Social Justice and Harmony

We strongly believe that different aspects of Indian philosophy, including Vedanta, have much to contribute to social justice, harmony, and equality. Our focus is to study contemporary social challenges and discrimination against indigenous ideologies and people. Our publications and reports can be used by activists and organizations to drive social and political changes to prevent discrimination against peace loving communities across the world. The followings are our current and upcoming projects in this area.

Hinduphobia

  • “The Reality of Hinduphobia in the Twenty-First Century.” Work In progress.

Abstract — Recent decades have seen both an increase in attacks against Hindus as well as awareness among Hindus about discrimination against them (known as Hinduphobia) around the world. This discrimination can manifest in many aspects of life, from academic study to street culture, and puts the Hindu population in danger, including damage to Hindu properties, psychological suffering, and disruption of life. Hindu academics and activists have started writing about this phenomenon, expressing their concerns and documenting the incidents. As Hindu groups organize against the discrimination they face, anti-Hindu groups, which are behind some of the organized attempts at demonizing Hindus, are denying the existence of Hinduphobia and accusing Hindu groups of being a politically motivated “Hindutva Brigade” or “Hindu nationalists,” or framing the discussions about Hinduphobia as another example of Hindus discriminating against minorities and Dalits. As there is much being written on both sides of the debate, we may ask, “How real is Hinduphobia in contemporary society?” 

The current paper provides a comprehensive overview of the many ways in which anti-Hindu views are expressed in academic writing, laws, government policies, media and popular culture depictions, and physical attacks on people. Using Kallen’s concept of “invalidation” to study hatred against racial, ethnocultural, religious, and same-sex-oriented minorities, this paper demonstrates that Hinduphobia is widely prevalent in contemporary society and violates Hundus’ right to dignity and equality by denying their fundamental freedom from group defamation and harassment.  

Aryan Invasion Theory

This is a theory developed by some of the racists and colonialists from the nineteenth century that is still continuing to cause social and political turmoil for Indian people across the globe. Our focus is to provide a comprehensive summary of the latest research on this subject so that readers can form their own opinion about this theory.

  • “In Search of Original Vadantins — An Overview of Theories of Aryan Origin.” Work in progress.

    Abstract — In 1786, William Jones discovered remarkable similarities between Sanskrit and European languages, thus postulating the “Out of India” theory for Aryan origin. Sixty-two years later, in 1948, Max Mueller, a German Sanskritist at Oxford University, promulgated his famous (or notorious, depending on your viewpoint) “Aryan Invasion Theory” (AIT). His was an extension of the “Aryan Race Theory,” promoted earlier by Friedrich Schlegel and many other German academics. The initial studies on this subject were based on linguistic data interpreted and theorized to fit into a specific point of view. As science has evolved over the last two centuries, other research fields such as archaeology, satellite imaging, astronomy, and genetics have generated extensive data to counter the invasion theory. As a result, the Out of India theory for language propagation through trade and associated small-scale migration is gaining more acceptance. However, the proponents of AIT continue to promote the theory that was originally developed in a racist Europe of the nineteenth century while every other racist social theory of that time has been discarded. In the absence of any evidence of war, the invasion theory has become the Aryan Migration Theory (AMT), but the original intention of European civilizational (if not racial) superiority continues.

    AIT was used by European colonizers to give a moral justification to continue their oppression of the Indian people. This theory continues to be used in the current political discourse in India to justify certain viewpoints. The aim of this study is to give a detailed overview of different research on the subject so that readers can form their own opinions rather than relying on the large number of blog posts and newspaper articles that promote a specific point of view.

Pluralism

  • “Vedantic Notion of Pluralism and Social Harmony.” (Future Project)

Abstract — <Coming soon>