In a thought-provoking YouTube video, a speaker from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) shares insightful reflections on the state of religion studies, political ideologies, and educational challenges in India. The speaker, who transitioned away from leftism at JNU, sheds light on various issues, including the need for diverse perspectives, intellectual freedom, and the nuanced landscape of nationalistic views. The speaker observes a stark contrast between Indian universities and renowned institutions like Cambridge, Oxford, Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford, which boast departments dedicated to divinity or religion studies.

Having joined JNU in 2016, the speaker recounts an infamous incident involving slogans, leading to disappointment with the lack of open discussions and excessive certainty among peers. The speaker proposes placing a decommissioned tank on the JNU campus to evoke a sense of war, critiquing the presence of Mao and Stalin posters. The speaker stresses the need for establishing scholarly journals outside the US and the UK, advocating for a centralized translation infrastructure to disseminate knowledge in diverse languages. The video delves into the left’s tendency to label non-conformists as “the right” and critiques the influence of orientalism and modernism as remnants of colonial logic. The video delves into the left’s tendency to label non-conformists as “the right” and critiques the influence of orientalism and modernism as remnants of colonial logic.

The speaker challenges leftist ideologies’ antagonism towards pluralistic belief systems like Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma) and highlights the nuanced nature of nationalistic views. The absence of divinity studies departments in Indian universities is attributed to the dominance of leftist ideologies. The video concludes with recommendations for exploring the concepts of nation and nationalism, suggesting works by Sri Aurobindo and Vivekananda.