Studying Hinduism Through an Indian Lens

Hindu Studies Centres seek to examine the tradition through indigenous knowledge systems rather than Western academic frameworks.

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In many universities across the world, religion-based philosophy is taught with a critical and analytical approach. Prestigious Ivy League institutions like Harvard University have dedicated schools such as the Harvard Divinity School, where Hindu religion and philosophy are taught—often by foreign scholars. Similarly, many universities host Centres for Religious Studies or South Asian Studies, where Hinduism and its philosophical traditions are studied. The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is one such institution fully devoted to Hindu studies, offering numerous online courses to Indian, international, and diaspora students. Many Hindu industrialists contribute financially to such centres. However, it is important to note that these institutions largely follow Western research methodologies.

This raises an important question: why should there not be institutions, centres, or university departments in India that study Hinduism based on Indian research methodologies and knowledge systems? Indian universities have long-established departments for Islamic Studies, Buddhist Studies, and Jainology. However, similar efforts for Hindu studies have either not been made or have been discouraged. A compromise often adopted is to name such departments “Indian Studies” instead of explicitly using the term "Hindu".

It is said that a few years ago, a university declined a donation for establishing a Hindu Studies centre simply because the name “Hindu” was not acceptable. This reflects certain ideological tendencies that have existed in higher education.

Against this backdrop, through the efforts of the vice-chancellor and members of the management council of the University of Mumbai, a Hindu philosophy study centre was established in February 2022, later renamed the Hindu Studies Centre. The challenge then was to design curricula free from Western dominance and rooted in Indian knowledge systems and indigenous research methodologies.

In the same year, the University Grants Commission proposed that universities across India adopt a standardised curriculum for Hindu studies centres. Consequently, the Hindu Studies Centre at the University of Mumbai launched an M.A. programme in Hindu Studies. Additionally, programmes such as an M.A. in Keertan Shastra (Marathi tradition), a Postgraduate Diploma in Temple Management, and three online courses based on the Bhagavad Gita were introduced.

The M.A. in Hindu Studies includes subjects such as Dharma, Purusharthas, Rin (debts), epistemology (Pramana-Mimamsa), Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Bhakti traditions, Sanskrit, rebirth, Karma theory, and the six classical systems of philosophy (Shad Darshanas). Temple management studies include infrastructure, environmental sustainability, disaster management, welfare schemes, and crowd management.

Recent films have portrayed that Hindus often have very limited knowledge of their own religion. When such uninformed youth step onto the global stage, they may become confused, misled, or influenced by misinformation. Therefore, initiatives like Hindu Studies Centres must be widely embraced by the Hindu community.

These centres do not focus on rituals or religious practices but instead aim to develop a perspective on society, encourage harmonious social engagement, prevent intellectual manipulation, promote life values, and advocate an eco-friendly way of living. If we fail to support such initiatives, then the effort to build a scholarly, Indian, knowledge-based understanding of Hinduism will go in vain—and that would be truly unfortunate.

(The writer is a professor at Mumbai University. Views personal.)