Werner Menski uses the methodology of legal pluralism to analyze the relationship between Hinduism and human rights. He outlines two goals: to show how human rights activism fails to properly involve Hindus, and to examine how Hindus have developed their own understanding of rights while failing to adequately represent their perspectives to others. Menski argues that "Hinduism" and "human rights" are complex concepts that are oversimplified in discourse. He examines the tensions between pluralism and rights, including analyzing the 2002 Gujarat riots and criticisms of the Hindu caste system and views of gender and religious domination. Menski concludes that blaming either Hindus or activists is unproductive and that both sides must work to better understand each

1. Hinduism and Human Rights
Chapter by: Werner Menski
Overview By: Kristen Black
Professor Maria Curtis
Religious Anth 4343

2. Biography: Werner Menski
 MA from Kiel and a PhD from London.
 Reginal expertise is in South Asia, with a focus in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan
 Languages include: French, German, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Urdu
 1980-2014 taught Law at SOAS University of London
 Area Interest: Multiculturalism, Politics of Secularism, Philosophy, Secularism and
Secularities
 Today is he is an Emeritus Professor with the SOAS University of London, of South Asian
Laws
 Editor of peer-reviewed Journal, South Asia Research (Delhi: SAGE)
 Maintains an active publication program
 Focused around the globally valid kit theory of legal management
 Has numerous publications with a wide variety ranging from Hinduism, Muslim world,
laws, South Asia, Islamic laws, and so on.
 For a complete list, go here, https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff31428.php and click on
publications.
https://soas.academia.edu/WernerMenski
Check out Werner Menski Website for more information:

3. Menski uses Methodology of legal pluralism to
counter unproductive shadowboxing.
 There are two goals that Menski has for this chapter:
 The first is to, ”…Outline how well-meaning human rights activism actually talks past
Hindus and fail to involve them in respectful discussions about negotiating diversities
and different perspectives” (Menski p.71).
 The second, “outline how different kinds of Hindus have cultivated their own
understanding of human rights, demonstrating how in the process of they may also fail-–
in various ways and with various agendas-– to portray their respective religious and
cultural perspectives adequately to a wider world” (Menski p.71, 72).

4. A Scenario of Conflict in Conditions of
Plurality
 These problems are not unique to Hinduism
 Menski says, ” ‘Hinduism’ and ‘human rights’ represents ‘pops,’ a pluralities,
internally diverse concepts and constructs gown over time, commonly subsumed in
popular parlance and scholarly discourse under a specific simple label” (p.72).
 This is not a new phenomena
 New pluralities are constantly developing
 Hinduism is associated with a negative image of religious domination
 “…widely perceived as “bad” because its presence counteracts various uniformizing
ambitions” (Menski p.72).
 The Gujarat riots of 2002, sign that Hinduism and the respect for human rights are
irreconcilable (Menski p.73).

5. What happened in the 2002 Gujarat Riots?

6. Insufficient
Methodologies to
Handle Pluralism
 Pluralism is being blamed for human rights problems
 Irritations over handling difference & diversity
 “… Arvind Sharma’s observation that much current literature
on human rights connects the secular outlook, individualism,
and egalitarianism, bunching them together on the basis of
their shared ideological orientations” (Menski p.73).
 Menski seems to think that Hindus seem to instinctively know
that the “pop” phenomenon is inevitable, and a human rights
encyclopedia of law outlines the tensions (p.73)
 Upendra Baxi, is used as extensive support during Menski debate.
Baxi is a known advocate for human rights and even has a
publication on The Future of Human Rights
 Menski uses Baxi as someone worthy to help him prove his
own points because of his background consists of Hindi and
Indian
 You may check out Upendra Baxi’s publication here,
https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/
9780195690439.001.0001/acprof-9780195690439

7. Professor Upendra Baxi on The Future
of Human Rights Learning &
Experiential Education
Constitutionalism and Identity

8. “While activist vigilance remains
important everywhere, India as
the main abode of Hindus in the
world pursues a much-
misunderstood official policy of
secularism (Manski p.76).
Shcheglov, Serguei.

9. Insufficient Methodologies Continued from
Manski’s point of view, p76.
 Even though India has the majority of Hindus, the Indian constitution has an effective
protection mechanisms against a majority, meaning that India cannot become a Hindu
nation
 Baxi openly criticized the secular arrangements that are not trusted by human rights
activist because of insufficient analyses of Indian secularism
 India’s citizens are quiet about this issue because the government recognizes law and
religion, which challenges secularism and separation of law and religion
 While Muslim’s have Allah to fall back on, India does not have a religious dictate to take
interpretations from
 “From mainstream secular perspective, however, because India recognizes a legitimate
place for religion and because Hindus are demographic majority, the Indian state is
simply deemed to be religious, not secular” (Manski p.76)
 Human rights is culture specific because they are linked

10. Hindu God’s
 Why doesn’t Hindu’s have a dictate god to fall back on?
 They have multiple gods and different parts of India celebrate different Gods
Khan Academy

11. Hinduism as a Violation of Human Rights
 Hindu as a religion has been dismissed since the beginning of time
 Brahmin elite was born
 ”This led many analysts to claim that the Brahmins did not develop human
rights, but cultivated only their own case-based interest” (Menski p.77).
For others, caste-based system associated with:
Gender discrimination
Unacceptable fascist tendencies, term Hindutva or Hinduness

12. Caste System
• Each caste lived separately
• Water wells were not
shared
• Brahmins would not
except for or drink from
Shudras
• Could only marry in your
own caste
• Was almost impossible to
leave the caste you were
born too until the 18th
century.
What Is India's Caste System?

