My thoughts echo a lot with Devdutt Pattanaik who is undoubtedly the foremost authority on Hindu mythology in our times. http://www.rediff.com/news/column/column-hating-wendy/20140213.htm
We Hindus are uneducated about our history and culture. Our exposure is either to the devout Hindus often blind in their worship or the skeptics who want to question the caste system, sati and other evils. Like the guy in your article Genie, we are faced with many questions that we don't know how to explain or answer. Instead of delving deeper into our religion, trying to explore its history and evolution we pick two extremes - one that blindly fights for religion, one that blindly denounces it. Both are equally wrong.
Coming to focus more on Wendy Doniger's work and issues with it. Here are my main thoughts.
Hinduism is an interpretative religion. There are many versions of myths and many interpretations of these myths. Someone from a western Abrahamic background is bound to interpret differently, not out of racism or prejudice, but out of perspectives. Psychosexual analysis isn't accurate, but it isn't perverse or offensive either. Freud approached human nature with psychosexuality. Also our myths do have sexuality and we need to accept it.
That being said I know Doniger's book hurt many sentiments. Many people found factual inaccuracies as well. As Devdutt Pattanaik says her psychosexual interpretations are off base. We do have the right to question her, we do have the right to ask for explanations, we do have the right to make counterpoints, we do have the right to defend how we interpret our religion.
However, banning a book and pulping it is not the way. That is a gross violation of freedom of speech. Because Wendy too has the right to her version, no matter how inaccurate or misinformed. Censorship and curbing free speech of any form is a dangerous precedent. Our country is already suffering from people in power silencing the voices of the counterattack. But freedom of speech aside, banning and pulping is counterproductive. It has made her book a sensation. People will download it on their tablets and e-readers. The paper copies are still circulating the world over. Many Hindu kids will read it and believe this to be truth about their religion, without ever hearing another side. Many people across the world will read it and assume this is the truth about Hinduism and Hindus banned it because they are too ashamed to admit it.
The right thing to do is publish critical reviews that find flaws and factual errors. Publish an alternate book to give the alternate version. Best have scholars of Hindu history and myth invite Wendy for public debates so both sides can hash out their counterpoints on a public platform. This way all Hindus get exposure. The Hindutva extremists learn that there are aspects to Hinduism like sexuality and the religion can be explored in a myriad of ways. The liberal apologists can learn that it isn't as start and there is more truth to the beauty of the religion. Those outside of Hinduism don't just stick to one source and judge Hinduism but get to see valid counterpoints as well.
The problem is that we like to stick to our extremes and no one wants to take the effort to dig deeper into our history and culture and go beyond what we have learned.
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