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A Debate Rages in India Over Conversion, Secularism, and “Spiritual Violence”

By Murali Balaji

…—the fear of a disappearing tradition is stoked primarily by demographics. Indian census numbers show that the percentage of those identifying as Hindus dipped below 80 percent for the first time. But while there is much talk about a rising Muslim population, the actual spikes have come among Christians, where the mass conversion of tribal groups and Dalits has been part of a sustained and systematic effort of “Great Commission” movements such as…

Gandhi, his Grandson, Israel, and the Jews

By Shalom Goldman

…had thrown burning rockets into an urban shop. If I oppose to this the thousands on thousands of Jewish shops, destroyed and burned out, you will perhaps answer that the differences in only one of quantity and that the proceedings were of almost the same type. But, Mahatma, are you not aware of the burning of synagogues and scrolls of the Law? Do you know nothing of all the sacred property of the community—some of it great antiquity—that has been…

Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle

By April L. Bogle

…a prima donna, given her stature. This is someone who had issue a parking ticket to India’s Prime Minister some time during a career that spanned police work, book writing, UN advising, tennis championships, and the Magsaysay Award (a.k.a. Asia’s Nobel Prize). I had a vision of our meeting. She would pour tea for us in the serene and ordered living room of her expansive hotel suite, sitting erect in the crisp khaki Indian Police Service uniform I…

The World’s Most Influential Yoga Teacher is a Homophobic Right-Wing Activist

By Andrea Jain and Michael Schulson

…the Hindu nationalist mantra “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” meaning Honor to Mother India. (Some Indian Muslims consider the mantra incompatible with their religious commitments, since it personifies India as the Goddess). The consequences of a sustained campaign against India’s religious minorities could be devastating: India has more than 200 million religious minorities, the majority of them Muslims. Alone, they would form the sixth largest country in t…

Religious and Political Silence on India’s LGBTQ Decision Speaks Volumes

By Andrea R. Jain

…eme Court unanimously voted to extend all constitutional protections under Indian law to LGBTQ Indians and that any discrimination based on sexuality would be illegal, those voices remained largely silent. There were a few exceptions like Swami Chakrapani, for example, president of the right-wing organization All India Hindu Mahasabha, who said, “It’s shameful. We are giving credibility and legitimacy to mentally sick people.” Did religious voices…

India’s Elections and the “Doniger Affair”

By Murali Balaji

…eligion as a tool of social oppression. This is perhaps why the most vocal Indian (or Indian expatriate) defenders of Doniger in the wake of the controversy have, for the most part, been intellectual or activist Marxists. Penguin’s decision to withdraw her book gave them new ammo in a battle against what they perceive as Hindu majoritarian aggression, exemplified by the destruction of the Babri mosque and the 2002 Gujarat riots. Many of these inte…

Policing Academic Freedom: A Book, a Controversy, and the Ominous Aftermath

By Michael Jerryson

…e not suffered, but rather prospered amidst the controversy (see “The Book India Most Wants to Read” and “India braces for Wendy Doniger’s The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade”). However, the larger platform of academic freedom has been hurt. The controversy over The Hindus has bolstered politically engaged religious groups in the United States and India to censor alternative voices in their attempts to monitor and control discussions on reli…

“Americans Hate Muslims, Too” (And Other Impediments to U.S. Advocacy for Religious Freedom Abroad)

By Chad Bauman

…front of a large mural of Jesus, that serve, implicitly, to confirm the accusations. Indians are far more aware of what goes on in the United States than vice versa. For example, prominent Indian newspapers reported not only Donald Trump’s well-publicized call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration, but also on his appalling call to dip bullets in pigs’ blood for use on Muslim terrorists, and his less widely-publicized vow to “protect Christian…

Orthodox TV Channel Offers Gays One-Way Ticket Out of Russia; And More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…this week, Tsargrad TV called on gay people to compete for a one-way plane ticket overseas. “Just recently, California—the most liberal state in the USA by the way—proposed to facilitate the granting of green cards to Russian perverts,” said TV host Andrei Afanasyev. The channel regularly uses offensive terms to refer to LGBT people. “The staff of Tsargrad TV support this initiative. Moreover, we are ready to pay for a one-way ticket to anyone who…

Possible Heir to Dalai Lama Cleared of Corruption Charges

By Tsering Namgyal

…ny analyst and former official with a view on Tibet and China could fire a cheap shot. The Indian government’s assertiveness vis-à-vis China is refreshing (though achieving it at the expense of refugees and Buddhist monks who fled China at 14 to get an education smacks of bad taste.) The affair has also unsettled the sentiments of those living in India’s predominantly Buddhist Himalayan region, which separates China from India. There were large pr…