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Controversy Surrounding Wendy Doniger's *The Hindus* (Robert Frykenberg, USA, 03/07/14 7:44 am)A big fuss of recent days has erupted over Wendy Doniger's book The Hindus: An Alternative History. Comment exists in all sorts for forms, and in almost every major paper and journal. I attach an excellent 2009 analysis by David Arnold, which has been republished in recent weeks. Ramifications--political and religious, etc.--are manifold.
Here is Arnold's review:
http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article758656.ece
See also this India Times article on Penguin's recent agreement to remove The Hindus from sale in India:
http://newsindiatimes.com/pulp-nonfiction-scholarly-book-on-hindus-withdrawn/
JE comments: A pleasure to publish this inaugural posting from our newest colleague, Robert Frykenberg of the University of Wisconsin. Bob's expertise on Indian religions is a most welcome addition to WAIS. Hinduism has long taken a back seat to Islam, Christianity and Baha'i in our discussions.
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Comments/Replies
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Academic Freedom under Fire in India
(Jose Manuel de Prada, -Spain
03/07/14 4:46 PM)
Unfortunately, the situation described by Robert Frykenberg (7 March) is not an isolated case.
Some years ago, an essay on the Ramayana by the great Indian folklorist and poet A. K. Ramanujan was dropped from the curriculum at Delhi University because of the absurd objections of BJP fanatics that perpetrated Nazi-style acts of vandalism.
See: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Ramanujan-essay-dropped-to-save-PM-another-headache/articleshow/10965372.cms
JE comments: In the US we don't often hear of Hindu chauvinism, but it apparently is just as real as the Christian, Muslim or Jewish variants. I'm grateful to Robert Frykenberg for starting this interesting conversation.
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