Shana Lisa Sippy is an Associate Professor and Chair of Religion and Asian Studies at Centre College. She is the founding member of the Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective a.k.a The Auntylectuals with Shreena Gandhi, Harshita Mruthinthi Kamath, Sailaja Krishnamurti and Tanisha Ramachandran and co-founder of Centre College Faculty for Justice. Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective organised the Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference. She is also the co-director of the Critical Hindu Studies Seminar, Co-Director of Religious Diversity in Minnesota Initiative, co-chair for the American Academy of Religion’s (AAR) Hinduism Unit. She was on the Steering Committee for the six-year Intersectional Hindu Studies Seminar from 2019 to 2024, was co-chair for the North American Hinduisms Unit (2018-2023), Research Associate in the Department of Religion at Carleton College. She is married to Rabbi Dave Wirtschafter.
Shana Sippy was one of the speakers at the Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference where she said “Hinduism can take many forms uut we to understand the fact there is no Hindutva without Hinduism. Hindutva is inextricably linked to and is a form of Hinduism…….There is no way to dismantle Hindutva if you are going to ignore the Hinduism of it.”
Video credit: Suhag Shukla X handle
In their first article as Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective, “More than a Reading List: Challenging Anti-Black Racism in the Field of South Asian Religions“, Shana Sippy and others agree that any study of South Asian religions should “integrate gender and race” along with critical race theory, gender, and sexuality studies into their classes and research. They contend that the study of South Asian religions was formed by “white supremacy, brahminical supremacy, and hetero-patriarchy”. They write, “racism, anti-Blackness, sexism, casteism, Islamophobia, and orientalism inherently inform the scholarship on and pedagogy of South Asian religions.” Indians are perceived as “model minority” in the US which the authors believe the status is “rooted in anti-Black racism.”
Shana Sippy, as part of the Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective wrote an article “Hinduphobia is a smokescreen for Hindu nationalists” in which they write, “We became involved as organizers because we have privilege as American and Canadian citizens and as people who benefit from caste privilege.” They write that “Hindutva is a political movement that claims that only Hindus can be legitimate citizens of India, excluding India’s thriving Muslim, Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi communities.” According to them, “There is little evidence that Hindus on university campuses face widespread religious persecution, and their use of “Hinduphobia” is little more than a smokescreen. The term co-opts the language we use as social justice activists to challenge racism, white supremacy, casteism and Islamophobia, even as Hindu nationalists claiming victim status troll and threaten South Asian studies and Hindu studies scholars. The term, and the violent rhetoric employed by Hindutva supporters, is built on misinformation and fear, which are classic tools of fascism everywhere.” They write that “challenging a casteist, Islamophobic way of being Hindu does not equate to Hinduphobia.”
In a bizarre article co-authored with Sailaja Krishnamurthy, “Not all Hinduism is Hindutva, but Hindutva is in fact Hinduism” Shana Sippy writes, “We assert that although not all Hinduism is Hindutva, Hindutva is in fact Hinduism. We believe strongly that we must begin not by denying the Hinduness of Hindutva but by realising that Hindutva is a powerful, vocal, and insidious form of Hinduism.” On the issue that some global institutions and organisations wish to celebrate Hindu identity which according to them bolsters “Hindutva’s aims”. The authors argue that the notion of a Hindu identity “is a fairly recent construction that has been shaped by colonialism and nationalism” and that a Hindu identifying as Hindu signals “that one is not something else” which produces, “the hate that we see in Hindutva’s many forms.” Sippy and Krishnamurthy contend that Hinduphobia is a fabricated concept and a smokescreen for Hindutva, suggesting that the discrimination faced by Hindus in Western countries arises from being wrongly perceived as Muslims, hence they are victims of Islamophobia. The authors conclude by stating that to address the issue of Hindutva, “we must first recognise that Hindutva is indeed a part of Hinduism.”
Speaking to Kalpana Jain for her piece “Good wives, good soldiers: Durga Vahini women take up arms to protect Hindu identity“, Shana Sippy said “Durga Vahini has used the imagery of the goddess with both raudra and saumya. It is quite disturbing and masterful — a feeling of empowerment in the midst of submission. It isn’t about just ‘go home and serve your husband,’ but ‘be a soldier’. [They emphasize] the important role that women have to play in the building of the nation”. She essentially said that Durga Vahini invokes Hindu Goddess imagery because of its potential for violence. Sippy explains, “While goddesses can be fierce and angry, they are also loving mothers. Women who participate in Durga Vahini are emboldened by how those two sides of the goddess can be manifest in their own love for what they see as the Hindu nation.”
As part of the Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective, Shana Sippy participated in writing a letter to the Seattle City Council in support of the ordinance proposed by Kshama Sawant to ban caste-based discrimination. In the letter, they assert that “Hinduism and Hindu—not only arise in conjunction with forms of white supremacy and caste supremacy but are imbricated with them.” They argue that any Hindu advocacy group that opposes the caste bill is “aligned with right-wing ethnonationalist movements in India.” The authors base their argument on a caste survey conducted by Equality Labs that was flawed, unscientific and fabricated and specifically conducted to portray a skewed picture of caste in the US.
Shana Sippy and other members of the Feminist Critical Hindu Studies participated in the retreat Reflections on a Critical Hindu Studies Pedagogies Seminar organised by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. Wabash Centre‘s website mentions they are non-sectarian its founders were Presbyterian Ministers.
Shana Sippy’s X handle: @shana_sippy
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