James Laine

James W. Laine is an American academic and writer notable for his controversial book on the 17th-century Indian king, Shivaji, titled, Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India.[1]

Background

James Laine is the Arnold H. Lowe Professor of Religious Studies and the chair of the Religious Studies department at Macalester College in Minnesota, United States. He holds a BA (1974) from Texas Tech University, an MTS (1977), and a doctorate in Theology (1984) from Harvard University.[1]

Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India

The publication of Laine's book, Shivaji Maharaj: Hindu King in Islamic India, which maintained that the history of Shivaji Maharaj had been spun into a Hindu one against a constructed Muslim enemy.[2] After publication is was followed by heavy criticism by Hindus,[3] and a hardline Maratha group attacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, India.[4] In view of the attacks and the public unrest, the book was banned in the state of Maharashtra in January 2004. Filing a petition in the Bombay High Court, James Laine apologized for an offending paragraph on page 93 of the book. The publisher Oxford Printing Press promised to delete the paragraph on all future editions of the book worldwide,[5] following which the court lifted the ban in 2007. In July 2010, the Supreme Court of India upheld the lifting of ban,[6][7] which was followed by public demonstrations against the author and the decision.[8][9]

Laine has produced an analysis of the dispute.[10]

Selected works
  • (with S. S. Bahulkar) The Epic of Shivaji: A Translation and Study of Kavindra. Hyderabad: Orient Longman. 2001. ISBN 9788125020462.
  • Shivaji: Hindu king in Islamic India. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 9780195141269.
  • Meta-religion: Religion and Power in World History. University of California Press. 2014. ISBN 9780520281370.
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References
  1. James W. Laine: Faculty page at Macalester College: Religious Studies Department
  2. Christian Lee, Christian Lee Novetzke (January 2004). "The Laine Controversy and the Study of Hinduism". International Journal of Hindu Studies. 8 (1/3): 183–201. doi:10.1007/s11407-004-0008-9. JSTOR 20106888.
  3. India seeks to arrest US scholar BBC News
  4. 'Maratha' activists vandalise Bhandarkar Institute The Times of India
  5. James Laine tenders apology for remarks on Shivaji, Outlook, 27 April 2014.
  6. Supreme Court lifts ban on James Laine's book on Shivaji The Times of India
  7. Supreme Court upholds lifting of ban on Shivaji book DNA
  8. Protests over James Laine's book across Mumbai webindia123.com
  9. Hard-liners slam state, Supreme Court decision on Laine's Shivaji book DNA
  10. Laine, James W. (2011). "Resisting My Attackers; Resisting My Defenders". In Schmalz, Matthew N.; Gottschalk, Peter (eds.). Engaging South Asian Religions: Boundaries, Appropriations, and Resistances. Albany: SUNY Press. pp. 153–172. ISBN 978-1-4384-3323-3. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
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