Letter to editor. / NIA

Dear President Garber,

I am writing to the wider Harvard academic community and select donors regarding the recent use of promotional imagery by Harvard’s Department of South Asian Studies for a Sanskrit course, which many observers understood as caricaturing sacred Hindu figures.

I do so as someone who has spent more than four decades in academic institutions, both as a professor and an administrator, and as someone who deeply values academic freedom. Academic freedom is indispensable to serious scholarship. It protects inquiry, disagreement, interpretation, and the pursuit of truth. But precisely because it is so important, it must be exercised with intellectual seriousness and responsibility.

The recent incident involving Harvard University’s Department of South Asian Studies, where grotesque imagery resembling a distorted Hindu deity was used to promote a Sanskrit course, has caused deep concern among scholars and the global Hindu community. The image, widely interpreted as a disfigured representation of Shri Krishna or a sinister caricature of Bhagwan Shiva, was disturbing not only for its aesthetic choices but for the message it conveyed.

For over a billion Hindus worldwide, sacred depictions of Krishna and Shiva are not decorative motifs or mythological curiosities. They represent profound spiritual traditions and philosophical insights that have shaped one of the world’s oldest living civilizations. To portray such figures in grotesque or horror-like imagery while advertising the study of Sanskrit—the very language in which Hindu philosophy and literature are preserved—strikes many as deeply disrespectful.

The Department of South Asian Studies has issued a statement expressing regret and has removed the image in question. That step is appreciated.

However, an apology alone cannot resolve the deeper questions this incident raises.

Academic freedom exists to protect intellectual inquiry—not to serve as a shield for intellectual carelessness or cultural contempt. Serious scholarship may critique religious traditions, analyze historical developments, or debate philosophical interpretations. What it should not do is reduce sacred figures to grotesque caricatures under the guise of creativity or provocation.

When academic freedom is invoked to justify conduct that demeans the sacred symbols of a living tradition, it risks becoming a cover for intellectual dishonesty rather than a defense of scholarly integrity.

As someone who has spent decades within academic institutions, I find it difficult to understand how such imagery passed through an entire department dedicated to South Asian studies without anyone recognizing its implications.

Beyond the immediate issue of the image itself lies a broader concern about the academic climate in which such a decision could occur. Many observers have long noted that departments studying South Asia sometimes approach Hindu traditions primarily through ideological frameworks that emphasize critique and deconstruction while neglecting the depth, philosophical sophistication, and civilizational continuity of Hindu thought.

When such intellectual frameworks dominate, it becomes easier for the distortion or ridicule of Hindu traditions to pass as acceptable academic expression.

Departments devoted to South Asian studies bear a special responsibility. They are expected not merely to critique traditions but to understand them in depth: philosophically, historically, textually, and as living realities for millions of people. When public-facing academic materials appear to trivialize or caricature what adherents regard as sacred, the problem is no longer one of taste alone. It becomes a question of scholarly standards, institutional credibility, and cultural literacy.

That concern is further exacerbated by the fact that Harvard’s South Asia ecosystem has benefited substantially from Indian and India-linked philanthropy. Harvard has publicly stated that the Mittal family gave $25 million to establish the endowed fund that renamed the South Asia Institute, that Vijay Shekhar Sharma later made a gift supporting the Institute’s activities and research, and that Harvard Business School received a $50 million gift from Tata Companies and Tata Trust philanthropic entities. Those gifts reflect not only generosity but trust: trust that Harvard will study South Asia and its traditions with rigor, balance, and fairness.

In light of these concerns, I respectfully urge Harvard University to take steps that go beyond a simple apology:

1. Conduct a transparent review of how the imagery was created, approved, and disseminated.
2. Clarify institutional guidelines regarding the respectful representation of religious traditions in academic and promotional materials.
3. Reaffirm the proper meaning of academic freedom, distinguishing legitimate scholarly critique from conduct that demeans living traditions.
4. Engage with Hindu scholars and community organizations to ensure that Hindu traditions are studied and represented with accuracy, rigor, and respect.

Universities hold extraordinary influence in shaping how civilizations and cultures are understood. When elite institutions allow prejudice—whether intentional or inadvertent—to masquerade as intellectual freedom, they weaken the very principles they claim to defend.

I hope Harvard will treat this moment not simply as a communications problem but as an opportunity for serious institutional reflection. Because this matter has implications for Harvard’s academic reputation and for the trust placed in it by the communities and donors who have helped sustain South Asian studies, a public clarification from the University would be both appropriate and constructive.

Great universities distinguish themselves not merely by defending freedom but by demonstrating the discernment, rigor, and responsibility worthy of that freedom. Academic freedom must remain a pillar of higher education. But it must be accompanied by intellectual responsibility and respect for the traditions scholars seek to study.

I would appreciate hearing from you about the course of action you plan to initiate in this serious matter.

Respectfully,
Vijendra Agarwal, Ph.D.
Co-founder and President, Vidya Gyan