tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75926158701769129482024-03-12T23:47:03.643-07:00Hitchhiker's Guide to Rajiv Malhotra's WorksCurating Rajiv Malhotra's Works. Online Resource, Database, Crowd Sourcing, and Expert Feedback on Contemporary Hinduism, Dharmic India, and topics covered in 'Breaking India', 'Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism", 'Indra's Net: Defending Hinduism's Philosophical Unity', 'The Battle For Sanskrit', and the newly released book 'Academic Hinduphobia'.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-83982128499539642852019-02-02T15:44:00.001-08:002019-02-02T15:53:00.192-08:00CAPEEM's work results in landmark to expose Hinduphobics in California Department of Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_798"><span style="font-size: large;">Important Post by Rajiv Malhotra. Visit the egroup for full details, updates, and discussion.</span></span></b></h2>
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LANDMARK RULING IN US FEDERAL COURT AGAINST HINDUPHOBIC CABAL: The ruling is available at: <a href="https://t.co/JFo6HcEuYK">https://t.co/JFo6HcEuYK</a><br />
The background & my analysis is posted on my egroup at: <a href="https://t.co/iFFAuP8RRl">https://t.co/iFFAuP8RRl</a></div>
— Rajiv Malhotra (@RajivMessage) <a href="https://twitter.com/RajivMessage/status/1091832253468930048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_798"><a href="http://capeem.org/docs/OrderToUnseal.pdf">http://capeem.org/docs/OrderToUnseal.pdf</a></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_801"><u>The above court ruling should be read after reading the following press release. My comments come after that press release.</u></span></div>
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<div class="ygrps-yiv-1537131128m_388153850552552280western" id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_766" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #202020; display: block; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; margin: 10px 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_806" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_805" style="font-size: 14px;"><b id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_804" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">FEDERAL COURT UNSEALS RECORDS OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S RELIGIOUS BIAS SCHEME</b></span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_782" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">FREMONT, CA<br />02 FEBRUARY 2019</b></span><br /><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_781" style="font-size: 12px;">Judge Charles Breyer has unsealed emails showing Department of Education officials soliciting and coordinating professors’ anti-Hindu reports on 2016 drafts of the California-History Social Science Framework that were falsely presented as “public comment.”<br /><br />Tom Adams, the Deputy Superintendent at the California Department of Education, who has a history of working behind the scenes with professors who create anti-Hindu curriculum content, secretly contacted a group of professors with whom he had worked in the past. One of the professors, Jonathan Kenoyer of the University of Wisconsin, had co-authored a textbook the Curriculum Commission had rejected in 2005 for mocking Hinduism. Adams had then organized a group of professors who had not read this book to protest its rejection and used their protests to manipulate the State Board of Education into overruling the Commission’s decision to reject the textbook.<br /><br />The scheme by Adams to avoid the process for retaining experts as contemplated by California Department of Education regulation and secretly recruit professors who could be relied upon to provide content derogatory of Hinduism during the Framework adoption process in 2016 was revealed through a subpoena on Kenoyer in the case of <i id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_831" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) v. Torlakson</i>, No. 3:17-cv-00635, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The emails among the professors show they understood they were to use “smoke and mirrors” to address the input of Hindu groups and one of the professors recognized that “readers of our report can imagine that [the report] is meant to undermine the legitimacy of Hinduism as a religion (and Hinduism uniquely among religions, at that).” One comment that shows the hostility of the professors accuses Hindus of appropriating the Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita and calling it the foundation of Hinduism.<br /><br />The emails had been filed under seal until Thursday, when Judge Breyer agreed with the plaintiffs and ruled that neither the Regents of the University of California nor Professor Kenoyer had shown “compelling reasons” to keep the records under seal. “This is an important ruling that rejects the notion that government officials and professors can hide behind the label ‘academic freedom’ and allows all Californians to better understand how their government develops the public school curriculum,” noted Arvind Kumar, a board member of the Fremont-based CAPEEM. “Unfortunately, the emails reveal secrecy and doublespeak,” he added.<br /><br />The court made clear that unsealed records may well be relevant to the claims brought by CAPEEM and Bay Area parents that the Framework is derogatory to Hinduism, since they argue that state officials coordinated with the professors to provide reports on the curriculum was falsely construed as public comment. “We knew that the content of the Framework treats Hinduism differently from other faiths but the emails show the bad faith by the officials who created that content,” said Glenn Katon, an Oakland civil rights lawyer representing CAPEEM and the parents. “This is another strong indication of the State’s violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”<br /><br />The Court has yet to rule on motions filed by both sides arguing they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The order and unsealed documents and can be found <span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a data-rapid_p="2" href="https://capeem.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=afd767393db532690a3a636a5&id=3ae581907a&e=125e087945" rel="nofollow" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">here</a></u></span>.<br /><br />For media inquiries, contact <a data-rapid_p="3" href="mailto:media@..." rel="nofollow" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">media@...</a> or (510) 463-3350.</span></span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1537131128m_388153850552552280western" id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_877" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #202020; display: block; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; margin: 10px 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Rajiv: </span></span></span></div>
<ol id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_849" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 1em 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_848" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_847" style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_846" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_845" style="font-size: 12px;">Infinity Fdn was the first to fund Capeem more than a decade back, and ever since they have persisted in their legal campaign to fight textbook biases. Others like Hindu American Foundation have come and gone, after declaring quick/superficial victories for publicity and fund raising. Such work takes decades of dedicated investment and Capeem has done this. Nobody else has done this to the same extent on the California matter.</span></span></span></b></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_853" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_852" style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_851" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_850" style="font-size: 12px;">I would like CApeem to quickly put up in the public domain the entire unsealed email archive containing toxic Hinduphobic material.</span></span></span></b></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_857" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_856" style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_855" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_854" style="font-size: 12px;">I know both the culprits named in the court order - Jonathan Kenoyer and Kamala Visweswaran, both professors in prominent US universities. Kenoyer speaks fluent Hindi with native accent and is competent, having been raised in one of India's hill station boarding schools - his parents worked for a foreign enterprise in India when he was young. So he is skilled at making Indians touch his feet and he can easily disguise himself as a desi man with fair skin.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_861" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_860" style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_859" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_858" style="font-size: 12px;">Kenoyer is the one who convinced Baroda Univ to give US scholars full access to the Indus-Sarasvati archeological artifacts even before Indian scholars got to study them. Dilip Chakrabarti of Cambridge (recently won a Padma award) wrote letters of complaint to then CM Narendra Modi, explaining the loss of national heritage by letting these foreign scholars access the sensitive material and interpret it in their own biased way. He got no response. I then raised the same issue also with GOI but got nowhere. To the best of my knowledge the arrangement between Baroda Univ and US universities stands unchanged. (It reminds me of the recent move by CM Yogi Adityanath to invite foreign universities to study the Kumbh Mela. We have separate threads on that issue.)</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_867" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_869" style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_868" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_870" style="font-size: 12px;">I was shocked that Navin Doshi funded this Baroda Univ project to bring US archeologists & anthropologists like Kenoyer inside the Indus-Sarasvati excavation space. Shri Doshi is not concerned with my issues - even after the scandal where UCLA hired a radical Leftist to occupy the Indian history Chair funded by Doshi.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_874" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_873" style="background-color: #fdef2b;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_872" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_871" style="font-size: 12px;">Amidst such rampant sellouts by Indians, from businessmen to government, it is rare to find dedicated folks like CAPEEM.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_875" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: decimal !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_881" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_880" style="font-size: 12px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1549150268170_879" style="background-color: #fdef2b;">This is a milestone no doubt. Let us data mine this archive of emails quickly and responsibly.</span></span></span></li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-79122555673055495402018-02-02T05:53:00.000-08:002018-02-02T05:53:45.027-08:00Rejecting "Hinduism = Rightwing"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
(<i><a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RajivMalhotraDiscussion/conversations/topics/8480" target="_blank">RM forum thread</a> from October 2014 on a topic that is as relevant today as it was then. emphasis ours</i>).<br />
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<i>Posted by Rajiv Malhotra:</i>Many Hindu leaders refer to themselves as Rightwing in order to differentiate from the Left. The Left/Right categories need to be understood as an instance of Western Universalism not applicable to us.<br />
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After the French Revolution, in the new parliament it was possible for peasants also to get elected as MPs. Earlier the MPs were only feudal/landlords. However, the peasants and landlords elected did not like to sit together. For one thing, French people did not have the habit of bathing and hence their bodies would stink. The rich (landlords) had perfumes to cover up the bad odor. Perfume was expensive and used only by the rich. It was a sign of being rich. So the rich with perfume sat on one side, while the poor without perfume sat on the other side of the aisle in the parliament room. <br />
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They did not know each other by name and the atmosphere was not always friendly. People started referring to an opponent as "the person on the Right (of the aisle)", and conversely, the man on the right would refer to "the person on the Left". The journalists started reporting to the debates as positions from the Left or Right respectively. This is how the poor seeking economic equality became known as the voices on the Left, while the elitists representing wealth were the Right.<br />
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<b>A foolish JNU student once asked me, "Sir I am confused whether you are Leftwing or Rightwing. Please clarify who you are." </b><br />
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I replied: My tradition is to bather my body daily. Hence no stink and no need for perfume to cover that up. So I cannot be classified either as some using perfume to cover up the odor, or as someone stinking because of the lack of perfume.<br />
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Jokes aside, the Left/Right categories are superficial, silly. In the West, Left/Right refer to two separate packages of values. But this simplification does not allow mixing and matching across these packages.<br />
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<b>Right commonly means a religious (i.e. Judeo-Christian) person who supports pro-rich economic policy, and elitist social programs. The Leftist is for the poor, against religion, bigger government, etc.</b><br />
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Question: Was Mohandas Gandhi a Leftist or Rightist? He was championing the poor, making him a Leftist. But he was articulate about supporting his dharma, making him a Rightwing. Many Hindu organizations do a lot for the poor, contradicting this neat pair of categories. There are many "secular" elitists, billionaires, etc. - again not easy to put into a box.<br />
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Hindu economic thought reflected in itihas, dharmashastra, arthashastra, etc. cannot be classified as elitist. It just does not fit this strange classification system. The lifestyle mandated for a brahmin is very simple, hardly resembling the typical Rightwing American.<br />
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<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Hindus should not classify themselves as Rightwing. Many so-called champions of "the Hindu Right" have become sucked into WU and operate in this colonial framework.</b></span><br />
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However, I do refer to some of my opponents as Leftists, because <b>THEY </b>brand <b>themselves </b>proudly in this manner. I am simply calling them by the name they give themselves.<br />
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A White Hindu who attended my workshop yesterday in Washington did not understand why I criticized this Left/Right categorizing. I proposed that we abandon this way to classify ourselves, and classify behavior as dharmic/adharmic. Those ideas are better defined for us.<br />
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She falsely assumed that I meant: Right = dharma, and Left = adharma. Hence she felt my classification system of dharma/adharma was insulting. She has no clue what dharma/adharma means and yet she blogs as "White Hindu". Need for more education.<br />
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I am not merely changing words from English to Sanskrit. I am demolishing the framework in which Left/Right are ways of classifying all persons, my intention being to rescue Hindus from self-branding themselves as Rightwing.<br />
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As a Hindu I espouse many qualities of the American Left and yet many other qualities of the American Right. I am not limited by either. I disagree with many things on both sides. This grid does not capture who I am.<br />
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<i>Rajiv Malhotra adds another post in the thread:</i><br />
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<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>See below example of how Amercians are dissatisfied with the Left/Right dichotomy and are trying to build a new "synthetic unity". </b></span>Why do we want to import this artificial divide in the first place? And then a decade later we will be borrowing American "Future Left" to cure the disease we imported. Instead we should develop new smritis using our frameworks.<br />
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A Virtual Caucus on the “Future Left"<br />
Saturday, October 25, 2014,10:00 AM Pacific <br />
<a href="http://terrypatten.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9161da7cbf077ae34eb4cd86e&id=b487a0eda5&e=9cade3b387">Click here to register for the free call</a><br />
