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Contesting Hinduism in the Electronic Public Sphere Contesting Hinduism in the electronic public sphere Juli L. Gittinger Faculty of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal April 2015 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Juli L. Gittinger, 2015 Gittinger 0 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Methodology 8 Sources and field of data 13 Authority and authenticity 16 Chapter summaries 18 Contributions of this thesis 20 Chapter One – Literature Review and Definition of Terms Introduction 24 ‘Religion’ and ‘World Religion’ 26 Defining ‘Hinduism’ 31 Hinduism as a political category 36 Globalization and intensification 38 Common culture and digital divides 46 Conclusion 51 Chapter Two – The idea of a Hindu community Introduction 53 Community and Nation 55 ‘Hindu community’ 63 Hindu nationalism and Hindutva 68 Production and consumption of Hindu media 71 English language and the Indian public sphere 75 Forging a Hindu community: the Ram Janmabhumi movement 86 Conclusion 93 Chapter Three – The idea of a ‘Hindu nation’ in nationalist rhetoric Introduction 94 A ‘digital hermeneutic’ 95 The discursive construction of a Hindu raṣṭra 101 The (re)telling of history 112 Conclusion 122 Chapter Four – The tensions of authority and authenticity Introduction 125 Authority of the ‘insider’ 126 Gittinger i Authority/authenticity through replication and repetition 133 ‘Authentic’ Hinduism 137 Online/Offline influences: “Western Universalism” and Hindu Nationalism 144 Case study: the “Internet Hindus” 154 An interview with an Internet Hindu 164 Conclusion 173 Concluding Thoughts 175 Bibliography 181 Appendix: Data and surveys 196 Gittinger ii List of figures Figure 1 Screenshot of homepage of Vishva Hindu Parishad, January 2015 97 Figure 2 Screenshot of web crawling graphs of Hindu Unity website by year, with 2001 highlighted 103 Figure 3 Screenshot of web crawling frequency of Hindu Unity website after September 11, 2001 103 Figure 4 Screenshot of web crawling traffic for VHP-America after September 11, 2001 104 Figure 5 Home page of BJP website, 1996 105 Figure 6 Hindutva page of BJP website, 1999-2000 107 Figure 7 Home page of BJP website, 2011 to 2013 108 Figure 8 “Hinduism is…” Anonymous search on Google, 2013 175 Gittinger iii Abstract (English) Defining terms such as ‘religion’ or ‘Hinduism’ for academic disquisition has been and continues to be a highly contested process. Hinduism in particular, with its plurality of traditions and enormous history, resists concrete categories and definitions. Yet, in the electronic public sphere, ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hinduism’ are not merely contested as academic descriptor terms which are sedimented with Orientalism, universalism, and/or idealism, but are signifiers which are very consciously presented, promoted, and managed by Hindu nationalist groups in effort to control the discourse on Hinduism in both India and abroad. This dissertation raises several questions: How is the problematic category of Hinduism contested in the electronic public sphere, and by whom? What does the presentation of ‘Hindu community’ presume? How have media contributed to the discourse of an ‘authentic’ Hinduism? How are claims of ‘authenticity’ and ‘authority’ made? How is Hindu cyber activism, which is responding to these claims, bolstered by Hindu nationalist discourses? This research is framed by an engagement with existing scholarship on “Hinduism” as a problematic category, and tracing the development of the (English speaking) public sphere in India through the rise of various media. Contemporary examples of these tensions, such as the recent Wendy Doniger controversy, will be visited throughout to further highlight the importance of this analysis. This research exposes tensions in the English-speaking public sphere of the Web and thereby calls for and facilitates a deeper appreciation of the importance of online discourse in Hinduism in shaping contemporary nationalist discourse on Hinduism. Gittinger iv Résumé (français) Définition des termes tels que «religion» ou «hindouisme» pour dissertation académique a été et continue d'être un processus très contesté. L'hindouisme en particulier, avec son pluralité des traditions et une énorme histoire, résiste catégories concrètes et définitions. Pourtant, dans la sphère publique électronique, «hindoue» et «hindouisme» ne sont pas seulement attaquée termes descripteurs universitaires qui sont sédimentées avec l'orientalisme, l'universalisme, et / ou l'idéalisme, mais sont signifiants qui sont très consciemment présentés, promus, et géré par groupes nationalistes hindous dans le but de contrôler le discours sur l'hindouisme en Inde et à l'étranger. Cette thèse soulève plusieurs questions: Comment la catégorie problématique de l'hindouisme