Name James Laine | Role Professor | |
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James W. Laine is an American academic and writer notable for his controversial book on the 17th-century Indian king, Shivaji titled, Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India.
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Background
James Laine is the Arnold H. Lowe Professor of Religious Studies and the chair of the Religious Studies department at Macalester College in Minnesota, United States. He holds a BA (1974) from Texas Tech University, an MTS (1977), and a doctorate in Theology (1984) from Harvard University.
Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India
The publication of Laine's book, Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, was followed by heavy criticism and the attack on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, India. In view of the attacks and the public unrest, the book was banned in the state of Maharashtra in January 2004. The ban was lifted by the Bombay High Court in 2007, and in July 2010 the Supreme Court of India upheld the lifting of ban, which was followed by public demonstrations against the author and the decision of the supreme court.
Laine has produced an analysis of the dispute.