Hindu Media Wiki

About the Author

Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D., has worked in the field of education for 20 years as a teacher, curriculum developer, teacher educator, and nonprofit research director. Her research focuses on immigration, education, and the transnational consciousness of second-generation Indian American teachers. She examines how American education and media reinscribe colonial-era biases about Hinduism, often actively silencing indigenous Dharmic perspectives and expression. Indu is concerned by how this impacts the lives and identities of Hindu American youth and is committed to generative inter-community engagement. A part of this work is calling the educational community into conversation and self-study through the Understanding Hinduphobia Initiative. 

About Understanding Hinduphobia

Understanding Hinduphobia began as a public conference co-hosted by Hindu American scholars and the Rutgers University Hindu Students Council in April 2021. The event was co-sponsored by Hindu Students Council and the Rutgers University Student Assembly, in the wake of a significant upswing in Hinduphobia across US campuses, in the media, and in activist spaces. Understanding Hinduphobia 2021 was a landmark event. It was the first time that scholars, activists, students, and allies convened to explore Hinduphobia with the depth, rigor, and cross-disciplinary examination that the phenomenon demands. Nearly a thousand people registered for the online conference from across the globe, including allies, yoga asana students and instructors, public school principals, educators, guidance counselors, and university administrators.