Published March 2018
| public
Journal Article
Religious rites and scientific communities: Ayudha Puja as "culture" at the Indian Institute of Science
- Creators
- Thomas, Renny
- Geraci, Robert M.
Abstract
Ayudha Puja, a South Indian festival translated as "worship of the machines," is a dramatic example of how religion and science intertwine in political life. Across South India, but especially in the state of Karnataka, scientists and engineers celebrate the festival in offices, laboratories, and workshops by attending a puja led by a priest. Although the festival is noteworthy in many ways, one of its most immediate valences is political. In this article, we argue that Ayudha Puja normalizes Brahminical Hinduism within scientific culture through the inclusion of non-Hindus and through scientists' description of the festival as "cultural" rather than "religious."
Additional Information
© 2018 by the Joint Publication Board of Zygon. Issue online: 12 February 2018; Version of record online: 12 February 2018; Manuscript Accepted: 9 September 2017; Manuscript Revised: 1 September 2017; Manuscript Received: 20 June 2017.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 84793
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20180212-134634172
- Created
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2018-02-13Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-15Created from EPrint's last_modified field