Landmark Academic Event at Rutgers Challenges Misconceptions about Hinduism

Hosted by CYAN and CoHNA, scholars and students gather to reclaim the narrative via rigorous, evidence-based dialogue

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 75 students, scholars, educators, and community members came together for Demystifying Hinduism: Clarity Through Scholarship, a seminar organized at Rutgers University, by the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) and the Rutgers chapter of its youth wing CYAN (CoHNA Youth Action Network), in partnership with the Rutgers Hindu Students Council (HSC) and the university's Hindu Chaplaincy. The conference, held on April 30, 2026, featured distinguished academics whose works sit at the intersection of lived tradition and rigorous inquiry — making this one of the more substantive campus-based scholarly events on Hinduism in recent memory.

"The invigorating presentations, the pointed questions, the energetic panel discussion, the food, and the enthusiasm of my fellow students, all made for a memorable day," said Dhyey Ray, president of CYAN Rutgers and a senior in Biomedical Engineering. "I came away energized by the passion of the panelists and attendees, and with so much clarity on how to understand my faith and use it to guide important questions in life as I get ready to graduate."

Dr. Lavanya Vemsani, Professor of Indian History and Religions at Shawnee State University, brought her expertise in Hindu studies to examine how the stories of prominent Hindu women have been misrepresented in contemporary academic texts, media and popular culture. The talk explored the portrayal of several powerful and well-known figures from Savitri, Urvashi, and Ganga to Satyavati, Kunti, and Draupadi. A common theme that Prof. Vemsani noted was the sexual objectification of these women and the use of reductive labels to diminish the individual potency of their stories. These distortions have a wide-ranging impact, especially on young Hindus and their understanding of their own history.

Dr. Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Indian Philosophies at Elizabethtown College and a widely published scholar on Hinduism, delivered an invigorating presentation tracing the rich history of Dharmic influences in the West. Drawing on the likes of George Harrison, Julia Roberts, and J.D. Salinger, as well as M*A*S*H and Star Wars, Prof. Long showed how Hindu thought has left its mark on some of the most beloved cultural touchstones of the West. By tracing Hinduism's interaction with American society, from the time of the Founding Fathers to contemporary pop culture, he revealed a tradition that has not merely coexisted with Western modernity but has actively shaped it.

The seminar also featured an informative session with Neil Desai, a high school history teacher, on how Hinduphobia has manifested in academic settings over the years and continues to permeate from within institutions that shape us all.

The event closed with a student-moderated panel discussion covering a wide range of questions — from historical research to textual representation of Hinduism to issues directly impacting Hindu students on campus like the persistence of tropes around caste, atheism, pluralism in Hindu Dharma, misogyny, and menstruation.

"For over a year, the CYAN and HSC teams on campus have been working hard to create an authentic space where scholars and students could discuss and debate the Hindu faith," said Shyam Kumar, a junior majoring in Political Science at Rutgers and vice president of CYAN. "I was thrilled to see the results at Demystifying Hinduism, where we created a unique and refreshing counterpoint to the discourse we normally hear about Hinduism."

Scholarship as Resistance and as an Antidote

At a moment in North American history, when Hinduism is too often reduced to caricature — dismissed as polytheistic folklore, conflated with caste-based oppression, or simply rendered invisible within mainstream religious studies curricula — Demystifying Hinduism offered a rigorous, academically grounded engagement with Hindu philosophy, history, and cultural presence.

"The CYAN event at Rutgers was a direct response to what our youth members have asked for. Amid a growing pattern of academic Hinduphobia, it has become the norm to see non-Hindus framing the conversation about Hinduism, which results in the systematic misrepresentation, trivialization, or hostile framing of Hindu traditions within institutional scholarly settings," said Hitesh Trivedi, Hindu Chaplain at Rutgers.

In addition to being a rigorous academic exercise, Demystifying Hinduism also served as an act of civic and intellectual self-determination by the Hindu community which, for too long, has watched its faith traditions — one of the world's oldest and most philosophically sophisticated — be flattened, politicized, and weaponized in institutional settings. CoHNA and CYAN organized this event in the conviction that the antidote to Hinduphobia in academia is not grievance but better scholarship that is rigorous, confident, accessible and open to good-faith engagement.

This initiative represents part of a broader effort by CoHNA and its partners to promote informed, balanced, and respectful engagement with Hindu traditions in academic and public settings. By bringing together scholars, students, and community members, the seminar aimed to foster a more nuanced and constructive conversation — one that moves beyond caricature toward genuine understanding.

About CoHNA
CoHNA is a grassroots level advocacy and civil rights organization dedicated to improving the understanding of Hinduism in North America by working on matters related to the Hindu community and by educating the public about Hindu heritage and tradition. For more information, please visit https://cohna.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on Instagram.

About CYAN
CYAN (CoHNA Youth Action Network) is CoHNA's youth wing, focused on empowering young Hindus through advocacy, education, and community engagement.

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SOURCE Coalition of Hindus of North America