Audrey Truschke

@audreytruschke.bsky.social

320

Posts

Professor of South Asian history Rutgers-Newark | Tweets academic + educational + critical | Anti-fascist + pro-education

Posts Replies Media

Global #outage = unexpected roadtrip. 500 miles in 7 hours, including stops. I’ve still got it.

Trump supporters will villianize, attack, and insult minorities. It’s who they are. Those who think that shared values, money, alliances, or whatever will protect *their* group are sorely mistaken. www.theguardian.com/us-news/arti...

Barrage of hate from far-right Trumpists to Sikh prayer at Republican conventionwww.theguardian.com Toxic response to prayer from pro-Trump Harmeet Dhillon, leading figure on Republican national committee

Current view, after giving a lecture on Hindu identity, sacred spaces, narrating Indian history, and, of course, Hindu nationalism to an audience of a few hundred people in upstate New York.

Usha Vance’s line on baby-Trump hubby — “Although he's a meat and potatoes kinda guy. He adapted to my vegetarian diet” — is going down real different in India versus among U.S. Republicans. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/meat-a...

'Meat and potatoes kind of guy who ... ': How Usha Chilukuri Vance described her husband JD - Times of Indiatimesofindia.indiatimes.com Usha Vance spoke at the Republican National Convention, highlighting her husband JD Vance's journey from a low-income Appalachian family to a potential leader in the Republican Party. Usha also said, ...

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Audrey Truschke

Usha Vance Gently Corrects RNC Usher Attempting To Deport Herwww.theonion.com The Onion brings you all of the latest news, stories, photos, videos and more from America's finest news source.

Fun to see my first book, published in 2016, displayed at the Chautauqua bookstore. My fourth book comes out in spring 2025!

Reply to

manu chander (he/him)

You know me well!

Relevant reading as I head to the Chautauqua Institution to speak later this week — among other topics — on being the target of far-right hate campaigns and violent threats. www.chq.org/event/audrey...

It’s a beautiful day for New Jersey.

Your periodic reminder that, in BJP-run India, *reporting* on anti-minority crimes is considered the problem. www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...

Police in India book journalists after posts on alleged Muslim lynchingwww.aljazeera.com While no arrests have been made, media watchdogs say the act may have ‘chilling effect’ on journalists doing their job.

New scholarship — Dr. Sundaram explores Hindutva assaults on academic freedom and the litigious journey of the Hindu nationalist group HAF, in Drexel Law Review drexel.edu/law/lawrevie...

An Academic Conference, A Bomb Threat, and a Title VI Complaint: U.S. Hindu Nationalist Groups' Litigious Assault on Academic Freedom - Law Reviewdrexel.edu

Solid New Jersey vibes on this bumper sticker.

I’m thrilled to be speaking about pluralism in Indian history, Hindu nationalism, the South Asian American diaspora, receiving hate mail, and much more next week at the Chautauqua Instituton in upstate New York! www.chq.org/event/audrey...

Audrey Truschke - Chautauqua Institutionwww.chq.org Welcome to Chautauqua Institution! We are a community of artists, educators, thinkers, faith leaders and friends dedicated to exploring the best in humanity.

I’m celebrating this July 4 hard… like it might be our last… with baseball, grilling, a double rainbow, and lots of (legal) fireworks. #July4 #July4th2024

Fun article on a deposition of the leader of a far-right Hindu nationalist group, parts of which were recently unsealed. Sitting through that 8-hour deposition was, well, really interesting for me. americankahani.com/perspectives... #Hindutva

Unsealed: Suhag Shukla’s Deposition in Hindu American Foundation’s Failed Defamation Case Against Us - American Kahaniamericankahani.com Unsealed: Suhag Shukla’s Deposition in Hindu American Foundation’s Failed Defamation Case Against Us

The discovery in the Hindu American Foundation lawsuit has been unsealed. I'll do a mega thread later (it's summer... maybe in a few weeks). In the meantime, reporters can reach out to me for a pdf of the documents, including parts of the deposition transcript of HAF’s head. #Hindutva #HAF

Grim, if fitting, recognition of Israel’s genocidal war and targeting of children. Shame on them and shame on us for giving them weapons and support for such atrocities. #Israel #Gaza_Genocide‌ www.theguardian.com/world/articl...