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We'll be explaining what we mean by the “Future Left”—and how you can recognize it in yourself and others, and why it represents the future of progressive politics. Elizabeth Debold will also be a panelist and together with Steve and Carter, we'll examine how progressive politics is changing and how you can play a role in that transformation.<br />
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Both Steve and Carter are close personal friends of mine and I have followed the development of their Institute for Cultural Evolution from its beginnings in 2012. Last April, their white paper, Depolarizing the American Mind, was released to the public on the same day as our <a href="http://terrypatten.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9161da7cbf077ae34eb4cd86e&id=e962364e9c&e=9cade3b387">Beyond Awakening dialogue</a>, where Carter and Steve articulated their strategies for overcoming the "wicked" problem of political polarization in America by helping to evolve both the Left and the Right. Their thesis is that the political polarity of Left and Right is relatively permanent and existential, continuing to reappear in new forms as society changes and evolves. Their approach accordingly seeks to anticipate the future state of these existential political positions by describing the form that the “Future Left” and “Future Right” will likely take in the decades ahead. <br />
<br />
According to Carter and Steve:<br />
<br />
An evolutionary principle for working with positive-positive existential polarities, such as “liberal and conservative”, is that each pole needs the other for its own further and fuller development. If one pole dominates or vanquishes the other, pathology is the inevitable result. Applied to politics, this principle indicates that the most sound and politically effective liberal and progressive positions will be those that integrate legitimate conservative values, while still remaining true to their original progressive values. Conservative values can serve to improve liberal positions by challenging and moderating such positions in a way that makes them stronger. The same can be said about the role of liberal values in strengthening conservative positions.<br />
<br />
By helping progressive politics move from a position of antithesis, which rejects many of the values of the rest of American society, to a more synthetic position that can better value what America has achieved, we hope to contribute to the emergence of progressive political positions that are able to overcome polarization and accomplish many of their laudable political goals. As described in "Depolarizing the American Mind", we are working to evolve the overall consciousness of the American electorate by increasing the quality and quantity of what people are able to value.<br />
<br />
I invite you to j<a href="http://terrypatten.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9161da7cbf077ae34eb4cd86e&id=0c1ea74bd6&e=9cade3b387">oin us on Saturday </a>and help to define and develop a more evolved form of left wing politics. In this free conference call you will:<br />
Better understand the deeper cultural and historical forces that explain how our nation has become increasingly polarized.<br />
Take part in a “participatory caucus” where you can voice your opinion and vote for your priorities.<br />
Develop a newfound hope and sense of potential in relation to the political, social, and environmental crises we currently face as a nation.<br />
Discover how to view current issues through a developmental lens―which changes how we think about creating change.<br />
Hear what pioneers of the “Future Left” have to say about the most important political issues of our time.<br />
Develop a new understanding of what political leadership entails from an evolutionary perspective.<br />
A Virtual Caucus on the “Future Left<br />
Saturday, October 25, 2014,10:00 AM Pacific <br />
..<br />
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1517577679864_1274" style="background-color: #fdf869; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , , "roboto"; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_2_1517577679864_1273" style="font-weight: bold;">Rajiv: BD explains the absence of the "middle" in western thought, hence tendency towards two mutually exclusive options</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , , "roboto"; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-57987664920685065252017-12-02T20:38:00.002-08:002017-12-02T20:38:37.185-08:00A Grand Narrative Needs Correct Chronology : Reviving the works of Pandit Kota Venkatachalam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54674"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54675" style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RajivMalhotraDiscussion/conversations/topics/16071" target="_blank">link </a>to RMF thread.</span></b></div>
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<b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54674"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54675" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54674"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54675" style="font-size: 10pt;">NOTE</span></b><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54676" style="font-size: 10pt;">: This is a long post, and I sincerely apologize for that. The topic is so vast that it is difficult to summarize. I request your patience and indulgence in reading this completely. The purpose of this extemporaneous message is to introduce the works of Pandit Kota Venkatachalam (my grandfather) and his work in<span> </span><u id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54677">re-constructing Indian chronology</u><span> </span><u id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54678">from primary sources</u>. Pandit Venkatachalam’s work could potentially become the basis for the development of a Grand Narrative.</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54681" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54684"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54685" style="font-size: 10pt;">Introduction</span></b></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54688" style="font-size: 10pt;">The development of a Grand Narrative for any civilization depends on its true history. The true history, in turn, depends on a correct chronology of events. Knowing that Indian chronology has been tampered with and distortions introduced by European Indologists, the roadmap to developing a Grand Narrative for Bharat is:</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54691" style="font-size: 10pt;">1.<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54692" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54693" style="font-size: 10pt;">Construct and validate the true chronology of events. The requires the removal of distortions introduced, and the re-construction from primary sources</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54695" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54696" style="font-size: 10pt;">2.<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54697" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54698" style="font-size: 10pt;">Develop the history of the civilization from the chronology. This would be accomplished by adding the social, economic, cultural and political dimensions to the chronology</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54700" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54701" style="font-size: 10pt;">3.<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54702" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54703" style="font-size: 10pt;">Develop a Grand Narrative for the civilization, based on where we came from and who we are</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54705" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54706" style="font-size: 10pt;">Fortunately, step (1) above has largely been done for us by Pandit Kota Venkatachalam. We can use this as the basis for validation to begin work on step (2) and to ultimately develop our Grand Narrative.</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54709" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54712"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54713" style="font-size: 10pt;">Brief Bio of</span></b><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54714" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54715">Pandit Kota Venkatachalam</b></span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54717" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54718" style="font-size: 10pt;">A Sanskrit scholar and historian who combined the knowledge of Geography, Mathematics, Astronomy, Jyotisha Sastra and dedicated many years of his life to the re-construction of Indian chronology from primary sources. He has written over 23 books (described below), each dealing with a specific topic. He has been conferred the titles of<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54719"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54720">“Bhaarata Charitra Bhaskara”, “Vimarsakgresara”, “Paakayaji”</i></b><span> </span>for his works. His is other contributions include:</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54722" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54723" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54724" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54725"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54726"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54727" style="font-size: 10pt;">“Xandrames, Sandrocottus and Sandrocyptus”</span></i></b><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54728" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span> </span>– Paper and Speech delivered at the Indian History Conference, Jaipur, Rajputana, 1951</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54731" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54732" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54733" style="font-size: 10pt;">Interviewee and Responder to the First Sanskrit Commission, 1956</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54736" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54739" style="font-size: 10pt;">Pandit Venkatachalam took<span> </span><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_55375">sanyas<span> </span></i>in 1957 and became the<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54740"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54741">Peethadhipati of the Sri Abhinava Virupaksha Peetham,<span> </span></i></b>He was known then, as<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54742"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54743">Jagadguru Sankaracharya Sri Advayananda Sankarabharati Swamy</i></b><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54744">.</i></span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54746" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54747" style="font-size: 10pt;">Swamy ji attained<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54748"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54749">Siddhi</i></b><span> </span>on November 12, 1959 AD, or<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54750"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54751">Kali Saka 5060, Vikari, Karthika Suddha Trayodasi</i></b>.</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54753" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54754" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54756" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54757"><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54758" style="font-size: 10pt;">Summary of Pandit Venkatachalam’s Work and Results</span></b></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54760" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54761" style="font-size: 10pt;">The history of a civilization may be reconstructed from ancient texts, geological evidence, archaeological evidence, coins and inscriptions. Of these, ancient texts are usually considered the primary evidence, whereas the others are considered corroborative evidence.</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54763" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54764" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54766" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54767" style="font-size: 10pt;">Pandit Chalam exposes the motives of the Indologists who, being staunch Christians, could not accept the Hindu belief that we are in the 28<sup id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54768" style="vertical-align: text-top;">th</sup><span> </span>Kaliyuga, which meant that the universe was 195 crore years old. They were convinced that, according to the Old Testament, the world was created in six days during October 4004 BC. Due to this, the European Indologists rejected the Puranas and other ancient texts as fiction, and began to look for European evidence to develop the history of India. William Jones was almost a century before Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and geology accepting that the earth was a couple of billion years old.</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54770" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54771" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54773" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54774" style="font-size: 10pt;">Indian history had to fit within the Biblical timeline. So, William Jones, in consultation with Warren Hastings, the then Governor General, began doctoring dates to fit within this timeframe. He rejected everything before the Kaliyuga as<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54775"><i id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54776">fictional</i></b>. The only event that connected the West with the East was Alexander’s sojourn to the East. Jones had to connect Alexander to some event in India. Jones and others did the following:</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54778" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54779" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54780" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54781" style="font-size: 10pt;">Discarded Indian texts as fictional and unreliable</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54783" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54784" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54785" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54786" style="font-size: 10pt;">Relied on vague accounts of foreign travelers (Megasthenes, Fa Hien, Hiuen Tsang)</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54788" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54789" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54790" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54791" style="font-size: 10pt;">Decided that Xandrames, Sandrocottus and Sandrocyptus, from Megasthenes’ Indika, were referring to, Mahapadmananda, Chandragupta and Bindusara of the Maurya dynasty, even though they were clearly referring to Chandramas (Chandrasri), Chandragupta and Samudragupta of the Gupta dynasty.</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54793" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54794" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54795" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54796" style="font-size: 10pt;">Doctored coins to falsify history, and used these as confirmatory sources of dates</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54798" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54799" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54800" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54801" style="font-size: 10pt;">Tampered with some inscriptions (eg, Aihole), while ignoring others</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54803" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54804" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54805" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54806" style="font-size: 10pt;">Tampered with Kalhana’s Rajatarangini and other books</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54808" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54809" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54810" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54811" style="font-size: 10pt;">Declared Vikramaditya of Ujjain and Salivahana were fictional characters and removed the dynasty of Agni Vamsa from 101 BC to 1193 AD (~1300 years) to make the timeline fit within the constraints</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54813" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54814" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54816" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54817" style="font-size: 10pt;">The results of this were:</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54819" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54820" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54821" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54822" style="font-size: 10pt;">Buddha got pushed from 1887 BC to the 6<sup id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54823" style="vertical-align: text-top;">th</sup><span> </span>century BC</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54825" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54826" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54827" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54828" style="font-size: 10pt;">Chandragupta Maurya got pushed from 1534 BC to 327 BC</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54830" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54831" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54832" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54833" style="font-size: 10pt;">Adi Sankaracharya got pushed from 509 BC to 788 AD</span></div>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54835" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54836" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54837" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54838" style="font-size: 10pt;">The Gupta dynasty got pushed from 327 BC well into AD</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54841" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54842" style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span> </span></span></span><span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54843" style="font-size: 10pt;">Vikramaditya of Ujjain, Salivahana and the Agni Vamsa kings were removed from history</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54849" style="font-size: 10pt;">Pandit Chalam spent significant years re-constructing the true chronology from primary sources while cross-referencing and validating across multiple sources. He corroborated his findings with inscriptions (eg, Aihole, two of Janamejaya’s inscriptions), archaeological evidence.