An engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the worlds oldest major religions, the hindus elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds. The hindus an alternative history by wendy doniger penguin books november 2010 isbn10. An alternative history was withdrawn from circulation by penguin india this week after a legal battle with a. Feb 15, 2014 arundhati roy on bbc newsday dated 14.
Feb 03, 2014 doniger concludes with four concise autobiographical essays in which she reflects on her lifetime of scholarship, hindu criticism of her work, and the influence of hinduism on her own philosophy of life. A scholar of sanskrit and indian textual traditions, her major works include, asceticism and eroticism in the mythology of siva. Fight back and reclaim wendy doniger s valuable book taken away from you by a spineless publisher and the fundamentalists they made a deal with. Buy wendy doniger ebooks to read online or download in pdf or epub on your pc, tablet or mobile device. A critique of wendy doniger the hindus an alternative. Her courses in mythology address themes in crosscultural expanses, such as death, dreams, evil, horses, sex, and women. Wendy doniger is the mircea eliade distinguished service professor of the history of religions at the university of chicago and the author of over 30 books, most recently the hindus. Censorship by the batra brigade nyr, may 8, wendy doniger touches on a number of issues when it comes to the academic study of religion and larger questions of representation. Wendy donigers enthralling and encyclopaedic book reveals her vision of a hindu culture that is plural, varied, generous, and inclusive.
This is a republication of a 2010 essay is authored by shyam n. Fight back and reclaim wendy donigers valuable book taken away from you by a spineless publisher and the fundamentalists they made a deal with. Ive just finished wendy donigers in famous the hindus. I had written this for facebook, reproducing it here.
Dec 23, 2019 wendy doniger oflaherty born november 20, is an american indologist whose professional career has spanned five decades. Fight back and take back wendy donigers valuable book taken away from you by a spineless publisher and the fundamentalists they made a. If you are drawn to read wendy donigers the hindus as i was because you see in hinduism an example of a culturalspiritual tradition that has managed to keep alive right into modern times a view of a sacred universe sacred time, sacred geography, sacred cosmology, sacred social customs and social roles, sacred geometry and. Wendy donigers research and teaching interests revolve around two basic areas, hinduism and mythology. You think the free world out there is so damn stupid that it cant. Liberals came out protesting the penguin and also sees it as threat to free speech. In this magisterial volume of essays, wendy doniger enhances our understanding of the ancient and complex religion to which she has devoted herself for half a century this series of interconnected essays and lectures surveys the most critically important and hotly contested issues in hinduism over 3,500 years, from the ancient time of the vedas to the present. Wendy donigers book on hinduism the right wing muslims made such a fuss about salman rushdie, most of them did not even read the book satanic verses, or even know that it was in english. T his publication, on hinduism, has also attracted unjustified criticism from hindutvavadis. An alternative history is a book by american indologist, wendy doniger which the author describes as an alternative to the narrative of hindu history that they tell. Rare ancient hinduism books to download all pdf vedic press. This is not a pipe rene magritte this is not wendy donigers the hindus. Pdf the hindus an alternative history wendy doniger. There has been much handwringing in india about wendy donigers book, the hindus.
Mar, 2014 there has been much handwringing in india about wendy donigers book, the hindus. In this magisterial volume of essays, wendy doniger enhances our understanding of the ancient and complex religion to which she has devoted herself for half a century this series of interconnected essays and lectures surveys the most critically important and hotly contested issues in hinduism over 3,500 years, from the ancient time of the vedas to the present day. Wendy donigerss anti hindu hate thesis its ganesas trunk is the displaced phallus, a caricature of sivas linga. From one of the worlds foremost scholars on hinduism, a vivid reinterpretation of its history an engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and my. Pdf the hindus an alternative history wendy doniger ripu. She brings a multiplicity of actors and stories to the stage to show how brilliant, creativeand often subversivethinkers have kept hinduism alive and dynamic through the ages. Wendy doniger oflaherty born november 20, is an american indologist whose professional career has spanned five decades. Feb says this move by penguin marks a dismaying shift in submitting to the growing atmosphere of. Finally, i am glad that, in the age of the internet, it is no longer.
Through this magisterial volume which she calls the book of my books wendy doniger, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most original scholars of. Wendy doniger and the hindus by murali balaji the new. Wendy donigers the hindus recalled by penguin india time. The earliest of the four hindu religious scriptures known as the vedas, and the first extensive composition to survive in any indoeuropean language, the rig. Dec 04, 2017 121 rare hinduism books ancient books that are not present today. May 07, 20 through this magisterial volume which she calls the book of my books wendy doniger, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most original scholars of hinduism, enlarges our understanding. The real reason wendy donigers book on hindus was banned in. Wendy doniger s book on hinduism the right wing muslims made such a fuss about salman rushdie, most of them did not even read the book satanic verses, or even know that it was in english. On hinduism is the culmination of over forty years of scholarship from a renowned expert on one of the worlds great faiths. Wendy doniger social thought the university of chicago. Author bio wendy doniger is the mircea eliade distinguished service professor of the history of religions in the divinity school at the university of chicago, where she is also a professor of south.
