A limited assessment of and response to some statements of Professor Tyler Williams

This blog initially appeared here and is penned by Megh Kalyanasundaram

On 2016 April 15, in a talk at Columbia University by Shri Rajiv Malhotra, a member of the audience, introduced himself as “…Tyler Williams…I am a Professor of Hindi and Urdu, I also teach a bit of Sanskrit, bit of Persian, I also teach about Bhakti, teach about Indian religion…” (Video time stamp (VTS): 54:29-54:37) and  curiously, chose not include in his introduction, the name of the university he taught at.

In what was meant to be a question, Tyler Williams (TW) made a few statements, which can be called misrepresentations and/or allegations. This short piece highlights 2 such statements (in italicised-blue below) and evidence from Shri Malhotra’s scholarship as to why these statements can be called misrepresentations.

Tyler Williams’ (wilful or otherwise) Misrepresentation #1: ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ related

Tyler Williams said (VTS 56:04-56:10)) “…the schema that you have given, that I am outsider and they are an insider, the white students are outsiders…“ 

Evidence (from RM’s scholarship) on why TW’s statement is a misrepresentation:

Evidence 1:

I also wish to clarify that I do not consider all Western scholars as ‘outsiders’, nor all Indians or Hindus as ‘insiders’. These are provisional terms to get the conversation started. My suggestion to the reader is that s/he should first read the Conclusion chapter that concisely articulates the final takeaway message of this book. It lists a set of debates I want between the insiders and outsiders on a range of issues raised in this book.  (Source: Rajiv Malhotra, The Battle for Sanskrit, Introduction, Hard Copy version Page 28, Kindle Location 508-518) 

Evidence 2:

My book frames these issues in terms of two opposing lenses: the lens of insiders, who are those with loyalty to the Vedic worldview, and lens of outsiders, who are those who dismiss (or at least marginalize) the Vedas and look at the Sanskrit texts primarily through Marxist and postmodernist theories of social oppression and political domination.

Adopting the insider perspective, my main objections to Pollock and other outsiders concern the following methods and views:

•The methodological separation between the secular and the sacred in studying Sanskrit tradition;

•The claim that racial and ethnic oppression, class discrimination and gender bias are intrinsic to Sanskrit and its conceptual matrix in the Vedas;

•The side-lining of the oral tradition as a dynamic part of Indian history and thought;

•The politicizing of the genre of kavya;

•The outright dismissal of the positive value of shastra;

•The insistence on a dramatic split between Sanskrit and the vernaculars;

•The determination to show maximum split between Hinduism and Buddhism;The distortion of the Ramayana as socially abusive and as harbouring anti-Muslim rabble rousing (Source: Rajiv Malhotra’s blog Insiders Vs Outsiders: Who speaks for our heritage?) 

Tyler Williams’ (wilful or otherwise) Misrepresentation #2: ‘Dalits’ related

Tyler Williams said (VTS 56:04-56:10) “…the idea that Dalits are outsiders to the Hindu community…” (Video time stamp 56:13-56:16)

Evidence (from RM’s scholarship) on why TW’s statement is a misrepresentation:

Evidence 1:

In 4 of out 5 books which Shri Rajiv Malhotra has authored, the string ‘Dalit’ appears over 533 times (book-wise detail included below).

Book	Number of occurrences of the string ‘Dalit’ occurs, as part of the word ‘Dalits’ or as stand-alone word	Kindle version location number
The Battle for Sanskrit (Is Sanskrit Political or Sacred, Oppressive or Liberating, Dead or Alive?)	20	456, 1143, 1211, 1258, 2241, 2250, 2273, 2334, 2702, 2711, 2892 3560, 3685, 4479, 4605, 4785, 5550, 6104, 8046
Breaking India (Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines)	> 500; The word ‘Dalits’ appears 152 times	Too many to list
Indira’s Net (Defending Hinduism’s philosophical unity)	10	659, 894, 2316 (twice), 2566, 2619, 4500, 6436, 6530, 6801
Being Different (An Indian challenge to Western Universalism)	3	6296, 6298, 6301

Where exactly, in any of these 533+ locations  specified above (or for that matter anywhere else) has Shri Malhotra, propagated the idea “…Dalits are outsiders to the Hindu community…” as alleged by Tyler Williams?

