BOMBAY: Indian professors and graduate students of American universities are up in arms against the description of Shiv Sena supremo Bal “Thackeray and Sadhvi Rithambara as ‘ideal Hindus” and have called into question the authenticity of the brand of “Hinduism” as practiced by Indians belonging to the Federation of Hindu Associations (FHA) in the United States.
The FHA conferred the “Hindu of the Year” awards on the two last ‘month.
Expressing “considerable distress” at the event, faculty members from the Universities of Wisconsin, Los Angeles (UCLA) Chicago, San Di¢g0, Mesa College (SDMC) and others have said, “The part played by these two supposed stalwarts of the resentment against Muslims and in creating an environment conductive to the riotous celebration of naked violence is too well known to require comment.”
In a formal letter of protest they have queried if the FHA would find acceptable the similar idolization of neo-Nazis among the Americans who rain violence on Indians merely because they are different.
“Thackeray’s part in instituting a program against Muslims, which is scarcely any different from programs instituted against Jewsat various times in European history and the reign of terror unleashed by goons working in his name, make a mockery of the pious conferral of reward upon him.”
The professors include Vinay Lal, Vinayak Chaturvedi, Esha De, Ashok Hegde, Gopal Balkrishman, Manali Desai (all UCLA), Taradas Banerjee (U.C., Riverside), Biman Ghosh (California State, Pomona), Darius Cooper (SDMC), Anju Relan (California State, Hayward) ShankarRamaswamt (Chicago), Roby Rajan (Wisconsin) and others, ‘While Thackeray was unavailable for comment, the protesting intelloc~ uals have made itclearthey are not so much concerned with him or Ms. Rithambara as with the position of s0called “”Hindus” in the US which they say ‘fills us with shame and outrage.”
Mincing no words, the professors say, “Most of us are Hindus and we most emphatically repudiate the attempt of the FHA to speak for us and speak for ‘Hindus,’ It is curious that self-styled Hindus appear to know better the meaning of ‘Hinduism’ than India.” It is their conviction that “far removed as Hindus (in the US) are from the living practices of the faith, their understanding of Hinduism is frozen and ossified.” ‘This is a view supported by the Bombay based Citizens Action Forum (CAF), whose activist M.J. Jain describes most so called “Hindus” abroad as “spiritually bankrupt,” always in competition to prove that each is a better Hindu than the other, given the fact that they are unable to assimilate in the West and acquire a distinct image that sets them apart from the rest of the immigrant population.
“We (Indians Abroad) are forced to get closer to each other because even if we are not looked down upon by the host citizens, we are often looked at four our distinctive habits like sitting on pavements for example). But none of us have received any spiritual knowledge of our country and are mass produced from our colleges. So we hang on to’ whatever sate we have and play up this Hindus ism factor.”
Mr. Janisays this is why the “Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) types” abroad have so much success because Hindus there believe they are spiritual just because they are talking of Ram and Krishna, “Actually they are without any intellectual or spiritual capacity at all but Indians there do not know what they are really UP to back in India,” he said. “Add the professors, many of whom are coordinating: with the CAF to restore balance to the Hindu perspective in India and the US, “Indeed, it is quite clear that FHA members are even less Hindu than we are and it would not be too bold to say that they have less of an understanding of Hinduism than do many non-Hindus.” ‘That the FHA knows little of what it says it stands for, they believe, is demonstrated by the citation for the award “on those who have done most to tarnish the pluralistic nature of the faith.” The award was given to them for their “efforts in the creation and preservation of Hinduism.”
“It is nonsensical to speak of their part in the “creation” of Hinduism it would be more appropriate 10 speak of their part in the creation of bigotry, intolerance and fanaticism. It is the height of ignorance to believe, as the FHA evidently does, that Hinduism requires the services of Thackeray, Rithambara, Uma Bharati and others of their ilk. Calling upon the FHA to reflect that the only test of a democracy is how it teats is minorities, the professors caution, “What Hindus like Thackeray have done to Muslims in India today might well be done to Indians in America tomorrow.”
Article extracted from this publication >> July 7, 1995
