Author and Hindutva ideologue Rajiv Malhotra has been appointed as honorary guest lecturer in the Centre For Media Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). According to Malhotra’s Wikipedia page, he studied physics at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, after which he went on study computer science from the Syracuse University in the United States.
Thereafter, he was a “a senior executive, strategic consultant and an entrepreneur in the information technology and media industries" until he took early retirement in 1994, at age 44, to establish the Infinity Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey the next year.
Here’s a look at the life and times of the man who is now going to be lecturing PhD and post-grad students in one of India’s top-most universities.
The Infinity Foundation
According to their website, the Infinity Foundation works on two broad fields – “wisdom” and “compassion”. Below is an exact quote from their website:
“The focus in the field of wisdom includes creating, disseminating, and expanding a body of knowledge which clarifies or integrates philosophy, religion, science, psychology and non-traditional mystical disciplines; and bridging Eastern philosophies with Western thought.”
Yes. “Mystical disciplines”.
Let that settle in for a bit.
As part of the Infinity Foundation, Malhotra has also conducted some very insightful interviews with some very insightful people.
Like Vivek Agnihotri and troll-extraordinaire Madhu Kishwar.
Remember Vivek Agnihotri? The guy whose most recent claim to fame was saying “Who said facts are facts?” in an interview.
Interestingly, Malhotra interviewed Agnihotri to talk about his views on the media.
In short, a man who deems Vivek Agnihotri to be a media expert is going to be lecturing on media in India’s most premier university.
His ‘Insightful’ Discussions With Nithyanand Swami
Yes, of course. The same rape-accused Nithyanand Swami who said Albert Einstein’s famous energy formula - E=MC^2 - didn’t make any sense.
In this viral clip, Rajiv Malhotra can be seen engaging in an insightful discussion with the same Swamiji. This time, talking about “GPS mapping” Warren Buffet’s soul.
Wait, what?!
Exactly.
Malhotra goes on to explain that billionaires like Buffet, Bill Gates, etc. should invest in something he calls ‘Interlife Reincarnation Trust Management’, so that their souls can be “traced” after their death. The managers of their trust fund can then return money from the said billionaire’s trust fund to their “new, reincarnated body”, after, of course, charging a 25 percent service fee.
Quoting Satirical News Pieces As Actual Proof
Because what else would one expect from a professor of media studies?
Quoting an article by news satire site Onion, Malhotra once said the Greek Civilisation was “fabricated” by Western minds. He went on to ask, “What will Indian secularists do now?”
Well, not quote fake news. That’s what.
Critic Of Supreme Court’s Sabarimala Verdict
Malhotra has been very vocal about his views on Sabarimala, reiterating on all his social media platforms that judges must “learn basic Hindu cosmology” before passing judgments on what is a basic right to pray for half of humanity. At one point, he even goes on to ask if the Supreme Court is a “breaking India force”.
Professor Malhotra will be delivering his first lecture in JNU on 2 November.
To his students, we say, “May the force be with you”.
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