Wendy doniger and her portrayal of hindus and hindu. The quotation marks in the passage are all as given in wendys book. Vishal agarwal a us based md who has been labeled as a hindutva fanatic. As an indianamerican with an inherent love for academia, i picked up this book with high hopes.
Feb 17, 2014 wendy doniger s the hindus is a classic example of leftliberal scholarship on hinduism. The entire passage below does not appear to be an interpretation by wendy, because she has presented it as the translated text of the original in the shatapatha brahmana. Alternate history of the jews written by none other than the protestant founder martin luther in his jews and their lies which almost every christian german was. The book is by wendy doniger, a professor at the university of chicago divinity school and noted hinduism scholar. Doniger provides several variants of the theme of transposed heads. As wendy doniger, a scholar of indian religions at the university of chicago, explains in her staggeringly comprehensive book, the british indologists who sought to tame indias chaotic. An alternative history and finished around 50 pages.
History european imperialism wendy doniger talks about shifting views of the lower class in the history of hinduism wendy doniger is a professor of the history of religions at the university of. An alternative history, withdrawn from publication in india. As an indianamerican with an inherent love for academia, i picked up this book with high hopes, especially after i noticed it had won a few awards. Banning wendy donigers the hindus dr koenraad elst february, 2014 analysisinsights, articles 1 comment on banning wendy donigers the hindus numerous hindus come across as jubilant and triumphant now that they, or some of them, have managed to pressure penguin books into agreeing to withdraw wendy donigers book. She also confided that without the constant nudging by ravi singh, the editor of her. A list of the numerous errors in wendys book has been compiled by vishal agarwal, an indoamerican engineer writing in his spare time. It is like an architect appraising taj mahal and focusing only on its clogged drains. It is a big comedown for a great author and indologist like wendy doniger. Wendy wrote in the preface that she designed a book on hinduism specifically for an indian audience.
An alternative history with many errors of fact and of interpretation. Even if wendy doniger s book is not banned and has only been withdrawn by the publisher, one may logically ask the supporters of wendy doniger if they would support to remove ban from pandit m. The world of wendy donigers translations indiafactsindiafacts. The entire passage below does not appear to be an interpretation by. Chamupati s book rangeela rasool it was written with almost the same flair as wendy s book but was targeting islam while wendy targeted hinduism. Doniger has been masquerading as a scholar on hinduism and in the sanskrit language. Wendy donigers enthralling and encyclopaedic book reveals her vision of a hindu culture that is plural, varied, generous, and inclusive. An alternative history is a book by american indologist, wendy doniger which the author describes as an alternative to the narrative of hindu history that they tell. Dec 16, 2017 contemporary india is an uneasy, volatile mix. Rajiv malhotra, left, a constant critic of wendy doniger and what he calls her chicago school of writers and thinkers, retired at age 44 some 20 years ago and put. This debate pits traditionalist hindus against american indologists around the work and personality of prof. Donigers book, the hindu experience and wendys children in page 3 of the preface of the hindus, the hindu encounters a shrill message. Act 1 of the risa lila deals with the eroticisation of hinduism by wendy doniger v, who is undoubtedly the most powerful person in academic hinduism studies today, and by others inspired by her. For those who already know and admire wendy donigers work, this is a handy if hefty compendium of many of her essays.
Thus, hinduism stands apart, and in this light, may pose the most serious challenge to western intellectual and philosophical hegemony today. An alternative history as one of the finalists for the national book critics circle award. Rajiv malhotra, one of wendy doniger s most vociferous critics, speaks to s arthur j pais about the prejudices created by american scholars about hindu gods and hinduism. It is shoddy, it peddles the lies of it s predecessors and tries to convert a lie into a fact by repeating it over multiple times. This episode involving wendy donigers book is a lesson for the opponents of freespeech and their cheerleaders around the world, especially in american universities. An alternative history by wendy doniger of the university of chicago is really not a history at all. Notorious wendy doniger hosted by the oxford centre for hindu. Jan 27, 2010 i have mixed feelings on seeing wendy donigers book the hindus. Wendy donigers conception of hinduism deserves a more thorough treatment, much of which has already been pioneered by rajiv malhotra. I have read the book from cover to cover, and am afraid that it has literally hundreds of factual errors that will be noticed by. Penguin india to destroy all remaining copies of wendy.
Wendy donigers book is a tribute to hinduisms complexity, not an insult by vijay prashad doniger, a professor of the history of religions at the university of chicago, is no stranger to. For those who are reading her for the first time, the book is a marvellous introduction to the multiple ways that hinduism can be approached and understood through the stories that it tells. Right or wrong, wendy donigers the hindus should be. Like some of her predecessors, she appreciates the sexual freedom involved, but then she also tends to stress two aspects. How is wendy donigers book the hindu in its quality of. Errors in donigers book here is a list of partial errors in the book compiled by dr. Errors in doniger s book here is a list of partial errors in the book compiled by dr. Wendy donigers the hindus is a classic example of leftliberal scholarship on hinduism. Risa lila1 was not written as a criticism of the entire academic work of doniger, but only specific parts. Contained lots of factual errors, erroneous mapsthey have withdrawn the. And this outrage cleverly sidesteps the valid and vast critiques of wendy donigers scholarship and frames the issue as one of a book ban and hindu fundamentalism. But it was troubling that there was not a single comprehensive critical evaluation of donigers work, nor. Hinduism, in her view, is an intricate weave of the diverse localities and communities of indian culture. Doniger indicates that she is presenting a narrative of religion as.
