By: Abhijit Bagal
November 21, 2004

Biases in Hinduism Studies: PART-III 
Biases in Hinduism Studies: PART-II
Biases in Hinduism Studies: PART-I

Part 6 – Some alarming trends and troubling questions  

The editor of the major 15-volume critical edition of Mahabharata being published by The University of Chicago Press, said at the Mahabharata Conference in Montreal, that Mahabharata is “God's Genocide,” the main theme being “Krishna commanding the destruction of mankind,” and that this should be the overarching theme of the entire translation. So what do we have here? Islamic scholars are busy trying to clean up the image of Islam. On the other hand, Hinduism scholars are trying the opposite -- appearing to demonize it, and thereby causing, intentionally or otherwise, Hindu shame amongst the youth.

Hinduism courses are often taught in a way so as to create a revulsion against Hinduism in the minds of the students. In Fall 2001, an Indian American student took an introductory class in Hinduism at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and was shocked to hear the instructor describe the gory details of Asvamedha (Vedic horse sacrifice, also referred to as Rajasuya) in the very first class. Thus, the students were told in the very first class that the chief queen grasped the penis of the dead horse and thrust it into her vulva and so on. The student was stunned and commented that this does not motivate him to take any class on Hinduism in the future, even though he was well aware that there are several beautiful things in Hinduism and that the Asvamedha rite was performed very rarely, with these gory details probably often left out. In the last 2000 years, there are perhaps no more than 6-7 recorded instances of the rite being performed, and the last one was performed at Jaipur, in Northern India, in 1716. Its performance in modern times is prohibited by several Hindu texts themselves.

The texts on Hinduism developed by Western scholars dwell lavishly upon a certain set of topics that are a big turn off to students interested in Hinduism – These topics are Caste Discrimination, Tantric Sex, Animal Sacrifices, Dowry Deaths, Polytheism, Hindu Fascism, Cult of Kali, naked Naga Sadhus etc. -- which tend to give a biased view of Hinduism as a tribal, primitive, misogynist cult that has imprisoned millions of human beings. To add to this, many anti-Hindu texts are prescribed reading in introductory classes on Hinduism. A search on the Internet shows that there are some introductory Hinduism classes in American Universities where even books like “Why I am not a Hindu” by Kancha Illiah are prescribed reading! Will anyone recommend Ibn Warraq’s “Why I am not a Muslim” in an introductory course on Islam?  Or how about Bertrand Russel’s “Why I am not a Christian” in an introductory course on Christianity?

RISA scholars often hold the Hindu Diaspora in the United States in utter contempt. Whereas the achievements, the industriousness, the intelligence and capabilities of the Diaspora and their contributions to their adopted country is being recognized and praised, the writings of RISA specialists often hold their ‘objects of study’ as inferior beings. It appears that the Indologists and RISA scholars often have a problem relating to India and Hindus in general. They seem to suffer from some kind of bias or phobia that prevents them from portraying Hindus and Hinduism in a praiseworthy, sensitive or a sympathetic manner. There seems to be this fear that if Hindus or Hindu organizations are presented sympathetically, the author might be perceived as a New Ager, a closet supporter of Hindu Fascists and so on. Contrast this with the attitude of Professors on Islamic studies. Even after the September 11 attacks, there is no dearth of scholars who rush to absolve Islam of any wrong doing, or trying to understanding the psyche of Islamic societies and their suffering under ‘Western Imperialism’.

Another student who took a class in Stanford University in 2002 comments:

“I took a class in Indian history at Stanford last year. After discussing the Ramayana, the instructor showed one film: “We are not your monkeys” by Anand Patwardhan. I found myself in the strange position of criticizing a film that I admire. I asked the instructor if he would consider showing the Mapplethorpe sculpture (the crucifix immersed in urine) in an introductory course on Christianity as the only example of Christian art. Needless to say, he dubbed me a BJP sympathizer.”

