAWAII,” SHE SAID. “THIS IS GOD’S COUNTRY, AMERICA IS GOD’S COUNTRY. I AM TRYING TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THAT.”KAAIHUE SAID THERE WAS A WAR GOING ON BETWEEN “THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS, BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN.” ROHFING’S DENOUNCEMENT OF HER CANDIDACY, SHE SUGGESTED, DEMONSTRATED “HOW WE ARE BEING DECEIVED BY SATAN, THE BIGGEST LIAR AND DECEIVER.”SHE SAID ROHLFING NEEDED TO “BE CAREFUL” BECAUSE HE WAS TAKING ON “THE MESSENGER OF GOD.”“‘ANGELA’ MEANS MESSENGER OF GOD,” SHE SAID. “MY WHOLE FAMILY IS CHRISTIAN.”
THE JUDGE, SHE SAID, ORDERED THE MENTAL EXAMINATION BECAUSE HE OBJECTED TO HERSPEAKING IN HAWAIIAN IN COURT.“THE JUDGE, THE COP, ALMOST ALL THE COURT REPORTERS, THE PROSECUTORS, THEY ARE JAPANESE,” SHE SAID. “THEY ARE RACIST; THEY HAVE A SAMURAI CODE.”ASKED ABOUT HER ETHNICITY, KAAIHUE SAID SHE DID NOT WANT “TO GET INTO IT. BUT I AM NOT JAPANESE.”
Reza Aslan, host of CNN’s ‘Believer’Daily bulletin of Hinduism Today (Hawaii)Twitts from Congress woman Tulsi Gabbard has posted 11 twitts. Here is one of her twitts:2/ I am very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people’s misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.
Rajiv Malhotra & Hindu Students Council Discuss CNN’s Latest Hinduphobia

Rajiv Malhotra & Hindu Students Council Discuss CNN’s Latest Hinduphobia
