HAF Blog: New York Times' Fecal Load of Hinduphobia
by Raman Khanna, M.D.
Member of HAF's Executive Council
The New York Times ran a story on the crisis in India of open
defecation on the front pages of its online portal on July 13, 2014. The issue
tackled is an important one-according to the World Health Organization, half of the Indian population
lacks access to functioning toilets, and at least in several India states, many relieve themselves outdoors despite having such
toilets. This reality, in turn, exposes children to such a large load of
infectious agents, from bacteria to worms, that they literally never grow to
their full potential-even with adequate nutrition. It is inexcusable and
humiliating for India
that access to mobile phones, televisions and refrigerators has not been
accompanied by better sanitation. The story could have been left at this. Yet
to Gardiner Harris, the South Asia
correspondent for the Times, open defecation alone wasn't enough-religion and
culture had to be dragged into the story in as inflammatory a manner as
possible. Witness these passages in the story:
Open defecation has long been an issue in India. Some ancient Hindu texts advised people to relieve
themselves far from home, a practice that Gandhi sought to curb.
And then:
In a little-discussed but surprising finding, Muslim children in India are 17 percent
more likely to survive infancy than Hindus, even though Muslims are generally
poorer and less educated. This enormous difference in infant mortality is
explained by the fact that Muslims are far more likely to use latrines and live
next to others also using latrines, a recent analysis found. So widespread
housing discrimination that confines many Muslims to separate slums may protect
their children from increased exposure to the higher levels of waste in Hindu
communities and, as a result, save thousands of Indian Muslim babies from death
each year.
The first has just enough truth to it to hide significant
distortions. The latter soft-pedals Hinduphobia as poetic justice. To the
casual reader, the New York Times's South Asian correspondent has just asserted
that India's
Hindus are bigots with absurd beliefs about sanitation who are only getting
what they deserve when their children die more often than the Muslims they
oppress. Harris thus transports a sanitation issue onto a religious conflict
frame with heroes and villains, in the process slandering a belief system and
incorrectly identifying which challenges truly prevent moving from open
defecation to indoor toilets in the Indian context.
Click here to continue reading.
Huffington Post: How the NYT Masks Hinduphobia with Science
by Aseem Shukla, M.D.
HAF Co-Founder and Board Director
The New York Times ran a story on the crisis in India of open
defecation on the front pages of its online portal on July 13, 2014. The issue
tackled is critical -- that according to some studies, up to half of the Indian
population lacks access to functioning toilets and continues to relieve itself
outdoors. This, the story reported, may be causing chronic gastrointestinal
disease that causes children to suffer stunted growth despite access to
adequate nutrition. It's yet another paradox in the India Rising story --
launching Mars orbiters and ranking second in the world for mobile phone users
on the one hand and lagging embarrassingly behind in dealing with a most basic
bodily necessity on the other.
But Gardiner Harris, the South Asia
correspondent for the Times, authored the story, and as is his wont, he
provoked. So was Harris' story on Indian stooling habits an important story? No
doubt. A tragic story? Indeed. Outrageous? Absolutely. But check out these
passages in the story:
Open defecation has long been an issue in India. Some
ancient Hindu texts advised people to relieve themselves far from home, a
practice that Gandhi sought to curb.
Click here to continue reading.
Huffington Post: Nose Deep in Their Own...Prejudice: Hinduism and The New York Times' Sewage Problem
by Vamsee Juluri, Ph.D.
Friend of HAF
What might have been an excellent piece of reporting on an
important public-health concern in India has turned out instead to be
one of the most absurd, far-fetched, and ugly pieces of Hinduphobic racism in
journalism ever.
After being told for several years now that Hinduism is to
blame for everything in India from the gang rape of women to the mere
questioning of Wendy Doniger's strange claims, The New York Times now reveals
to us that it is "some ancient Hindu texts" that are at least partly
responsible for unhygienic excretory practices and diseases in modern India. As
further proof of this incredible thesis, we are also told that Muslim children
have a better survival rate because they are discriminated against and forced
to live in separate slums, safe from the Hindus' less-hygienic habitats. Even
the opening line of the article evokes a picture of Hindu superstition,
spelling out the sad story of a boy whose mother's attempts to ward off the
"evil eye" have obviously failed to stop the disease from coming.
The point of the article seems to be this: Hindus don't use
toilets because it's against their religion, and it's spreading disease.
Click here to continue reading.
Patheos: Preserving Human Rights Through Article 26 of the UN Declaration
by Suneeta Israni
Former HAF Congressional Intern
As an educator of history, my students and I have made a
conscious choice to use a critical and culturally responsive lens when
evaluating the subject matter in textbooks and the classroom. I say "my
students and I" because I have adopted a teaching philosophy in which I,
the teacher, am considered an equal amongst my students and that together we
can learn from each other and work together to solve problems. I have adopted
this philosophy because this critical and culturally responsive evaluation and
reflection will afford my students the knowledge and skills they will need
later on in life to persevere through bullying and prevent discrimination.
Click here to continue reading.
Belief Net: Is Asana Religious?
by Sheetal Shah
Senior Director
Last week, I received an inquiry from a Christian theologian
interested in showing that "the postures of Yoga" (asana) are
directly tied to Hinduism and thus, cannot be easily incorporated into daily
life by Christians. While the origin of yoga is undoubtedly tied to the Hindu
sacred texts, the Vedas and Upanishads, I struggled with his idea of
researching asana divorced from yoga in its entirety.
Click here to continue reading.
HAF Blog: Heat, Humidity, and Hindu American Advocacy - My Summer in DC
by Tej Desai
HAF Office Intern
It seems ironic to think that I didn't know much about HAF
before this past winter break. I still remember just getting home from school
and thinking about how I would spend my last semester of college when my
grandfather told me about an internship with the Hindu American Foundation that
he had just heard about. To be honest, I didn't even know who or what the Hindu
American Foundation was. My parents told me to apply for the internship, and
like any other college student looking for a job post-grad, I applied
aimlessly. It's funny how that works though, because once I started doing my
homework on the job and the organization, I fell in love with its mission and
goals (apologies for the cliché).
Click here to continue reading.
HAF Blog: My Summer of Hindu American Advocacy
by Rohith Reddy
HAF Office Intern
I have been an intern with the Hindu American Foundation
(HAF) since the beginning of June and am based in Washington, D.C.,
along with numerous members of staff. Thus far, my internship has certainly
been interesting and enjoyable, but mostly it has been enlightening. I work
with another intern, Tej Desai, where we are getting a well-rounded
understanding of all of HAF's work. Some days we accompany Jay, Harsh, and
occasionally Murali, to meetings pertaining to their areas of expertise. We are
also independently working on several unique projects.
Click here to continue reading.
Huffington Post: History of Hindu India a Valuable Resource for Teachers and Parents
by Murali Balaji, Ph.D.
Director of Education and Curriculum Reform
Teaching history continues to be one of the biggest challenges in school districts across America, as schools must often grapple with outdated standards and old and inaccurate textbooks. In addition, teachers can sometimes struggle transitioning to the most current pedagogical approaches.
These comments stinks!