US students petition against University of Columbia chairs for alleged ties with "rightwing" Hindu groups

By A Representative
In a significant development that has gone unnoticed, the USA’s prestigious University of California, Irvine's (UCI's) History Graduate Student Association has floated an online petition objecting to the formation of two chairs in South Asian studies, being instituted by the Dharma Civilization Foundation, declaring the organization has “ties to rightwing Hindu nationalist groups in India.”
One of the two is the Thakkar Family - Dharma Civilization Foundation Presidential Chair in Vedic and Indic Civilization Studies, which requires the chair have “the equivalent of native proficiency in Sanskrit and in at least one contemporary Indian language and deep familiarity with India, and Indian tradition.”
The second one is the Swami Vivekananda-DCF Presidential Chair in Modern India Studies, with the holder of the chair required to have “a brilliant academic record.... along with a significant record of publications in modern Indian intellectual, literary, and cultural traditions.”
Pointing out that “UCI Humanities has received/will receive 8 million dollars +), the agenda, the petition says, is to "create an academic and intellectual infrastructure for the systematic study of 'Dharma', 'Sanatana Dharma', 'Hindu Studies' and 'Indic Civilizational Studies'" and to "free" it from the "rubric of South Asian studies."
The issues raised in the petition include “threats, implicit or explicit, to faculty, staff and the academic community at large, compromising academic freedom and integrity in order to promote the agendas of a donor”, and “the silencing of Marxist, Feminist, Postcolonial, and Subaltern traditions in South Asian Studies.”
Signed by 362 persons, mainly students and faculty, the signatories said “public education must not be beholden to religious interests” (Kerri McCanna of Irvine, US), “gifts that are given for politically and ideologically, not to say, religiously, motivated reasons do not generally foster the university's mission to promote open, free discourse on opposing views and perspectives” (Lyle Massey, also of Irvine).
Then, Jyotsa Kapur of Carbondale, US, thanks the UCI faculty and students “for resisting the dangerous wave of selling education to the most moneyed and violent”, and Javed Majeed of UK underlines, “Indian civilisation is too valuable to be hijacked by religious ideologies distorting and denying its complexity.”
A local newspaper, “The Orange Country Register”, reports, “Critics worry that the Dharma Civilization Foundation seeks to place true believers in the Hindu faith into academia, might be trying to exert too much influence over hiring, and may be pressuring professors.”
The daily, however, says, “UCI is not the only American university to receive such gifts. At the University of Southern California, the Foundation funded a two-year Swami Vivekananda Visiting faculty in Hindu Studies position, costing $120,000 per year. It was filled by Rita Sherma, who the foundation describes as a ‘scholar-practitioner’.”
It adds, “It also funded the ‘Center for Dharma Studies’ at Claremont Lincoln University, which published the first online ‘International Journal of Dharma Studies’. And it is raising $3.3 million to establish a Swami Dayananda Saraswati Chair in Sanatan Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.”
The Dharma Civilization Foundation website, pointing towards the “need” for setting up such chairs across the US, states, “very high majority of the professors and scholars who study Hinduism academically are non-Hindus and non-practitioners of Hinduism. This has resulted in widespread incidence of misrepresentations of Hinduism, and mischaracterization of the traditions and practices within the Hindu fold.”
Examples cited by the Foundation include the application of Freudian analytical techniques to Hindu gods, goddesses and gurus, as well as Wendy Doniger’s book, “The Hindus – An Alternate History,” against which the RSS-outfit Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti sued publisher Penguin complaining that it was written “with a Christian Missionary Zeal and hidden agenda to denigrate Hindus” by “a woman hungry of sex.”
---
Click HERE to download agreement between UCI and Dharma Civilization Foundation

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Nepal votes amid regional rivalry: Why New Delhi is watching closely

By Nava Thakuria* As Nepal holds an early national election on Thursday (5 March 2026), the people of northeast India, along with other regional observers, are watching the proceedings closely. The vote was necessitated after the government of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli collapsed in September 2025 following widespread anti-government protests. The election will determine the composition of the 275-member House of Representatives, originally scheduled for 2027, under the stewardship of an interim government led by former Supreme Court justice Sushila Karki.

'Policy long overdue': Coalition of 29 experts tells JP Nadda to act on SC warning label order

By A Representative In a significant development for public health, the Supreme Court of India has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to seriously consider implementing mandatory front-of-pack warning labels on pre-packaged food products. The order, passed by a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan on February 10, 2026, comes as the Court expressed dissatisfaction with the regulatory body's progress on the issue.

Vaccination vs screening: Policy questions raised on cervical cancer strategy

By A Representative A public policy expert has written to Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda raising a series of concerns regarding the national Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign launched on February 28 for 14-year-old girls.

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Development vs community: New coal politics and old conflicts in Madhya Pradesh

By Deepmala Patel* The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?

The new anti-national certificate: If Arundhati Roy is the benchmark, count me in

By Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava* Dear MANIT Alumni Network Committee, “Are you anti-national?” I encountered this fascinating—some may say intimidating—question from an elderly woman I barely know, an alumna of Maulana Azad College of Technology (MACT, now Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology - MANIT), Bhopal, and apparently one of the founders of the MACT (now MANIT) Alumni Network. The authority with which she posed the question was striking. “How much anti-national are you? What have you done for the Alumni Network Committee to identify you as anti-national?” When I asked what “anti-national” meant to her and who was busy certifying me as such, the response came in counter-questions.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Minority concerns mount: RTI reveals govt funded Delhi religious meet in December

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Indian Muslims have expressed deep concern over what they describe as rising hate speech and hostility against their community under the BJP-led government in India. A recent flashpoint was the event organised by Sanatan Sanstha titled “Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnad Mahotsav” in New Delhi on 13–14 December 2025.

Search This Blog