After September 11 attacks in the US, Christian groups in the West are keen on an alliance with Hindu forces, claims an Indian scholar teaching in Florida.
Director of the Bangalore-based International Sanskrit Research Academy, BV Venkatakrishna Sastry who teaches "spiritual linguistics" at the Hindu University of America in Orlando, Florida, claimed that there was a growing awareness of Hinduism in the "administrative circles" in the US.
"The evangelical Christian movement, the driving force of the US administration, is looking at what kind of allies they should have for a regional and administrative balance," Sastry, 49, said.
"After the attacks, it is felt that those with an Islamic faith background will not suit the administrative approach of the US. So, the driving thrust is on Judaism, because of the situation in Palestine, and on the Asian side, Hinduism."
Noting the two predominant religions in Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism, he said that since a large number of Buddhists are from China they are ruled out as American allies because of ideological, cultural and economic differences. "That leaves Hinduism, which is more acceptable because of several factors."
Further, English is spoken everywhere in the subcontinent and communication with the US poses no problem.
"Technology wise too, India has a leading edge," Sastry said. " IIT graduates are feeding intellectual research abroad. Besides, Indian legacies such as yoga and ayurveda are widely regarded as alternative medicines and sources of spiritual healing."
The Columbia space shuttle accident in which Kalpana Chawla died created more awareness of Hinduism because of the publicity given to the India-born astronaut's background, he said.
There seemed to be a link between all this, he said and pointed out the resurgence in the interest in the decade-old Hindu University in Orlando.
"Elsewhere, Hinduism is taught as part of Indology or Sanskrit or Vedic studies or as part of linguistics and cultural studies," Sastry said.
"They look at Hinduism through the lens of Christianity and through English translations, which cannot come close to the complexities of the religion."
Besides the Western need, social pressure from Indians abroad is also contributing to the growth of Hinduism, Sastry felt.
"There are almost two million Indians in the US and every year around 75,000 go there for various reasons.
"The third generation Indian American born and brought up in the US needs a cultural base. There is a need for an authentic academic environment for Hinduism to be taught on par with other religions," said the scholar.