Indian Publisher Agrees to Recall and Destroy "Anti-Hindu" Book

[RiazHaq]

http://www.riazhaq.com/2014/02/hindu-academics-force-destruction-of.html

"If someone makes a cartoon of the prophet Mohammad, Muslims are outraged around the world. So why should anyone write anything against Hinduism and get away with it?" Dinanath Batra

Batra, the man who oversaw revisions in Indian history textbooks for the country's National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT), has forced Penguin India to recall and destroy all copies of "The Hindus: An Alternative History" by University of Chicago scholar Wendy Doniger published by Penguin Books about 5 years ago.

Professor Doniger has authored 30 books so far. Her research and teaching interests revolve around two basic areas, Hinduism and mythology, according to University of Chicago Divinity School website. 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.

In 2011, the Hindu nationalist group Shiksha Bachao Andolan filed a civil case against Penguin India. The group claims the book offends Hindus by inaccurately representing Hinduism. The publisher has now settled the case by agreeing to recall and pulp all copies of the book.

Explaining his opposition to Doniger's book, Batra told Time magazine: "The entire book is objectionable, but yes, that is one of our main objections. She is insulting our gods and goddesses and religious leaders and texts and even our freedom fighters. I don’t have any objection to sex and neither does our religion, as long as it’s within the parameters of religion."

"According to her book, when Ramrajya [an idyllic vision of state propounded by Mahatma Gandhi] comes to India, then Christians and Muslims will be driven out of India. We all know that Gandhiji’s vision was about unity; he dreamed of a state where there would be no discrimination based on religion or wealth. Her book will incite hatred among communities. Furthermore, Doniger says [in the book] that when Sanskrit scriptures were written, Indian society favored open sexuality. The jacket of her book shows Lord Krishna sitting on the buttocks of nude women. She equates the shivlingam, worshipped all over India by millions, with sex and calls it an erect penis. She calls Gandhiji strange and says he used to sleep with young girls", Batra added.

Hindu nationalists have been battling scholars over history for decades. They tried to do in California what their Indian counterparts have already done in India. They attempted to change California history textbooks in 2006, when they argued unsuccessfully to include their claims like the indigenous origins of Aryans and tried to deny the terrible impact on hundreds of millions of Indians of the caste system and misogyny prevalent in Hindu texts and Aryan culture. Hundreds of history scholars from US and South Asia helped defeat this attempt by Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and its allies in the United States.

India has a very long list of "banned" books dating back to the days of the British Raj. It includes books such as Katherine Mayo's "Real Face of Mother India" which is banned for its "pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu bias". Another is "Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie which is banned because it is offensive to Muslims.

Just as "Satanic Verses" received massive publicity after worldwide Muslim protests and became a best-seller overnight, "The Hindus: An Alternative History" is also getting a lot buzz in both traditional and new media around the world. Number of Amazon e-book downloads on Kindle has jumped and links to free pdf downloads are being widely shared through social media. Strong reaction to perceived "insults" has backfired in both cases. Let's hope those offended by such books will learn a lesson from what is happening now.


http://www.riazhaq.com/2014/02/hindu-academics-force-destruction-of.html

 

[SAYDANWAR]

ہندو مزہب میں انکے رام نے اپنی دہرمی کتابوں کی حفاظت کی ذمہداری نہیں لی،بندے نے خود ریکال کرکے کتابیں تلف کردیں،چونکہ اسلام میں
اللہ تعالی نے اپنی آسمانی کتاب کی حفاظت کی خود ذمہداری لی ہے۔مسلم کردار
اسلئے مطمئن اور خواب غفلت کا شکار ہے اس لئے وہ لگے ہیں موجاں ہی موجاں

 

[Zionist Hindu]

This book is a trash IMO. There are several special interest groups that promote and produce such books and programs for obvious reason. I do not support banning books. There should be freedom of thought and freedom of expression especially in academic level. Today Hinduism exist in every civilized country. People are attracted towards it (especially highly educated ones). Hindus can speak for themselves and can answer back efficiently, no need for such medieval behavior.

 

[Sedqal]

This book is a trash IMO. There are several special interest groups that promote and produce such books and programs for obvious reason. I do not support banning books. There should be freedom of thought and freedom of expression especially in academic level. Today Hinduism exist in every civilized country. People are attracted towards it (especially highly educated ones). Hindus can speak for themselves and can answer back efficiently, no need for such medieval behavior.

