The centuries old global phenomenon of Hinduphobia, exemplified by the Islamic invasions, the excesses of Colonialism of the last millennia and since the past few decades explicitly seen in Media and Academia, is examined with the help of perspectives from the legal fraternity. What does it mean to be a Hindu in the world at large today? This is closely tied to the overt and in many cases not so overt hinduphobia prevalent in “promoted” mainstream discourse. How does one approach the problems of Hinduphobia “legally”? How do we define the phenomenon? How do we use existing laws? New Legislation – How to do them? Illustrations from “cases” in the Indian and US legal systems. What would it take to institutionalize the legal approach? What are possible hurdles? What are the weaknesses of current approaches?This panel will address the above questions .
