Pari's Blog

Introduction

There seems to be considerable bias in the media when it comes to Hindus, particularly in Western countries. The media is very sensitive when in it comes to their coverage of Christians, Muslims, or African-Americans. Perhaps because these groups will not meekly stand by and take any misrepresentation of their culture. They will mobilize in no time. Not to mention they have a strong network (ownership of media conglomerates, powerful lobbies, etc.). In comparison, the toleration of Hindus and their lack of such an equivalent network is beyond incredulous. I don’t blame them. At one point Africa-Americans were not also unified in their voice, now they have very powerful lobbies to represent them. A bunch of wakeup-call were needed. Maybe what Hindus are seeing today is their wakeup call.

Silence is equally powerful in downgrading a culture. For example, while other cultures are constantly showcased for their great contributions, nothing is mentioned of Hindus contribution in science, engineering, technology, mathematics, arts, music, literature, etc. Not just in the past, but also the enormous number of scientific and technological contributions of Hindus today. What’s worse is that not only does Western civilization continuously expropriate knowledge from indigenous civilizations, but they do whatever it takes to discredit them completely (let alone try to acknowledge them). In American school books for example  (if one were to take progressive states like California and Virginia as an example) not one word is mentioned of Hindu’s contribution in terms of yoga, mathematics, grammar, ayurveda, or its richness in culture, diversity, plurality, or its many schools of philosophy. Not one word is mentioned about Vivekananda for example who spent much of his life bringing Hinduism into the reach of the West.

For example: Yoga, which is practiced by 20 million Americans today is hardly ever mentioned in the media as coming from Hindus. In a Time magazine 3-page cover-story article “The Power of Yoga” [1], the word Hindu or Hinduism was not mentioned even once. Few people know that even something so common today as meditation, introduced as a formalized technique to the West by Hindu spiritual teachers in the 60’s (Swami Yogananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Swami Vivekananda), was downplayed by the media and scientists as “mysticism” of the East all the way through the late 70’s. It became part of the mainstream only after being stripped and sterilized from its Hindu origins (more examples in Non-Attribution).

Why the Bias?

In the eyes of fundamentalist Christianity [and Islam], anything Hindu seems to be repugnant, vile, and to be despised (at the same time they cannot deny its qualities which postmodernists are trying to frantically expropriate and reinvent today). I feel this deep seated feeling arises out of an insecurity for two reasons: 1) Hinduism is based on pluralism and is also very knowledge-centric, both of which are seen as a threat to fundamentalist religions, 2) the fact that Hindu civilization was far more advanced and older than Greek civilization is a stab in the heart of their core power structure which is entirely built upon that image (all their great institutions of higher learning and self-assumed superiority over the human race). Most of the newer generation are far more multicultural and open, but still the baton of power carries over (i.e. to the default known as “white privileges”; note that white does not necessarily mean color, but a subscription to a particular culture).

This stigma is a carry-over from the colonial era (arising from a Christian or white superiority that was acutely eminent in those days). The disbelief and vexation that the British encountered when they first came to India, when these Hindus not only learned their “barbaric tongue” so easily, but mastered it and taught it right back to them (the first formal book on English grammar was written by the Madras Presidency College and was taken by an emissary of the British Empire to England and presented to the Queen). That was just the beginning, the more they learned the more revolting it was for them to digest – they had to face the fact that Hindu civilization was at least 4,000 years older than Greek civilization (during that time period Western civilization was just barely beginning to move from Stone Age to Bronze Age). That the Hindus were far ahead in:

• Language: the discovery of classical languages in Hindu culture (such as Sanskrit and Tamil) that were far more refined than English (in grammar, elegance, and ability to carry and express profound thoughts and nuances). A 5th century Tamil epic alludes to Greeks as those who “speak in a barbaric/unrefined tongue/language” on more than few occasions (indicates just how much importance was given to how refined the language and how far advanced Indian culture was).
• Literature: the discovery of the sheer richness of Hindu classical literature (in Sanskrit, Tamil, Bengali,…) that completely eclipsed Greek classics – in quality and quantity.
• Sciences: that the Hindus were far advanced in metallurgy, ship building, architecture, medicine, agriculture, textiles, astronomy, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, psychology, etc. Not to mention their encounter with sciences that have no parallel in Western civilization, such as yoga, ayurveda, samkhya/vedanta philosophy, etc.
• Mathematics: invention of the zero, the decimal system, algebra (eg: quadratic equations), trigonometry (eg: π, pythagoras theorem), calculus – all of which are widely acknowledged today as having origins in Hindu culture, transmitted by the Arabs to Europe.
• Art Forms: the sheer richness, uniqueness, and the deep spiritual undertones of their classical music, dance, poetry, temple art, and symbolism.

