Academic Hinduphobeia

Books
1. J M Blaut : The Colonizers Model of the World :

Geographical

Diffusionism and Eurocentric History

2. Enrique Dussel : The Invention of the Americas : Eclipse of the Other

3.
4.
5.
6.

and the Myth of Modernity

Frantz Fanon : The Wretched of the Earth
Anindita Niyogi Balslev : Cross-Cultural Conversation
Tzvetan Todorov : The Conquest of America
Richard Crasta : Impressing the Whites : The New International Slavery

Expressions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

In the late 1990s, a major controversy broke when I started

which most Hindus vulgar and outright insulting
.things flared up between the Indian diaspora and
She lost her clout in
She lost most of the students who earlier thronged to at her doorstep.
At least these academics have become less blatant in their denigration of

Hinduism.
7. reached an out of court settlement
8. with the opposing litigants and agreed to pulp the copies printed by
them in India.
9. Scholars mine such data, filter it through Western lens, legitimize it with
Western peers who are part of their own academic system.

Main Ideas
Using or Misusing inapplicable lenses of Marxist, Freudian and leftist
theories to an ancient and a deeply spiritual civilization. Moreover, the
irony was that none of these scholars was actually trained professionally
even in the theories that they had applied for analyzing Hinduism. It
was, for example, kitsch-psychology, where words like penis, vagina
semen and menstrual blood were thrown in liberally to interpret
everything and anything related to Hinduism in order to appear cool and
provocative in a fashionable sense.
What startled me was that whereas all the Abrahamic faiths and even
Buddhism were largely represented by practitioner scholars, the opposite
was the case with Hinduism. The dominant attitude was that, We
western scholars know Sanskrit better and we understand your texts and
tradition more than you Hindus understand them. In fact, I learned that
those few scholars who did come out as Hindus were harassed and
marginalized. It was as if, in the eyes of most western scholars, Hinduism
needed to be saved from the Hindus!

 After independence, the Marxist control over media, arts and literature,
historiography etc. in the last several decades left a vacuum in the
academic presentation of Hinduism studies. To teach anything about
Hinduism means being branded communal. In government funded
universities, there are hardly any dedicated programs teaching darshans,
for instance. In fact, most Indian authors write books about Hinduism
under the category of Indian culture just to be politically correct. In this
environment where it is uncool to be a Hindu in a country with an 80%
Hindu population, suddenly there appears a book whose title says that it
is on Hinduism which is written in racy English prose by a white women
claiming to be an expert of Sanskritic texts.

There is an entire cottage industry around the theme of what I termed

atrocity literature, in which Indian masses are depicted as suppressed
and

oppressed

and

therefore

in

need

of

liberation

by

western

interventionists.
How to counter this Hinduphobeia? The first step is to question their
so-called scholarship and biases. The second thing to do in parallel
would be for us as a community to invest our time, effort and money in
understanding our own tradition. Third, Hindu diaspora will need to

reassess its priorities. We have constructed thousands of beautiful

temples all over the world. But we risk these temples becoming museums
within a few generations because we are not education our children on
what our culture truly means.
The Phenomenon of South Asianizing, which has emerged from this
confluence of excessive ethnography and Indian Macaulayism, has
subverted Hinduisms universal instance, Christianity is not defined in
terms of Middle Eastern ethnography, although it is studied also in
sociological terms.
Being seen as objective is to the academicians of Indic traditions what
being civilized was to the British. Hence by compelling them to be
objective in receiving criticism, in acknowledging falsities that they have
perpetuated, in re-examining the asymmetries we have our best chance
to change the very system of objective scholarship that they control.
It is the representation system that defines that metaphors and
terminology, interprets what they mean in various situations, influences
what issues are selected to focus on, and most importantly, grants
privileges by determining who is to control this marketplace of ideas.
As an implicit body of standards, a representation system disguises a
meta-ideology the substratum of contexts on which specific ideologies

