Thursday, January 28, 2021

Comments on Mathangi Subramanian's article Why I Separated My Indian Identity from My Hindu Identity

A friend on Facebook alerted us to this article Why I Separated My Indian Identity from My Hindu Identity by Dr. Mathangi Subramanian (she has an Ed.D. degree, like Jill Biden), which was published on harpersbazaar.com.  After reading the article, I was indignant about her false comments about Hinduism and wrote to her via the contact form on her web site.  To put my comments in context, please read Mathangi Subramanian's article in full.

Here are the comments that I sent to Mathangi Subramanian:

If all you can say was that “the judge was pleased that a high caste family like ours was adopting a child like my daughter,” I fail to understand why he was casteist. He supported adoption across social groups. You didn’t say anything about casting natal charts.

I am sorry, but it seems that you have bought into the trope of Brahminical oppression of lower castes and indigenous people. Colonizers defamed Brahmins as they formed the intellectual elites. By destroying Brahmins, they sought to break Hindu society. I compare this to persecution of intellectuals under Pol Pot or Mao. Read The Colonial Genesis of Anti-Brahminism, https://pragyata.com/the-colonial-genesis-of-anti-brahminism/, by Ram Swarup.

You claim that PM Narendra Modi weaponized high-caste Brahmins against Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslims. I find this funny (both funny-odd and funny-hilarious), because Modi is from an Other Backward Class (OBC) caste. President Ram Nath Kovind is a Dalit who was born in a mud hut.

And here is her smart-alecky reply to the email she got: 


Failing to get a reply from Ms. Subramanian, I wrote to:
  1. Harpers' Bazaar, editors@harpersbazaar.com 
  2. Caitlyn Greenidge, who reviewed her article
  3. Maura Finkelstein, maurafinkelstein@muhlenberg.edu, who also reviewed her article.
Here is how Ms. Greenidge replied:
It is deeply inappropriate to attempt to communicate in this way. Please do not contact this address again.
That is why I omitted her contact information.

Write to Ms. Subramanian, Harpers Bazaar, and Maura Finkelstein with your comments on her article.  Please, no name calling or ad hominem attacks.

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