Author is a highly respected scholar kindly don't shove your criminal 'conspiracy theories' down our throats.

 

[chandbibi]

Oh now the author is a highly respected scholar. Where did the respect disappear for the knighted Sir Salman Rushdie who penned the Satanic Verses. At least Rushdie is born a Muslim, he has some knowledge of Islam. The same cannot be said about this Jew lady Doniger.
Ignorance can never be a reason to write something tainted by one's personal beliefs. That is fiction. And rightly so its called pulp fiction and hence deserves to be pulped.
Rushdie was knighted for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way."[SUP][63][/SUP] In response to his knighthood, many nations with Muslim majorities protested. Parliamentarians of several of these countries condemned the action, and Iran and Pakistan called in their British envoys to protest formally. Controversial condemnation issued by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq was in turn rebuffed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ironically, their respective fathers Zia-ul-Haq and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been earlier portrayed in Rushdie's novel Shame. Mass demonstrations against Rushdie's knighthood took place in Pakistan and Malaysia. Several called publicly for his death. Some non-Muslims expressed disappointment at Rushdie's knighthood, claiming that the writer did not merit such an honour and there were several other writers who deserved the knighthood more than Rushdie.[SUP][64][/SUP]
Al-Qaeda condemned the Rushdie honour. The Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is quoted as saying in an audio recording that Britain's award for Indian-born Rushdie was "an insult to Islam", and it was planning "a very precise response."[SUP][[/SUP]

Author is a highly respected scholar kindly don't shove your criminal 'conspiracy theories' down our throats.

 

[ASQR1]

Oh now the author is a highly respected scholar. Where did the respect disappear for the knighted Sir Salman Rushdie who penned the Satanic Verses. At least Rushdie is born a Muslim, he has some knowledge of Islam. The same cannot be said about this Jew lady Doniger.
Ignorance can never be a reason to write something tainted by one's personal beliefs. That is fiction. And rightly so its called pulp fiction and hence deserves to be pulped.
Rushdie was knighted for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way."[SUP][63][/SUP] In response to his knighthood, many nations with Muslim majorities protested. Parliamentarians of several of these countries condemned the action, and Iran and Pakistan called in their British envoys to protest formally. Controversial condemnation issued by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq was in turn rebuffed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ironically, their respective fathers Zia-ul-Haq and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been earlier portrayed in Rushdie's novel Shame. Mass demonstrations against Rushdie's knighthood took place in Pakistan and Malaysia. Several called publicly for his death. Some non-Muslims expressed disappointment at Rushdie's knighthood, claiming that the writer did not merit such an honour and there were several other writers who deserved the knighthood more than Rushdie.[SUP][64][/SUP]
Al-Qaeda condemned the Rushdie honour. The Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is quoted as saying in an audio recording that Britain's award for Indian-born Rushdie was "an insult to Islam", and it was planning "a very precise response."[SUP][[/SUP]

Rushdie's book takes para after para from Quran and mocks it, that is not an act of a scholar but of a person looking for cheap glory, glory comes from original and brilliant ideas, take the case of many writers, for instance Dr. allama Iqbal, now that is man of glory, Baba bhuley shah, Bab Fasrid, Waris shah.

so spare us your talks about those who mock Religions, but tell us that if what is written in the book is a truth or is it as fiction, in Rushdie book it is mocking Islam.

 

[Bret Hawk]

Oh now the author is a highly respected scholar. Where did the respect disappear for the knighted Sir Salman Rushdie who penned the Satanic Verses. At least Rushdie is born a Muslim, he has some knowledge of Islam. The same cannot be said about this Jew lady Doniger.
Ignorance can never be a reason to write something tainted by one's personal beliefs. That is fiction. And rightly so its called pulp fiction and hence deserves to be pulped.
Rushdie was knighted for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way."[SUP][63][/SUP] In response to his knighthood, many nations with Muslim majorities protested. Parliamentarians of several of these countries condemned the action, and Iran and Pakistan called in their British envoys to protest formally. Controversial condemnation issued by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq was in turn rebuffed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ironically, their respective fathers Zia-ul-Haq and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been earlier portrayed in Rushdie's novel Shame. Mass demonstrations against Rushdie's knighthood took place in Pakistan and Malaysia. Several called publicly for his death. Some non-Muslims expressed disappointment at Rushdie's knighthood, claiming that the writer did not merit such an honour and there were several other writers who deserved the knighthood more than Rushdie.[SUP][64][/SUP]
Al-Qaeda condemned the Rushdie honour. The Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is quoted as saying in an audio recording that Britain's award for Indian-born Rushdie was "an insult to Islam", and it was planning "a very precise response."[SUP][[/SUP]

