Hindu Supremacists Threaten Academic Freedom in the United States – By Audrey Truschke
….For more than five years, I have received hate mail from Hindu nationalists or Hindu supremacists nearly every single day. I have been the target of so many death and rape threats that I have lost count. The most recent violent threat against me was made last week, via phone, to a general Rutgers phone number by a man spouting Hindu supremacist rhetoric. The police are investigating.
My family, too, have been threatened with all manner of violence, including my children who are currently ages seven, five, and three. I often require armed security when I speak publicly, whether about modern South Asia or ancient Indian history…. I want to emphasize how extraordinary and worrisome it is that I require armed protection – on US soil – to speak about areas of my scholarly expertise.
I am the target of repeated smears and misinformation campaigns. Hindu nationalist groups have tried, unsuccessfully so far, to prompt my employer, Rutgers University, to take punitive action against me. Many Hindu supremacists openly discuss trying to influence the New Jersey state government, elected officials, and Rutgers administrators in order to silence me, a scholar…. In fact, Hindu supremacists born and raised on US soil have taken over a leadership role in the relentless attacks against me in recent months….