Source: www.frontline.in
[HPI note: This article is unabashedly critical of traditional Hindu sciences being taught in Indian Universities. In doing so, it exemplifies common criticism against these Hindu initiatives in India, and it is also informative of the extent of such studies in Indian universities.]
INDIA, JULY 4, 2009: As India’s material prosperity increases, so does her demand for priests, astrologers and vastu shastris. Every new car, every plot of buildable land, must have its puja to seek the Gods’ blessings–and increasingly, the priests, astrologers and vastu shastris are expected to use computers and speak English.
Watching India’s thriving God market, one cannot help asking a simple question: where are all these seemingly modern pujaris, astrologers, vastu shastris and other retailers of rituals coming from?
Universities have always served as crucial links in the supply chain that runs from traditional gurukuls and pathshalas to the homes, temples, offices, shops and even corporate boardrooms of the middle classes in India. The diplomas and degrees conferred by these universities, the majority of which are funded by taxpayers’ money, are actively “modernizing” Hindu priestcraft and turning it into an economically comfortable middle-class occupation.
The University Grants Commission’s (UGC) infamous decision in 2001 to introduce jyotir vigyan and karma kanda into post-secondary education breathed a new life into the already existing Sanskrit institutions which had become universities. A new network of deemed universities continues to provide direct and indirect support for training Hindu ritualists, and the objective of promoting traditional Hindu sciences will be well taken care of by the institutional infrastructure.
When the UGC in 2001 decided to introduce astrology courses in higher education, three national-level institutions well known for their jyotish courses had already been deemed as universities. These institutions specialise in shastric learning, which includes advanced courses in jyotish, purohitya and yoga, both as a part of the regular course of study in Ved-Vedang and for special diplomas and certificates. They saw considerable expansion after the Supreme Court gave the green light to astrology.
In May 2002, the ten campuses of New Delhi-based Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (RSS) gained university status and were given the authority to create new syllabi, offer new courses and confer degrees. The Sansthan is mandated to give out grants and financial aid to non-governmental gurukuls and Vedic pathshalas.