est contestée dans la sphère publique électronique, et par qui? Qu'est-ce que la présentation de «communauté hindoue» présume? Comment les médias a contribué au discours d'un «authentique» l'hindouisme? Comment revendications de «l'authenticité» et «autorité» sont faites? Comment l'activisme de cyber hindoue, qui répond à ces demandes, est soutenue par des discours nationalistes hindous? Cette recherche est encadrée par un engagement avec la bourse existante sur "l'hindouisme" comme une catégorie problématique, et retraçant l'évolution de la sphère publique (anglophone) en Inde à travers la montée de divers médias. Des exemples contemporains de ces tensions, telles que la récente controverse Wendy Doniger, seront visités tout au long de souligner davantage l'importance de cette analyse. Cette recherche expose les tensions dans la sphère publique anglophone du Web et de ce fait demande et facilite une meilleure appréciation de l'importance du discours en ligne dans l'hindouisme dans l'élaboration de discours nationaliste contemporaine sur l'hindouisme. Gittinger v Acknowledgments This dissertation and my time at McGill would not be possible without the generous financial support from McGill University (the Provost’s and the President’s Doctoral Fellowships), from the Faculty of Religious Studies (Graduate Excellence Fellowships), and from the Eugene McBurney Foundation Fellowship. I am also grateful to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s “Faith and Globalization Initiative” with whom I have worked for three years as both project assistant and teaching fellow. I would like to thank my advisor, Davesh Soneji, who has proved to be an invaluable model for my doctoral process and is a brilliant and inspiring scholar. His wealth of knowledge on post-colonial and contemporary issues in India has been very helpful, and I am privileged to have worked with him at McGill. I would also like to thank Andrea Pinkney for her attentive guidance and thoughtful insights on the final editing process. I have also had the pleasure of learning from wonderful professors in Montreal, including Victor Hori, Leslie Orr, Davesh Soneji, Lara Braitstein, Jim Kanaris, and Narendra Subramanian. I can confidently say they each influenced my education in profound ways. Other friends and colleagues who have offered guidance, read through early drafts, shared their own work, collaborated, or contributed to my professional development at this phase in my academic career include: Daniel Cere, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Arvind Sharma, Fatima Seedat, Richard Greydanus, Shital Sharma, and Shayna Sheinfeld. I cannot express how eternally grateful I am to Ellen Aitken, the Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies during my time at McGill, who was my professional mentor and cheerfully supported me in my many endeavors in her department. By including me in the Faith and Globalization Initiative at McGill, she introduced me to a new area of scholarship and Gittinger vi discourse that is now an important part of my work. I feel fortunate to have been at McGill during her time, and it is with great sadness that I take my final steps in the PhD process in her absence. Most of all, I thank my family who have stood by my decision to return to school and pursue a PhD at a late age, and who have been my cheering section since I returned to school in 2002. It was a monumental decision, and one that has not come without a price. They have enthusiastically supported the choices I have made and I could not have done this without them. Gittinger vii Introduction Dear Hindu Brethren, Nowadays, Hindus are often being humiliated by Politicians, Muslims, and Christians. Also, some of the organizations related to dalits, which instead of promoting welfare of dalits (who are also Hindus), are spreading hatred about Hinduism. Bharat is a secular country, but politicians support the minorities and adopt anti-Hindu policies… If we wish that this situation should change, then we need to awaken Hindus and make them aware of such facts and gear them up for action. Thus, the need to start a Cyber Activist Group. We need to stand united to save the Hindu Dharma and culture. The Internet is the best medium to reach the youth. You can join our group of Hindutva Supporters, if you wish to actively participate in this noble task…. “Call to join Cyber activist group,” Hindu Janajagruti website, 2012. The message is clear: Hinduism is under attack. Perhaps not from proselytization (as during the British colonial era), nor from conversion (as during Mughal periods), but from the media who are responsible for “ongoing conspiracies to destroy their [Hindus’] existence.” According to its website, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (“Committee for the Hindu Renaissance,”
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