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CoHNA event at Rutgers examines Hinduism, identity, and bias
The Demystifying Hinduism seminar served as an act of civic and intellectual self-determination.
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Staff Reporter - Tue, 05, May 2026
- 04:22 EDT
- 26
Attendees of CYAN's Rutgers seminar / CoHNA
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) organized a seminar on Hinduism at Rutgers University on April 20.
Attended by over 75 students, scholars, educators and community members, the seminar, titled “Demystifying Hinduism: Clarity Through Scholarship,” was organized by 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 organizers noted that the conference featured distinguished academics whose works sit at the “intersection of lived tradition and rigorous inquiry.”
The seminar also featured an insightful session with Neil Desai, a high school history teacher, who spoke about the rise and persistence of Hinduphobia in academic institutions over the years.
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The event also witnessed a session with Dr. Lavanya Vemsani, professor of Indian history and religions at Shawnee State University. She examined how prominent Hindu women like Savitri, Draupadi and Kunti have been misrepresented and sexually objectified in academic texts, media and popular culture.
Dr. Jeffery D. Long, a professor of Indian philosophies at Elizabethtown College, traced the deep influence of Hindu philosophy on Western culture, from the Founding Fathers to icons like George Harrison, Star Wars and Julia Roberts.
The event concluded with a student-moderated panel discussion that addressed a wide range of topics, including historical research, textual representation of Hinduism and campus-specific issues affecting Hindu students such as caste stereotypes, atheism, pluralism in Hindu Dharma, misogyny and menstruation.
Talking about the event, Dhyey Ray, president of CYAN Rutgers and a senior in biomedical engineering, remarked, “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.”
He highlighted his personal experience and said, “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.”
Hitesh Trivedi, Hindu chaplain at Rutgers, echoed similar sentiments and noted, “The CYAN event at Rutgers was a direct response to what our youth members have asked for.”
He continued, “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.”
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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