</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54852" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54855" style="font-size: 10pt;">He refuted the<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54856">Aryan Invasion Theory,<span> </span></b>and came up with the<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54857">“Out of India</b><span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54858">Theory”</b>, suggesting that the<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54859">Mlechchha</b><span> </span>kings, particularly the<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54860">Yavana Kings</b><span> </span>(kings who had stopped observing Vedic rituals and were ex-communicated. They were driven to the north-western frontier of Bharatvarsha – to what is the present day Afghanistan) migrated westward to occupy the eastern and southern parts of Greece. This place is now called<span> </span><b id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54861">Iona</b>, a bastardized name for Yavana, This would then explain how knowledge traveled from East to West, as well as the similarities between the Greek and Hindu systems and beliefs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_55272" style="font-size: 10pt;">The sources consulted by Pandit Venkatachalam for his work are too many to exhaustively name here, but a few examples are the Rig Veda, Surya Siddhanta, the Puranas (Brahmanda, Vishnu, Bhavishya, Bhagavat), Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, Nepal Rajavamsavali and Buddhist writings among many, many others. His hard work now provides us a re-constructed chronology, from which we can develop the history and thereby, the Grand Narrative.</span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_54864" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span id="ygrps-yiv-753142289yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1512147951739_59261" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: justify;">Please let me know if you have heard of him and his works, would like more information, or would like to collaborate on future work. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-12022641332000813922017-06-13T19:23:00.001-07:002017-06-15T06:47:15.071-07:00A small but significant contribution towards changing the discourse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This post is reproduced from <a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RajivMalhotraDiscussion/conversations/topics/15493" target="_blank">this</a> thread in Rajiv Malhotra's forum posted by Infinity Foundation India (IFI). Please visit the forum to follow the developments in this thread and thank these two independent Swadeshi Indology (SI) scholars for their contribution.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Dear Listfolk,</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/RJSsEA6fpJE" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/RJSsEA6fpJE" target="_blank">Manogna Sastry and Megh Kalyanasundaram</a>,</b> <b> </b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"></span><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>two scholars from the SI movement have managed to effect a small but significant change in the official narrative of Indian history as was found in a link on the National Portal of India. They used provisions of the RTI (Right to Information) and the Public Grievances mechanism, to engage with ICHR, PMO, MHRD and NIC for about 6 months to get the change effected</b>.</span><span style="background-color: yellow;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Their achievement can be tracked through the below note. We hope that more scholars from the SI movement will be able to make meaningful interventions in the coming years on very many issues that pertain to the discourse on India.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Many thanks to Manogna and Megh for their efforts.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A note from them is appended below:</span></span></b></div>
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The "<b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8916">History</b>" link in the section "<b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8917">Know India</b>" on the<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8918" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8919"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8920" lang="EN-GB"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://india.gov.in/&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNFIvyrznbvn47WQBIzFYXMWMNmc1A" href="https://india.gov.in/" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8921" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8922" lang="EN-US">National Portal of India</span></a></span></span>, a link on India's <span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8923"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8924" lang="EN-GB"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.mea.gov.in/&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNGVke0TM4N28GGFuDeUrKHxLZokiw" href="http://www.mea.gov.in/" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8925" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8926" lang="EN-US">Ministry of External Affairs website</span></a></span></span>, which receives about 30,000 views* each month (*Statshow estimates as on 2017 May 20), until April this year contained the following information in its narrative about India's history:<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8927" lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8928" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
In the section<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8929" lang="EN-GB"> “</span><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8930">The Indus Valley Civilization”:</b></div>
<blockquote id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8931" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8932" style="text-align: justify;">
"Among various causes ascribed to the decay of Indus Valley Civilization are the invasion by the Aryans, the recurrent floods and other natural causes like earthquake, etc."</div>
</blockquote>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8933" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
In the section<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8934" lang="EN-GB"> “</span><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8935">Vedic Civilization”:</b></div>
<blockquote id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8936" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8937" style="text-align: justify;">
"The Vedic civilization is the earliest civilization in the history of ancient India associated with the coming of Aryans. It is named after the Vedas, the early literature of the Hindu people. The Vedic Civilization flourished along the river Saraswati, in a region that now consists of the modern Indian states of Haryana and Punjab. Vedic is synonymous with Aryans and Hinduism, which is another name for religious and spiritual thought that has evolved from the Vedas. The largely accepted view is that a section of Aryans reached the frontiers of the Indian subcontinent around 2000 BC and first settled in Punjab and it is here, in this land, where the hymns of Rigveda were composed.<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8938" lang="EN-GB"> </span>The Aryans lived in tribes and spoke Sanskrit, which belonged to the Indo-European group of languages. Gradually, the Aryans intermingled with the local people and a historic synthesis was worked out between the Aryan tribes and the original inhabitants. This synthesis broadly came to be known as Hinduism. The Ramayana and Mahabharata were the two great epics of this period."</div>
</blockquote>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8939" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
In the section<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8940" lang="EN-GB"> “</span><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8941">Indian Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)”: </b></div>
<blockquote id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8942" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8943" style="text-align: justify;">
"In ancient times, people from all over the world were keen to come to India. The Aryans came from Central Europe and settled down in India."</div>
</blockquote>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8944" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
One way to see more clearly, the implications of statements above, might be to read them again after re-ordering some of them, as follows: </div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8945" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8946" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8947" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
1. The Vedic civilization is the earliest civilization in the history of ancient India associated with the coming of Aryans.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8948" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2. The Aryans came from Central Europe and settled down in India.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8949" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
3. The largely accepted view is that a section of Aryans reached the frontiers of the Indian subcontinent around 2000 BC and first settled in Punjab and it is here, in this land, where the hymns of Rigveda were composed.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8950" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
4. Vedic is synonymous with Aryans and Hinduism, which is another name for religious and spiritual thought that has evolved from the Vedas.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8951" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
5. The Aryans lived in tribes and spoke Sanskrit, which belonged to the Indo-European group of languages.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8952" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
6. Gradually, the Aryans intermingled with the local people and a historic synthesis was worked out between the Aryan tribes and the original inhabitants.<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8953" lang="EN-GB"> </span>This synthesis broadly came to be known as Hinduism.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8954" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
7. Among various causes ascribed to the decay of Indus Valley Civilization are the invasion by the Aryans, the recurrent floods and other natural causes like earthquake, etc.</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8955" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8956" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8957" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
One way to summarize the above could be:</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8958" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8959"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8960" /></i></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8961" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8962">Vedic Civilization is associated with the arrival of some Central Europeans (Aryans) who spoke an Indo-European language Sanskrit, invaded Indian subcontinent around 2000 BC, contributed in ending the so-called Indus Valley civilization and during their stay composed the Rig Veda and "worked out" Hinduism while they "intermingled" with "the original inhabitants".</i></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8963" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8964" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8965" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
What should be evident to any objective reader is how (unsubstantiated hypotheses such as) Aryan<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8966" lang="EN-GB"> </span>Invasion and (Proto-) Indo-European have been used to ascribe (atleast in part and covertly, at the very least) origins of Vedas, Sanskrit and Hinduism to Central Europe when, till date, no absolutely conclusive evidence proves either of these, what may be not unreasonably called "motivated", hypotheses. [For some recent treatments of "Aryan" and "Indo-European", see<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8967" lang="EN-GB"> </span><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8968"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8969" lang="EN-GB">Chavda A.L. </span></b><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8970" lang="EN-GB">(2017), </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8971"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8972" lang="EN-GB"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://indiafacts.org/aryan-invasion-myth-21st-century-science-debunks-19th-century-indology/&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNFErGp8SAEYws8-P4sLN-UIf7lPTg" href="http://indiafacts.org/aryan-invasion-myth-21st-century-science-debunks-19th-century-indology/" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8973" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8974" lang="EN-US">Aryan Invasion Myth: How 21st Century Science Debunks 19th Century Indology</span></a></span></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8975" lang="EN-GB">; </span><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8976"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8977" lang="ES-TRAD">Kazanas, </span></b><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8978"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8979"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8980" lang="ES-TRAD">Nicholas </span></b></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8981" lang="EN-GB">(2<wbr></wbr>017),<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8982"><i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8983"> </i></span></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8984"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8985" lang="EN-GB"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://indiafacts.org/fallacies-proto-indo-european/&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNGmEvMtulVKmSeGXPxrI6SB8_cQEg" href="http://indiafacts.org/fallacies-proto-indo-european/" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8986" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8987" lang="EN-US">Fallacies of Proto-Indo-European</span></a></span></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8988" lang="EN-GB">; </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8989"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8990"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8991" lang="EN-GB">Sastry, Manogna and Kalyanasundaram, Megh</span></b></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8992" lang="EN-GB"> (2017), </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8993"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8994" lang="EN-GB"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DRJSsEA6fpJE&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNHfPm_kpI8d9yh8dv-tRQqfvnMYRw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJSsEA6fpJE" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8995" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8996" lang="EN-US">Purva Paksa of Sheldon Pollock's Use of Chronology</span></a></span></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8997" lang="EN-GB">; </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8998"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_8999"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9000" lang="IT">Danino, Michel </span></b></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9001" lang="EN-GB">(2016), </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9002"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9003" lang="EN-GB"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DRT4pUJMDV2Y&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNGBV_aBygT107t5mJzKXZaYmHFXuw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT4pUJMDV2Y" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9004" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9005" lang="EN-US">A series of lectures on the Aryan issue - PART 01</span></a></span></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9006" lang="EN-GB"> and </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9007"><i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9008">The Aryan Issue </i></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9009" lang="EN-GB">(2016); </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9010"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9011"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9012" lang="PT">Malhotra, Rajiv </span></b></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9013" lang="EN-GB">(2011), </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9014"><i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9015">Breaking India,</i></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9016" lang="EN-GB"> </span>p. 15-35 “Inventing the Aryan Race”<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9017" lang="EN-GB">]. </span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9018" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9021" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9022" lang="EN-GB">Through an engagement that spanned about 6 months [see timeline below] with the Indian Council of Historical Research, the Indian Prime Minister's Office, India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development & National Informatics Centre, using common public mechanisms -<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9023" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9024"><i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9025">RTI (Right to Information)</i></span> <span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9026" lang="EN-GB">[<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9027"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9028">No. 3-259/2016- ICHR/RTI]</b></span> & <span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9029"><i id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9030">Public Grievances </i></span>[<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9031"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9032">PMOPG/E/2017/01233<wbr></wbr>86, MINIT/E/2017/01091] </b></span></span>- the narrative of Indian History on the National Portal of India was corrected, in 2017 May, with removal of "Aryan", "Indo-European" and "Central Europe" (See column "What is the change effected" in Table below for a detailed log of all changes).