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Criticism of Hinduism has been applied to both historical and current aspects of Hinduism, notably Sati and the caste system.

Historical background

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Early opposition

Some of the earliest criticism of Brahminical texts, including the Vedas and especially the Dharmashastras, comes from the Sramana (or renunciate) traditions, including Buddhism and Jainism. Sramana scholars viewed Brahminical philosophy as "heretical." In particular Sramanas denied the sruti (divine) nature of the Vedas and opposed sacrificial rituals which were at the heart of Brahminical philosophy at the time.

Sati

Sati was a historical Hindu practice, in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. Vidya Dehejia states that sati was introduced late into Indian society, and became regular only after 500 CE. The practice became prevalent from 7th century onwards and declined to its elimination in 17th century to gain resurgence in Bengal in 18th century. Roshen Dalal postulated that its mention in some of the Puranas indicates that it slowly grew in prevalence from 5th-7th century and later became an accepted custom around 1000 CE among those of higher classes, especially the Rajputs.

According to Dehejia, sati originated within the Kshatriyas (warrior) aristocracy and remained mostly limited to the warrior class among Hindus. Yang adds that the practice was also emulated by those seeking to achieve high status of the royalty and the warriors. The increase of sati may also be related to the centuries of Islamic invasion and its expansion in South Asia. It acquired an additional meaning as a means to preserve the honour of women whose men had been slain, especially with the variant of mass sati called jauhar, practiced especially among the Rajputs as a direct response to the onslaught they experienced.

The Mughal Empire (1526–1857) rulers and the Muslim population were ambivalent about the practice, with many Mughal emperors forbidding the practice, and later European travelers record that sati was not much practiced in the Mughal empire. It was notably associated with elite Hindu Rajput clans in western India, marking one of the points of divergence between Hindu Rajputs and the Muslim Mughals.

With the onset of the British Raj, opposition against sati grew. The principal campaigners against Sati were Christian and Hindu reformers such as William Carey and Ram Mohan Roy. In 1829 Lord Bentinck issued Regulation XVII declaring Sati to be illegal and punishable in criminal courts. On 2 February 1830 this law was extended to Madras and Bombay. The ban was challenged by a petition signed by "several thousand... Hindoo inhabitants of Bihar, Bengal, Orissa etc" and the matter went to the Privy Council in London. Along with British supporters, Ram Mohan Roy presented counter-petitions to parliament in support of ending Sati. The Privy Council rejected the petition in 1832, and the ban on Sati was upheld.

Caste system

Human Rights Watch describes the caste system as "discriminatory and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment" of over 165 million people in India. The justification of the discrimination on the basis of caste, which according to HRW is "a defining feature of Hinduism," has repeatedly been noticed and described by the United Nations and HRW, along with criticism of other caste systems worldwide.

Pseudoscience

Hindu astrology

The main texts upon which classical Indian astrology is based are early medieval compilations, notably the Bṛhat Parāśara Horāśāstra, and Sārāvalī by Kalyāṇavarma. The Horāshastra is a composite work of 71 chapters, of which the first part (chapters 1–51) dates to the 7th to early 8th centuries and the second part (chapters 52–71) to the later 8th century. The Sārāvalī likewise dates to around 800 CE. English translations of these texts were published by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhari in 1963 and 1961, respectively.

The scientific community rejects astrology as having no explanatory power for describing the universe, and considers it a pseudoscience. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict basic and well understood aspects of biology and physics. Those who have faith in astrology have been characterised by scientists including Bart J. Bok as doing so "...in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary".

Alternative medicine

Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Sowa Rigpa are the popular alternative medicine in India.

It was reported in 2008 and again in 2018 that 80 percent of people in India used Ayurveda exclusively or combined with conventional Western medicine. A 2014 national health survey found that, in general, forms of the Indian System of Medicine or AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Sidha, and Homeopathy) were used by about 3.5% of patients who were seeking outpatient care over a two-week reference period.

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report titled "The Health Workforce in India" which found that 31 percent of those who claimed to be doctors in India in 2001 were educated only up to the secondary school level and 57 percent went without any medical qualification. The WHO study found that the situation was worse in rural India with only 18.8 percent of doctors holding a medical qualification. Overall, the study revealed that nationally the density of all doctors (mainstream, ayurvedic, homeopathic and unani) was 8 doctors per 10,000 people compared to 13 per 10,000 people in China.

Vastu shastra

The use of Vastu shastra and Vastu consultants in modern home and public projects is controversial. Some architects, particularly during India's colonial era, considered it arcane and superstitious. Other architects state that critics have not read the texts and that most of the text is about flexible design guidelines for space, sunlight, flow and function.

Vastu Shastra is a pseudoscience, states Narendra Nayak – the head of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations. In contemporary India, Vastu consultants "promote superstition in the name of science". Astronomer Jayant Narlikar states Vastu Shastra has rules about integrating architecture with its ambience, but the dictates of Vastu and alleged harm or benefits being marketed has "no logical connection to environment". He gives examples of Vastu consultants claiming the need to align the house to magnetic axis for "overall growth, peace and happiness, or that "parallelogram-shaped sites can lead to quarrels in the family", states Narlikar. He says this is pseudoscience.