May be the title of “Respect” is not something which can be conferred to someone based on his / her views / work. Anyhow I do have problem to see an attempt from you to relate the distinguished Professor of Hinduism (Twice she received her Doctorate degrees on the subject matter of Hinduism from Harvard and Oxford) with that piece of trash (Rushdie) who most probably dropped out of his History course from Cambridge University.

Then your honourable “Sir” Rusdie’s, quite a disgrace to be related with the eponym of the colossal Andalusian Muslim polymath Ibn Rushd, prose work (Majority of which is based on fiction by the way as compared to the authoritative academic works of Professor Wendy Doniger) has never garnered the acclaim and prestige from the serious critics of English literature. He might have gained publicity and fame to carry the so called flame of freedom of expression but on literary grounds he has always been panned by his detractors from the English speaking world the proof of which can be searched from various sources.

Another point which I want to make clear is that Professor Doniger’s current work related with Hinduism is appreciated from the academic circles of Indian universities as well as I was trending it last night from the online pages of BBC’s website and majority of them termed it as an important reference work on the subject matter of Hindu faith. Surely there might be some controversial things, according to the rejecters of revisionist doctrine in the matters of faith, which Professor Doniger specified in her book which should be examined and responded in a civilized and academic manner instead of resorting to threats & coercion from the fringe extremist groups of Hindus.

The same logic which you’ve tried to imply in the case of Salman Rushdie should also be tried on, supposedly, your co-religionist extremist groups back in India which has now stalled the publication of Professor Doniger’s Book titled as The Hindus. Anyhow I do believe that being a democratic nation which upholds the baton of freedom of thought & expression along with other values of democracy the sanity and commonsense will prevail and the pressure of such fringe extremist groups will be ignored in coming months which might pave the way for its mass publication in India.

 

[Sedqal]

Oh now the author is a highly respected scholar. Where did the respect disappear for the knighted Sir Salman Rushdie who penned the Satanic Verses. At least Rushdie is born a Muslim, he has some knowledge of Islam. The same cannot be said about this Jew lady Doniger.
Ignorance can never be a reason to write something tainted by one's personal beliefs. That is fiction. And rightly so its called pulp fiction and hence deserves to be pulped.
Rushdie was knighted for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way."[SUP][63][/SUP] In response to his knighthood, many nations with Muslim majorities protested. Parliamentarians of several of these countries condemned the action, and Iran and Pakistan called in their British envoys to protest formally. Controversial condemnation issued by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq was in turn rebuffed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ironically, their respective fathers Zia-ul-Haq and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been earlier portrayed in Rushdie's novel Shame. Mass demonstrations against Rushdie's knighthood took place in Pakistan and Malaysia. Several called publicly for his death. Some non-Muslims expressed disappointment at Rushdie's knighthood, claiming that the writer did not merit such an honour and there were several other writers who deserved the knighthood more than Rushdie.[SUP][64][/SUP]
Al-Qaeda condemned the Rushdie honour. The Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is quoted as saying in an audio recording that Britain's award for Indian-born Rushdie was "an insult to Islam", and it was planning "a very precise response."[SUP][[/SUP]

- Rushdi wrote fiction you dimwitted fool - spare me the knee jerk reactions :lol:
- Author is highly celebrated scholar on Hinduism and is recognized internationally. Unless there is some 'international conspiracy' there is no reason why author would enjoy such credentials.
- As usual the same old tactic of changing the subject matter, if fate of Rushdie means so much to you open anew thread and discuss it over there. THIS topic is about Doniger so stick to the topic.
-

 

[hasan chauhan]

hindus are immitating so called islamic way of protest by threats arson and violence . they are learning fast from middle east way of jahalat.

