Penguin Books did well to scrap Wendy Doniger’s work. In her Foreword to On Hinduism, Doniger herself proclaims to be a “hot-blooded ex-ballet dancer” interested in stories rather than a real “sanskritilogist,” someone like me whom she disparages as interested only in verbs and nouns.
In India, Penguin has determined that it would be best not to defend Doniger’s flawed perspective at the expense of offending those who know, live and honor Hinduism. The misrepresentation in her work lies more in her distorted construction, absurd insinuations and misleading conclusions than in her errors of fact. Her books are like puzzle pieces wrongly put together resulting in a grotesque and disorderly collection of bits of images that don’t fit with one another and are therefore, though interestingly prurient, horribly jarring. Her assemblage is not so much haphazard as it is deliberately misleading.
It is my view that all religion is an opinion about the universe and that books about religion are opinions about opinions. To this end anyone is free to form an opinion. However scholarship mandates order and respect for truth. Hinduism is a multi-faceted and organized world view. It distinguishes scripture from legend and myth. It separates ethics and morals from belief. It entertains divergent philosophies and respects science. It is based on premises and principles. It embraces progress and change. It is most of all a search for truth and harmony. It is the oldest major religion on earth. It is sophisticated and its followers, from the least to the most educated, are sophisticated because they must make their own judgments. Hindu scripture does not tell us what is good but rather to believe in goodness.
The revolt of strongly committed Hindus against Doniger’s assault has both backfired and succeeded. On the one hand, the publicity generated by controversy has propelled Doniger’s work to the level of a best seller. On the other, the same controversy has brought about a burgeoning interest in understanding Hinduism.
Author Irina Gajjar holds a PhD in Ancient Indian Studies from Bombay University, and studied Sanskrit in India for ten years. She speaks eight languages, including Gujarati, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, and French. Her recent book On Hinduism is a faithful and comprehensive explanation of a world view held by about fifteen percent of the world’s population.