As a big cover up they have to hide all this by brand marketing: Act 1 (colonial): “India – the land of spices, exotic, mystical, snake-charmers, elephants, tigers, tea, and turbans”. Act 2 (post-colonial): “India – the land of caste system, cow-worship, dowry, sati, and poverty”. Act 3 (today): “India – the land of call centers, curry, chai, tandoori-chicken, and seven-elevens”. Act 4 (in the making): “India – the land of gurus, ashrams, yoga, and Bangalore”.

That is, if you were to take a poll of non-Indians (outside of India) and asked them to describe India, a vast majority are likely to use exactly those descriptions and nothing more, in each of those eras.

Counter Points

Western media and academics routinely discredit Hindus by characterizing them in terms of the worst possible elements. The points below dominate descriptions of Hinduism in school textbooks in the USA. Let’s examine each of these characterizations:

1. Caste? Western media chooses to characterize Hinduism using caste system while it makes their culture exempt from being characterized by its own caste system.
   • For example, in the USA, politicians play the caste card with Hispanics, Blacks, the Christian right, Muslims, gays, the rich, the homeless, immigrants, privileged outer-city folks, marginalized inner-city folks.
   • And the biggest caste of all in the USA is that of endemic racism and discrimination. The so called white privilege which penetrates all ranks of American society – business, academics, politics, etc. Just because racism and discrimination is conveniently sugar coated by calling it a sect or community or not even talking about it (silently shoving it into the closet) doesn’t make it any different — it only goes to further show the existence of white privilege.
   • The caste system in the USA is thus hidden (not spoken of). Which makes it all the more dangerous. It is much easier to deal with the problem, when you know the problem exists versus when you are in denial. This is why India has probably the biggest and most outreaching affirmative action program in the world, and has done more for its minorities than any other country.
   • One need only observe how cities in the USA are segregated (and hardly get visibility on the radar when it comes to politics). For example: take Washington D.C. – the whole of South-East D.C. is almost exclusively black population (newscasters are careful to make the distinction – inner city versus outers city kids for example).
   • For most of its two-thousand year history, Western civilization can be characterized by things far more worse then the caste system: barbaric racism, slavery, imperialism, feudalism, serfdom. Marked by barbaric cruelty, torture, persecution, witch-hunts (trials, burnings, impalement of women), and genocides in the name of race and religion. They’ve become reasonably civilized only in the last 150 years or so. In comparison, Hindu culture in its over five-thousand years history has been very benign and extremely pluralistic. So, the West doesn’t really hold any higher moral ground at all to talk about the problems of other cultures.
   • Many Christians do not even allow a person from another Christian sect into their church or community. Churches in many countries have separate seating areas for the “lesser people” — not to mention they are discriminated against from becoming priests.
   • Muslims have been killing each other for well over a thousand years in the name of the communities they belong to (not just Shia vs Sunni Muslims, but even sects within them). In contrast, in Hindu culture one can see radically different communities, each with completely different sages, methods of worship, stories, visualization of God going to each others temple (followers of Vishnu and Siva for example). Thus creating a synergy between the two very different communities, such that each can co-exist co-temporily and in absolute sovereignty as well without any conflict). If Christians were open-minded as Hindus, a figure of Jesus Christ would be found in every Hindu temple along with all the other siddhas, and respected likewise for their contribution to spirituality.
2. Dowry deaths? The dowry system is still a problem in most parts of India, but it is rapidly declining (though progress is much slower in the lower middle class and below). Dowry and dowry related crimes are ever more monitored and severely dealt with by the legal system and the society today than ever before. But the point here is, by the same token one could characterize Christianity in terms of the number of spouses in the USA killed over insurance fraud – which is statistically comparable (if not probably greater), or the practice of honor killings, beheadings, and lapidations in Muslim countries – which not only go unpunished, but are sanctioned by the Islamic law in many countries.
3. Cow worship? Western media (and educational material used in schools) is quick to note that Hindus consider cows as sacred. It fails to note that Hinduism is rich in symbolism, and many things are considered sacred, ranging from all living things, to rivers, hills, space, time, language, mathematics, music, etc. It is the fault of the Western culture (a reflection of their level of maturity when it comes to spirituality?) that they chose to focus only on the cow. The cow is symbolic of abundance and non-violence – not too different from the way the American bald eagle is to the USA symbolic of commitment to freedom and strength.
