So you’re saying there’s no such thing as Hinduphobia.

Yes. It’s just a cover for Hindu nationalism.

What do you think Hindu nationalism is?

The violent, oppressive movement to make a Hindu-only India.

Does Hindu nationalism make you afraid?

Yes. And angry.

(1/n)
Are you afraid of Hindus who don’t agree with your views about Hindu nationalism?

Yes. They’re dangerous.

So you’re afraid of (some) Hindus and you’re afraid of Hindu nationalism, but you don’t think Hinduphobia - the fear of Hindus - exists?

(2/n)
That’s intellectually dishonesty. My fear is rational.

How do you know it’s rational?

Because it’s based on facts.

Where are you getting your facts about Hindu nationalism?

From news sources and friends that I trust.

And are news sources and friends ever biased?

(3/n)
Sure.

And has fear and the media and word of mouth ever been used to spread hateful propaganda about and justify violence towards a group of people, particularly who come from non-dominant groups and people who lead lifestyles that go against the norm?

(4/n)
Yes, of course. But Hindus are a majority in India. Hindus are the oppressors.

Hindus are a demographic majority. But are they systemically, legally privileged in a way that oppresses other communities?

Yes.

(5/n)
Can you give some examples?

The Citizenship Amendment Act denies Muslims citizenship.

Have you read it?

No. I don't need to.

Ahh...you know this from your news sources and your friends.

(6/n)
Yes, and from South Asian Studies scholars.

Mhm. Has scholarship ever been used to oppress and colonize groups of people by making them look barbaric and in need of intervention?

Yes.

(7/n)
But wasn’t that considered scientific and rigorous scholarship at the time, since it came from the Academy?

Yes. But it was obviously racist and bigoted.

How do you know that? How did the Academy begin to change?

(8/n)
Because people objected to it and showed how colonizing and racist the scholarship was.

But until then, the scholarship and the media portrayals of those people created fear about them that changed the way people looked at them.

Yes.

(9/n)
Would you call that an irrational fear?

Yes.

Does irrational fear change the way people see things?

Yes. But, like I said, my fear is based on facts and scholarship.

(10/n)
Did the colonizing, racist scholars we discussed before object to this dissent about their theories and claim they were the authorities?

Probably.

Is it possible that this is what is happening in Indology and South Asian studies departments?

(11/n)
No, because “Hindutva” is trying to rewrite history.

Who is telling you that?

The media and the scholarship.

(12/n)
Have you listened and read closely the objections to the popular media portrayals and scholarship about Hinduism and India? I’m not talking about social media. I mean the work of really thoughtful, balanced scholars.

They’re all “Hindutva”.

All of them?

Yes.

(13/n)
You mean to tell me that there could be no reasonable and valid counternarratives to the prevailing notion in the media and in scholarship that Hindus are trying to take over India and make it a Hindu-only state that isn’t Hindutva?

No.

(14/n)
Are there any other measures you've taken to do your due diligence to make sure that your fear of Hindus and Hindu nationalism isn’t based on biased media, propaganda, hearsay, and narrow-minded scholarship?

It’s all “Hindutva”.

(15/n)
So you’re telling me that you're afraid of Hindus and Hindu nationalism, but that Hinduphobia doesn’t exist. You won’t take any counternarratives or dissenting scholarship seriously. You won’t reflect critically on your fear to discover if it's irrational & whether or not (16/n)
it's based on biased scholarship and being inundated with curated media that is telling you to be afraid of Hindus. But you do agree that this tactic has been used before to justify demonizing entire categories of people towards nefarious ends.

It’s all “Hindutva”.

(17/17)
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