South Asian Studies Department Apologizes for ‘Insensitive’ Image on Sanskrit Program Website After Backlash

The Department of South Asian Studies apologized Friday after an image long displayed on Harvard’s Sanskrit program website — and later removed — drew criticism from Hindu advocacy groups.

In a statement released Friday, the department wrote that the image — which had appeared on the program’s webpage since 2024 — was “insensitive” and that it was reviewing its internal practices in response to the criticism. The statement did not specify whether the public backlash prompted the image’s removal.

“The South Asian Studies Department deeply regrets the posting of an insensitive image in relation to our Sanskrit program,” the statement read. “As a department, we have a long and celebrated history of teaching Sanskrit, and we remain committed to teaching the language and the great intellectual and cultural tradition it carries.”

The department added that it was reviewing its social media procedures to “ensure future posts more accurately reflect the mission and values of the Department.”

The department did not respond to a request for comment on what specific measures that review would entail.

The image, which was used to promote the department’s Elementary Sanskrit course, depicted Hindu figures rendered as marionettes, with five figures shown dangling from strings. Critics interpreted the figures as the Pandavas, the central actors in the Indian epic Mahabharata.

The Coalition of Hindus of North America — which objected to the image in a widely circulated X post on Thursday — wrote that the image was offensive.

“A scene that feels straight out of a horror movie, starring a dark Hindu figure (notice the Tilak on his forehead) dangling some sort of ghostly figurines in his hands,” the group wrote.

The graphic no longer appears on the program’s website, which includes course descriptions of classes like Sanskrit 101A: “Elementary Sanskrit,” Sanskrit 102BR: “Intermediate Sanskrit,” and Sanskrit 200AR: “Advanced Philosophical Sanskrit.”

Pushpita Prasad, chief of communications at the Coalition of Hindus of North America, said the image was part of a broader pattern in how the department has presented South Asian traditions.

“This is sort of an ongoing problem with Harvard’s South Asia department,” Prasad said.

Prasad alleged that the department has repeatedly selected imagery that, in her view, lacks sufficient cultural and historical context. The department did not respond to a request for comment on her criticism.

On its website, the department describes the study of Sanskrit as “absolutely essential for unlocking the profundities and the complexities of the life of the mind and of the heart in classical South Asia.”

The episode comes amid broader questions about the scale and visibility of South Asian Studies at Harvard. According to this year’s Fields of Concentration Handbook, the department had five total concentrators in the last academic year, making it the University’s smallest academic department.

The department’s statement also clarified that the image was not affiliated with the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, which is also based at Harvard but operates independently.

Prasad said the Coalition of Hindus of North America was preparing a formal letter to send to the department outlining what she described as a systemic pattern of misrepresentation.

“It is very rare for practicing Hindus, mainstream Hindu organizations, to be consulted on Hinduism,” she said.

—Staff writer Andrew R. Levy can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @andrewlevy312.

—Staff writer Alexandria J. Villasenor can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ajv.03.