How can anyone who has actually read Breaking India (which has the word Dalit in its title sub-text: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines) and Indra’s Net, logically allege that Mr. Malhotra considers Dalits are outsiders to the Hindu community?

Evidence 2:

In fact, the opposite of Tyler Williams (Dalit-related) allegation is perhaps closer to the truth, evidenced by Mr. Malhotra’s thesis (in his words) pitted against the ‘Neo Hinduism’ thesis, from the book Indra’s Net (Defending Hinduism’s philosophical unity).

From Indra’s Net->Part 1 PURVA PAKSHA->Summary of both sides of debate->Tabulation (9 of 10)
Neo-Hinduism	Contemporary Hinduism (My thesis)
Hinduism is inherently oppressive of minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Dalits and women. It forces others into its own homogeneity for gaining political control. Hindutva is its later incarnation and its goal has been to impose homogeneity	Contemporary Hinduism renews the coherence and unity of diverse Indian traditions. It does not harm their diversity, and has, in fact, the most open architecture among the main faiths of the world. Its lack of historical absolutes (in the sense of Abrahamic religions) accounts for these extraordinary qualities)
	‘My thesis’ above refers to Rajiv Malhotra’s thesis

Of course, the above misrepresentations could have been reconciled to atleast some extent had Tyler Williams said he had not read Shri Rajiv Malhotra’s books. One could perhaps then rationalise and allow for a benefit of doubt about Tyler Williams position (and/or complicity in furthering a separatist propaganda) in view of not having read Mr. Malhotra’s scholarship.

However, does Tyler Williams allow room for such a benefit of doubt to be extended given his:

> claim “…I have read your book” (VTS 56:46-47; 58:18-23) and yet misrepresenting (evidence provided above), all this despite being a “Professor”, of whom the expectation of correctness , atleast in the academic way of referencing, would normally be higher than a lay man?

&

> false (implied) allegation that Shri Rajiv Malhotra may tarnish TW’s name like that of he did of TW’s colleagues (VTS 54:44-54:47), while what he actually did could be construed as attempting to tarnish Shri Malhotra’s name, by bringing up plagiarism allegations, which have been comprehensively addressed at various levels, including clarification between related publishers.

(To read a comprehensive analysis of the plagiarism allegations, refer here: https://traditionresponds.wordpress.com; To extend your support to Rajiv Malhotra, sign this petition: https://www.change.org/p/publishers-of-rajiv-malhotra-s-books-do-not-yield-to-mafia-pressure-tactics-that-seek-to-compromise-intellectual-freedom)

A collection of posts from various authors on the issues raised in TBFS

This post contains links to some of the important writings that have come out in recent times since The Battle for Sanskrit was released.

1. Here is a review of TBFS by Siddhartha, who calls out the deficiencies in Sheldon Pollock's scholarship starting from his discrediting of oral traditions of Hinduism to his dating of Ramayana and its interpretation, to his collusion with Indian Marxists to attempt intervention in India.

The review can be read here:

A review of The Battle for Sanskrit

2. Next up is the article by Aditi Banerjee in Swarajya magazine. In her article, she not only argues why it is foolish for Indians to be outsourcing the adhikara to interpret our civilizational heritage to people who are not insiders but she also lets us know how rigorous a training one should have to even attempt interpreting our sacred scriptures and treatises. She talks about how this rigour was inculcated in our scholars and how bypassing this rigour can dilute the ability to interpret correctly our shastras and scriptures.

Her article can be read here:

Let's stop funding our enemies

3. Ashay does a throrough deconstruction of Pollock's paper 'Deep Orientalism'. He says that the paper is 'a step-by-step guide to blame India in general & Sanskrit in particular for Nazism'.

