282. identity
Hinduism should also be informed by modern critical theory, in particular by the
notions of critique, resistance, struggle, and emancipation. Research on Hinduism
can be situated advantageously within the framework of reinterpretation of critical
theory advanced by the “Subaltern Studies Group” led by Ranajit Guha and others
in India.^19 Thus intrinsic to the proposed research on Hinduism will be analysis of
existing power structures and inequalities surrounding current research on Hin-
duism, which is dominated by Western (and Westernized Indian) scholars.
Research on Hinduism can draw upon critical theory for the purpose of expos-
ing underlying assumptions that serve to conceal the power relations that exist
within the institutions of learning about Hinduism in the West and the ways in
which dominant groups construct concepts of “common sense” and “facts” to pro-
vide ad hoc justification for the maintenance of inequalities in research. This type
of research on Hinduism will likely remain a fledgling approach operating within
the relatively small community of Hindu/Indic researchers, which in turn exists
within a minority culture that continues to be represented within antagonistic colo-
nial discourses.
TAKING BACK HINDU STUDIES:
THE PRACTICAL DIMENSION
The project of taking back Hindu studies in the diaspora will necessarily have a
practical dimension because Hindu-directed research on Hinduism must simulta-
neously be a joint social project weaving in and out of Indic and Vedic cultural be-
liefs and values as well as Western ways of knowing and lifestyle patterns. Research
on Hinduism will be involved with sites and terrains that are also sites of contesta-
tion and struggle, since Western researchers have also claimed each of these sites as
“their” turf.
Research on Hinduism must be based on the assumption that research that in-
volves Indians and Hindus as individuals and as communities must make a positive
difference for those who are researched. This does not mean an immediate or direct
benefit. The point is that research has to be defined and designed with some ideas
about likely short-term or longer-term benefits. Obvious as this may seem, it must
be remembered that historically Indians and Hindus have not seen the positive ben-
efits of research on their culture, society, or religions.
Research on Hinduism must incorporate processes such as networking and com-