emerge and interact. It includes the language used and the unstated
frames of reference, and acts as the subliminal filter through which
positions are constructed and their fate negotiated.
Therefore control over the representation of knowledge is analogous to
control over the operating system of computers: representation systems
are to competing ideas what operating systems are to computer
applications.
The hallmark of a good education in an American liberal arts college is
based on what is called the Western Classics. A study of Western
Civilization starts with the study of ancient Greek and Semitic thought,
before moving on to Classical Roman, modern European, and finally,
American thought. Such an intellectual foundation is deemed important
for one to be considered a well-educated person in the humanities,
regardless of ones religious beliefs (or lack thereof), and regardless of
ones specific academic major. By way of illustration only, the following is
what one liberal arts college advertises very proudly about its Classics
program.
Classics and Classical Civilization at a Typical American Liberal Arts
College :

From the Constitution of the United States, to the framework of modern law, to the
vocabulary and ideas of everyday speech and writing, the classics exert a pervasive
influence. The power of Greece and Rome extends into virtually every aspect of
our modern lives. Western traditions of philosophy, science, religion, art, and,
above all, literature draw their origins from the intellectual curiosity and
colorful imagination of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Department of
Classics provides a window into the life, times, and ideas of the founders of western
society. Students of Greek learn the language of Homer and the idioms of Aristotle and
Plato, while Latin classes learn to argue in the words of Cicero and Julius Caesar. The
debt we owe to the Greeks and Romans is so large and multi-faceted that the
study of classics is interdisciplinary by nature. For example, the classics
curriculum includes courses offered by the Departments of Philosophy, Art, Religion,
Government, and Science and Technology. Yet, all of these courses form part of a
coherent whole for classics majors and minors. Students of the classics reap all the
benefits of a liberal arts education, and at the same time, maintain a focus in their
studies.
The Department of Classics is thriving on a resurgence of interest in classical
languages and culture.. Students can choose to gain an overview of long periods of
classical history, or study shorter periods in great detail. In class, we apply various
modern, even pioneering, theoretical approaches drawn from the disciplines of
anthropology, sociology, and literary criticism. Between the departments offerings
on language, literature, history, and culture, and the courses offered by other

departments on, for example, ancient philosophy, classical art and architecture,
and classical political thoughts, students choose from an extensive array of
courses.
The Department of Classics offers majors and minors in two programs: one in
classics, which concentrates on language and literature in Greek, Latin, or both, and
one in classical civilization that encompasses all the facets of classical culture. Many
students in both programs have taken advantage of the opportunity to study in Greece
and Italy through programs especially designed for American students. In Athens, the
cradle of Western democracy, and the birthplace of Greek tragedy and Platos
academy, students can further their studies while familiarizing themselves with
the Acropolis and Agora. In Rome, they can continue to pursue the ideals of a
classical education while breathing the air that the Roman emperors inhaled, and
walking the streets that for centuries saw triumphs over distant peoples. In recent
years, our joint major in Classics/Classical Civilization-English has become popular,
and we have just added another joint major in Classical Civilization-Anthropology.
The department strives to emulate the intellectual curiosity of the Greeks and
Romans. Our activities extend beyond the classroom to various social, yet educational,
events. We have enjoyed showing movies and videos related to the classics from time to
time.
We bring prominent experts from the U.S. and abroad to share new perspectives on
topics of the ancient world. We are proud to have state-of-the-art computer support
for our students. By tapping a few keys, they can call up any Greek or Latin text, and
search through the entire cannon of classical authors in the original or in translation.
Furthermore we have book-marked numerous sites of classical interest on the

Internet. All of this in a room graced by reproductions of classical statues, vases, and
paintings!
It is the departments goal to foster keen intellectual curiosity and sound principles of
analysis and problem-solving in all our students, by providing academic stimuli and
allowing our students to harness the power of the imagination just like the great
thinkers, politicians, artists and writers of Greece and Rome. Not surprisingly,
graduates of the [Classics] major are pursuing successful careers in law,
medicine, teaching, academia, government, art, management, and other fields.
The study of the classics trains the mind for much more than the translation of texts
and the analysis of a culture. The study of classics also prepares you to meet life with
the confidence of Achilles and the self-reliance of Odysseus.
I find similar deep respect and dignity for the Western Classics at Princeton, Harvard,
Columbia, University of Chicago, Yale, Oxford, Paris, and virtually every top Western
university. The benefit is not only intended for those specializing in the Western
Classics. The Western Classics are in the core curriculum of many colleges, regardless
of specialization.