13. What happened to the Caste
System?
 In 1950, India banned the
Caste system and made a
quota to offer jobs to the
Dalits in both education and
government.
 1989, a new quota was set
for the rest of the system
 Even though the system itself
has dis-banned, the remains
are still lingering. Many are
easily identified by their last
name.
 2015, in Gujarat, violent
protest by Jat community in
Haryana and the Patel
community. Over demands
to see the quota reports
What Is India's Caste System?

14. Muslim-Hindu relationship
 South Asia Muslims could not
uproot Hindu culture and religion
(Menski p.78)
 Hybrids evolved in South Asia
 Competitions began for women,
space and resources
 Edward Simpson links these
scenarios from the past to the 2002
violence in South Asia
Ejaz Ghani

15. 1600’s brought
new challenges
 “Geoffrey Oddie shows how
intense struggles of competing
belief systems and the constantly
changing context of such
competitive plurality led over time
to new prominent challenges to
Hindu culture and religion”
(Menski p.78).
 Provides evidence that
Hinduism was a primitive and
pagan community
 This is why Europeans
thought they were superior to
Hindu’s
 Caricatures still represent
Hindu culturalism today
 Orientalism grew from this
cultural
 Missionaries eventually
changed the view of Hinduism
Staff, Scroll.in

16. Hinduism as a Violation of Human Rights
 Many believe that inequality still exist
through the Brahmin caste. (the video is
an example of this)
 The increased number of negative views
is still on the rise, questions were still
being raised since India stayed in
shadows of the democratic west.
 “Sporadic outbreaks of ethno-religious
conflicts and the way they have been
handled have raised a noisy chorus of
serious questions about India’s claim to
a secular democracy” (Mensky p.79)

17. Negative views on
Hinduism today
 Phineas & Ferb ,Character Baljeet
 Studies obsessively
 Bullied
 Family background, killed by tigers
 Disney’s Jesse, character of Ravi (pictured)
 Mocked doing Hindu religious
ceremony
 Mocked over traditional Hindu clothing
 Arjun Bhagat, finds that America believe that
Indians are “weak, both physically and
mentally, nerdy and incredibly awkward, weird
and exotic.”

18. Hinduism and
Human Rights
 Hindu’s are upset about the negative view it has received.
 “Artiulate defenders of Hindu tradition clearly recognize
that Hinduism needs to change with the times…”(Menski
p.80).
 Sharma does not claim that everyone must be Hindus
 In terms of political realities, Sharma does suggest there
should be limits
 “Perceptions of violations of individuals rights depend,
from a Hindu perspective, not only on what rights we
grand to individuals, but more crucially perhaps what
duties we expect to honor for others” (Menski p. 82).
 The shadowboxing perspective confuses almost everyone,
including Hindu’s themselves.

19. Hinduism
and Human
Rights:
Conclusion
We must learn to become more tolerant of each
Hindu will get there point across, meaning they will resort
to violence, which leads to Hindu nationalism and fascism
Big issue, we coexist together, diversity is inevitable, and is
an ongoing issue today
Manski states that, “to blame either side for this struggle
seem thoroughly unproductive” (p. 83).

20. References
2015, February 26). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/EDP7E_MupKs
Academy, K. (2017, March 7). Hindu gods overview | World History | Khan Academy. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INv2gdpfXPQ&t=131s
Bhagat, A. (2018, March 22). The silent source of negative stereotypes about Hindu Americans.
Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/bhag-ideas- bhag/the-silent-source-of-
negative-stereotypes-about-hindu-americans/
Ghani, E. (2010, January). Conflict and Development- Lessons from South Asia. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/South-Asia-Conflict-Intensity- Map_fig2_227352260
Law, N. A. L. S. A. R. U. of. (2017, February 17). 'Constitutionalism and Identity' Q/A| Prof. Upendra
Baxi’ | Nalsar University. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mSr9M1w80I
Menski, W. (2012). Religion and human rights: an introduction. (J. Witte & M. C. Green, Eds.).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shcheglov, S. (2016, July 7). Countries With The Largest Hindu Populations. Retrieved from
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-largest-hindu-populations.html
Staff, S. (2018, April 17). Hyderabad: Case filed against journalist for Facebook cartoon that ‘ insults’
sentiments of Hindus. Retrieved from https://scroll.in/latest/875974/hyderabadcase-filed- against-
journalist-for-facebook-cartoon-that-insults-sentiments-of-hindus
Today, I. (2018, July 2). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA-RSOGaqeA
University, A. P. (2017, June 9). Prof Upendra Baxi on The Future of Human Rights Learning &
Experiential Education | Crafting Justice. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS2XsRTxRXk&t=12s
Watch JESSIE TV Show: Disney Channel on DisneyNOW. (0AD). Retrieved from
https://disneynow.com/shows/jessie
What is India's caste system? (2019, June 19). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
india 35650616