Study of Diaspora Hinduism: Some Theoretical Issues

In this paper, I present Hindu materials drawn from the South African situation and contrast them with those of the Hindu materials and thereby I problematize our understanding of Hinduism. As far as the diasporic Hinduism is concerned there is no way one could understand it through Sanskrit based Hindu texts. In a sense, we have arrived at a point in our scholarship when we need to take a fresh look at our sources for Hinduism. My view is that a reasonable definition and understanding of Hinduism can only be arrived at through a coherent study of both the so called classical Sanskrit text-based traditions and the orally transmitted traditions of the Hindus.