Dont miss this equivalent of a brilliant graduate course froma feisty and exhilarating teacher. After severe backlash in india and a court case that ended last. The glorious drops that i have drunk set me free in wide space 8. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. She frames the debate over her book, as well as other topics when it comes to hinduism, as one between hindu rightwing activists and scholars. What exactly is wendy donigers agenda about the hindu. An alternative history after three, maybe four months.
Dec 01, 2016 wendy donigerss anti hindu hate thesis its ganesas trunk is the displaced phallus, a caricature of sivas linga. Hinduism, in her view, is an intricate weave of the diverse localities and communities of indian culture. It poses no threat because it is too large, flaccid, and in the wrong place to be useful for sexual purposes. Scholars and intellectuals across the board are critical and worried about penguins. The book was initially published by viking penguin in 2009 and later in india by penguins indian subsidiary, penguin india. Oct 26, 2015 with immense skill wendy doniger illuminates those moments within the hindu tradition that resist forces that would standardize or establish a canon. Doniger, a scholar of religion and professor at the university of chicago, wrote the hindus. Blowing up the sexuality and inconsistencies present in any ancient religious text out of all proportions, doniger published the book as if to offer an alternative history against the established wisdom of the times. In the light of foregoing, it is incumbent upon contemporary hindus and hindu scholars to regain the initiative and using indigenous historiography and cognitive categories and to institute a framework to generate in multiple volumes a genuine and authentic history of the hindus from an insiders perspective.
As doniger points out in her statement, readers in and outside india are still free to download the hindus on kindle. While in high school, she studied dance under george balanchine and martha graham. Mar 26, 2020 wendy doniger was born in new york in and trained as a dancer under shiva. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. Feb says this move by penguin marks a dismaying shift in submitting to the growing atmosphere of intolerance. The hindus an alternative history is an utterly wonderful book. Wendy doniger dropped a bombshell on indian intellectual circles with her 2009 book the hindus an alternative history. Donigers book provided me a great historical overview of hinduism. This groundbreaking work elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds, the inner life and the social history of hindus. Working with available light time and space in india.
Doniger, who teaches at the university of chicago and has written nearly half a dozen books on hinduism, including a translation of the kama sutra, was writing about how her 2009 book the hindus. The author, wendy doniger, has two doctorates, one in sanskrit and one in indian studies, so she is exceedingly well qualified to write meaningfully on this topic. But the buying a book online feels like something of a hollow victory if hard. Wendy doniger was born in new york city to immigrant nonobservant jewish parents, and raised in great neck, new york, where her father, lester l. Wendy doniger was born in new york in and trained as a dancer under shiva. Wendy doniger has impressive credentials with two doctorates, in sanskrit and indian studies, from harvard and oxford universities. Yet the greatness of hinduismits vitality, its earthiness, its vividnesslies precisely in many of those idiosyncratic qualities that. The earliest of the four hindu religious scriptures known as the vedas, and the first extensive composition to survive in any indoeuropean language, the rig veda c. Oct 30, 2015 wendy doniger, the 74yearold american author and research scholar in sanskrit is moreover known for the high regard she has had for indian tradition. The washington post an engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth, the hindus offers a new way of understanding one of the worlds oldest major. This is not wendy donigers the hindus an alternative history. Sep 30, 2010 an engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the worlds oldest major religions, the hindus elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds. With immense skill wendy doniger illuminates those moments within the hindu tradition that resist forces that would standardize or establish a canon. Nov 30, 2010 wendy doniger s enthralling and encyclopaedic book reveals her vision of a hindu culture that is plural, varied, generous, and inclusive.
Ive labored all my adult life in the paddy fields of sanskrit, doniger has written 16 books, translated primarily from sanskrit to english with commentary nine other volumes, has contributed to many edited texts and has written hundreds of articles in journals, magazines and newspapers. Many of its central texts cannot be reliably dated within a century. Right or wrong, wendy donigers the hindus should be. Wendy doniger has 73 books on goodreads with 35307 ratings. Doniger concludes with four concise autobiographical essays in which she reflects on her lifetime of scholarship, hindu criticism of her work, and the influence of hinduism on her own philosophy of life. Wendy doniger, the 74yearold american author and research scholar in sanskrit is moreover known for the high regard she has had for indian tradition.
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