 

[hasan chauhan]

- Rushdi wrote fiction you dimwitted fool - spare me the knee jerk reactions :lol:
- Author is highly celebrated scholar on Hinduism and is recognized internationally. Unless there is some 'international conspiracy' there is no reason why author would enjoy such credentials.
- As usual the same old tactic of changing the subject matter, if fate of Rushdie means so much to you open anew thread and discuss it over there. THIS topic is about Doniger so stick to the topic.
-

let some yahud o nassara write a scholarly book upon prophet muhammad saw's child bride , then see how calm and quite your reaction will be dimwit fool . let only followers of purticular religion write books , that too controversial.

 

[chandbibi]

Why should i? The subject is about doniger but exposes your hypocrisy. You banned Malala's book too. When did you learn about this celebrated author? Yesterday? This morning? So when anybody writes on Islam its fiction and when anybody writes on Hinduism its the work of a celebrated author? Hypocrisy isn't worth a penny or else i would have paid you off.(thumbsdown)

- Rushdi wrote fiction you dimwitted fool - spare me the knee jerk reactions :lol:
- Author is highly celebrated scholar on Hinduism and is recognized internationally. Unless there is some 'international conspiracy' there is no reason why author would enjoy such credentials.
- As usual the same old tactic of changing the subject matter, if fate of Rushdie means so much to you open anew thread and discuss it over there. THIS topic is about Doniger so stick to the topic.
-

 

[Sedqal]

let some yahud o nassara write a scholarly book upon prophet muhammad saw's child bride , then see how calm and quite your reaction will be dimwit fool . let only followers of purticular religion write books , that too controversial.

- Another lame attempt to derail the thread, the thread is about a specific book - if you are in so much pain then open a new thread and talk about any books relating to Muslims don;t derail this thread.

- Secondly you freak of nature, you don't have to butt into and quote me when I was answering someone else. Don't prove your loyalty to secular India on my behalf.

 

[Sedqal]

Why should i? The subject is about doniger but exposes your hypocrisy. You banned Malala's book too. When did you learn about this celebrated author? Yesterday? This morning? So when anybody writes on Islam its fiction and when anybody writes on Hinduism its the work of a celebrated author? Hypocrisy isn't worth a penny or else i would have paid you off.(thumbsdown)

- It exposes your hypocrisy, the thread is about a SPECIFIC instance what the heck has Rushdie got to do with that? You just want to derail the topic because it reflects poorly on India.

- Author is considered an authority on Hinduism the world over, has a doctorate and is actually a professor with specialization on the said subject matter. Author is regularly quoted in best academic journalists so either learn something about how academia work or shut up.

- Do away with troll baits, stick to the topic.

 

[hasan chauhan]

- Another lame attempt to derail the thread, the thread is about a specific book - if you are in so much pain then open a new thread and talk about any books relating to Muslims don;t derail this thread.

- Secondly you freak of nature, you don't have to butt into and quote me when I was answering someone else. Don't prove your loyalty to secular India on my behalf.

likh diya hota others are not required to answer , sahi baat hazam nahi hoti?

 

[chandbibi]

I have no issues with doniger's book and yes i would have no issues with Rushdie's book either. Because both are their personal versions and interpretations of what they consider to be their expertise and knowledge on their respective subjects. Wendy doniger may be an Indologist but to understand this religion one has to be born into it. One has to at least have spent one's life in the midst of it. Getting a doctorate on a subject is knowledge gained out of reading perhaps. Where is the practical aspect to it?Then again if this person is fascinated by nudes for e.g. what would she pick up from the subject she was reading? What Propels Rushdie to write about the Satanic verses? His fascination for the weakness in something perhaps? M.F. Hussain a celebrated painter met his nemesis when he painted nude hindu goddesses. The American Hindus are very vociferous in the defense of the use of hindu imagery on t-shirts and other paraphernalia.
Watch a program made by bbc on the temples of khajuraho. If the temples were built for explicit imagery, the narrator's interest in it was more than obvious. So it is the hypocrisy which i detest. That the western countries do not have any indigenous religion or scriptures is no excuse to go around hunting and scavenging to find some meaning elsewhere. And if you must then be graceful about it for the sake of those who see something else where you see nudity.

It will never be published in India again. Penguin India reached an out of court settlement which involves pulping the copies and withdrawing it from India completely. And of course it all began with the Satanic Verses. So thank Rushdie for starting the era of censorship in India.

May be the title of “Respect” is not something which can be conferred to someone based on his / her views / work. Anyhow I do have problem to see an attempt from you to relate the distinguished Professor of Hinduism (Twice she received her Doctorate degrees on the subject matter of Hinduism from Harvard and Oxford) with that piece of trash (Rushdie) who most probably dropped out of his History course from Cambridge University.