Pseudohistory

Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The belief that Ancient India was technologically advanced to the extent of being a nuclear power is gaining popularity in India. Emerging extreme nationalist trends and ideologies based on Hinduism in the political arena promote these discussions. Vasudev Devnani, the education minister for the western state of Rajasthan, said in January 2017 that it was important to "understand the scientific significance" of the cow, as it was the only animal in the world to both inhale and exhale oxygen. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering of doctors and medical staff at a Mumbai hospital that the story of the Hindu god Ganesha showed genetic science existed in ancient India. Many new age pseudohistorians who focus on converting mythological stories into history are well received among the crowd. Indian Science Congress ancient aircraft controversy is a related event when Capt. Anand J. Bodas, retired principal of a pilot training facility, claimed that aircraft more advanced than today's versions existed in ancient India at the Indian Science Congress.

See also

• Saffron terror
• Criticism of Hindutva
• Anti-Brahminism
• Anti-Hindu sentiment
• Persecution of Hindus

References

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4. Sharma 2001, pp. 19–21.
5. ^ On attested Rajput practice of sati during wars, see, for example Leslie, Julia (1993). "Suttee or Sati: Victim or Victor?". In Arnold, David; Robb, Peter (eds.). Institutions and Ideologies: A SOAS South Asia Reader. Vol. 10. London: Routledge. p. 46. ISBN 978-0700702848.
6. Dehejia 1994, p. 50.
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8. Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. p. 363. ISBN 9780143414216.
9. ^ Yang 2008, p. 21–23.
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18. Sharma 2001, pp. 6–7.
19. Marshman, John Clark (1876). History of India from the earliest period to the close of the East India Company's government. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood. p. 374. ISBN 9781108021043.
20. Sharma pp. 7–8.
21. Rai, Raghunath. History. p. 137. ISBN 9788187139690.
22. Dodwell 1932 p. 141.
23. Kulkarni, A.R.; Feldhaus, Anne (1996). "Sati in the Maratha Country". Images of Women in Maharashtrian Literature and Religion. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-0791428382.
24. ^ "Hidden Apartheid". Human Rights Watch. 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
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28. David Pingree, Jyotiḥśāstra (J. Gonda (Ed.) A History of Indian Literature, Vol VI Fasc 4), p.81
29. Sven Ove Hansson; Edward N. Zalta. "Science and Pseudo-Science". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 6 July 2012. advocates of pseudo-sciences such as astrology and homeopathy tend to describe their theories as conformable to mainstream science.
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35. Vishveshwara, C. V.; Biswas, S. K.; Mallik, D. C. V., eds. (1989). Cosmic Perspectives: Essays Dedicated to the Memory of M.K.V. Bappu (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34354-1.
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38. ^ Dargan, Paul I.; Gawarammana, Indika B.; Archer, John R.H.; House, Ivan M.; Shaw, Debbie; Wood, David M. (2008). "Heavy metal poisoning from Ayurvedic traditional medicines: An emerging problem?". International Journal of Environment and Health. 2 (3/4): 463. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.561.9726. doi:10.1504/IJENVH.2008.020936.
39. ^ Bhowmick, Nilanjana (2021-06-02). "Indian doctors protest herbal treatments being touted for COVID-19". National Geographic. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
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47. Quack, Johannes (2012). Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India. Oxford University Press. p. 170. ISBN 9780199812608. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
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50. "Cow only animal to inhale and exhale oxygen: Rajasthan minister". Hindustan Times. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019.
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Sources

• Dehejia, Vidya (1994), "Comment: A Broader Landscape", in Hawley, John Stratton (ed.), Sati, the Blessing and the Curse, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195077742
• Sharma, Arvind (2001). Sati: Historical and Phenomenological Essays. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0464-7.
• Yang, Anand A. (2008). "Whose Sati? Widow-Burning in early Nineteenth Century India". In Sarkar, Sumit; Sarkar, Tanika (eds.). Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A Reader. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253352699.

External links

• Media related to Criticism of Hinduism at Wikimedia Commons

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Philosophy	Concepts Brahman Om Ishvara Atman Maya Karma Saṃsāra Puruṣārthas Dharma Artha Kama Moksha Niti Ahimsa Asteya Aparigraha Brahmacharya Satya Dāna Damah Dayā Akrodha Schools Āstika: Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Vaisheshika Mīmāṃsā Vedanta Dvaita Advaita Vishishtadvaita Nāstika: Charvaka
Texts	Classification Śruti Smṛti Vedas Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda Atharvaveda Divisions Samhita Brahmana Aranyaka Upanishads Aitareya Kaushitaki Brihadaranyaka Isha Taittiriya Katha Maitrayaniya Shvetashvatara Chandogya Kena Mundaka Mandukya Prashna Upavedas Ayurveda Dhanurveda Natyaveda Sthapatyaveda Vedanga Shiksha Chandas Vyākaraṇa Nirukta Kalpa Jyotisha Other Bhagavad Gita Agamas Itihasas Ramayana Mahabharata Puranas Minor Upanishads Arthashastra Nitisara Dharmaśāstra Manusmriti Nāradasmṛti Yājñavalkya Smṛti Sutras Stotras Subhashita Tantras Yoga Vasistha Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Sangam literature Tirumurai Divya Prabandham Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai Thiruppugal Thirukkural Kamba Ramayanam Five Great Epics Eighteen Greater Texts Eighteen Lesser Texts Athichudi Iraiyanar Akapporul Abhirami Antati Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam Vinayagar Agaval Vedarthasamgraha
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