He says that 'The outline is as follows:
Step 1: Trans-historicize the idea of Orientalism
Step 2: Show that “Orientalist” German Indology contributed to Nazism
Step 3: Show existence of pre-colonial “Orientalism” in Sanskrit thought
Step 4: Show that British Indology was a continuity of pre-colonial “Orientalism”
Step 5: Show Nazism is continuity of Sanskrit thought'

You can read the article here:

The shallowness of Pollock's 'Deep Orientalism'

4. Sejuti Banerjea does an excellent job of refuting Rohan Murty's statements in his article in the Times of India. The article is titled 'The classics belong to the world and no one has exclusive rights'.
In her rebuttal, Sejuti picks up statements made by Rohan Murty in his article and points out the fallacies inherent in them.

She has blogged at:

What Rohan Murty's comment really says

5. Kaushik Gangopadhyay draws a parallel between American progressives at the time when slavery was a practice in America and now as scholars learning India. He contrasts two people Frederick Olmsted from the times when slavery was practised and Sheldon Pollock as a scholar studying India. He draws eerie parallels in their methodology and shows how it can be catastrophic for India to let Sheldon Pollock have his way unchallenged.

His article can be read at:

American Progressives also typify others

Intolerance in the name of freedom of expression

February 13, 2014.
We are posting the statement of respected Supreme Court advocate Monika Arora's statement on the forum. Here is the link to the original thread and followup comments. Join the forum to follow the discussion and understand the real Kurukshetra that is out there.

Rajiv Malhotra shares: "The following message is from Advocate Monika Arora who filed the lawsuit against Penguin and got the settlement. Her client was Shri Dinanath Batra, a mild matured, polite and serious intellectual in Delhi. I think this message gives an important rejoinder to critics."

[statement begin]

Intolerance in the name of freedom of expression

"I was shocked and aghast to read the comments of author Wendy Doniger calling Indian Judiciary as the main villain in this case. Equally shocking was the article of Ram Chandra Guha carried by your esteemed newspaper stating that courts have failed to protect artistic rights. Equally stunning was the letter of Arundhati Roy calling us Hindu fanatic outfit, fly-by-night-outfit and fascists on the one hand and threatening Penguin with protests outside their office on the other hand. All these three reactions displayed the same mindset which is anti Hindu mindset and holds “we will obey the law, if it suits us otherwise damn it.”

Wendy Doniger wrote in her ill famed book that Swami Vivekananda & Mahatma Gandhi advised people to eat beef. Mangal Pandey hero of 1st Independence Movement was under influence of bhang, opium, alcohol; Rani Laxmibai was loyal to the British. Shivalinga is a representation of the male sexual organ in erection. Lord Rama said only an idiot like father would give up a good son like him for the sake of pretty women. The map of India is shown without Kashmir.

The objectionable passages are per-se defamatory, objectionable and insulting to our freedom fighters and the Hindu Gods. Eminent personalities including former ambassador, historian, educationist, freedom fighter approached court of law for deletion of such passages. After 4 years of legal battle, Penguin agreed to withdraw this book and gave an undertaking to the court to this effect. Hence the withdrawal of this book is an outcome of a valid, legal battle fought by people of eminence in this vibrant democracy.

Further this lynch mob and intolerant pseudo-secularists in the name of freedom of expression are crying from rooftops and demanding freedom of defamation.

India is governed by Rule of Law which states that law is Supreme and governs the whole country and its people. Article 19 of the Constitution of India states the fundamental Rights of freedom of expression which comes with reasonable restrictions in public order, morality, unity and integrity.

But the likes of Arundhati Roy are alien to the concept of Rule of Law. She has been more in the news for being on the wrong side of law and was even held guilty for Contempt of Court. Criminal cases were lodged against her for sharing platform with separatists and preaching the separation of Kashmir from India. She has questioned the use of the word ‘Bharat’ for India by Penguin, not realizing that Article 1 of the Constitution of India calls “India, that is Bharat shall be a union of states.”

 Hence the aforementioned people are damning the Indian Courts, damning the publishing house which stated that it respected all religions and damning the group of eminent, educated people who out of their conviction did not resort to any violence but adopted purely legal, civilized means to approach the Court of law for a legal remedy for their legitimate legal grievances. But these champions of freedom of expressions have took upon them their favorite agenda to attack all those who do not agree with them and who dare to talk in favour of Hindus or the Freedom Fighters of this country. They are the likes of the American President who openly declared “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.” Similarly they declare that either you are with us or you are fascists, extremists and fanatics. This intolerant section has one motto damn everyone who does not agree with them in the name of freedom of expression.

