American Hindu Activism and the Politics of Anxiety Arun Chaudhuri A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Anthropology York University Toronto, Ontario September 2012 © Arun Chaudhuri, 2012 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-92758-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-92758-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract This study of contemporary American Hindu activism is based upon fieldwork undertaken in New York City over twelve months spanning 2008-2009. Focusing on the public manifestations and contestations of American Hindu political concerns, it draws upon interviews, informal and formal conversations, participant observation at public events such as demonstrations and academic conferences, and extensive reviews of documentary and virtual sources. The transnational concerns and anxieties regarding the idea of Hindutva and its associated Indian state-building project of the 1980s and 1990s form part of the backdrop of this study and its consideration of the forms of political Hinduism both emerging and diverging from this context. A primary focus is on the social and political climate of the post-9/11 era and the anxieties that are generated by concerns about national security, questions of belonging, discourses of fundamentalism and, in summary, what Brian Massumi terms the "ambient" quality of threat pervading this context. The dissertation calls attention to the multiple, shifting, and often contradictory ways by which a climate of'threat' becomes re-inscribed in the discourses of multiculturalism that shape the identities and practices that are described in the thesis. Acknowledgements This note is to offer thanks to all the different people who have, in many different ways, contributed to, and helped shape, this work. I owe thanks to the many individuals and organizations who shared their views, stories, and resources during the course of my research. I owe many thanks to Dr. Daniel Yon, who supervised not only this work, but a significant part of my academic development, for his support and direction. I would also like thank, and acknowledge the support of, Dr. Kenneth Little, Dr. Michael Nijhawan, the staff and faculty of the Department of Anthropology at York University, Dr. Balbinder Singh Bhogal, the Department of Religion at Hofstra University, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. A very special thanks goes to Preethy Sivakumar, whose support goes beyond what I'm able to name or count. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1 - The specter of Hindutva: stories and theories of political Hinduism ........... 1 ‘Hindu’ and 'Hinduism': the origin of essence and the essence of origin ...................................5 Hinduism, nation, Hindutva ......................................................................................................... 13 Expanding Hindutva and its responses ...................................................................................... 19 Religion, ideology, and political formations ...............................................................................27 Researching American Hindu activism .......................................................................................41 Chapter 2 - Hinduism in America: organization & expansion ......................................... 52 Changing landscapes post-65 ......................................................................................................53 Organizing Hinduism ....................................................................................................................55 Public Hinduism and American Hindutva in the 1990s ............................................................62 American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) .........................................................................65 Hindu Students Council (HSC) .....................................................................................................68 Transnational Hindutva ...............................................................................................................73 Disavowing Hindutva: American Hindu activism beyond the 1990s.......................................76 Chapter 3 - Claiming Hindu India ....................................................................................... 87 The Human Empowerment Convention (HEC) ..........................................................................90 Hindu Unity Day ..........................................................................................................................106 Claiming Hindu India ................................................................................................................. 116 Chapter 4 - Persecution in public: street protests and emergent trajectories of American Hindu activism ...................................................................................................126 Dis/engaging American publics ................................................................................................ 129 Free speech, mafia hits, and claiming American-ness ............................................................. 137 Ephemeral organizing & cosmopolitanism swarms ............................................................... 151 Claiming the American Hindu ................................................................................................... 167 Chapter 5 - Identity, representation, and the politics of anxiety ..................................171 Academia, psychoanalysis, and the new frontier of threat .....................................................174 ‘Misrepresentation’ and mobilization ...................................................................................... 183 Invading the Sacred ....................................................................................................................195 Threat, persecution, and becoming Hindu ...............................................................................201 American menace and chance .................................................................................................. 210 Invading beyond the sacred ......................................................................................................215 Epilogue: facts of the matter .....................................................................................................222 Chapter 6 - Concluding remarks ...................................................................................... 229 Appendix A: Organizations & Acronyms ......................................................................... 240 Notes ...................................................................................................................................241 References ..........................................................................................................................268 1 Chapter 1 - The specter of Hindutva: stories and theories of political Hinduism In the days following the intense media frenzy and public fervor of the 2008 American presidential elections, a smaller frenzy began brewing among South Asians and Hindus in the U.S. over the cast of characters ushered in alongside America’s first black president. The appointment of Sonal Shah, an American economist of Gujarati background, to the transition team responsible for setting up the new Obama administration spurred intense reactions of both praise and consternation. The praise for Shah’s appointment came from an assortment of American Indian and Hindu organizations claiming pride in having an Indian play such a