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It was highly inappropriate and insensitive for the newspaper of a public research university to blatantly belittle Hinduism .
‘ Inappropriate and insensitive ’
USYD to investigate student newspaper article critiquing Hinduism .
By Wade Zaglas
The University of Sydney will
review an article that appeared in its student newspaper Honi Soit following a backlash from the Hindu community .
The article , titled How a Nation of Mystics , Occultists , and Yogis became “ Hindus ”, has been labelled “ unnecessarily disparaging and trivialising [ to ] Hinduism ”, according to World Hindu News .
The author of the Honi Soit article , Vish Lingam , who himself grew up in a Hindu family , makes several arguments in the piece , calling Hinduism a culture rather than a “ theocentric religion ” and a “ colonial era invention ”.
“ Hinduism can be better understood as a culture built upon spiritual teachings rather than a theocentric religion ,” he says .
“ The only problem with this , however , is that Hinduism can be better understood as a culture only because it was never supposed to be a God worshiping religion in the first place . Hinduism is not a 4000-year-old religion , it ’ s a 200-year-old colonial era invention .”
The author of the article also questions whether there is a “ coherent ‘ Hindu ’ identity at all ”.
“ For other major religions , such as Islam and Christianity , the identity of a follower is clear : one who believes in the doctrines expounded in the Holy books and acts according to the path laid out by a Prophet . Hinduism , however , has no single Holy book or Prophet ,” he says .
“ It fits under the categorisation of religion only because it demands faith in something beyond the physical world , but it does not demand devotion or sacrifice to a God for the promise of salvation or damnation .
“ For example , Hinduism expounds the idea of Karma but does not demand that you must act ‘ good ’ in order to score points with a God .”
Rajan Zed , who is the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism , has spearheaded the protest against the article , arguing that a university funded by tax dollars and student fees ( many of whom are Hindu ) should refrain from “ callously promoting dismissal of traditions ” and “ deriding entire communities ”.
“ Such an unwarranted and twisted misstatement , caricaturing and misrepresenting a religion revered by many , coming out of a public educational institution was really shocking for the hard-working , harmonious and peaceful Hindu community , which had made a lot of contributions to Australia and society in general ,” Zed said .
In an email to Zed , the university ’ s principal and vice-chancellor , Dr Michael Spence , addressed concerns the article may have triggered “ distress ” in the Hindu community and said that Zed ’ s complaint would be referred .
“ I appreciate that this article has caused you distress and has potentially upset other members of the Hindu community ,” Spence said .
“ Any form of religious vilification or discrimination – language , imagery or behaviour – is unacceptable on our campuses , and I want to reassure you that the university will consider this matter seriously .
“ I have referred your complaint to the University Registrar and Academic Director , Professor Peter McCallum . The Student Affairs Unit will keep you informed about the progress of this complaint .”
After receiving the email from Spence , Zed thanked the vice-chancellor and the university “ for understanding the concerns of the Hindu community ”. Zed added that it “ was highly inappropriate and insensitive for the newspaper of a public research university to blatantly belittle Hinduism , the world ’ s oldest and third largest religion with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought ”.
In addition to reviewing the article , Zed has recommended that the university and its Student Representative Council “ re-evaluate its systems and procedures ” and send Honi Soit editors for cultural sensitivity training . He also took a swipe at the student newspaper ’ s claim that it has produced “ quality student journalism since 1929 ”.
The president of the Universal Society of Hinduism emphasised that Hindus support free speech and artistic expression but consider faith to be sacred and beyond trivialising .
According to the 2016 census , Hindus formed 1.9 per cent of Australia ’ s population , equating to 440,300 people . ■
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