UN adds Israel to list of states committing violations against childrenwww.theguardian.com Inclusion comes after eight months of the country’s bombing of Gaza which has killed 13,000 children and a day after Israel bombed a UN school

NEWS -- Judge Amit Mehta has unsealed all Hindu American Foundation (HAF) discovery documents in their dismissed lawsuit against me and 4 others! These include financial information, donor gifts (anonymized), HAF's expulsion from groups, cancelled events, denied grants, and more

The court decision describes the documents, and will also post them in full on my website once they are publicly filed. For now, some thoughts, in no particular order -- www.audreytruschke.com/documentshaf...

Documents from the Hindu American Foundation's SLAPP Lawsuit — Audrey Truschkewww.audreytruschke.com Documents from the failed SLAPP lawsuit filed by the Hindu American Foundation in DC federal court 2021–22

Transparency is a beautiful thing. I was sued by HAF (my lawyers argued) because I was doing research on them. Then, because of their arrogance, they gave me a bunch of interesting documents in discovery. Now, I and all who work on US Hindutva, can cite and use those documents.

Pride is a great fault. HAF did not have to turn over these documents -- about their donors, their failures, and more -- to those they saw as critical. This is a known risk of defamation litigation, and they disrespected donors who trusted them, out of hate for perceived critics

One of HAF's current plans is to start a legal clinic... so they can do this again? No comment.

Getting sued was definitely non-ideal. But this is a pretty sweet reward on the back end. I value knowledge above all else in my professional life. I'm so thrilled to be able to share and discuss this trove of internal documents from HAF. More soon... www.audreytruschke.com/timelinehafs...

Timeline of HAF SLAPP Lawsuit — Audrey Truschkewww.audreytruschke.com Timeline of the Hindu American Foundation's lawsuit against five civil rights and human rights activists, including one professor

On that Columbia law review article — Just saying that when I have had things censored or otherwise faced attacks, I put them on my CV. Section: Other Honors. #academia #AcademicChatter

While many look to India's future, I'm drawn to its past. How will we write the history of the decade of #Hindutva dominance (2014–24) that unleashed hate, violence, and ignorance? I don't fully know, yet. But I share this recent documentary in which I feature. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQOf...

Offenders: Artists' Struggle Against Censorship in India's Polarized Landscape Amidst Hindu Hegemonywww.youtube.com "Offenders" delves into the complex landscape navigated by artists, writers, comedians, and filmmakers in contemporary India as they boldly challenge the boundaries of free expression. Set against a backdrop of a state asserting Hindu hegemony, curbing press freedom, and suppressing dissent, a hostile environment emerges in the world's largest democracy. The documentary portrays the struggles artists endure, compelling us to stand up for their right to contribute to India’s diverse and dynamic artistic landscape. Quoting Salman Rushdie’s words, “Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself,” "Offenders" calls on us to support the rights of artists driving change and challenging the status quo. In a climate of pervasive censorship, "Offenders" serves as a call to action, urging us to defend the essential space for creativity and dissent in our society. Audrey Truschke | Wendy Doniger | Perumal Murugan | Aatish Taseer | Chinnaiah Jangam | Tavleen Singh | Dheepa Sundaram | Siddhartha Deb | Leslie Edwin | Sanjay Rajoura | Manjeet Sarkar | Abhinandan Sekhri | Sunil Mehra | Manisha Pande | Vir Das | Rohit Khanna | Directed by Sunil Kalia | Produced by Karan Kalia

Reply to

Satadru Pramanik

If it helps — I generally teach that Hinduism encompasses both polytheistic and monotheistic views. In contemporary times, the monotheistic perspective gets a lot of play, and that largely comes out of the Hindu reform movements of the 19th century that responded to Christian missionary criticisms

Historically, Hindu perspectives trended more to the polytheistic. There was also monism in premodern Hinduism (and remains part of the tradition today). So, short story — Lots of options, and an embrace of multiplicity rather than a single view.

The Modi Mandir falls flat with voters. #faizabad #AyodhyaTemple #Hindutva

India’s Hindu nationalists have engaged in robust voter suppression. This might hand them the power. But it’s also a grim reminder that free and democratic India is now part of history. www.aljazeera.com/features/202... #India #BJP #Hindutva

‘Minority exclusion’: Are Indian Muslims facing voter suppression?www.aljazeera.com Claims of voter suppression are rising – from names missing from electoral rolls to physical violence.

Reactions thus far— Patriotic Americans: 🍸 Trump: [incoherent rant] Alito’s wife: Where is my goddamn flag collection?! Alito: It’s her fault.