<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9033" lang="EN-GB"> </span>Summary of the relevant questions in the original RTI petition mapped to changes implemented (with Before/After details) followed by a timeline of key events are included below:</span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9034" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9035" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9036"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9037" lang="EN-GB"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9038" /></span></b></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9039" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9040" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9041"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9042" lang="EN-GB">Summary of Questions in RTI, Status of Change effected, Statement/s Before & After Change & Actual change effected</span></b></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9043" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9044" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9045"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9046" lang="EN-GB"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9047" /></span></b></span></div>
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<img alt="Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 10.36.17" class="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533 CToWUd a6T" height="425" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9049" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj8gN5DKc1GaDABugKrg7sY80hX1GobDMFgjUnoOUvEybrteruMCZoH75SigQsoqMP2WhF7D8t0LamwYbjp25VrssE3zkuJrmbpQ4j4VoCnQhw5aDD6-c4GxCC7gBSpzxaHXkJEUPui2Pxr0TQTndy0vV3fDAUeJvm_1jatOLmB5J1WElmi3yjJG1dxj3BdhJM=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="674" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9050" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 10.36.33" class="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533 CToWUd a6T" height="449" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9051" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj55U0YOfGADJ3lIuNAPw0WkKfHTyhRDJICnrqb2RN-YNAfEV5rVPCd0XJU1h3XNKMyC12ac_sPUTm9IMomF48Bwtv4uN_ZGomrWGThq9qMUSuVg8FwgSNWVdNzdwRU5uj3JIBFxYLiSp8tElemZMqKus4-ae36vp-WQRJmzQrzcgEKUxWxprTG1E04oil8KGE=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="671" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9052" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9053" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9054" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9055" /></span></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9056" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9057" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9058" style="font-weight: 700;">Screenshots (Before/After)</span></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9059" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9060" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9061" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9062" /></span></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9063" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9064"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9065" style="font-weight: 700;">Before:</span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9066" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9067"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9068" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9069" /></span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9070" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screenshot- Before-2" class="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533 CToWUd a6T" height="594" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9071" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhSSuFYjDcjTdBFCit-9ZkTxoUxnUI-ogC-9Ete8Jg5kkITQ2qlqXImeWhs6ap6CEaS7iU8GzbrAeq4zYizD5I0cinCa8dlYnh32RqPnd0HK8JACK9-rvUQvmoI85uA8xVnoMvN9WCGeHQN_iVkl6HdoUpiE9bPQ57VQJTHhUXEUA8=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="1345" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9072" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9073"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9074" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9075" /></span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9076" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9077"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9078" style="font-weight: 700;">After:</span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9079" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9080"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9081" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9082" /></span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9083" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 09.00.45" class="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533 CToWUd a6T" height="496" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9084" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh-aMWPlZFb7OnAuwOitBuRTwr0nJ6jdxAqilHTJbSc3dMUhKnq1qGZBXX0W5f5e1KgrheWSbIL5qZlSS04HUhfi0NnGOjxsvj9gEj9twoJ7E4JbKHMtlQP8-V4H5h8fb2d9rggbX_BHJnr3GSFh8S09GnG-Gs7M3BUd8ZTiAfCDBN5yxol_W18_YQ2xGpSdaI=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="1365" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9085" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/culture_heritage.php?id%3D2&source=gmail&ust=1497620738313000&usg=AFQjCNFqAGNcu-p_2Ceh4c4XHJmaJQC9LQ" href="http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/culture_heritage.php?id=2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://knowindia.gov.in/knowin<wbr></wbr>dia/culture_heritage.php?id=2</a></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9086" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9087" style="font-weight: 700;"><em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9088"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9089" /></em></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9090" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9091" style="font-weight: 700;"><em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9092">Before:</em></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9093" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9094" style="font-weight: 700;"><em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9095"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9096" /></em></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9097" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screenshot- Before-4" class="CToWUd a6T" height="594" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjl7x6zuwdWuS9pWqjWWhDi7_LqSJT2_eYazCfId9tSCbKCTILaHi_kHRNMIBziWJVFkv95Ji8KLL7HwoxgXdCPQWyGIF1k3J7uZjXrLe-buo3tx4qtYTiK2lohwU0y-esIcBz-st5b7pwvw-05E0oa-OJ2E7htctosXxh8JwxDt-Q=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="1348" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9099" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9100"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9101" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9102" /></span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9103" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9104"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9105" style="font-weight: 700;">After:</span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9106" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9107"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9108" style="font-weight: 700;"> </span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9109" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 09.01.30" class="CToWUd a6T" height="497" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjYnJDqyiaTHR0eOsvdGaRFBkmxtiox6sw_d3rskO2vjHFjjnT28KyEqkcQlG7mc802nVdwl2rWF6CQ7ai-ZVuPQwdDPtlejiVuMhQv9TfsAdCcmoV_XE5X1oXPGpaDXKjVQexUBo8kpAA9jyJ8dzbRo-Mhtk2lzz8EJj2KzfObgZ7omqN5215iy2SRkFxAXew=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="1366" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9111" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9113" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9114" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9115" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9116"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9117" style="font-weight: 700;">Before:</span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9118" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9119"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9120" style="font-weight: 700;"> </span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9121" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screenshot- Before-3" class="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533 CToWUd a6T" height="596" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgI8z1yPxQmILGtObBIJG38ilAA5G9S360R4EqQWeV9fgNBsPCpWr4xzD_g92DVXOJ3uCWRlqInARrzTOfOC_E-ZIPZqAfmMKM5duDV0cnmEtO1NLVGmfnE5n4U7rMMB01kA_FkA7i2HaVIUinTrC-yLgVeVmOPXH_F7sEQC56ihZk=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="1344" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9123" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9124"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9125" style="font-weight: 700;"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9126" /></span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9127" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9128"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9129" style="font-weight: 700;">After:</span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9130" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9131"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9132" style="font-weight: 700;"> </span></em></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9133" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 09.02.12" class="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533 CToWUd a6T" height="660" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjk-6Fm2Uola3gFYWAzEyqQ6I7lxfHKWcghcTA5z6Cvuy4SHP8qEziiczdSjjTc6plvfzIEGinao_ll6ETVrZ5ZkRfByNXxlRBWrunO4vYcLMD0IjAvKghqkm_C1SQN4g_MyivWeA8R58OwxrcQNVdUoCfMeLwW7JKUHei6dfK7ImBqlgfTvbypH8tb05M33LQ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="1366" /></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9135" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/culture_heritage.php?id%3D4&source=gmail&ust=1497620738314000&usg=AFQjCNGlsElt6X7cBXAAS90iQlT-0EELxg" href="http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/culture_heritage.php?id=4" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9136" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://knowindia.gov.in/knowin<wbr></wbr>dia/culture_heritage.php?id=4</a> </div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9137" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9138" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9139"><br clear="none" id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9140" /></b></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9141" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9142" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9143"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9144">Timeline</b></span></span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9145"><b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9146">:</b></span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9147" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9148"><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9149" lang="EN-GB"> </span></b></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9150" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Jan 04: RTI: 3-259/2016-ICHR/RTI to ICHR, with questions pertaining to content on KnowIndia website, in line with the mission statement of ICHR<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9151" lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9152" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Feb 07: Response letter (snail-mail) from ICHR signed by Deputy Director/CPIO (Dated Feb 7)</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9153" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9154" lang="DE">2017 Feb 20: </span>Face-to-Face meeting at ICHR, Delhi with CPIO, First Appellate Officer (Member Secretary) to get clarifications on response letter from CPIO 2017</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9155" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Mar 03: Grievance PMOPG/E/2017/0123386 registered</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9156" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Mar 15: Forwarded from PMO to Director ICR in Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9157" lang="EN-GB"> </span>which was then forwarded to Member Secretary, ICHR<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9158" lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9159" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Mar 21: Second Letter from ICHR, this time signed by Member Secretary (Dated Mar 21) with copy to Director ICR</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9160" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Mar 28: Face-to-Face meeting with ICHR Chairman</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9161" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Mar 30: PMOPG/E/2017/0123386 disposed with reference to Mar 21 letter from Member Secretary</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9162" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Apr 03: Mail sent to<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9163" lang="EN-GB"> </span>ICHR Chairman escalating disposal and<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9164" lang="EN-GB"> </span>requesting clarifications. Grievance MINIT/E/2017/01091 registered <span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9165" lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9166" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9167" lang="EN-GB">2017 </span><span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9168" lang="FR">Apr </span>07: Telephonic conversation with NIC official to whom<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9169" lang="EN-GB"> </span>MINIT/E/2017/01091was forwarded</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9170" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Apr 09: Grievance MINIT/E/2017/01091 also disposed. Email to NIC in-charge seeking clarifications to actions requested in disposal <span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9171" lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9172" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9173" lang="EN-GB">2017 Apr 10: Reminder mail to </span>ICHR Chairman<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9174" lang="EN-GB"> </span>along with additional evidence</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9175" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 Apr 21: Interdepartmental engagement - NIC & ICHR - email sent from NIC to ICHR</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9176" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 May 02: Status update mail from NIC Grievance Cell to Megh with Apr 21 inter-departmental <span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9177" lang="FR">communicati<wbr></wbr>on </span>included as attachment</div>