Then your honourable “Sir” Rusdie’s, quite a disgrace to be related with the eponym of the colossal Andalusian Muslim polymath Ibn Rushd, prose work (Majority of which is based on fiction by the way as compare to the authoritative academic works of Professor Wendy Doniger) has never garnered the acclaim and prestige from the serious critics of English literature. He might have gained publicity and fame to carry the so called flame of freedom of expression but on literary grounds he has always been panned by his detractors from the English speaking world the proof of which can be searched from various sources.

Another point which I want to make clear is that Professor Doniger’s current work related with Hinduism is appreciated from the academic circles of Indian universities as well as I was trending it last night from the online pages of BBC’s website and majority of them termed it as an important reference work on the subject matter of Hindu faith. Surely there might be some controversial things, according to the rejecters of revisionist doctrine in the matters of faith, which Professor Doniger specified in her book which should be examined and responded in a civilized and academic manner instead of resorting to threats & coercion from the fringe extremist groups of Hindus.

The same logic which you’ve tried to imply in the case of Salman Rushdie should also be tried on, supposedly, your co-religionist extremist groups back in India which has now stalled the publication of Professor Doniger’s Book titled as The Hindus. Anyhow I do believe that being a democratic nation which upholds the baton of freedom of thought & expression along with other values of democracy the sanity and commonsense will prevail and the pressure of such fringe extremist groups will be ignored in coming months which might pave the way for its mass publication in India.

 

[chandbibi]

Do you think writing interpretations is a good idea if the person has half knowledge or maybe no knowledge. Wendi Doniger is no expert on Hinduism just like Rushdie is no expert on the Quran. This lady has interpreted things her way and that is not what it is in reality at all. If somebody is misguiding others by twisting facts then what else would be the result? So whatever objection you have towards rushdie, same applies to wendi doniger.

QUOTE=ASQR1;2154222]Rushdie's book takes para after para from Quran and oo. mocks it, that is not an act of a scholar but of a person looking for cheap glory, glory comes from original and brilliant ideas, take the case of many writers, for instance Dr. allama Iqbal, now that is man of glory, Baba bhuley shah, Bab Fasrid, Waris shah.

so spare us your talks about those who mock Religions, but tell us that if what is written in the book is a truth or is it as fiction, in Rushdie book it is mocking Islam.[/QUOTE]

 

[Bret Hawk]

I have no issues with doniger's book and yes i would have no issues with Rushdie's book either. I Because both are their personal versions and interpretations of what they consider to be their expertise and knowledge on their respective subjects. Wendy doniger may be an Indologist but to understand this religion one has to be born into it. One has to at least have spent one's life in the midst of it. Getting a doctorate on a subject is knowledge gained out of reading perhaps. II Where is the practical aspect to it? III Then again if this person is fascinated by nudes for e.g. what would she pick up from the subject she was reading? IV What Propels Rushdie to write about the Satanic verses? His fascination for the weakness in something perhaps? M.F. Hussain a celebrated painter met his nemesis when he painted nude hindu goddesses. The American Hindus are very vociferous in the defense of the use of hindu imagery on t-shirts and other paraphernalia.
Watch a program made by bbc on the temples of khajuraho. If the temples were built for explicit imagery, the narrator's interest in it was more than obvious. So it is the hypocrisy which i detest. That the western countries do not have any indigenous religion or scriptures is no excuse to go around hunting and scavenging to find some meaning elsewhere. V And if you must then be graceful about it for the sake of those who see something else where you see nudity.

VI It will never be published in India again. Penguin India reached an out of court settlement which involves pulping the copies and withdrawing it from India completely. And of course it all began with the Satanic Verses. So thank Rushdie for starting the era of censorship in India.

Let me respond to your reply on point by point basis, based on my preferential choice;

I) Knowledge and expertise yes in the case of Professor Doniger as she’s an academic and one can argue about her, seemingly, contentious points related with her recent book but then again in the plain of academic research not with threats, rhetoric and enticement of raw emotions among the crude followers of Hinduism. What Rushdie did back in 1988 with the composition of Satanic Verses can be termed as vulgar and grotesque depiction of an alleged historical event in the formative period of Islam the veracity of which is still being debated among the ranks of Islamic scholars.

