diga Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 Penguin Books India has decided to withdraw copies of US Indologist Wendy Doniger's book "The Hindus: An Alternative History" following a court-backed settlement with a Delhi-based voluntary group which had objected to several "inaccuracies and biases" in it. In the agreement with Shiksha Bachao Andolan Committee, Penguin reportedly said it "shall with immediate effect recall and withdraw all copies of the book written by Wendy Doniger" and "shall not publish or distribute the book", according to a leaked document being circulated on Twitter. The decision drew sharp reactions almost instantly after the document was leaked. Union minister Jairam Ramesh said this is an "atrocious decision" as the book is "not blasphemous by any means". "The organisation that demanded Penguin take such action is clearly some Taliban-type outfit. It is distorting and destroying our liberal traditions. I hope Penguin reconsiders its decision and musters up courage to tell this outfit off," Ramesh said. Historian Ramachandra Guha tweeted, "This is deeply disappointing. Penguin should have appealed in a higher court." "Very uneasy about Penguin decision on Wendy Doniger book. Ideas & academic studies, however contentious, cannot be handled by censorship," Columnist Swapan Dasgupta posted on the microblogging website. A tweet by a user named Samir Arora read, "1 more book to read: Wendy Doniger's Hindu: An Alternative History. Why did some push to have it withdrawn? Now I will have to read it". Ashok Malik in his column for HT wrote in 2010: "Doniger is a well-known American academic who, in 2009, released her book The Hindus: An Alternative History. In part, the book is engaging, its treatment of ancient India is detailed — that period is Doniger's self-admitted strength — but its analysis of modern Hindu currents are perhaps a bit too rushed and dismissive. That aside, there are stylistic angularities that the author is no doubt entitled to but individual readers are free to disagree with. Doniger has long fought a battle with sections of Hindus for what they feel is her gratuitous attempt to put a "psycho-sexual twist on everything Hindu". As one observer says, this contributes to "eroticisation and exoticisation of our sacred scripture". That is an unexceptionable point. It must be said though it is a contestation of some of Doniger's other work and not quite her most recent book. Yet, refusing to present a cogent argument, wildcat Internet Hindu groups have instead begun an infuriating campaign against Doniger. It started some weeks ago when the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) in the United States shortlisted The Hindus: An Alternative History for an award." When contacted on Tuesday, Penguin officials declined to comment on the move. The publisher reportedly agreed that it will pulp at its own cost "all recalled, withdrawn, unsold copies". It also reportedly agreed to ensure that the book is "completely withdrawn or cleared from the country at the earliest, within a period nor exceeding six months starting from the date on which this agreement is signed (February 4)". In 2011, a civil lawsuit was filed against the publisher by Shiksha Bachao Andolan. The book also has two other criminal complaints against it. The petitioners alleged that the book, which focuses on different aspects of Hinduism, has lot of "inaccuracies and biases" and was full of various sexual connotations. However, the blurb of the "The Hindus: An Alternative History", says it is a definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the world's oldest major religions. The 800-page book, published in 2009, elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds. Doniger is regarded as one of the foremost scholars of Hinduism. In her unique and authoritative account, she debates about Hindu traditions become platforms from which to consider the ironies, and overlooked epiphanies, of history. Doniger's profile on The University of Chicago website states that her "research and teaching interests revolve around two basic areas, Hinduism and mythology. Her courses in mythology address themes in cross-cultural expanses, such as death, dreams, evil, horses, sex, and women; her courses in Hinduism cover a broad spectrum that, in addition to mythology, considers literature, law, gender, and zoology." A mail request by HT for an interview with Doniger was not immediately answered on Tuesday. While the move by the publisher to remove the book was largely criticised by people on Twitter, there were a few who supported the decision. "Wonderful — Wendy Doniger's book withdrawn from India!!" read a tweet by a profile called 'Apple Aficionado'. "Wendy Doniger's third rate book - Hindus: Alternate history is finally withdrawn from India" tweeted another user, Sridhar. Not only did people express their opinion on social networking websites on this issue, they started sharing links from where the full text of the book could be downloaded. The website downloadthehindus provides the pdf attachment, torrent link and the amazon link from where the book can be downloaded
Sachin=GOD Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 If anyone wants this book, just go to pirateproxy and search there - I downloaded it from there yesterday
FischerTal Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 ‘El Sari Rojo’ M not in favor of banning anything
kubrickian Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 Banning it will give it even more publicity and more people will now want to buy/read it.