<div id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9178" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
2017 May 07: Changes w.r.t. to<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9179" lang="EN-GB"> </span>Questions 2, 4-8 noticed; mail sent requesting<span id="m_-8182493723304279062m_5643586662659614796yiv9779932533yui_3_16_0_1_1497335467780_9180" lang="EN-GB"> </span>change w.r.t. Question 3</div>
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2017 May 11: Changes w.r.t. Question 3 noticed</div>
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<b>Thank you.</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Team IFI</span></span></b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-53235769123548912362017-02-26T07:43:00.003-08:002017-03-01T06:23:09.897-08:00A Report on Swadeshi Indology Conference-2 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>An Infinity India Foundation (IFI) Report. A small IFI team (you know who you are) put in incredible hard work on the ground, working quietly behind the scenes. Their quick thinking and teamwork, along with help from volunteers ('the unknown soldiers'), overcame multiple and daunting real-time operational and logistical challenges to make this event a success. <b>Thank you for your Seva</b>.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://swadeshiindology.com/si-2/photos/" target="_blank">Photos</a>.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The second edition of the <a href="http://swadeshiindology.com/#" target="_blank">Swadeshi Indology Conference Series</a> was held at the IGNCA premises, New Delhi on 17th, 18th and 19th February in collaboration with IGNCA. It was titled "Global Perceptions of Indian Heritage"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The conference got off to a great start with an inaugural function graced by the presence of the Union Minister for Law and Justice and Information Technology, Sri. Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajya Sabha MP and BJP stalwart Sri. Subramanian Swamy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This edition of the Conference series was much larger in scope than the first one and had three parallel tracks. Continuing on the theme of critiquing the Neo-Orientalist School of thought led by Prof. Sheldon Pollock, this edition saw 10 theses put forward by Pollock countered.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">There were 35 paper presentations on topics ranging from Rasa, Mimamsa, Chronology, Desacralisation with the maximum number of presentations being made on the topic of Rasa.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apart from these paper presentations, there was the robust refutation from the traditional scholars. The format is called<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b id="yui_3_15_0_1_1488122715158_1210"><i id="yui_3_15_0_1_1488122715158_1209">Vakyartha Sadas</i></b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>and it is something that is conducted amongst traditional scholars in their own groupings but has gone out of the larger public discourse. We were able to bring back this ancient tradition centre stage and it was a huge success. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We will be continuing to engage with these scholars and will strive to make their voice heard in the larger mainstream discourse.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-color: yellow;"><i>Vakyartha Sadas</i>, the traditional form of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Purvapaksha and Uttarapaksha debate will slowly be revived and restored to its rightful position as a scientific and rigorous form of debate that has been the cornerstone of our intellectual tradition.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The conference signed off with a valedictory function in which, awards for the best papers and two monographs (the outcome from SI-1).<b><span style="background-color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span></span></b></span></span><span style="background-color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>he two monograph writers have been
supported by Vellayan Chettiar Foundation based in Chennai<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>and the <span style="font-family: inherit;">a<span style="font-family: inherit;">wards for the monographs were </span></span>given away by FICS (Foundation for Indian Civilisation Studies) run by Sri. Mohandas Pai.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The papers which won prizes from FICS (Foundation for Indian Civilisation Studies instituted by Sri T V Mohandas Pai) were:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Prof. K Gopinath for his paper on Rasa titled "A computational Theory for Rasa"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. Megh Kalyanasundaram and Manogna Sastry for their paper on Chronology titled "Purvapaksha of Sheldon Pollock's use of Chronology"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. Nilesh Oak for his paper on Chronology titled "A cririque of Pollock's "self-evident claims" for the chronology of Mahabharata and Ramayana AND Assertion for the dating of Mahabharata and Ramayana events based on the internal astronomy evidence"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. Dr. Shrinivas Tilak for his paper on Mimamsa titled "Professor Sheldon Pollock on History in India: A critique from the perspective of Mimamsa"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. Sowmya Krishnapur for her paper in Sanskrit titled "Sheldon Pollock Pratipaditasya Vyakarana Sastra - Prabhutvayoha Sambandhasya Yuktiyuktatva Pariksha"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">6. Subhodeep Mukhopadhyay for his paper on Sastra titled "Practice versus Theory: Ganita Sastra and Western Mathematics"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">7. Sudarshan Therani for his paper on Philology titled "The Science of Meaning"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In addition to the above papers, awards were also given for the two papers from the first edition of the conference series that were turned into monographs. These monographs were released at the conference in their draft form. It is a moment of pride for the movement that we have created a significant body of work in such a short span of time. A draft version of the selected papers from SI-1 was also released at the conference. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Hence, as of now, starting with TBFS, this movement has produced 4 books: TBFS, Proceedings of SI-1, and two monographs</b></span>. Soon, we will also have the proceedings of SI-2 published. We will therefore have a solid body of work in just over a year's time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The monograph details are as follows:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Manjushree Hegde is the author of the monograph titled "Politics of Sanskrit Studies: A Critical Appraisal of Sheldon Pollock's Ramayana"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. T M Narendran is the author of the monograph titled "A Pariksa of Sheldon Pollock's Three Dimensional Philology"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Congratulations to all the prize winners!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: orange; font-size: small;"><b>An important marker of the conference was the presence and active and enthusiastic participation of Dr. Nagaswamy upon whom a Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred by FICS</b>. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Nagaswamy</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We will take a small breather but will soon announce plans for the next conference of the series. </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lastly, we have had excellent video coverage and the videos will be up sooner rather than later on all platforms.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do look out for the upcoming fantastic videos from Si-2.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Team IFI</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-8679111990911259572017-02-13T15:58:00.001-08:002017-02-13T18:06:06.154-08:00Ramayana is both spiritual and socio-political<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RajivMalhotraDiscussion/conversations/topics/15103">https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RajivMalhotraDiscussion/conversations/topics/15103</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rajiv Malhotra responds (marked in blue or red) to a forum member's comments quoting Hindus who attack <a href="http://thebattleforsanskrit.com/" target="_blank">TBFS</a> and clearly appear to subscribe to Sheldon Pollock's Hinduphobic ideas. Emphasis and highlights are ours. Also, Rajiv ji shares some <span style="font-family: inherit;">important </span>updates on the impact of the Swadeshi Indology conference series.</i><br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I came across a group of people, who subscribe to manasataramgini (@blog_supplement) line of thinking, with comments like these in the context of chapter 5 of the book "Battle for Sanskrit": <br /><br />1) "....that the ramayana played a great role in moulding the nascent political consciousness of medieval Hindus against the evil of islam. this is something iirc rajiv malhotra or someone else had a problem with. IMO we should be proud of ramayana's role and openly state it was the great itihasa which inspired hindus to fight islam" <br /><br /><span style="color: blue;">[<b>Rajiv</b>: <b><span style="background-color: yellow;">Ramayana is both (A) spiritual and (B) social-political</span>.</b> That is the role of the Avatara and it also applies to Mahabharata. It is spirituality in action, the divine manifesting to play a role in the laukika realm. So his assumption about me is false. All my career I have tried to argue against the otherworldly interpretations and have showed that our exemplars were very engaged socially and politically. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>The problem with Pollock is his REMOVAL OF (A)</b></span>. His is a non/anti spiritual interpretation. That is the issue I focus on. My interpretation is that <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>politics is there, however not in the secular sense, but as rooted in dharma</b></span>. To understand my purva-paksha these lazy Hindus need to read more fully both Pollock and my rebuttal. <b>They are too tamasic</b> and want to cut-paste here and there either to dismiss it, or to claim it as their own for quick blogs/lectures.]</span><br /><br />"RM attempts to dissuade the reader from thinking Ramayana had anything to do with modern Hindutva movement because he attempts to shun BJP/RSS/VHP and condemn their ways. Also the use of "secular" for vyavgarik realm is rather offputting".<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;">[<b>Rajiv</b>: <b>Wrong again</b>. Pollock's claim I refute is that: (A) modern Hinduism is DISCONTINUOUS from past Vedic tradition, (B) that it was fabricated by Swami Vivekananda, (C) that this fabrication borrowed heavily from Christianity and the West, and (D) that this was done to overcome Vivekananda's inferiority complex.<br />Furthermore, the idiot is one more example of jealous Hindus always trying to create a wedge between me and RSS and/or with Swami Vivekananda.]</span><br /><br />"i just feel that there is nothing wrong in describing ramayana as a book which teaches us to totally exterminate evil.. of which mohammedanism is clearly an egregious example. pollock might whine about it as he is a frigging yahoodi saboteur and has duty in defending his fellow Abrahamic Muslims.. but for hindus if the ramayana did indeed inspire anti Muslim violence then its a holier than holy book than what could be normally ascribed to"<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;">[<b>Rajiv</b>: <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>This person did not read Pollock or my response</b></span>. Probably saw some 2nd/3rd hand commentaries of my work. The core Pollock thesis I refute is that Ramayana was not popular prior to Muslim invasion and Hindu kings popularized it artificially specifically to fight against Muslims. Implication of this claim is that it lacks any spiritual legitimacy, and that it is solely a decide to fight against Muslims.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> <span style="color: red;">Is the Hindu critic in above quote agreeing with this Pollock view? I find such shallow Hindu critiques too stupid but they are common, unfortunately</span></b></span><span style="color: blue;">.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;">]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Basically, allegation is that Rajiv is promoting Gandhian line of "Non-Violence". Wonder What Rajiv has to say on it. <br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />[]<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>Rajiv: Several points I want to make:</b><br />...Why is it not possible for experienced IKs to respond to very simple allegations? Am I supposed to play father figure for every IK? When will they grow up, <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>take responsibility</b></span>?<br />The individuals he quotes have been hounding me for long time.<span style="background-color: white;"> <b>These Hindus are the 3rd front we have to fight - jealous, incompetent, opportunistic, lazy but over-ambitious, no tapasya, but lots of opinions</b></span>. Pls do NOT drag me to have to respond to them. I need to move on in my research and have 15 books to finish, much deeper to go in my journey.<span style="background-color: yellow;"> <b>The 1st front is western Indologists. 2nd front is Indian Left/sepoys. 3rd front is Hindu pseudo-intellectuals popping up everywhere but with little competence. Mostly a hit and run style</b></span> all over the space.<br /><span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">The Swadeshi Indology conf is their opportunity to contribute serious scholarship if they have something important to say</span></span>. <br /><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: red;">The SI organizers have an independent team of senior scholars who do peer review of every paper submitted. <b>Neither side knows the other identity, so these are blind reviews</b></span></span>. The problem is they find very very few Hindu so-called intellectuals to be able to write proper papers. Mostly opinions, too lazy and lacking rigor. The reviewers end up rejecting most papers received. This pisses off the old school Hindu <b>established scholars, who are not used to being rejected</b>. They assume accolades due to senior status or network of contacts, or some prestigious affiliations. IFI rejecting them causes anger. <br />What should IFI do? If it lowers standard to become popular, then it might as well fold up, because too many organizations exist holding conferences, meetings, seminars, etc already. But these lack original research as pre-requisite for presenting. This is the gap IFI fills.<br />Luckily, SI1 and SI2 are being v successful in training <span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">new, young scholars. These are mostly unknown names because they are not in the social media making noises with opinions</span></span>. Very hard work with few solid successes each time. So it will be a while before we get the 108 we need.<br /><span style="background-color: white;"><b>SI1 papers are ready as a 400-page book to be finalized for publishing</b>. <b>All papers focus on Pollock</b> </span>- so the man opining above ought to have sent his paper to SI for evaluation. <br />SI2 will likewise turn into a major research book on Pollock specifically. <br />In addition,<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> </b>SI2 will have 2 major single-author monographs each a detailed academic analysis of Pollock on some specific item. One is in fact on Pollock's Ramayana<b>. </b></span>(100+ pages each and these will turn into two major volumes.) So in Si 1 & 2 we will have at least 4 major books coming out. <br />Starting with TBFS, this means we will have<span style="background-color: yellow;"> FIVE VOLUMES OF RESPONSE TO POLLOCK, from a team of 25+ scholars</span>.<br />Never before has a team of solid scholars taken up one specific Western Indology school and give such a thorough purva paksha and uttara paksha.<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> </b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">This is what Arvind Sharma told me when he complimented me for starting this initiative</span></span></span>.<br />There are more concrete outputs coming with heavy impact that are to be announced shortly. <br />Next we will move beyond Pollock and deal with other Indology opponents one by one. This is what I am up to.<span style="background-color: white;"> I only respect scholars who are serious and not casually hitting out here and there</span>. Hence other IKs should deal with them and not waste my time.</span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-48757224958667282942017-02-04T06:30:00.000-08:002017-02-04T06:30:59.319-08:00Ram was not a Misogynist- Stop spreading lies, Patnaik.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dr. Nellutla Naveena Chandra</div>
