Hinduism Today
Kauai, USA, May 26, 2003: Thomson Nelson, a school text publisher in Canada, is including two excerpts from Hinduism Today in its upcoming book “My Place in the World” for ninth graders. The book’s straightforward advocacy of religious tolerance is really quite remarkable, as shown by their choice of excerpts.
The first excerpt: “The following was published in Hinduism Today (March, 2002): ‘In Australia, Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop, Rev. Peter Jensen, at an August crusade shocked many with his comment that non-Christians and Buddhists in particular were brought to Australia by God to enable them to “share in the gospel of the Lord Jesus.” Vehement objections were published in The Sydney Herald. Dr. A. Balasubramaniam wrote, “Jensen’s comments are breathtaking in their arrogance. Christians do not enjoy a monopoly on the route to heaven.” ‘
“Student assignment: Write a short letter to Jensen expressing your views.”
The second excerpt: “Reporting fairly and accurately on the activities and beliefs of individuals of different faith traditions can be a challenge for reporters. For example, in 2001, the largest-ever Kumbha Mela was held in India. Some Hindus objected to the media coverage of this event by Western journalists stationed in India. Hinduism Today magazine had a detailed complaint:
” ‘Did journalists and photographers have a narrow depth of field? Sooner or later, some conscience-struck journalism student will finally send Hinduism Today a copy of “The Journalist’s Guide to Reporting on Hinduism.” We already know what is in it: “If you are a journalist posted to Delhi for a year, then proceed in sequence to report on the following items: child marriages, widow burning and abandonment, bride burning and beating, caste oppression, the Ram temple, Hindu fundamentalists, harassment of Christians, phony gurus, greedy priests and, when you really have nothing else to report, the rat temple. At no time in your reports shall you extol Hinduism or ever compare any of these topics to identical or parallel issues in the West, such as teenage pregnancies, abuse of the aged, domestic violence, racial and ethnic discrimination, Christian fundamentalists, harassment of religious minorities, disgraced preachers, pedophile priests, or even the pervasive mistreatment of laboratory rats.” ‘
“The quotation makes clear how easily Western journalists can fall into the trap of presenting the same old picture of India to their readers. And it raises a question for anyone living in Canada as to how accurately we understand India and other foreign nations.”