The film mentioned above – “We Are Not Your Monkeys” is a short 5 minute music video based on a song by the late Daya Pawar, a renowned poet and activist from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The film has been made by one of India’s leading documentary-makers, Anand Patwardhan and offers a critique of the Ramayana. BJP is an acronym for Bharatiya Janata Party, the political party that had formed the previous government in India. India’s ex Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee has been a member of this party since a long time. BJP has often been labeled as a “Hindu Nationalist Party” and along with its affiliate organizations – the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) are routinely accused for fomenting Hindu Fascism in India.

It is not the quality of the documentary or of the song that is being questioned here, rather the following two questions come to mind:

(1)     Why did the Professor at Stanford choose a film that depicts the Ramayana in a negative fashion? There are many other films that portray the Ramayana positively, such as “Warrior Prince, The Legend of Ramayana” which was awarded the "Best Animation film of the year" out of 60 competing entries at the Santa Clarita International festival -- 2000, in Santa Clarita, California. As an ‘objective’ scholar, the Professor could (and should) have shown more than one version of the Ramayana and let the students decide for themselves what to infer.

(2)     When the student protested, why did the professor conclude that the student was a BJP sympathizer?

Amongst RISA studies and discussions, there is an overt emphasis on the so called Hindu ‘F’ word -- Hindu-Fundamentalism, Hindu-Fascism, and Hindu-Fanaticism. RISA scholars and other academics (turned into political commentators) read selective literature by Marxists, Liberals, Pseudo-Secularists, and other political commentators and churn out articles and books by hundreds every year on this phenomenon. The parties, organizations, and individuals criticized are obviously never given a fair portrayal, and their supposed misdeeds are described through critical secondary publications by committed Hindu bashers and scholars with their own political agendas. Any act of self assertion of Hinduism, or even a questioning of some paradigms of South Asian Studies or Indology is enough to draw the wrath of RISA scholars with epithets like ‘Hindutva Oppressor', ‘RSS supporter’, ‘Caste Exploiter’, ‘Hindu Nazi’, ‘Bride Burner’ etc.

Academic scholars often excuse themselves from social responsibility by claiming that their works have very limited readership. But, over time, their ideas and images disperse into society at large, because of the legitimacy given to them by prestigious academic voices. For example, Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, one of the foremost art museums in the U. S., features some of the rarest and most precious art objects of Asia, and its coffee table book explains the large 11th century Ganesha carving in the collection, as follows: "Ganesa, is a son of the great god Siva, and many of his abilities are comic or absurd extensions of the lofty dichotomies of his father." And then goes on to say: "Ganesa's potbelly and his childlike love for sweets mock Siva's practice of austerities, and his limp trunk will forever be a poor match for Siva's erect phallus.” Many school tours visit the museum, and through art the kids learn about other cultures. One can very well guess what the American kids will learn about Lord Ganesha from the abovementioned example. Did the Museum get its description of Lord Ganesha from Paul Courtright’s book? Do Academics use these controversial methods merely for the sake of selling books and to ensure and enhance their tenure in a “Publish or Perish” academic economy? 

Writing about the displeasure expressed by the Indian American Community about the way Hinduism is being portrayed by American scholars, Rajiv Malhotra comments:  

“The Diaspora is now highly aware of AAR/RISA, suspicious, and getting mobilized rapidly. They are challenging at fund raisers, and their kids are getting bolder about raising their hands to question the items selected for depiction in a one-sided manner...

If left to itself, things will deteriorate, and there may well be someone who will file a lawsuit on hate speech or something similar. This must be avoided by proactive positive thinking. It would take leadership skills replacing career politics as the driver...

The Diaspora activists are not one or even a small number of groups. In classical Indian fashion, it is highly decentralized and there are more such self-styled activists popping up all the time... “ 

Part 7 – Letter from a 14-year old Indian American Schoolgirl 

The following letter has been written by a 14-year old Indian American schoolgirl and has been published in many Indian American newspapers and websites: 

It's 8:00 a.m., and students slowly trickle into Mr. West's 6th grade history class. The majority of the people, including the teacher, are white. One African-American, two Orientals, and myself, a second generation Indian girl, make up the rest of the class.