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Article by Devdutt Patnaik: https://scroll.in/article/801243/why-is-ram-misogynist-but-not-the-buddha</div>
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In this rebuttal Patnaik’s text is shown in underlined italics and my rebuttal in solid black.</div>
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<i id="yui_3_15_0_1_1486174016843_1073"><u id="yui_3_15_0_1_1486174016843_1072">Patnaik: It is interesting that in all writings of patriarchy and misogyny related to India, scholars quote the Ramayana and the Manu Smriti, yet historically these were composed after the Vinaya Pitaka.</u></i></div>
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Who are these scholars?</div>
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Someone with a Ph. D. from an ivy league university.</div>
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The same with a teaching job in one of these universities.</div>
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The same who belongs to “the country club” of American Orientalists.</div>
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The same one with the so-called bogus peer evaluation – publication - perpetuation of lies background.</div>
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Someone belonging to a coterie of individuals who have not published a new idea since Maxmuller interpreted Hindu history based on the Bible. We must remember that Maxmuller was no historian.</div>
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The same gang who write petitions against Prime Minister Modi?</div>
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The same clique who under the name of “scholarship” propagate theories without any evidence and ignore the evidence that contradicts their opinions.</div>
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The historian-mafia that has so far failed to prove their pet theory “Aryan Invasion Theory”.</div>
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The band of bandits who refuse to accept Aryabhata’s date of Kali Yuga (February 18, 3012 BCE) so easily accepted by John Playfair, Jean Sylvain Bailly, Laplace, Cassini, Voltaire among other giants of significant achievements. Who among the herd of orientalists compares with Laplace who stood his ground facing Napoleon when he said he did not need God to calculate the positions of planets but only his knowledge of celestial mechanics most of which he formulated.</div>
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The same rambunctious mob of tenure holders who waste tax payer’s money with neocolonialist penchant to denigrate Hindu achievements out of jealousy.</div>
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No thank you Devduttji we cannot accept the opinions of this historian-brotherhood who refuse to furnish evidence for AIT and other pet theories.</div>
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I will give you the reasons why I will not accept their opinions:</div>
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First and foremost, they may have learnt by rote Maxmuller’s unproven ideas on Hindus but they don’t have the adhikara to write anything about us.</div>
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They are driven by a thoroughly discredited Marxist Theory. Why is it discredited? It has utterly failed in USSR (leading to its dismemberment), in China (which has since become capitalist arch enemy of Marxism) and in Cuba.</div>
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They ignore the genocide in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Churchill’s genocide of more than three million Indians in a famine created by him in 1943, the extermination of races by Spanish and Portuguese the world over.</div>
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They blame the phenomenon of Hitler on Sanskrit and Brahmins without evidence.</div>
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They ignore the undesirable Bible influence on the US society which rejects Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and cry foul on Hindu society in whatever little mistake they find there.</div>
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They collaborate with evangelicals who are bent on converting all Hindus and in breaking up of India.</div>
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They have no respect for Hindu sentiments on their Gods, Goddesses, Customs, Rituals and beliefs while respecting worse in Abrahamic religions.</div>
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They revere Monotheism a thoroughly violent theory that lead to wars in 2000 years of the miserable existence of Christianity and fourteen hundred years of Islam.</div>
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They are in league with theocratic regimes of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and hate India that shining beacon of democracy, diversity and plurality.</div>
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They are pedantic and pompous, the prime example being Sheldon Pollock.</div>
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They think they are scholars of Sanskrit but have been exposed at their limited skills of translation from that eminent language and they propagate the greatest myth of all the demise of Sanskrit and celebrate, spread, disseminate, broadcast, publicize, proclaim, preach and circulate this lie day in and day out without a shred of evidence.</div>
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Did I give enough reasons why opinions of these pseudo scholars without adhikara cannot be accepted in cultured and civilized circles?</div>
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Now let us look at the issue of Ram’s misogyny.</div>
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Is the current POTUS one of the most notorious women haters? Are the statements attributed to him on famous women and the tweets he issues forth enough evidence?</div>
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Now where is the evidence that Ram was a misogynist? Did Ram say anything against women? Can anyone claiming Ram was a woman hater quote a single quotation coming out of his mouth that denigrates women? We must look at Valmiki Ramayana and not any other Ramayana. Anecdotal evidence is often accepted as truth in case of Hindu smritis and shritis and epics and kavyas. Or you form an opinion first and look for the evidence that supports that opinion and totally ignore the evidence that negates that opinion. Sheldon Pollock is an expert in this. He first formulated the theory that Sastras were regressive and no new knowledge was produced as the time went by. All six Darshanas have different ideas and are prime example of production of new knowledge. He ignores this evidence and only writes about ideas were repeated. Repetition of ideas is bound to happen considering the volume of work produced in Sanskrit. Vatsyayana gives a refreshing entirely new outlook on sex. Sheldon Pollock thinks that every Hindu carries a copy of Kamasutra to bedroom every day. He also misquotes to prove a point. In his paper on Sastras published in 1985, he misquotes V.S. Naipaul. Pollock wanted to prove that Hindu sastras were regressive. Naipaul in writing a NY Times review says this of mogul art, “limited by the civilization, by an idea of the world in which men were born only to obey rules.” The glitter of that art without any message to convey and so hollow was the hall mark of Mogul times. Enter Pollock attributing Naipaul’s observation on Muslims to all Hindu sastras. This was intellectual dishonesty raised to the power of infinity. Naipaul a 20th century commentator, Moghul art in the time range of around 1500 CE and sastras were much older at least 500 BCE - all put together only to prove Pollock’s contention that Sastras were regressive. Was Pollock deliberately trying to pass a lie in the prestigious Journal of American Oriental Society (Theory of Practice and Practice of Theory in Indian Intellectual History, Journal of the American Oriental Society 105.3 (1985),pp499-519.)? But how this paper passed “peer evaluation”? This shoddy work is not likely to happen in Physics or Mathematics, but it happens in historical research. It happens more often in Hindu history research.</div>
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First the lie is initiated in a journal (scholarly journal?). No body verifies it. Peer evaluation passes it. Then the lie is repeated by a Wendy, a Patnaik, a Mishra, a Vajpayee and it acquires the life of its own and attains the status of truth. That Ram was a woman hater belongs to this category. Ram and Sita live a normal life of love and dedication for more than 4 decades. One instance not borne out of hatred does not mean he was a woman hater. After the war, he wants a fire test to prove her “sheelam”. In his mind, he knew she was chaste. For the sake of onlookers, he asks a fire test. Applying twenty first century morality to Treta Yuga is odd. Joan of Arc was burnt alive by Anglo Saxon Protestants only in 1431. All of us know human bodies cannot survive fire. Valmiki says Agni, fire God Himself, carried Sita and brought her out of the pyre. Sita came out unharmed, not even a small mark was found on her body and at least Valmiki does not describe any injury. Since we are applying Feminist rules of today to that long-ago period, why we should shirk from applying our knowledge of fire we possess today to that event? To any sane mind, it looks like Sita was never put on fire but made to look like that – it was an illusion. Perhaps created by Ram himself, or Agni. Ram’s relations with Kausalya, Kaikaiyi and Sumitra were based on respect and love. His treatment of Mandodari was that of a perfect gentleman.</div>
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He was above all “eka patnee vratah”, that is he had only one wife, and he never committed adultery- how can he be a misogynist? Aren’t these two enough to say he was not a misogynist. Would a misogynist practice monogamy? Would misogynist be non- adulterous? A misogynist can never be a monogamist and chaste. A bigamist and a philanderer must be a misogynist. Rama was a monogamist and was a chaste person – therefore he was not a misogynist. Both the theory and its converse prove Ram was not a misogynist.</div>
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Rama was known to be a prime example of devotion to father. In the first instance, he defied his father was when he had only one wife and in the second instance he defied his father was he never committed adultery. For a person who was a role model for pitrubhakti throughout the ages to deviate from his father’s behaviour clearly says he was above all a dharmika person and that for him to respect woman was dharma. He was not a misogynist because he was the embodiment of dharma.</div>
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This lie was also initiated by Pollock group and repeated enough number of times to pass it as a truth. Patnaik starts his article with the assumption that Ram was a misogynist without a proof. But that is vintage Devdutt Patnaik. That is the status of research in history as conducted by Americans and Europeans and followed by sepoys like Patnaik.</div>
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There are four periods historically in Vedic lore. Krita Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. Each Yuga had its Dharma Shastra. Manu Smriti was dharmasastra for Krita Yuga. For Kali Yuga Parasara Smriti is dharmasastra. Parasara Smriti allows widow marriage and women having property. Denigrating Manu for the umpteenth time is not going to win any brownie points.</div>
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<i><u>Patnaik: Buddha lived in pre-Mauryan times while the Ramayana, with its concern for kingship, was written in post-Mauryan times. Arguments of oral traditions and astrology-based dating that place Ram to pre-Buddhist times appeal only to nationalists, not historians.</u></i></div>
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First, what concern Ramayana had for kingship? Here Patnaik completely missed the point. The objective of Avatar of Rama was punishment of Rakshasas like Tataka, Subahu, Mareecha, Surphanaka, and finally Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Indrajit and install Vibheeshan Ravana’s brother, a dharmic Rakshasa on Lanka’s throne. The concern of Ramayana was killing of Ravana and not who will be heir for Ayodhya kingdom, that problem was resolved peacefully, a mark of Hinduism, not normal in Christian Europe and in Muslim world. Rama’s banishment to forest was designed to take him away closer to Lanka. Rama willingly abdicates the throne to keep his father’s promise to Kaikeyi, who wants her son Bharata to be the king because of his love of his father, a fact Marxists don’t mention but see it as weakness. By the time Bharata returns to Ayodhya, Rama had already left. Out of his love for the elder brother, and not wanting to be the king, Bharata chastises his mother and sets out to the forest to bring Rama back and put him on the throne. This mutual love and dedication between brothers is also not mentioned by Marxists, Christians and Muslims. Compare this with what Jahangir, Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb did to their brothers. The fratricidal, and hence barbarian, Moghuls are darlings of Pollock and the group, but not Rama and Bharata. Pollock says Rama was weak and Moghuls were strong. In the forest looking at Bharata from the top of the tree Lakshmana gets excited and says to Rama, “Here comes Bharata to kill all of us. Be prepared, O Rama.” To which the reply from the elder brother, “No, you are mistaken. He is coming here to ask me to go back to Ayodhya and perform coronation of me.” As it turned out Rama was right.</div>
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Bharata having requested and refused the return of Rama, then requests and gets Rama’s slippers to be put on the throne in his lieu. Bharata did not become the King. He was in-charge of kingdom. Neither in Europe nor in Arabia, will you find these laudable ethics and morals and hence Ramayana and the principles it stood are strange to them. In Ayodhya all citizens attended “The coronation of Slippers” known as “Paduka Pattabhishekham”, also not comprehended by Pollock. Thus, Ramayana was not concerned with kingship. Ignorance of Patnaik shows so pronouncedly he should stop writing on Ramayana.</div>
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A point must be made here. After the war, Ram refuses to occupy or annex Lanka to Ayodhya, saying the riches of lanka he does not like, he prefers home land because, “<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">जननी जन्म भॊष्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसि”</span>, mother and mother land are superior to Swargam. He was a great patriot of India, perhaps the first, and a great statesman like of which had not been seen in the long Dharmik History.</div>
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Patnaik draws a line between nationalists and historians- remember it is his line. On a Venn diagram these are two nonintersecting circles mutually exclusive as portrayed by Patnaik. I can quote any number of names who are nationalists but also historians. However, historians like Pollock are not nationalists as he wants to break up India by creating Aryan-Dravidian division, a Freudian slip by Patnaik. The age of events is determined by astronomical data such as eclipses and positions of celestial bodies as was known to rishis at the time. Let me remind you that in Chandogyopanishad, Nakshatra Vidya is mentioned as one of the occupations. The practitioners observe Nakshatras and orally record them and pass them on to next generation. It was not astrological data- again a Freudian slip or betrays the ignorance of the author. Long before Greeks knew, Hindus already mapped equinoxes and solstices. The famous death of Bhishma is linked to winter solstice in January when sun enters the northern hemisphere or earth moves south of sun. Now winter solstice occurs in December some 22 days before Makara Sankranti. The winter solstice moved because of precession of earth’s axis and is known as precession of equinoxes. That the day and night are equal on equinoxes and day is shortest on winter solstice and longest on summer solstice was known for a long time. In Telugu Mahabhagavatam these facts are mentioned by the great poet Potana. This book was written around 1500 CE. It is taken from Vyasa’s book written at least two thousand years before. Bhishma’s choice of dying on Uttarayana or winter solstice gives us a tool to determine the date of his death. Since we know the rate of precession, we can estimate the time taken by the earth to move so that winter solstice occurs 22 days earlier. The date is January 17, 3067, when Bhishma niryana occurred. See how close it is to Aryabhatta’s date. Why “historians” refuse to accept the astronomical method of calculating the age of events of the past? Is it the same reason that they refuse to accept the role played by Russians in defeating Hitler but give credit to England ignoring all historical data?</div>
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<i><u>Patnaik: Manu Smriti and other dharmashastras were written in the Gupta era when Brahmins played a key role in legitimising kingship in much of peninsular India.</u></i></div>