I most humbly state that merely getting an International award does not make you Ms. Wendy Doniger and Ms. Arundhati Roy above the Indian Law and does not give you a right to damn the Indian Courts, Judiciary and all these voices who disagree with you. Further it does not give you freedom to defame the freedom Fighters and any religion in the name of freedom of expression."


Advocate Monika Arora
Supreme Court
Advocate for Sh. Dinanath Batra

[statement end]

RMF Summary: Week of November 16-22, 2012

November 19 (continuing discussion from November 1st)

Why mantra cannot be performed by a machine I am involved in a private debate with some Sanskrit scholars who dispute my position that mantra requires a jiva - i.e. prana/consciousness. Implication of my... Latest comment: "Isn't the whole concept of Mantra Puja based on the concept of 'Bandhu' as written in BD by Rajiv Ji. The Mantra in a written form and/or verbal form is 'Apara' while when performed by a Pandit achieves the 'Para'? ..." November 19 hiding Indian source Carpentier posts: An example of purposely hiding the Indian source: Some weeks ago a Swiss woman with whom I shared a room 25 years ago in Satya Sai’s ashram traced me. She ..... ... Her Answer.... Vedanta is an experience level, it neither belongs to India nor to any part of the world. Vedanta is an experience level IN you, call it the THAT level. We called it the It level. This book wanted to show that it does not matter in which religion you are born, the true religion you find in yourself. I don't think that India, Indian philosophy needs to be defended; it is eternal and speaks to the innermost truth in every human being. Therefore, dear Maria, cheer up, relax, it is everything as it is meant to be (end) A similar line of argument used a German psychology professor whom I asked why so many of his colleagues (not he) take from India and don't acknowledge though the Indian knowledge is beneficial for everyone. He answered, 'well, if it is beneficial for everyone, it means it belongs to humanity as a whole and not to a particular country.' Rajiv Malhotra's comment: "we are asking them to acknowledge Vedanta, not India. Since the[y] acknowledge Vedanta privately, they should do so publicly in their writings, just as they would acknowledge a wstern thinker of school of thought. They diverted the issue by responding about India." Carpentier followup:  "I think one sees an old reflex born out of the West's instinctive far of polytheism, created through centuries of inquisition and ideological control. Too many people are afraid to quote Hinduism for fear of being labelled polytheists and idol worshipers, which is why they often prefer to seek affiliation with Sufism or Buddhism... "  Rajiv Malhotra's followup: "There are many factors for this stage-2 of uturn, i.e. removing the dharmic context. Fear of idolatry etc is just one of them. More broadly, the Hinduphobia that has been put in place in the past 25 years is designed to cause people to dis-associate from Hinduism. For more on Hinduphobia, see my earlier writings on Sulekha that later culminated in the book INVADING THE SACRED".  November 20 Radhasoami: Another proponent of "sameness" encouraging the deer to be eaten Chandramouli posted a couple of links. Carpentier responds: I learnt today coincidentally that the person in charge of all publications for Radhasoami Satsang Beas is a Jewish gentleman who embraces the creed that all religions are equal expression of God's message. Rajiv Malhotra follows up: Purva paksha requires one to investigate what is meant by the above reference to "God's message" in each religion. God's message cannot be reduced to a few simple sentences pulled out out thousands of statements from their texts. God's message must be understood in entirety for a given faith in order to understand it. Only then can one assess whether all these messages in various religions are saying the same thing. or whether there are serious contradictions. In BD I explain in detail that Nicene Creed as Christian normative statement of God's message is in mutual contradiction with dharma ideas of the nature of reality, karma, reincarnation...  November 21 This tragedy caught the attention of people from all around the world. Hindu woman dies in Ireland due to imposition of Catholic law cnn link sent by Srinath. November 22 Angana Chatterji hosted at Harvard by Michael Witzel There were many who were wondering where Angana went after being arrested in the US. Kaajal Ahuja finds that she is back in business with a couple of friends well-known in 'Breaking India'. If you wonder what Indologist Sanskrit academics in the US do, here is an example. "In Breaking India, Rajiv & Aravindan write about some US academics who produce literature with questionable funding that could aid in the disintegration of India or at the very least US intervention. Angana Chatterji was fired by the California Institute of Integral Studies recently but is now working at Berkeley University. Whats more, she will speak at a panel hosted by Michael Witzel of Harvard. Monday, Nov. 26: South Asia Without Borders Seminar Series. Angana Chatterji, Berkeley University will discuss "Naxalism and Orissa: Divergent Conflicts, Political Economy, and Minoritization." Sanjeev Uprety, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu will present "Neat and Laundered Middle Classes and Third Gender Nepal Communist party-United Marxist Leninist: Masculinity and Politics in Contemporary Nepal." Michael Witzel, Wales Professor of Sanskrit, Department of South Asian Studies will chair the event.  Tattvaanveshanam provides a useful link about Angana's current project. November 22 Re: Request for RigVeda and Shiva translation... In Lalita-Sahasra Namam, which is widely memorized and recited among Shakti worshippers, one namavali runs thus: Unmesha-nimishotpanna-vipanna-bhuvanaval..