4. Idol worship? in what way is “a dead man nailed to a cross worship” or “the cannibalistic partaking of the blood and flesh of Christ” (communion), any less an idol worship or ritualistic? The same can be said about Islam, Muslims are so obsessed about the Koran – that it has pretty much been idolized – “Koran worship”, so has the word “Allah” or “Mohammad” been idolized. You’ll see this form of idolization everywhere in a Muslims home, car, office, etc. Not to mention the Muslims desire to emulate Mohammad in all ways (a gross form of idolatory; call it Mohammadism if you will). Islam can be also depicted as “black stone worship”, referring to the Kaaba (aka, “The Abode of Allah”) – the thousands who throng there to kiss the stone, or even the fact that Muslims worship the black stone five times a day by facing that direction in their duty to prayer. The Christian/Muslim will protest that we don’t know what we are talking about, that we are maligning Jesus/Mohammad, that they are all “symbolic” and not idol worship. Precisely my point. It is interesting that Hindus have always been broadminded enough to understand the symbolism of other faiths, but for some reason other faiths don’t reciprocate that. Perhaps because they are so stuck up that their faith is the true faith that they refuse to even try to look at other faiths in a positive light? This the danger of fundamentalism – the more fundamentalist you are in your beliefs, the more it stifles your thought.
5. Sati? It shows a sort of desperation, when the West cherry picks something that occurs in a frequency of less than a dozen in a population of a billion (.00000001%) per year, to characterize Hinduism. Ironically the origin of sati started when Hindu women started immolating themselves in order to be spared from being molested or taken as sex slaves by marauding Muslims who had conquered their land (and killed their spouses). It’s only the name that was taken from the Hindu puranas, and not the practice itself. Again it’s a case of the Westerner transposing his cultural conditioning by making litaralist interpretations of Hindu texts, and from that deriving “religious injunctions” to be followed (like they do with the Bible or Koran). In some places in India, especially tribal populations, there was the practice that the wife should follow her husband upon his death (similar to the pre-historic ritual where the dead are buried with all the ameneties of life to accompany them on their journey to the after-life). Again, cherry picking some tribal customs from the ancient past to characterize over 99% of the rest of Hindu culture which don’t follow or approve of these practices is a glaring bias.
6. Mythology? First of all the stories in Hindu spiritual literature is not mythology, but known as itihasas (or “thus verily it came to be”). Whatever came to be, came into being, as we caused it to be (this is very deep/existential). Meaning, Hindus could care less of the historical origins of it (this is why for a man in North India the birth place of the avatar Rama is in his village there, and for another guy it is in his village in South India, and there is no conflict, as itihasas don’t care about these details, but in transmitting the profound knowledge they carry). Even so, supposing just for sake, we allow people to call the Hindu itihasas and puranas (like the Mahabharata and Ramayana) as Hindu “mythology”. Then by the same yard stick, why not call the Bible as Christian mythology or the Koran as Muslim mythology? there is absolutely no proof that the people and events in these books even existed! If they quote the accounts of them in their “mythology” itself as evidence, then well by the same token Hindus can show accounts of their saints and sages in their “mythology” as evidence (with far more numerous references, just based on sheer volumes of ancient literature). Not to mention the number of times the Bible has been edited after its inception, and the number of times the Koran was edited for many years before it was made unalterable.
7. Fundamentalists? The biggest oxymoron is the wording “Hindu fundamentalist”. Hindus are probably the most tolerant and pluralistic people you can imagine – boasting over a thousand faiths, practices, spiritual texts, and sub-cultures (20,000 by a UNESCO estimate) each including their own arts, music, dance, languages, etc. If at all they are fundamentalist over anything it would be in protecting their highly pluralistic society from being hijacked by the “my way or the highway” religions (Christianity and Islam – in particular the more evangelical and fundamentalist strains of these religions). Christian and Muslim missionaries engage in spiritual terrorism by spewing hate speech and abuse on Hindu culture, practices, literature, gurus, temples, and institutions. In contrast if a Hindu as much as even raises a finger in defense, the entire Christian controlled media starts howling about “intolerance” and “Hindu fundamentalists” trying to suppress their freedom [to abuse them] (the irony). Could they not instead describe the immense plurality of Hinduism where several thousand faiths intermingle in harmony (i.e. the complete freedom of expression of worshipping (approaching/addressing) God in whatever image, form, method, approach, book, sage, story, vision you like)?
