FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Samadarshini Launches as a New Home for Radically Inclusive Hindu Thought and Practice

New initiative builds toward fall book launch while deepening conversations on Hinduism, justice, caste, gender, democracy, and diaspora responsibility 

NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, D.C., AND NEW DELHI (June 24, 2026) — Samadarshini, a new initiative dedicated to building and sustaining a radically inclusive Hinduism, officially launches today as a public platform for theological reflection, community dialogue, and liberatory Hindu practice. The project will culminate this fall with the launch of its forthcoming anthology, Samadarshini: Seeing Equally, a collection of personal essays by religious leaders from diverse Hindu and other South Asian traditions published by Westland Books. 

Rooted in the principle of “seeing equally,” Samadarshini affirms the equal dignity and value of every human being. The initiative seeks to uplift interpretations of Hindu sacred texts, rituals, and practices that commend justice, human dignity, democracy, and care for the Earth, while rejecting caste, patriarchy, Islamophobia, religious exclusivism, and other hierarchies of oppression.

At a moment when the meaning of Hindu identity is being contested across India, the diaspora, and the world, Samadarshini offers a necessary space for rigorous, compassionate, and public conversation. Its steering committee brings together scholars, organizers, religious leaders, ritual practitioners, and community builders whose work spans India and the diaspora. Together, they are helping establish a substantial presence in India while creating a complex and necessary conversation with diaspora communities about responsibility, belonging/inclusivity, caste, nationalism, spiritual practice, and justice.

“Samadarshini asks us to take seriously the spiritual and ethical demand of equal vision,” said Sunita Viswanath, Co-Founder of Samadarshini and Co-Founder of Hindus for Human Rights. “It is not enough to say that all people are divine while leaving inherited hierarchies intact. A radically inclusive Hinduism must be anti-caste, feminist, democratic, and accountable to the communities most harmed by exclusion, not to mention our planet. This project is an invitation to build that Hinduism together, across borders and generations.”

Central to the project is the forthcoming anthology, Samadarshini: Seeing Equally, which will launch this fall. The book brings together personal essays by religious leaders from diverse Hindu and Hindu-adjacent/inspired traditions. Contributors from India and around the world reflect on how their spiritual commitments challenge casteism, racism, gender discrimination, religious exclusivism, and other inequalities. Through their own traditions and journeys, the contributors offer resources for unity, healing, love  and inclusion in the midst of growing global injustice.

“Samadarshini is not merely an intellectual project; it is a moral and theological undertaking,” said Dr. Anantanand Rambachan, Professor of Religion, Philosophy and Asian Studies at Saint Olaf College and a member of the Samadarshini Steering Committee. “The Hindu traditions contain profound resources for affirming dignity, interdependence,compassion,  and liberation. But those resources must be articulated honestly, with a willingness to confront caste, patriarchy, and other forms of domination that have also shaped our religious histories. This conversation must happen in India, in the diaspora, and wherever Hindu communities are building  their future.”

Samadarshini launches with several core offerings:

The Samadarshini Anthology
Coming this fall, Samadarshini: Seeing Equally will gather essays by religious leaders from diverse Hindu and South Asian traditions. The anthology will explore how spiritual practice can challenge casteism, racism, gender discrimination, religious exclusivism, and other inequalities, offering readers resources for healing, compassion, solidarity, and a more inclusive religious future.

Baithaks for Liberation
Samadarshini’s Baithaks for Liberation are virtual gatherings that bring together scholars, activists, religious leaders, and community members to explore what a liberatory and justice-oriented Hinduism can look like. Drawing on the South Asian history of the baithak as a space for intellectual, artistic, and spiritual exchange, the series addresses urgent contemporary issues including caste abolition, feminist ritual practice, queer belonging, interfaith solidarity, religious supremacy, and the ethical responsibilities of Hindu communities today.

Samadarshini Bookshelf
The Samadarshini Bookshelf curates books and resources that help readers explore progressive, liberatory, anti-caste, feminist, and justice-centered approaches to Hinduism and South Asian religious traditions.