In any controversy, the participants cannot decide who is right or wrong. Apr 26, 2009 as wendy doniger, a scholar of indian religions at the university of chicago, explains in her staggeringly comprehensive book, the british indologists who sought to tame indias chaotic. Penguin to axe wendy donigers controversial book the. I have mixed feelings on seeing wendy donigers book the hindus. In whats very upsetting news to anyone who respects intellectual and academic freedom, penguin india has agreed to recall all remaining indian copies of scholar wendy donigers the hindus. Usually, i am a quick reader but not reading this book with that speed.
The book was initially published by viking penguin in 2009 and later in india by penguins indian subsidiary, penguin india. Wendy doniger, professor at the university of chicago, wrote a book the hindus. One story is about fusing the head of a brahmin woman onto the body of a dalit woman. The protesters argued that wendy donigers book contains numerous factual errors, mischaracterizations, and shows an undercurrent of deep contempt for hindus. Sparked off by sunthar visuvalingams followup observations, in the light of george w. A tribute to professor wendy doniger the university of. It added, according to critics, the book violated a section of indias penal code that criminalizes deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious. Todays column commemorates the scholarship, teaching, and mentorship of wendy doniger with a collection of tributes by several of her colleagues and students, both former and.
The kind of arson and violence that erupted across the world in the wake of the danish cartoons fits the definition of religious fundamentalism. I agree with gora mukherjee s overall appraisal of doniger s 2009 book hindusan alternative history. Banning wendy donigers the hindus dr koenraad elst february, 2014 analysisinsights, articles 1 comment on banning wendy donigers the hindus numerous hindus come across as jubilant and. While in high school, she studied dance under george balanchine and martha graham. Doniger indicates that she is presenting a narrative of religion as linga an emblem of lord shiva often representing his erect phallus as set in a yoni the symbol of shivas consort, or female. Also, i wanted to be careful thoughtful too before making my own assessment of wendys. An alternative history, who claims to be the foremost authority on hindu religion hinduism and hindu culture and customs, has a deficit in. The hindus by wendy doniger is one of the worst books ive ever had the misfortune to read. I agree with gora mukherjees overall appraisal of donigers 2009 book hindusan alternative history. She is a former president of the american academy of religion, now leads religious studies at the university of chicago, chairs many academic and. Penguin to axe wendy donigers controversial book the hindus. Why the wendy doniger episode is not a free speech issue. Jan 18, 2011 history european imperialism wendy doniger talks about shifting views of the lower class in the history of hinduism wendy doniger is a professor of the history of religions at the university of chicago and one of the most important interpreters of myth. Notorious wendy doniger hosted by the oxford centre for.
Todays column commemorates the scholarship, teaching, and mentorship of wendy doniger with a collection of tributes by several of her colleagues and students, both former and current, on the occasion of her retirement this academic year. Wendy doniger s enthralling and encyclopaedic book reveals her vision of a hindu culture that is plural, varied, generous, and inclusive. Even if wendy donigers book is not banned and has only been withdrawn by the publisher, one may logically ask the supporters of wendy doniger if they would support to remove ban from pandit m. A democracy has a process in place to settle these disputes. Perhaps it might make more people read the book, i tell myself, and more americans will get a better understanding of hinduism, instead of thinking of it as just a religion with. An alternative history as one of the finalists for the national book critics circle award perhaps it might make more people. Why the wendy doniger episode is not a free speech issue the outrage over penguin withdrawing donigers book has emanated mostly from the section that calls itself secular and liberal, among other. Mar 03, 2014 wendy wrote in the preface that she designed a book on hinduism specifically for an indian audience. Wendy doniger was born in new york city to immigrant nonobservant jewish parents, and raised in great neck, new york, where her father, lester l. Wendys book was positioned as an alternative history of hinduism, since according to the author mainstream history.
Attack on wendys book on hinduism suggests casualness of. Now the same section presented by wendy doniger is as follows. She also confided that without the constant nudging by ravi singh, the editor of her book now pulped, she would not have taken up writing on the hindus again hurt as she was by the attacks on the internet. Bushs state of the union address in 2001, on david loys buddhist appeal, just after 911, for a pacific approach to the problem of terrorism.
In her book, doniger retells hindu stories and provides snarky interpretations. It added, according to critics, the book violated a section of indias penal code that. I had written this for facebook, reproducing it here. But it was troubling that there was not a single comprehensive critical evaluation of donigers work, nor any plans to produce such a criticism, despite the enormous importance being given to her work, and the fact that what is at stake is the legitimacy of the insiders view of the. Wendy donigers fake victimhood indiafactsindiafacts.
Hindu civilization dialogue wendy doniger and alternative. But one general observation, which counts for the whole current of psychoanalytical deconstruction of hinduism, is that the clumsy freudian concepts she uses are simply not sufficient to understand. Wendy donigers the alleged hindu expert hatred of the classical hinduism and brahmins is not very different than the 1930s christians hatred of the jews and judaism. It is shoddy, it peddles the lies of its predecessors and tries to convert a lie into a fact by repeating it. Banning wendy donigers the hindus numerous hindus come across as jubilant and triumphant now that they, or some of them, have managed to pressure penguin books into agreeing to. Banning wendy donigers the hindus hindu human rights. Contained lots of factual errors, erroneous mapsthey have withdrawn the book knowing the tide is now against the missionaries with support from their masters aka u. Feb 05, 2014 banning wendy donigers the hindus numerous hindus come across as jubilant and triumphant now that they, or some of them, have managed to pressure penguin books into agreeing to withdraw wendy donigers book the hindus.