8. Christianity/Islam – religions of peace? The only true religions of peace are those who are spiritual versus being obsessed by a book or a prophet (example of spirituality-centric faiths: all the thousands of faiths in Hindu culture, the hundreds of faiths of indigenous populations like that of the Native Americans, Aborigines, Wiccans, and religions like Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Sufism). Christian and Islamic civilizations for most of their entire history, have been running rampant to conquer and to convert, or to decimate or enslave (in the name of their prophets) – and still continues today (via radicalized Islam and Christianity). The native population of entire continents were decimated – the Native South American population (by the Spanish and Portuguese), the Native North American population (by the British, Spanish, and French), the Aboriginal population of Australia (by the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British), the native Hindu population of Afghanistan (by Turks, Persians, Arabs, and Mongols), the Jews of Europe (by Germans [Christians]). Not to mention also the brutal colonization of South Africa, the Christian Inquisition, the persecution of the wiccans of Europe, the genocide of the pagans of Russia, black slavery (the Black Holocaust), the horrendous witch trials,…
9. Disgusting Rituals? Textbooks show how Hindus believe that bathing in the river Ganga, which is considered sacred by them, purifies them, and that they even drink the water which is dirty and filled with filth. That may be true, but do they have to accompany it by a photo of the most dirtiest portions of the Ganga? In other words, when they depict all other religions in the best possible light, shouldn’t they do the same for Hindus? Isn’t there anything else in the whole of India to show – like the hundreds beautiful temples, colorful puja, garlands of flowers – which in fact better represents a larger cross section of Hinduism than the Ganga? One has to be weary of Christianity to portray Hindus as ritualistic and superstitious while conveniently excluding themselves (so that they can come out looking more “civilized” and can preach upon others). For example, let’s take the Ganga theme, they could have said:
   • “Many Hindus believe in purifying themselves by bathing in the sacred river Ganga” — provided they also have under Christianity: “Many Christians believe in the practice of baptism (dipping a person in ‘holy water’) for purification of sins”.
   • They can also add: “Many Hindus believe that dying in the Ganga will give them liberation from the cycle of life and death” — provided they also have under Christianity: “Many Christians bury their dead because they believe they will be resurrected back to life on Judgment Day”.
10. Dirty People? Books describe Hindus as dirty or poor people, as if they need to be “saved”. I’ll raise several points here:
    • Not only is it wrong, but it is arrogant to take advantage of poverty stricken areas and label them as “dirty people” (don’t they teach anything about compassion or tolerance in Christianity?).
    • It is true that there are many poor people living well below the poverty line (and in dire need of assistance), but it is an wrong to refer to the bulk of Hindus as “poor people” just because they don’t fit the lavish lifestyle of the Westerner. My driver in India may be living in a house the size of a typical apartment living room in the USA, but he’s one of the most contented and happy persons I’ve seen. And I don’t think he’d appreciate being reduced some category called “poor people” (unless meant in a purely economic/statistical sense).
    • Even those the West calls as “poor” people in India live with a certain dignity. That is, they don’t have feelings of envy or inferiority over the more affluent person. This is not the case in Christian societies, where the poor are “outcast” (talk about caste!) resulting in crime or psychological stigma of being poor.
    • Not to mention the poorest cities in India are those that had the largest presence and hence ravaged the most by British Imperialism (whose gruesome exploits lasted over 300 years; it was not uncommon for British to use racial epithets to refer to Hindus, like: beggars, brown niggers, heathens).
    • To add further to the irony one should note that the concept of taking bath every day was learned by the Europeans from India. Any basic reading of Christian history will reveal how the Church forbade daily bathing and about how the royal families took bath only a few times a year. In fact the word “shampoo” has roots in the Hindi word “champa” which refers to “head massage” (using a herbal mixture – which even today’s shampoos are migrating back towards). The average Hindu would rather forfeit a day without food than go without a bath.
    • Pollution of the environment has become an endemic problem in India – but this is not a reflection of Hinduism, nor one’s body cleanliness, nor one’s homes cleanliness. It a reflection of a society and its rapid acceleration towards modernity, without the proper civic services in place.