On the blackboard is written "World Religions." As the rest of the class prepares for a boring two hours, I can already feel my stomach sink - what did I do to deserve this?

We are handed a fill-in-the-blank chart of major world religions and are instructed to look in our books for the answers. Finishing quickly, I hand in my chart to Mr. West at his desk, and turn to leave. "Now wait a minute, you put 'monotheistic' down for Hindooism," he remarks.

"I know," I reply, feeling my face burn as the class looks up.

"Hindoos are polytheistic."

"No, they're not,"

"Are you a Hindoo?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Scattered murmurs break out among my peers, whispering about how freaky Hindus worship elephants and monkeys. Great.

"Well," Mr. West says standing up and going to the chalkboard, "from what I understand, Hindoos are all about their caste system." And he begins a long, irrelevant, and incorrect explanation, which he memorized from our textbook. What does that have to do with being monotheistic? I don't even bother correcting him, to save myself any more embarrassment. I wanted to get out of there. Fast.

7th grade starts, and it's culture day in history. "Both of my parents are Indian--" I begin when it's my turn. "Do you mean Native American Indian, or Middle Eastern Indian?" my teacher asks. Sounds like it's going to be another fun year in social studies.

When 8th grade starts, India and Hinduism are summed up in a few short sentences by the teacher. India is described as filled with pollution, cows, and poverty-stricken people. Hindus love to bathe in rivers where they throw the ashes of their parents and yes, they do worship elephants and monkeys.

"Do you speak Indian?" I'm asked at least two times a week. "I heard there were two thousand gods and every full moon you had to give a sacrifice to them. Do you do that?" No, I try to explain that all the gods are really aspects of one almighty being. I've never sacrificed anything except my dignity, which slowly dwindles with each question.

The release of popular award-winning books such as Homeless Bird, which portrays the typical Indian girl who is forced to get married at thirteen, didn't help Indians anywhere. And, who could have guessed, the author hadn't even been to India! No kidding.

Six entire chapters in the textbook were devoted to Christianity, whereas one page is given to the history of India and the teachings of Hinduism. A second page is entirely about Lord Shiva, accompanied by a rather unbecoming picture of an ancient dancing Shiva statue. Buddhism gets one paragraph.

This doesn't make sense, as most of the school already knows so much about Christianity, but hardly any even knew Buddhism or Hinduism existed. Now that they did, we would be ridiculed publicly. Thank you, Board of Education.

At last, high school starts. I almost die of shock when I see the 9th grade textbook has devoted an entire 3 sentences to Sikhism and Jainism. It claims Sikhism "combines the Muslim belief of one god with the Hindu belief of reincarnation."

Christianity in India and the ever-popular "western influence" get pages and pages of text. One of the main pictures which help represent "typical life in India" is one my fellow students describe as some sort of drag-queen in make-up doing an obscure peacock dance. Out of all the dazzling pictures of Indian culture, that is the one they have to stick in? They chose that one over a picture of, say, the classic Taj Mahal?

But the fun just gets funnier -- the next picture of a sari earns a whole two sentences. Oh, but it's not an exquisite silk or glittering embroidered sari. Nope, it's a dirty yellow (perhaps once white) cotton sari worn by an old woman bathing in the Ganges River. In spite of its pollution, "Hindus readily drink and bathe in the Ganges' water; people even come to die in the river." To further prove their point, they stick in a picture of a filthy and trash laden section of Ganges, not a clean part, which much of it is.

I kid you not, upon reading this and looking at the picture, a boy in my class had to be excused to the nurse's office because his stomach had become queasy.

Now we come to the sacred cow. They say entire streets are blocked because Hindus don't want to run over our beloved cow. C'mon, even in America, people aren't going to just run over a local cow; they'll find a way to move it or get around it.

On an ending note, Indians are technologically behind. They fail to mention that we have a space program, nuclear capabilities, and many Indians, believe it or not, have heard of a computer.