Compare this to the tragic state of Indian Classics in Indias own

higher education. The equivalent to the Greek Classics would be Indias
Vedas, Puranas and other Sanskrit, Pali and Tamil texts. In a comparable
education system, students would learn about Pannini, Patanjali,
Buddha,

Nagarjuna,

Dharmakirti,

Bharthrhari,

Shankara,

Abhinavgupta, Bharata Muni, Gangesh, Kalidasa, Aryabhata and dozens

of other great classical thinkers produced by India. Unfortunately, in the
name of progress, modernity, and political correctness, Indian Classics
have been virtually banished from Indias higher education a
continuation of the policy on Indian education started by the famous
Lord Macaulay over 150 years ago. While India supplies information
technology, biotechnology, corporate management, medical and other
professionals to the most prestigious organizations of the world, it is
unable to supply world-class scholars in the disciplines of its own
traditions. The reason is that the nexus of Indology studies remains in
Western universities, almost as though decolonization had never
happened. The top rated academic journals and conferences on Indology
and India related fields are in the West, run largely by Western scholars,
and funded by Western private, church and governmental interests. The
best research libraries in the Indian Classics are in the West. Religious
Studies is the hottest academic field in the humanities in the US, and is
growing at a very fast rate, but is non-existent as a discipline in Indian
universities. Therefore, to get an internationally competitive PhD in
Sanskrit, Indian Classics, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Jainism Studies,
with the highest rigor in methods and theory, such that one may get an

academic job in this specialty in a leading international university, a

student is forced to go to a US, UK or German university.
Hence, one cannot find qualified experts of Indian religions in India, in
order to debate Western scholars. The few Indian scholars within the
Western academy who are educated in the Indian Classics, are either
below the glass ceiling, or else are politically cautious given the risks to
their career ambitions.
Furthermore, the marginalization of Indias heritage in its education
system, particularly in the English medium system that produces most of
the leaders of modern Indian society, has resulted in the leaders of
industry, civil service, media and education becoming a culturally lost
generation. The result is todays self-alienated, cynical youth prevalent in
many places, especially in elite positions.
The justification given for the study of Greek Classics in the West is not
that they are considered 100% true today (whatever that might mean),
or that better thought has not superceded them. Rather, the purpose is
to understand the history of the Western mind, so that students may lay
a sound and strong foundation for their thinking in order to move this
civilization further into the future. The Western Classics provide the
Western intellectual with the resources to be a serious thinker for today.

 It is also about the identity of Westerners and their culture. Great

emphasis is placed on the integrity of an old Western Civilization traced
back to Greece (although the massive inputs received from non-Western
sources are carefully suppressed see Part 3). This (re)construction of
Western Civilization is an ongoing project, and is considered very critical
for the survival and prosperity of what is known as the West.
One should apply this logic to Classical Indian thought and see parallel
benefits for Indias renaissance. Unfortunately, a great disservice has
been done to Indian Classics by equating them with religion. Arguably,
the most comprehensive and challenging knowledge representation
systems available outside the West are contained in the Indian
Classics. The sheer magnitude of Indias Classics is over one hundred
times as large as that of the Greek Classics. For a brief glimpse into some
of the potentials based on the recovery of Indian Classics, see the web
site for an academic Colloquium on this very subject. Yet, whatever little
is taught about Indian Classics tends to suffer from its ghetto like
positioning as South Asian, whereas Greek thought is positioned as
being universal. The dominant (European) culture, into which Greek
thought became assimilated, claims to own the logos (the rational

