Reza Aslan under fire over documentary on 'cannibalistic' Hindu sect

Critics fear that it could increase hate attacks against Indian Americans

An American scholar and television presenter has come under heavy criticism from members of the Indian and Hindu community for his recent documentary on the obscure Aghori sect, The Guardian reported.

According to the Indians and American Hindu groups, the opening episode of the CNN series, Believers, which highlights the obscure Aghori sect, was 'Hinduphobic' and also sensationalised some aspects of the religion.

The episode that went on air across the world on Sunday comes in the backdrop of concerns by Indian government minister over the vulnerability of US-based Indians after a series of hate crimes in recent weeks.



In the programme, Reza Aslan comes across a group of Aghori nomads just outside the Hindu city of Varanasi, who force him to drink wine from a skull and smear his face in human ashes which are believed to be cremated.

One of the Aghori ascetic, who also threatened to decapitate Aslan for "a lot of talking", also forced him to eat, what he claimed was, a piece of human brain.

Following up on the episode's debut with a post on Facebook, Aslan said, "Want to know what a dead guy’s brain tastes like? Charcoal. It was burnt to a crisp!"

Aslan made it clear that the said sect, who make up only a few thousand of the world's one billion Hindus as per estimates, were a fringe group. The presenter also interviewed Aghori adherents who did not practice cannibalism.

However, focus on the extreme sect led to allegations that the episode had diminished character of Hinduism in front of the viewers with little comprehension of the religion.



"With multiple reports of hate-fuelled attacks against people of Indian origin from across the US, the show characterises Hinduism as cannibalistic, which is a bizarre way of looking at the third largest religion in the world," said US-India Political Action Committee in a statement.

"In a charged environment, a show like this can create a perception about Indian Americans which could make them more vulnerable to further attacks," it added.

The episode was also met with distaste by social media users.

It's known as the city of the dead. @rezaaslan takes you inside on the new CNN series #Believer. Starts Sunday at 10p ET. @CNNOriginals pic.twitter.com/x8RMufn8lq

— CNN (@CNN) March 4, 2017

Subsequently, the presenter ran a clarification on his Facebook page.