An ill conceived satire through twisting of historical characters and to employ their figures in the imaginary canvas of fiction is something quite different than the presentation of views based on an academic research and critique as a result of years of intellectual deliberation. You have to make this distinction clear cut when you want to relate them in your argument.

II) I agree with you on this point wholeheartedly that merely going through the scriptures and corpus of a particular religion is not enough to base someone’s holistic views and one has to live through those embedded religious ideals and articles at an extended period of time in order to reach to any conclusive evidence with regards to the elaboration on some faith’s allegory and symbolism. So if Professor Doniger is adrift in this regard then merely by getting a chance to born in Muslim faith dose not simply render someone like Rushdie to determine the ideals and doctrines of Islam by simply adding the tag of this faith for a brief period of one’s life in order to tick one of the requisite boxes of identity.

III) And how could you decide this assertion of yours without even going through the viewpoint of an author? Simply because some extreme elements like x, y and z said so? By the way are you not aware the importance of symbolism in almost every major faith of the world? May be in depicting the nude imagery of Hindu deities Professor might want to present the classical notion of Nudity in Hinduism, and by same token in other faiths as well, which is in sync with the basic, primeval, pure and all revealing nature of the reality embodied in the form of personal deity, one can surely base this premise on that depiction but still it is required to read the views of an author with an open mind without fixating one’s mind on the negative postulations just because the author is not related and espoused with that particular faith of his / her debate.

IV) May be as per the perception of Rushdie he located one instance of early epoch of Islam which he found fitting enough as one of the axis to spin his inarticulate fictional imaginations with the spin of his sick mind to extract the much needed fetish satisfaction for his bestial self. One can simply speculate on someone’s intentional direction in the absence of personal interaction with such authors to formulate any concrete opinion about their intended objectives.

V) Again a demand which harbours on the shore of speculation and relativity as there might be something ungraceful to you but for someone else it might sound perfectly graceful under his /her investigative scanner. See you can raise this objection only when you can get the chance to read someone’s views in its true context and stated objectivity of academic scholarship not with the bouts of diatribe.

VI) Though it’s your own assessment and things might take a different course in coming days but then again by discarding and muting the voice of critique and investigative scholarship you can do disservice to yourself and not to the instigator of that work for sure. The history of faith is replete with such accounts of alleged claims of heresy and censorship but ultimately the religious authorities sooner or later, at different point in time, had to revisit to those contentious points and articles of faith in a befitting manner.

 

[Imranpak]

likh diya hota others are not required to answer , sahi baat hazam nahi hoti?

Kya iss book mein dikhathe hein ke tera khandaan beth kar har sham ko peshaab kaise peeta hai!![hilar][hilar][hilar] Kya yeh bathathe hein ke Gujarat mein teri beheno ki izzat kaise kharab ki thi:) Yeh dikhathe hein ke teri Babri Masjid ko kaise shaheed kiya tha tere apne bhaiyo ne jinki $hit tu rozana khatta hai!!:lol::lol:

 

[chandbibi]

Let me respond to your reply on point by point basis, based on my preferential choice;

I) Knowledge and expertise yes in the case of Professor Doniger as she’s an academic and one can argue about her, seemingly, contentious points related with her recent book but then again in the plane of academic research not with threats, rhetoric and enticement of raw emotions among the crude followers of Hinduism. What Rushdie did back in 1988 with the composition of Satanic Verses can be termed as vulgar and grotesque depiction of an alleged historical event in the formative period of Islam the veracity of which is still being debated among the ranks of Islamic scholars.

An ill conceived satire through twisting of historical characters and to employ their figures in the imaginary canvas of fiction is something quite different than the presentation of views based on an academic research and critique as a result of years of intellectual deliberation. You have to make this distinction clear cut when you want to relate them in your argument.
From what i gather she has painted a rather strange picture of hinduism based on her cherry picking of symbols and what are essentially images and sights and sounds of the place. She is in no position to dig in to the Hindu scriptures. That would be way beyond her stature and capacity. She has picked up the things that even you could pick up and write upon. Essentially because you are not hindus. How would you know that it is not an object, it is a subject. If with her supposed expertise she can be so lost in translation can you imagine the effect of reading such things on someone who has no idea at all of what the faith is all about. So what was Rushdie's Satanic Verses about? It spoilt the narrative of islam, and those who had already made up their minds about it got another peg of revulsion to hang on to. Such literature never adds to the positivity of any faith, it only ends up denigrating it. The Kamasutra was written in India, and no where does it denigrate religion. There are four purusharthas (objectives of an individual) in the Gita. They are Dharm (righteousness), Arth (Finance), Kama (desire) and Moksha (Liberation). And sex, desire, love, are all considered important motivators. You don't need to be Maslow to understand the basic needs of man. Anyway so if i was Ms. Doniger i would see the Shiva Linga as a Phallus, and if i was a Hindu i would see it as Shiva. If you don't understand the basic how can you write a book on it?