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 .. double standards.the same liberals endorse banning Rushdie & Taslima nasreen
Muloghonto Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 well from this article, i cannot see what she wrote that is so wrong. It is pretty apparent to anyone who's actually read any 1st hand material from the ancient Indian literature, that India used to be pretty sexually liberal long long ago. There are sexual connotations throughout the hindu sagas ( its always a sexy apsara trying to break the dyaan of a saadhu. Not a man talking about God or playing enchanting instrument or anything). Mahabharata is far more sexually explicit than most other 'holy books and tales compendiums of holy books', we have a famous buddhist tale about a court prostitute/courtesan, we have the kama sutra. We have temples after temples with porn on it. If actual written & carved/painted sexual subject matter is taken into consideration, with 1000 AD being a cutoff, India alone has like 90% of the world's material by volume. I don't see such explicit sexual liberalism (relative to almost all other societies till 1000s AD, where India prior to that had more in common with post WWII western world than most of the socities prior to 1940s) as a cause of embarassment or shame. Instead, it is something that i find reflects a much finer society than the reflexive thoughts of 'degenerates'. To have significant amounts of sexual deviancy prevalent in a society, the society must have three things firmly in place: individual rights, renforcement of such rights and vast amounts of material wealth to explore sexual artistry , which is purely a luxurious study/commitment simply unaffordable to a poor society. Which again, is reflected in the western societies post 1940s. The west is fabled all over the world, sparking illegal immigration galore due to its wealth & it has far greater sexual freedom. India prior to 10001-1200 AD was fabled all over the world for its material wealth & it too displays a great deal of explicit sexuality. those two things are not coincidence. But hey, we are used to hinduism with 'ram-seeta' values, which is 'coincidentally' far more in line with the monotheistic faiths that have ruled over most of India since the 1000 ADs- not just politically but also culturally, materially and most importantly, in the 'high culture' of the super-influential. So we go around living a version of hinduism that is a moral echo of Islam/christianity. Which is one thing. But it makes me pity the Indian psyche, so ignorant of their past, when they assume that their ancestors were just like them, following a moral echo of Islam/Chirstianity. But India/Indians are not ready for such a harsh reality without better policing in place. Our state has very little ability in gauranteeing the constitutional rights of investigative intellectualism in the mainstream without physical or slanderous harm befalling the one foolish enough to commit such intellectual bravery. So this is ultimately, a very pragmatic move.
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 @Muloghonto: Below is an indepth analysis of the west's perception with sexual connotations in Hinduism.. do read it http://creative.sulekha.com/risa-lila-1-wendy-s-child-syndrome_103338_blog
Muloghonto Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 @Muloghonto: Below is an indepth analysis of the west's perception with sexual connotations in Hinduism.. do read it http://creative.sulekha.com/risa-lila-1-wendy-s-child-syndrome_103338_blog I will, when i have time. But my comments are not directed from 'west's perception of sexual connotations in hinduism', they are something I've always wondered growing up. Most of the things relating to sexuality and indian culture I've stated, are facts, which any student of Indian history- western or otherwise- should know. Also, do be judicious about applying the term 'hindu' to ancient Indians. They themselves never used the term. They didnt even use the same 'definition' as most mainstream hindus do today. The only distinctions ancient Indian literature makes, is those of nastik and anastik. Nastiks are those who believe the vedas to be sacred, anastiks are those who dont.
CSK Fan Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 .. double standards.the same liberals endorse banning Rushdie & Taslima nasreen You are wrong. Liberals are against all banning Plus are you admitting hinduism is as insecure as those other religions which you mentioned? Then why do you take the moral high ground when compared to other religions? You just admitted hinuism is as insecure and as volatile as other religion which you love to hate on
Muloghonto Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 @Muloghonto: Below is an indepth analysis of the west's perception with sexual connotations in Hinduism.. do read it http://creative.sulekha.com/risa-lila-1-wendy-s-child-syndrome_103338_blog okay, i couldnt resist and read first third of the essay before skimming through it. I fail to see the point though. If we expect religious studies scholarship mainstream, by and large, to operate in an agnostic/atheistic equitable objective analysis of all religions, it would be naive. Obviously, these guys in america will give everything a judeo-christianic tilt. same with muslim scholars in egypt, indian scholars in india and chinese scholars in china, who see things through the prisms of confucial legalism. but to say that any book and any author is by default a part of the mainstream, is to judge a book by its cover. and simply stating examples of far more relaxed sexual attitudes amongst our ancestors is jarring to the far more conservative 'modern hindu' but also factually supported. rich societies are kinky. their governing philosophies tend to be more inclusive of sexual behaviour because ultimately, sexual behaviour is a personal choice and with growing material wealth, individualism also grows for a society, giving such ideas avenues of growth.thus the parallels between ancient india and modern west. No amount of defamation of ramkrishna or indignations of the 'sati-savitri types' is going to change that fact.
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 You are wrong. Liberals are against all banning Read the news.. you will know. Plus are you admitting hinduism is as insecure as those other religions which you mentioned? Then why do you take the moral high ground when compared to other religions? You just admitted hinuism is as insecure and as volatile as other religion which you love to hate on Did I mention any other relegion? :hmmm:
The Outsider Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 Bunch of loonies. Shiksha Bachao, LOL!
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 Bunch of loonies. Shiksha Bachao' date=' LOL![/quote'] may be loonies but certainly not fundamentalists
The Outsider Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 ^ That too. In case you were fishing for compliments for Shiksha Bachao.
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 ^ That too. In case you were fishing for compliments for Shiksha Bachao. no need .. keep that for your jehadi buddies
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 okay, i couldnt resist and read first third of the essay before skimming through it. I fail to see the point though. If we expect religious studies scholarship mainstream, by and large, to operate in an agnostic/atheistic equitable objective analysis of all religions, it would be naive. Obviously, these guys in america will give everything a judeo-christianic tilt. same with muslim scholars in egypt, indian scholars in india and chinese scholars in china, who see things through the prisms of confucial legalism . I wont deny that.. in fact the book was available from 2010 in India and only got banned because of 1 individual's concerted efforts as he felt its a ridiculous caricature of Hinduism & looks everything through a prism of eroticism & possible distortion of facts.
Sachin=GOD Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 Silencing of liberal India http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/silencing-of-liberal-india/99/
diga Posted February 12, 2014 Author Posted February 12, 2014 Silencing of liberal India http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/silencing-of-liberal-india/99/ the author is not unbiased as he claims to be .. singled out only BJP & ignored everything on 'El Sari Rojo’ or 'Nehru: A Tryst With Destiny' in the article I would ask the author to reflect on his own words : "You cannot pick and choose when to be tolerant."
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