Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism

by Banu Subramaniam, Rebecca Herzig (Series Editor)

Behind the euphoric narrative of India as an emerging world power lies a complex and evolving relationship between science and religion. Evoking the rich mythology of comingled worlds where humans, animals, and gods transform each other and ancient history, Banu Subramaniam demonstrates how Hindu nationalism sutures an ideal past to technologies of the present to make bold claims about the Vedic Sciences and the scientific Vedas. Moving beyond a critique of India's emerging bionationalism, this book explores the generative possibility of myth and story, interweaving compelling new stories into a rich analysis that animates alternative imaginaries and "other" worlds of possibilities.

Genres: Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2019

About the author

Banu Subramaniam is a professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Originally trained as a plant evolutionary biologist, she writes about social and cultural aspects of science as they relate to experimental biology.

Reviews

[Sharad Pandian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If there is one insight that emerges through the five cases that animate this book, it is that the act
of tracing the arcs of power tells us more about the past, the present, and the future rather than any objective truth or any subjective belief that science or religion can reveal." (211)

maybe.

[Amrutha Subbukrishna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why are there random fictional stories between the chapters?