[Buddha-l] religion in power

[Dan Lusthaus]

While this is about Hinduism and an American scholar (who used to be my
colleague some years ago when I taught at Macalester College in St Paul,
MN -- Jim is still there), it has implications for our field, and shows that
religious crazies gaining political control is not a problem restricted to
the USA. It's a cautionary tale (not Erik's fear-mongering) to all of us.

For those unfamiliar with Jim Laine and his two books on Shivaji, and the
major ruckus they have caused in India, the newest wrinkle is the actual
confiscation of his books in Maharashtra, including and especially in the
otherwise liberal city of Mumbai (Bombay).

For background see

http://www.complete-review.com/quarterly/vol5/issue1/laine0.htm

http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-bhagwan300304.htm

http://news.indiainfo.com/2006/01/10/1001maha-ban-james-laine-book.html

and Prime Minister Vajpayee's opinion on all this back in 2004.
http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/nation/2004/march/79192.htm
Do check out the links at the bottom of this page if you are unfamiliar with
the major riots and destruction caused not that many years ago when Jim's
first book came out.

The following was distributed a few of days ago on the H-Net list. Apologies
from cross-posting to those who are also h-asia subscribers.

H-ASIA
January 10, 2006

Police ban and confiscation of _Epic of Shivaji_ by James Laine
***********************************************************************
From: Frank Conlon <conlon at u.washington.edu>

Today it was reported via Mumbainet from _Times of India_ that the second
book by the American scholar James Laine entitled _Epic of Shivaji_ had
been banned and was being confiscated by the Mumbai police.

MUMBAI: The city police have launched a state-wide drive to confiscate and
seize American scholar James Laine's controversial book, Epic of Shivaji,
after the Maharashtra government banned the book following some derogatory
remarks in it about the warrior king.

DGP P S Pasricha said orders to seize the book have been issued all over
the state after the ban on Monday. Epic of Shivaji is the second book on
the Maratha king by Laine, whose earlier tome, Shivaji:

The Hindu King in Islamic India, was also ordered out of circulation by
the state government in January 2004 for containing derogatory remarks on
the Shivaji's parentage.

The book had triggered agitations in some areas in the state, and
activists of the Sambhaji Brigade and Maratha Mahasangh had ransacked
Pune-based Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in early 2004.

Subsequently, the state government had registered cases under the IPC
against the Minnesota-based professor of religious studies for
inflammatory writing.

This is reported as in the _Times of India_ for January 11, 2006.

The work in question is Laine's translation of the _Sivabharata_, a
Sanskrit epic poem on the ruler's ancestors and his early feats,
composed during Shivaji's lifetime by his court-poet Kavindra
Parmananda.  The published book includes an introduction by Laine and an
essay by S. S. Bahulkar on the place of the _Sivabharata_ in the
traditions of 'mahakavya' literature.

Bibliographic details are:

The epic of Shivaji / Kavindra Paramananda's Sivabh¯arata ; translation
and study by James W. Laine in collaboration with S.S. Bahulkar
(Hyderabad : Orient Longman, 2001)
ISBN 8125020462

I am not quite sure why this campaign has commenced now, five years after
publication, but perhaps some members may have further information.  Based
on my observations during a brief visit to Mumbai in late December, I
suspect one may see a number of political acts overtly in support of the
Maharashtra emphasis of certain political groups, notably Shiv Sena, which
is being roiled at the moment by the breakaway of Raj Thackray, the nephew
of Bal Thackray.  Recently in Pune there was an agitation against
signboards in English, notably of Domino Pizza's shop, apparently promoted
by Raj Thackray's rival.


Frank Conlon
University of Washington