11. Bhagavad Gita as violent? Again I’ll raise a few points here:
    • The Christian/Muslim’s violent interpretations of the Gita actually gives an insight into the pathology of the radical Chrsitian/Muslim mind – obsessed with war, domination, violence. People see what they have been conditioned to think by virtue of the culture they subscribe to. The Hindus view the Bhagavad Gita as an internal struggle which goes on in every day decisions in the life of any person (between what is right or wrong, action or inaction, between the ego and the self, society over individualism, etc.). The first chapter of the Gita is dedicated to the metaphor of this internal struggle, the remaining 17 chapters is a grand exposition of techniques/yogas to overcome it). That’s because the interpretation of the Gita come from a higher and more evolved level of thinking.
    • That is why in India has spent the most part of her long and ancient history not in conquering or subjugating nations, but in assimilating many different faiths and cultures (even those that were persecuted by others found refuge in India). It is no coincidence that the concept of ahimsa (non-violence) as a political movement for transferring power arose in India, as opposed to violent reforms or revolutions. In contrast Christianity and Islam have the most violent history of conquering and decimating indigenous cultures on just about every continent in the name of religion.
    • Even if one were to insist on making literalist mis-interpretations of the Gita, then in all fairness one should examine Christian and Islamic literature which is riddled with violence (in fact, so abundant that you won’t have to even search hard to find it). Such as the sanctioning or legitimizing rape, murder, genocide, torture, crucification, witch trials, slavery (of “heretics”, non-believers, kaffirs, heathens, and the women and children of those who have been conquered). Riddled with religious justification for war, slavery, killing animals for food, etc. Such religious justification is even used today: radical Christians in the USA called the invasion of Iraq as a “just war”, and radical Islam in its goal to establish dar-ul-islam (a global hegemony of Islam) by any means, including threatening the destruction or take over of nations that do not submit. Granted these are by radicals, but these radicals dominate their religions.
12. Animal Sacrifices?
    • Again do they have to cherry pick some tribal practices of animal sacrifice which is prevalent among ignorant masses, while the majority (99%) of Hindus offer platters of flowers, fruits, rice, coconuts, incense etc, for their religious offerings to their gods (i.e. to whatever their favorite expression of God is)? Could they not have shown a picture of that? If you go to any photo website – you’ll find plenty of such beautiful photos.
    • Even more so, what does that have to say of how much more barbaric and inhumane Islams practice of halal is – i.e. cutting the throat of a goat while it is still alive (you should see some videos of it) as it is required by their religion, or Christianity in the billions of animals they kill and consume, as they claim is justified by their religion.
13. Lack Compassion? Christians are shown as great humanitarians where as Hindus are not. This is not true. Hindu ashrams continually do immeasurable humanitarian work – with zero expectations (including never proselytizing), in many areas: education, health care, disaster relief, housing, orphanages, pensions for poor women, hospices,…. But this gets zero visibility on the media (because of this media bias which this article is pointing out). In fact I’d even say Hindu organizations are much efficient in the use of the money that is donated (as a large portion of the money of Christian organizations go to administration and evangelizing). For example: the bias is so blind that Mother Teresa has always shown as serving Kolkata’s poor, while right next door to her is one of the oldest Hindu ashrams compassionately serving millions of people – and is totally ignored! It may be true that Christianity has a larger network and tremendously more funding. But this has to be put in context:
    • Christianity has over a 300 year headstart (during which Hindus were incapacitated under British Rule).
    • The Church has about 1,400 years of accumulation of conquered wealth, that are now reinvested generating a continuous stream of revenue.
    • Christianity derives much of its billions of dollars in revenue from much of the conquered land in the world from colonial era. For example, little do people know that over 70% of the non-governmental land in India is owned by Christians (who represent less than 5% of the population) [need to validate this].
    • There is a sense of arrogance in how Christianity destroys civilizations as marauders of wealth and human resources, and comes back to “save you” (and this time destroying the culture). Take any of the wars even in the last century (of non-Christian countries attacked and devastated by Christian countries) and count the tremendous spurt in missionary activities “reaping the harvest” immediately afterwards. The conversations have done more harm than their humanitarian work by tremendously destabilizing each country – pitting the native non-Christian populations against Christians (known as Christian aggression, because the newly converted folks are even more zealous in evangelizing and aggressively targeting not just the native people, but the very fabric of their culture).