principle that governs and develops the universe), while non-Western

peoples indigenous ideas are mythos and exotica. Greek Classics are
taught in mainstream academia and are not relegated to a particular
ethnicity or area of the world. Indian Classics, on the other hand, are
considered relevant mainly as a way to understand what is unique (i.e.
peculiar) about Indian ethnicity.
Furthermore, Greek thought is referenced as being of Greek origin,
whereas, when Indian ideas are appropriated, their Indian origin is
erased over time: real knowledge is implied to come only from Western
sources; all others must wait till they get legitimized by being claimed as
Western. This is because the knowledge representation system is under
Western control, and hence they are the final arbiters of what belongs
where. Only when something falls under Western control does it
become legitimate.
Hindus loss of control over their own scholarship for centuries led to the
freezing of a very vibrant tradition. While Christianity has progressed
with constructive theologies (for instance, liberation theology), Hinduism
scholarship has been under the trusteeship mainly of non-Hindus.
Today, when Hindus re-interpret their texts to make them current with
the times, they are dismissed as quacks, when all other major religions
enjoy this privilege. While literal Biblical interpretations are well

respected, and this literalism is the belief of roughly half of all American
Christians[59],

when

interpretations

of

Hindus

Puranas,

base
they

their
are

scholarship

condemned

on

as

literal

fascists,

fundamentalists, and so forth.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism each have several very well-funded and
professionally run organizations, whose sole purpose is to bring
American educators together, to ensure an authentic and sympathetic
understanding of their faiths in schools. They lobby, they fund new
publications that meet academic standards and norms, they participate
in educational conferences, and they have representative on education
boards. In other words, they are involved, as opposed to assuming that
all is well in the hands of third parties.
Indian-Americans who have become successful in a non-academic field,
and who are assertive, articulate and autonomous thinkers are perceived
as a threat to the humanities establishment when they start to get
involved. This is partly because the system cannot control such persons
by using its normal carrots and sticks, and partly because such
individuals are self-assured because they have succeeded in competing
with Westerners in their professions. The humanities lag behind other
professions where Indians have pierced through the glass ceiling, such as
information

technology,

medicine,

engineering,

science,

finance,

corporate management, and entrepreneurship. The Western Grand

Narrative does not yet have standard scripts for Indians in India
Studies to be challengers of established theories and positions, in
the same manner as Indians in these other professions have
rewritten the scripts (and in some cases the trajectory of the
professions themselves) of the American Grand Narrative to make
themselves equals.
The example of Japan Studies:
One finds that Japan Studies chairs, programs and academic faculties
greatly outnumber those established in India Studies, demonstrating
that American political and commercial interests have driven the
humanities, and not a purist or objective criteria. Why should India be
considered less important than Japan, which has one-tenth of Indias
land and population? Why does Japan have a massive academic division
all for itself, whereas India is lumped alongside several other countries
into a tiny South Asian category?
The emphasis on Japan in Asia Society and various universities Japan
Chairs was largely corporate-funded. Academicians are uncomfortable
acknowledging that their institutions are not entirely driven by academic
freedom but are powered more by the strategic interests of the American

polity and also by the financial clout of a given nation in international

economics. Arent these scholars who are supposedly leftist/liberal, antiimperial, anti-colonial etc., operating with double standards? Mr.
Prashad should rethink his advice.
In fact, one could argue that there is less change going on in Japan than
in India, and hence, the latter deserves more funding for research and
teaching in order to replace the old school thinking. Furthermore, if
Indias geopolitical/economic importance today could be approaching
that of Japans 25 years ago, then why do we not have the same kind of
groundswell of support for India Studies today as we saw for Japan
Studies 25 years ago? Why is there no massive rethinking and
realignment of academic India Studies?
Most serious professions periodically subject themselves to such critical
self-reflection, and bring in outside consultants for evaluation, rather
than becoming defensive when reasonable issues are raised. The
academy must correlate the trends in country-specific themes over the
past 25 years with US geopolitical and economic interests at a given time.
An objective report would also point out that many India experts today
are simply in the wrong kind of specialty i.e. they are in the caste,
cows and curry kind of scholarship and that their re-training in mid-

career might not be easy. So a real problem causing angst in the

academy against independent watchdogs could be its unwillingness to
address the issue of deadwood amongst academic peers.