II) I agree with you on this point wholeheartedly that merely going through the scriptures and corpus of a particular religion is not enough to base someone’s holistic views and one has t live through those embedded religious ideals and articles at an extended period of time in order to reach to any conclusive evidence with regards to the elaboration on some faith’s allegory and symbolism. So if Professor Doniger is adrift in this regard then merely by getting a chance to born in Muslim faith dose not simply render someone like Rushdie to determine the ideals and doctrines of Islam by simply adding the tag of this faith for a brief period of one’s life in order to tick one of the requisite boxes of identity.
At least Rushdie knew the sentiment of muslims, never mind that he completely disregarded it. Doniger has no such knowledge to top off her bookish ignorance.

III) And how could you decide this assertion of yours without even going through the viewpoint of an author? Simply because some extreme elements like x, y and z said so? By the way are you not aware the importance of symbolism in almost every major faith of the world? May be in depicting the nude imagery of Hindu deities Professor might want to present the classical notion of Nudity in Hinduism, and by same token in other faiths as well, which is in sync with the basic, primeval, pure and all revealing nature of the reality embodied in the form of personal deity, one can surely base this premise on that depiction but still it is required to read the views of an author with an open mind without fixating one’s mind on the negative postulations just because the author is not related and espoused with that particular faith of his / her debate.
Replied in my earlier point.
IV) May be as per the perception of Rushdie he located one instance of early epoch of Islam which he found fitting enough as one of the axis to spin his inarticulate fictional imaginations with the spin of his sick mind to extract the much needed fetish satisfaction for his bestial self. One can simply speculate on someone’s intentional direction in the absence of personal interaction with such authors to formulate any concrete opinion about their intended objectives.
Yes that is what i have been saying. Writing a book based on one's personal beliefs is just fiction. These books cannot educate or enlighten anybody except some sick minded negative individuals. Religion has to be based on belief and also relies heavily on positive thoughts. These authors fail to provide any positive addition to religion. In essence they are atheists in disguise.

V) Again a demand which harbours on the sore of speculation and relativity as there might be something ungraceful to you but for someone else it might sound perfectly graceful under his /her investigative scanner. See you can raise this objection only when you can get the chance to read someone’s views in its true context and stated objectivity of academic scholarship not with the bouts of diatribe.
Looking at the cover is enough. I did investigate in to the reasons. The problem with the western world is they are fascinated by sex. That is not to say the rest of humanity is not. So this doniger could have written a book titled Sex, and Phallic worship. That is what her real intent is perhaps.

VI) Though it’s your own assessment and things might take a different course in coming days but then again by discarding and muting the voice of critique and investigative scholarship you can do disservice to yourself and not to the instigator of that work for sure. The history of faith is replete with such accounts of alleged claims of heresy and censorship but ultimately the religious authorities sooner or later, at different point in time, had to revisit to those contentious points and articles of faith in a befitting manner.
As a thinking human being i don't reject her work. That is because i can understand her inability to grasp something .However has she by the same token understood that she did not get the subject right? Now she does.

 

[guest]

Let me respond to your reply on point by point basis, based on my preferential choice;

I) Knowledge and expertise yes in the case of Professor Doniger as shes an academic and one can argue about her, seemingly, contentious points related with her recent book but then again in the plain of academic research not with threats, rhetoric and enticement of raw emotions among the crude followers of Hinduism.

What part of filing a case in a court of law and doing an out of court settlement looks like threats, rhetoric and enticement to emotions? as far as I know book was being sold for almost 5 years and the case has been on for 4 years. no one burned the book, no one threatened her physically.

need i remind you what happened in Pakistan last year when there was a rumor of the supposed existence of a movie? Hypocrisy na?