RMF Summary: Week of February 22-28, 2011

All threads in this post are new.
 
February 22
 "Be aware of the trap laid through Western scholastic methods !
I largely agree with Nandy's contention. The Western historical method much less ideological straitjacket (Marxist) is wholly unsuited for understanding the epics and the Puranas. This is the reason that I am working on a lengthy introduction on the historiography to volume 1 of my projected 5 volume history of India.
- N.S. Rajaram

February 23

www.BreakingIndia.com - updates to Videos and where to buy the book VIDEOS: The [BI] book's main web site now has 8 videos from the Delhi book launch featuring several important speakers... February 23 Coverage in The Hindu newspaper Book exploring western interventions launched Special Correspondent CHENNAI: A book attempting to explore “Western interventions” in fuelling movements with a separatist agenda in the country was launched here on Thursday. The book ‘Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines,' examines the issue of international nexuses with local movements and argues that such campaigns pit regional identities against the notion of India as socio-culturally diverse State. Launching the publication, spiritual leader Dayananda Saraswati said the book covered a wide range issues that “affect our psyche.” .... February 26 Why would USA do such a thing which would be against its own interests   Rajiv Malhotra: I have been asked this question by top ranking Indian  thinkers who are considered "US experts" in Delhi. I will summarize the answer I have given them: It was against US interests to create the Taliban, but they did. The toppling of the Shah of Iran to bring human rights did not succeed and created a nightmare for USA today - entirely unintended. Ten years from now we will know whether toppling Sadam Hussein ended up being in USA's best interests or just the opposite. When Pakistan was developing its nuclear bombs for over a decade, several US presidents in a row made the conscious decision to look the other side. The US was were not deliberately making policies against its own interests.... A followup comment thread includes this: The late U.S. historian Barbara Tuchman wrote a wonderful book on the subject called *The March of Folly, *which should be required reading for all politicians and policy makers. Here is what the blurb on the book says: The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, by Barbara W. Tuchman "Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly....  A second followup thread is here.   February 27 (16 comments) India's security risk bothers investors - finally! Rajiv Malhotra: I have been predicting this for years: The delicate balance between centrifugal forces (that pull things apart) and centripetal forces (that bonds together) is not robust enough in India. It is getting worse due to the kinds of internal fragmentation discussed in Breaking India. By comparison, China is robust in its security, internal and external. Yet, most of India's wealthy and intellectual elites live in the aura of high economic growth solving all the problems, and hence prefer to deny the divisiveness discussed in the book...   February 27 Ex-bishop of Delhi keen to unite Dalits Commentator 'Ram' asks: Dear Friends: Apparently, this ex-bishop is trying to unite ALL Dalits, not only Christian Dalits, in a "movement for the uplift of Dalit and poor in the society".Why are Hindu leaders, including Hindu Dalit leaders, sleeping soundly? Should they not be taking the initiative to unite and uplift the Dalits and ensure that they remain within the Hindu fold? ...