14. Oppression of women? First of all oppression of women is everywhere. The kind of oppression in the USA and in India might be different, but in both cases it is a big issue. My point being it is unfair to make it seem as if it is only in India. Then again, who cares. In the long wrong we’ll be the better for it. The common mistake is to view Hinduism as a “religion” based on “religious injunctions”, based on some “holy book” (like Christianity or Islam). It is not. Hinduism has scores books constantly feeding into it (the only part of Hindu spiritual literature that remains static are the Upanishads – which reveal fundamental operating principles of the Universe – which if they were to be rediscovered independently will be in all likelihood be the same). Not to mention, if Hindus were to use the same yard stick, they could pull copious amounts of quotes from Biblical or Islamic texts that not only oppresses or subjugates women, but are in fact barbaric (such as legitimizing the beating, killing, and rape of women). Here are some examples of status of women in Hindu society (in past and present) – bear in mind these are points for compare and contrast (again, Hindu society like any other has tremendous inequities when it comes to women; and at the same time women empowerment in India is progressing at a rate more than in developed nations):
    • India has had a number of Hindu women sages, leaders, and scholars. Christianity and Islam has had a very long barbaric record denying equal status to women. For example, while men claiming spiritual experiences were given the benefit of the doubt, women were branded as heretics or witches, subject to torture – exorcism, burnt alive, impaled, crucified. In stark contrast, in India, women – whether she be a “courtesan/prostitute” (Manimékhalai, 171 CE) or a “crazy half-naked poet” (Kāraikal Ammaiyār, 6 CE) have been recognized for their enlightenment and earned the status of great saints. Such has been unthinkable in Christian or Muslim culture even today. Often in Christianity women are elevated to sainthood only posthumously and if they have a few magnitudes more proof than their male counterparts.
    • India has had more women heads of state and members of parliament than any other country. India had her first stateswomen back in the 2nd century (Avvaiyār), and her works of state governance is another perenial wisdom that is still relevant and quoted today.
    • Female priests are making a comeback, particularly in the state of Kerala (and the trend is catching on in the Tamil Nadu as well). The fact that they can do it, and that at its growth rate, it will exceed the number of women priests in the Church and Mosques.
    • While it is not true that education automatically makes you liberated, it does open up the possibility of pursuing an independent career. The number of Hindu working woman with advanced degrees/skills – women engineers, scientists, businesswomen, politicians, etc. far exceeds that of any Christian or Muslim country. American women tend to not pursue advanced degrees because the conditionings in their society has not been conducive to such aspirations. Some are given only false/limited sense of being “liberated” – as they are confined to only a few choices like: marketing, administrative, secretarial, modeling, acting, nurse. Personal note: when I did my undergraduate (engineering) in India about 50% of the class were women, but in the USA I observed women were a significant minority (like less than 10%!) in most of the advanced science and engineering classes. I found that most of the women in the USA were in arts or soft sciences (like humanities, literature,  music, history).
    • How many business women, women doctors, or women scientists have penetrated the “glass ceiling” in the USA? If you don’t know, just ask any women in the USA what all she had to put up with to try to make it up the ladder.
    • While I’d like to point out that Goddess worship (God with female attributes) is very prevalent in India also as a supporting point… I won’t. As it really has very little to do with the liberation of women. Seriously, how many women are “liberated” by worshipping a Goddess (and how many men support that). I could understand it if Goddess worship was more genuine like in some of the non-patriarchal cultures (not much of which is left today), like those of Native Americans tribes, the Aborigines of Australia, most of the pagan and wiccan cultures of Eastern Europe and Russia, the Odiyathis and Aghorinis of Kerala, etc — where goddess worship did reflect empowerment and the liberated spirit of the women in those cultures. Having said that, at least Hindu culture allows for Goddess worship and hence is completely open to gender equality — both of which are almost blasphemous in Christianity and Islam (which have history of persecuting those who subscribe to such thoughts as heretics).

See Also

• Hindu Holocaust.
• The Missionary Aggression
• Non-Attribution
• [1] The Power of Yoga
• [2] 10,008 Lamps for World Peace
• India Today – Economy
• Caste System