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We need a proof and not the opinions of Maxmuller repeated over and over to say that dharmasastras were written in Gupta’s period. I give four exceptions – Apastamba’s Sulabha sutras were written circa 800 BCE (see Kim Plofker and David Mumford) who say Pythagoras Theorem should be renamed Boudhayana Theorem. Now David Mumford is a famous mathematician who won a Congress Medal and a Shields Medal for Mathematics. The second example is the work of Pingala who was preoccupied with the problem of how many three lettered ganas (words) could be formed using one hrasva and one deergha- a short letter and a long letter. His method was unique- first he found how many one letter words could be formed- obviously only 2. Then he found how many four letters could be formed, which is 4. Then he deduced and proved there were 8 three letter words that could be formed. This was power series of 2. Today this method goes by the name of Pascal’s triangle. Manjula Bhargava, another Fields Medal winner suggests Pascal Triangle should be renamed as Pingala’s Triangle. Then the famous Caraka Samhita and Susruta Samhita on medicine and surgery were written circa 500 BCE. Pingala’s work was about Sanskrit grammar which puts a date for Sanskrit- not 300 CE a favourite date of Pollock. Of course, Chanakya’s Arthasastra was written during Maurya Period. Vedas and Vedangas were written before Apastmbha Sutras that were based on them, therefore they are pre- 800 BCE.</div>
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<i><u>Patnaik: The pre-Buddhist Vedic rituals speak of female sexuality in positive terms as they are concerned primarily with fertility and wealth-generation. The pre-Buddhist Upanishads do not bother much with gender relations and are more interested in metaphysics. Much of Buddhist literature was put down in writing long before Sanskrit texts (Ashokan edicts in Prakrit date back to 2300 years; the earliest Sanskrit royal inscriptions have been dated to only 1900 years ago). This makes Buddhist writings the watershed of Indian literature, after which womanhood came to be seen as polluting, obstacles to the path of wisdom.</u></i></div>
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One of the Ashoka’s edicts does mention the name of Rama, meaning Ramayana was written before 2300. This fact I mentioned in my rebuttal to Wendy Doniger’s inane article. Also, Sangam literature, the oldest Tamil literature parts of which are as old as 5000 years per some Tamil friends, mention is made of Raman and Sitai’s jewelry. So, Ramayana from two different sources can be traced to very old times, much to the chagrin of Pollock. I have asked a Buddhist friend to check the veracity of Patnaik’s statements on that religion.</div>
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<i><u>Patnaik: We could, of course, argue that that most educated Buddhists were originally Brahmins and so transplanted Hindu patriarchy into Buddhism, that the Buddha had no such intention. We can insist that Vedas and only the Vedas, are the source of misogyny. This follows the pattern of “good” Buddhism and “bad” Hinduism structure we find in most colonial and post-colonial academic papers.</u></i></div>
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That Vedas are source of misogyny is the most bogus statement even by Patnaik’s standard. Two women Gargi and Mitreyi wrote passages of Rig Veda on the very tough subject of Atma and Brahmam and they wrote commentaries on Brahma Sutras. We hear of women like Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi wives of Dasharath, Satyavati (Shantanu’s wife) and Kunti (Panduraju’s wife) who never did sati after becoming widows, and of women who left their husbands as they did not agree with each other. Sita left Rama and Ganga left Shantanu, showing again Vedic period was egalitarian as far as gender relations go. Damayanti carries on a very intelligent and free conversation with her husband, Nala pointing out his mistakes. We see many discourses between spouses in many stories as late as Purana period. Draupadi carried on very engaging conversations with all her five husbands. Misogyny is a European and Arabian invention and never a part of Dharma chintana. Hindu heroines were intelligent, well educated, well informed, well respected, equal to their husbands, were fighters- contrary to that happened after Ghazni murdered, pillaged, raped, enslaved and committed unspeakable crimes against humanity- hero to Sheldon Pollock and the process was repeated under Timur, Ghori, Khilji, Moguls and last nut not least British. Hindus could not protect their women who were then confined to house for their safety- their freedom was lost to Muslims and Christians.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-50462482522205761702017-01-27T10:03:00.000-08:002017-01-27T10:03:02.338-08:00Dr. Koenraad Elst's Response to Scroll Editor Regarding Aryan Debate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;">(<i>Dr. Elst posted this in the forum. emphasis and highlighting is ours</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Dear friends,<br /><br />the Aryan debate keeps on attracting silly politicos:<br /><br /><a href="https://scroll.in/article/732899/video-an-animated-map-shows-how-sanskrit-may-have-come-to-india">https://scroll.in/article/732899/video-an-animated-map-shows-how-sanskrit-may-have-come-to-india</a> <br /><br />Herewith my reply:<br /><br /><br />"Dear Mrs./Mr. Editor,<br /><br /> "While I don’t much mind an ignorant pen-pusher pontificating about the Aryan invasion debate, some concomitant modesty would at least be in order. Ridiculing any scepticism about the 19th-century Aryan invasion theory (AIT) merely shows that he is quite unaware of the state of the art.<br /><br />"So he equates the rivalling Out-of-India Theory (OIT) with Flat Earth and Creationism. But it is very easy to find material evidence against both the latter, such as the fossil record. By contrast, your contributor is quite unable to muster any evidence against the OIT. <b>Even Harvard professor and AIT champion Michael Witzel admits that no material evidence of Aryans moving into India has been found “yet”, i.e. after two centuries of being the official hypothesis sucking up all the sponsoring</b>. So your correspondent thinks himself superior, successful where the greatest specialists have failed?<br /><br />"A year ago I was participating in a Delhi conference on the Sindhu-Saraswati Civilization. While there, I received an e-mail from one of the world’s foremost specialists on the linguistic aspect of Indo-European origins, HH Hock, all the way from the US. Predictably, he upheld the now-dominant invasion scenario and added that no one takes the Out-of-India Theory seriously today (though it was the dominant assumption from 1786 till ca. 1820). Among linguists, this is approximately true: Nicolas Kazanas, Shrikant Talageri and myself have been in splendid isolation in those circles. But then, linguists who can competently argue in favour of the AIT are hardly more numerous. As I have verified at several specialist conferences, most concerned linguists don’t work on the problem of the origins, which has an aura of obsoleteness, and blindly follow the dominant theory because it happens to be what their textbooks contained. Which is what non-linguists like the cited team from Auckland also do.<br /><br />"However, while I read this e-mail, I was surrounded by the creamy layer of Indian archaeology. Each professor read his paper presenting the findings at a particular Harappan site where he was digging, and each of them reported a complete cultural continuity, no trace of an invasion. Sitting next to me was the dean of Indian archaeology, the nonagenarian professor BB Lal. When he was young, he made his name by “proving” that the archaeologically attested Painted Grey Ware indicated the Aryans on their way into India. That “proof” is still cited till today in favour of the AIT, at least in India. But in reality, <b>Lal himself has renounced that hypothesis decades ago, realizing that his posited link with Aryan invaders was itself based on a tacit acceptance of the omnipresent AIT. Today he emphasizes that there is no trace at all of any Aryan invasion.</b><br /><br />"You choose to poison the debate by insinuating a Hitler reference into it. Suit yourself, but again it proves your ignorance, for <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Hitler was a zealous follower of the AIT</b></span>. If the OIT has been associated with Hindutva (wrongly, for VD Savarkar, who launched this political concept, was an AIT believer), its alleged political use is at any rate only a trifle compared to the AIT. The OIT has been upheld mostly in one country for a few decades by a few scholars without any political power. By contrast, the <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>AIT has been used politically for some 160 years by major state actors such as the British empire and Nazi Germany</b></span>, and in India by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Ambedkarites (though<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> BR Ambedkar himself emphatically rejected it</b></span>), the Dravidianists, the missionaries and of course the secularists. If you don’t like the mixing of scholarship with politics, you should first of all lambast the AIT, not the OIT.<br /><br />"May Allah (or Whoever serves as God to you secularists) give you the <b>wisdom to keep your mouth shut on topics you don’t know enough about</b>.<br /><br />"Yours sincerely,<br /><br /><br />"Dr. Koenraad Elst"</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-66582773214341564822017-01-25T06:27:00.001-08:002017-01-25T06:27:09.833-08:00Research on Meditation's Effects on the Brain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><a data-rapid_p="3" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4471247/" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4744" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">The Meditative Mind: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of MRI Studies</a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Comments by Rajiv Malhotra in the forum</span></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is just one such article analyzing modern research. Greater meditation leading to greater usages. Earlier in an interview when I said most of the brain of non-meditators is unused, that is not exactly true. What is true is that the manner and extent to which they use it is very limited. It is meditation that lights up or wakes up its fuller potential - sort of like software enhancing the utilization and capability more fully. <br /><br />My concern is that such researchers seldom if ever mention any Hindu technique, and either remain silent or refer to it as Buddhist. This is not true. I have urged Dr HR Nagendra of SVYASA to always explain the specific Hindu texts and lineages being used in training the meditators.<br /><br />Western labs are taking the lead in this area for the past 30 years. Maharishi's group pioneered this area, but gradually the western institutions have taken over.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4838" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Expansion of brain utilization with meditation</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I believe there are four levels of expansion, of which the first three are acknowledged by western research:</span></span></span></span><br />
<ol class="ygrps-yiv-25094914" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4831" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4834" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Neuron networks become more connected</b>: The same set of neurons can get connected in more complex ways corresponding to higher levels of meditation.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4830" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Epigenetics</b>: Genes have switches that can be set/reset leading to change in functions. So even without genetic changes there are changes in capability. This is a relatively recent area of research.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4840" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Quantum biology</b>: Application of quantum physics to biological systems. This is nascent and little has been done explaining the role of meditation - Deepak Chopra's first famous book was on this principle (which he borrowed from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi), but it has not been empirically researched well.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4842" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">What we may think of as<b> subtler than quantum level</b>. Science has not yet acknowledged this.</span></span></span></li>
</ol>
<div id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4844" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The questions we must ask:</span></span></span></b></div>
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<ol id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4847" style="display: block; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4846" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">What are the total number of possible states a brain can have? It is of course humongous, and the number gets even bigger when we move from 1 to 2 to 3 above.</span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4850" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">What portion of these state are ordinary humans presently utilizing?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4852" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: decimal ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">It is a tiny portion. When I said that we use a small portion of our brain, it is in this sense.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Some popular articles say we use all our brains today. But their criteria is that when a neural is fired it is being "used". However, each of my points 1, 2, 3 above indicates a deeper concept of usage than this. Hence we are talking about different things. I maintain my earlier statement about humans using a small portion only - think of portion of possible states.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">(<i>in response to a follow up question</i>)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4879" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Rajiv:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i></span></span></span><ul id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4875" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4874" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4873"><b>How do you prove your statement that "We cannot measure spiritual growth with physical machines."</b> How can you be sure there are no physical changes which could serve as correlates that can be measured? To prove your view, you would have to get a sample of enlightened persons, and measure their physical parameters to declare that there is nothing unusual.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4886" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4885"><b>In fact the opposite is true. Advanced yogis/meditators DO experience changes that have been measured, such as in their: breathing, skin tension, pulse, fMRI, etc. This is nothing new I am reporting. Such experiments were done with Swami Rama, and dozens of others. SVYASA is doing such experiments as well</b>.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4890" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4889">Spiritual growth is based on specific practices, and these practices also produce effects on the body that are measurable.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4893" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4892">I find your attitude is silly. It is emotionally based and claiming some other-worldly aura of being "beyond matter". It has led to the west taking control over scientific measurements.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4896" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4898">Just think: If meditation produces no measurable change, then how does meditation change the body to cure diabetes, obesity, heat disease, and so many things. How can you on the one have be proud to proclaim health benefits of these practices, and on the other hand say that there are no measurable changes.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4901" style="display: list-item ! important; list-style-type: disc ! important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1485351075591_4900">Buddhists have led Hindus in the past 25 years in having their states of consciousness correlated with physical states. Buddhists have mapped the advanced practitioners' consciousness states (as described by the practitioner) with physical correlates. There are 100s of research publications over the past 25 years.</span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-87198746949909422122016-12-23T05:42:00.000-08:002016-12-23T05:42:01.041-08:00Relationship between yoga and Sanatana Hindu dharma<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rajiv Malhotra's dialogue with Dr. H. R. Nagendra, President VYASA, Bangalore<br />
