Seeing Equally: An Anthology of Progressive Hindu Voices Comes to Ayodhya for a Conversation on Hinduism, Equality and Democracy

AYODHYA, INDIA — Seeing Equally: An Anthology of Progressive Hindu Voices will be launched in Ayodhya on Friday, October 16 at 5:30 PM at Kartaliya Baba Ashram, Nayaghat, Shri Ayodhya Dham, bringing together religious leaders, public figures, journalists and contributors for a conversation about Hinduism, democracy, equality and human dignity.

Organized by Westland Books and Kartaliya Baba Ashram, the event comes at a moment of intense debate over the role of religion in India’s public life. Seeing Equally offers a progressive Hindu response to politics rooted in religious division, caste hierarchy and exclusion, and asks what it would mean instead to center love, compassion, justice and the equal dignity of every person. 

Edited by Professor Anantanand Rambachan and Sunita Viswanath and published by Westland Books, the anthology brings together 13 essays by Hindu religious leaders and thinkers from India, the United States and Australia. Contributors examine equality, inclusion, social justice and the responsibilities of religious communities toward women, Dalits, marginalized people and members of other faiths.

At the heart of the book is a distinction between Hindu religious tradition and the political ideology of Hindutva. The contributors argue that religion should not be used to divide communities, reinforce social domination or legitimize hatred, and instead seek to recover traditions of compassion, pluralism and moral responsibility. 

The title Seeing Equally is inspired by the Indian spiritual idea of samadarshita, seeing others with equal regard. The book asks a simple but far-reaching question: if religion is intended to help human beings live better and build a more just society, how can it coexist with caste discrimination, patriarchy, religious exclusion and inequality? 

Why Ayodhya

Holding this conversation in Ayodhya gives the event particular significance. As one of India’s most important religious and cultural centers, Ayodhya provides a setting for asking what role religious traditions can play in strengthening justice, compassion, equality and social harmony rather than deepening political polarization. 

The program will include Awadhesh Prasad, Member of Parliament from Ayodhya; Pawan Pandey, former Uttar Pradesh minister; Mahant Dilip Das; journalist Suman Gupta; and book contributors Swami Raghavendra and Mahant Ram Das. 

Seeing Equally was previously launched in Delhi, and the Ayodhya gathering is part of a wider series of conversations planned across India over the coming months around progressive Hindu thought, social justice, democratic values and the humanistic role of religion. 

The book’s central proposition is that the strength of religion lies not in creating walls between people, but in bringing people together with equal dignity and respect. At a time when religious identity is increasingly drawn into political conflict, Seeing Equally offers a case for reclaiming an inclusive, compassionate and socially engaged Hindu tradition. 

EVENT DETAILS

Friday, October 16, 2026 | 5:30 PM
Kartaliya Baba Ashram, Nayaghat, Shri Ayodhya Dham

Speakers and participants include:
Awadhesh Prasad, MP, Ayodhya
Pawan Pandey, former Uttar Pradesh minister
Mahant Dilip Das
Suman Gupta, journalist and moderator
Swami Raghavendra, contributor
Mahant Ram Das, contributor