[Doniger has not escaped completely. She had to duck an egg thrown by a militant Hindu as she lectured in London. In the world of these scholars, writing about gods from some scholarly distance is a century-old practice. As for the psychoanalytic aspects in Ganesa, Freudians and post-Freudians have had their rounds with Moses, Paul, Christians, and Jews through the ages, without having to duck eggs, harassment, or death threats...
Today we are learning again that, while heirs of a tradition have a special claim on stories and interpretations, at least at certain stages, good stories are too good to be hoarded by those who claim insider-status. All great literature, canonical or not, is born of particular experiences, and if it is great, it gets shared.
That was happening with Hindu mythology, but for the moment the eggs and threats fly and the barriers are up. This can wreak havoc in religious studies and interfaith understanding, and one can only hope that light will spread and cooler heads will prevail. Doniger says it is all being "fueled by a fanatical nationalism and Hindutva," where "no one who is not a Hindu has the right to speak about Hinduism at all." Home > Faiths & Prayer > Hinduism > Scholars of Hinduism Under Attack
Scholars of Moses or Jesus haven't had to duck eggs or death threats lately. Why are Hindu groups targeting professors?
BY: Martin E. Marty]
Three centuries have failed to wake up the Westerners to learn about India. Let's hope that a few more eggs (or, shoes?) will do the wonder. [TNM] 6:03 PM
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