Every day, young desi (Indian American) children and teenagers are unreasonably tormented because of our perceived background. The school textbooks are half the cause. The average American doesn't know squat about India, and with the help of poorly researched textbooks, they learn nonsense. The sheer embarrassment of the situation is enough to make desi students everywhere wish we could have been "normal" by American standards. Explaining to your peers that you don't worship a thousand gods like the Greeks; your grandmother doesn't force you to bathe in dead people's ashes every full moon; and even though you know how to bhangra, kuchipudi, or whatever it may be, you've never danced with a drag-queen, is not fun for any young desi.

But why do we put up with it? Jewish, African-American, and Orientals all have organizations against defamation and they are represented correctly in the textbooks. Why aren't we? If Christians can effectively lobby to remove the theory of evolution from school science textbooks, then certainly we should be able to at least correct the blatant misinterpretation of our culture. Reading what you or your child's Social Studies textbooks says on India and Hinduism and writing a simple letter or e-mail to the editor can make a world of difference for not only you but for thousands of others. A letter to the Board of Education for your district can't hurt either, since they decide which textbooks will be used. It only takes five minutes of your time, but it can change how you, an Indian, are viewed in society.

Desis are being ridiculed everywhere in America because of what today's modern student is learning. It's not going to change unless we become part of the solution.  

Part 8 – Concluding Remarks and Request for Action 

Hinduism and India studies programs in the U. S. are severely undermining Hinduism, India, and the Indian American disapora by their biased, prejudiced, and inaccurate portrayal of Hinduism and Indian culture. Many American universities and academics are still fossilized within old paradigms and study Hinduism with a subtle hostility. The flawed works of these scholars get used as references to write textbooks, encyclopedias, newspaper articles, television coverage, corporate policies on India, U. S. foreign policy, and so forth. The image of Hinduism and India projected by these scholars to mainstream America is far from reality. Whereas Western Universities teach great respect for Greek and other Western Classics as being the bedrock of their civilization, Hindu Classics are ridiculed as myths, tales of genocide and incest, and pornography.   

India has become a major geopolitical, economical, and technological player in its own right. In his final policy speech as U. S. ambassador to India, Robert D Blackwill highlighted defense cooperation as one of the most critical areas in the ongoing evolution of U. S. -- India relations. He then added: "The Bush administration perceives India as a strategic opportunity for the United States, not as an irritating recalcitrant."  

President George W. Bush, in a statement made on January 12, 2004, said: “In November 2001, Prime Minister Vajpayee and I committed our countries to a strategic partnership. Since then our two countries have strengthened bilateral cooperation significantly in several areas. Today we announce the next steps in implementing our shared vision. The United States and India agree to expand cooperation in three specific areas… Cooperation in these areas will deepen the ties of commerce and friendship between our two nations, and will increase stability in Asia and beyond… That relationship is based increasingly on common values and common interests. We are working together to promote global peace and prosperity. We are partners in the war on terrorism and we are partners in controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. The vision of U. S. -- India strategic partnership that Prime Minister Vajpayee and I share is now becoming a reality.” 

The U. S. corporate world has started to re-image India in this new light, seeing it as a positive force on the world stage. American business schools report that India has become the most important country that students wish to study, in order to understand the future world economy and technological opportunities.  

Unfortunately, scholars associated with India and Hinduism studies are still alienated from Hinduism and Indian culture and are escalating their exaggerated and one-sided portrayals. The time has come for the American education system and the scholars associated with it to re-image Hinduism and India. The huge credibility problem the Western academic community faces today with respect to Hinduism must be addressed from within a Hindu agenda and must alleviate the concerns raised by the Indian American community.  

I urge the readers to examine the topics mentioned in this article, to investigate the nature of Hinduism/India studies, and, to determine ways to bring accountability, objectivity, fairness, and balance to these studies. I also request the readers to explore ways to enable members of the Indian American Hindu Diaspora to be equal participants at the discussion tables where Hindu/Indian traditions are the topics -- including schools, colleges, universities, museums, media, political think-tanks, and corporate policy meetings.

Concluded....

Abhijit Bagal