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1482499811760_1036" style="font-size: small;"><i>Rajiv Malhotra:</i> Important to watch till the end. My goal was to debate the relationship between yoga and Sanatana Hindu dharma.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1482499811760_1026" style="font-size: small;">Notice how the argument proceeds gradually and systematically. In the end, he is fully in agreement with me that <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>yoga (except for very superficial benefits)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1482499811760_1025" style="text-decoration: underline;">requires full compliance with Vedic metaphysics, lifestyle, processes.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1482499811760_1114" style="font-size: small;">This is one of the most consequential videos I have done with the masters, because earlier Dr Nagendra's position publicly was in line with that of Jaggi Vasudeva and some others - i.e. that yoga is unrelated to Hinduism.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1482499811760_1077" style="font-size: small;">Given Dr Nagendra's powerful status as the official head of GOI's yoga movement, this switch in a 1.2 hour discussion is extremely important.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-88301601789407365872016-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:002016-10-27T10:34:00.008-07:00Is there Moksha in Christianity?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RajivMalhotraDiscussion/conversations/topics/14654" target="_blank">Here </a>is the link to the forum discussion. (you can join the Satsang. It is free). The short answer to the question is:<br />
NO. Read '<a href="http://beingdifferentbook.com/" target="_blank">Being Different</a>' for a detailed and in-depth discussion. Here are some useful forum links discussing karma and reincarnation.<br />
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1477587783831_2604" style="font-size: medium;"><a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://rajivmalhotra.com/library/articles/karma-reincarnation-compatible-christianity/" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1477587783831_2603" rel="nofollow" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://rajivmalhotra.com/library/articles/karma-reincarnation-compatible-christianity/</a></span></div>
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<a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-does-karma-theory-of-hinduism-work.html" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1477587783831_2599" rel="nofollow" style="color: #324fe1; font-size: large; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-does-karma-theory-of-hinduism-work.html</a></div>
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<br />
<i>In this thread, a forum member shared his reasons for returning to Hinduism</i>. <i>We present some pertinent points below</i>:<br />
"I am a born Hindu, but I was converted to christianity in my teen age years. <span style="background-color: orange;">In my early 20's I read the Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi in which he talked about his experience with christians and christianity</span>. His christian friends tried to convert his, and his reply was that he must first study his own religion thoroughly before thinking of converting to another religion. After studying Hinduism and comparative religion, Gandhiji realized that his own religion is far superior to other religions.<br /><br /> <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>So, following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, I also did an in-dept study on comparative religion and came to the same conclusion. I IMMEDIATELY REVERTED TO MY ANCESTRAL RELIGION - SANATANA DHARMA</b></span>.<br />
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<br />
[.....]<br />
<br />
<br /><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>As Rajivji explained, there is no Moksha in christianity</b></span>. Christianity goes as far as a realm called heaven, which in Hinduism is called Swarg. Beyond heaven/Swarg, there is an unmanifest State called Brahman. Moksha is merging into that State of Oneness with Brahman. ....This Oneness is open to ALL Truth seekers, and NOT exclusively to Jesus...<br /><br />You said (as all christians do) that Jesus paid for the sins of others by his blood ..... (<span style="background-color: yellow;">As Gandhiji said that Jesus proved nothing by dying</span>)... MANY GREAT PEOPLE BRAVELY DIED for some good in the world.<br /><br />[.....]<br /><br />
The Bhagavad-Gita says: "Better is your own Dharma, even with flaws, than the Dharma of another's." If you were told by others that your mother was ugly, would you not still love your mother ?<br /><br /> In Hinduism, this Age is called "Kal-yug" - it is the "Age of Delusion and Deception." So, Beware of False Religions. Hinduism is NOT a deceptive religion. It NEVER tried to deceive others into believing....Sanatana Dharma does not have a conquering or converting agenda. In Hinduism : <b>"Not Conversion, but Transformation is the Goal of True Religion: Become Better Human Beings</b>: Love, <span style="background-color: orange;"><b>Mutual Respect, Unity in Diversity</b></span>, Etc., Etc." These things are not taught in christianity and the other Abrahamic religions..."</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-32509427153417802132016-10-13T15:32:00.002-07:002016-10-13T18:28:56.283-07:00Old and new images of sepoy and master<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000xli7hmTttN4/s/900/720/John-Leech-Cartoons-Punch-1857-10-24-171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000xli7hmTttN4/s/900/720/John-Leech-Cartoons-Punch-1857-10-24-171.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pic linked from punch.photoshelter.com</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://devdutt.com/w/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wendydev1-260x260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://devdutt.com/w/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wendydev1-260x260.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pic linked from devdutt.com</td></tr>
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The first image shows British master with Indian sepoy. The body language is asymmetric and explicit.<br />
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In the second image, <a href="http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.com/2013/04/plagiarism-charge-against-devdutt.html" target="_blank">Devdutt Pattanaik</a> and <a href="http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.com/2014/02/intolerance-in-name-of-freedom-of.html" target="_blank">Wendy</a> mom are embracing as equal love birds. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>But power is asymmetric. One has intellectual adhikara over the other. One has superiority complex and the other is colonized as inferior</b></span>. One is funding the other and giving him legitimacy and prestige. The subordinate does the dirty work for his master. But in this new American form of colonization, the sepoy gets treated with outward respect. Americans are better at the game than the Brits. The sepoys they hire are better educated and more polished. The lure of sepoy-hood is greater than before.<br />
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Please compare & contrast the two eras of colonization, and how Sepoy 1.0 have morphed into Sepoy 2.0.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-53633485148115794512016-10-13T15:09:00.002-07:002016-10-14T22:29:45.721-07:00The Translation Problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>A forum member DJ writes:</i> <br />
Folks, I've been meaning to write this for months, given the importance of this topic. I think we need to tweak our understanding of this matter because it is way off the mark right now. The so-called translation problem is even worse than we think it is. It is not a problem involving words and meanings but is more of a theoretical problem that relates to the entire framework that shapes the way we think.<br />
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Ever since our colonization we have taken on the Abrahamic way of talking without really understanding what we are talking about. This has been one of the greatest failing of Hindus. While our enemies were busy studying us to death, we sat back and did not care to understand what their religion and culture were all about.<br />
As a result of this, we adopted their way of thinking so that now we no longer have an intuitive understanding of many of the words in our own languages. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>This is especially true when it comes to talking about human psychology</b></span>. We are as clueless about words such as manas and buddhi as as anyone from the West who wants to study our traditions. When it comes to words like these we do with them exactly what we do with words like deva and puja. We map them on to certain words in English and understand them in the way that the West has taught us to understand them. This is what is so insidious about the translation problem. It is not confined just to translation into English. It encompasses the way we talk in our native Indian languages. The framework of the western cultural experience has been so dominant in the last 300 years that language-use in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Sanskrit, and every other Indian language has been distorted.<br />
<br />
Please remember that many of these words have to do with basic human psychology. These are words that we use to talk about ourselves, our friends, husbands, wives, parents, kids, and other human beings. Therefore, we cannot sit back and proclaim that there are many Hindu experts and scholars who do know what they are talking about. Given the fundamental importance of a vocabulary that allows us to talk about ourselves, we cannot sit back and rely on a community of specialists. We must be able to relate to these words as we live and breathe. Even if our experts tell us what these words mean, how do we understand them in ourselves? Is my desire for a dosa an expression of my manas or my buddhi? When I want to punch somebody, what prevents me: buddhi, chitta, manas, dharma, or, to use Christian terminology, the conscience? What if my buddhi and manas both support me in wanting to punch someone? What then is the difference between the two? What do I need to train if I want to improve? How do I identify that entity? How do I know what trains it? Your experts, it turns out, will have to appeal to the words I already know in order to explain to me what buddhi or manas is. Merely knowing a word cannot help me identify it in myself. Our approach to studying human psychology was different from the subject 'psychology' that is taught in schools and universities. <br />
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Distortions in our understanding of our own traditions had already started with the Islamic colonization. They became more systematized when the missionaries and European scholars began with their translations. The next level of distortion started when Indians themselves adopted this way of talking in English. Finally, distortions occurred when Indians then translated their way of talking in English back into the Indian languages. After all these distortions, there is no way of telling how the cognition of Indians has changed in the past few centuries. In many ways we are as clueless as anyone from the West who studies our traditions. What they learn from studying Patanjali is also what we learn by studying Patanjali. This is the reason why earlier generations of Indians did not object to the translations the British came up with. It’s because our understanding of Ishwara is as shallow as our understanding of God.<br />
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This problem cannot be solved by merely retaining words in our own language. As a first step we have to understand the culture that inflicted this framework that we have become trapped in. In other words, the so-called translation problem is a theoretical problem, and <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>as long as we accept the theoretical framework provided by the West, whether it involves religion or cosmology or whether it has to do with human psychology, we will not be able to solve the problem</b></span>.<br />
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We need to develop alternative theoretical frameworks to rival those of the West. Our frameworks may well be superior when talking about human psychology, let’s say. They may not be adequate when talking about the cosmos. Accordingly, we can adopt, adapt, or discard our frameworks. Meanwhile, just quibbling over the meaning of what brhamanda exactly means is a useless exercise. What may have been cutting edge at the time of Aryabhata and Agastya may not be relevant any more. The fact that we are willing to accept every bit of knowledge that was produced 5000 years ago without any critical reflection is further proof of the fact that we are so out of touch with our traditions. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>It is not about studying some ancient text but really understanding their approach to knowledge</b></span>. With all due respect, merely using Sanskrit words in some contexts is a useless exercise. <b><span style="background-color: yellow;">If we really understood what we were talking about, we would be able to express it in any language</span></b>. <br />
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<i>Rajiv Malhotra responds:</i><br />
Indeed, <span style="background-color: red;"><b>the mis-translation is not just of words but the ideas behind them</b></span>. Once you require the original word to be retained, you also force people to think what the words mean more deeply. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Because puja is not same as prayer, it compels the person to learn what puja is, where and why it differs, and why the difference matters a lot</b></span>. <br />
The Sanskrit non-translatables initiative started in <a href="http://beingdifferentbook.com/" target="_blank">BD</a> has far reaching implications, beyond just preserving certain words. <b>Each word is an ecosystem of knowledge, a signpost to deep structures</b>. Once we get critical mass on board this venture, it will snowball in many directions. But first lets take issue with common translations we find our netas, gurus, purohits doing all the time. Build from there. This is one of several initiatives in parallel to take back control of our civilization. The <a href="http://swadeshiindology.com/si-2-call-for-papers/" target="_blank">SI2 conference</a> will have many outstanding papers on such matters.<br />
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<i>Forum member YKW adds</i>:<br />
Rajivji has very rightly said that the mis-translation is not just of words but the ideas behind them. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Emergence of Aryan Invasion theory to an extent is the result of such a mis-translation and mis-interpretation of Vedic works</b></span>. Substituting mere dictionary equivalents for words and Ignoring the method and interpretive principles of ancient rishies while translating the multi-dimensional and symbolic language of the Vedic texts made them unintelligible and beyond human comprehension. Such a mutilation and bungling with the the Vedic language due to ignorance or by choice also kills the very spirit of the profound ideas contained in the ancient texts. It was Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati(1824-83) who in recent times pointed out that how misinterpretation of the texts led to several misconceptions/misgivings which finally ended into many obnoxious customs and evil practices in the society. Hence, the need to put things in the right perspective.<br /><br />I am giving below few examples of mistranslation and misinterpretation from the book "Original Home of the Aryans" which is english translation of the work 'Aryon Ka Aadi Desh'. The book is written by Swami Vidyanand Saraswati(former Principal, Arya College, Panipat and Fellow Punjab University), pub by Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, New Delhi, Ed.1987. Excerpts from the book:<br /><br />"Griffth in his note on the Rigvedic hymn (1-10-1) writes: "The dusky brood: The dark aborigines who opposed the Aryans," i.e., the dark coloured aborigines who opposed Aryans are called Dasa or Dasyu. In order to prove the aborigines as dark-coloured he refers to the six mantras of Rigveda (1-101-1; 1-130-8; 2-20-7; 4-16-13; 6-47-21 and 7-5-3) in which the word Krishna has been used. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>As a matter of fact different types of colours are mentioned in these mantras and not human beings</b></span>. Skandswami has interpreted Krishna-garbha as black clouds. That is why in the Vedas the so-called leaders of Dasyus, Shambhar, Chumuree, Dhumi, Varchin, etc. are classified as different types of clouds." <br /><br />"On account of lack of knowledge about the poetic description in the Vedas, the foreigners have distorted the meanings of the words. The foreigners have tried to show that the aborigines were phallus-worshippers. They have based conclusions on the word Shishan-deva which is used in the Vedas to denote persons who are lusty and sensuous. Yaskacharya has interpreted this word as abrahmacharya i.e., who does not observe brahamacharya. This word occurs in the Rigveda (7-21-5 and 10-99-3). In these mantras prayer is addressed to Indra that evil persons should not cause impediments in their noble works. These mantras have no reference to worship. Sensuous persons of any country, time and society are shishnadevas." <br /><br /><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>"The word anas is used in the Vedas. The foreign scholars have interpreted it as "without nose or with flat nose." Their view is fallacious. The word "nas" does not mean nose. it refers to sound. </b></span> The Hymn in which this word occurs in the Rigveda (5-29-10) speaks of clouds: the word, therefore, in the context means clouds which do not thunder. It has no reference whatsoever to flat nose or noselessness." <br /><br />Swami Vidyanand further remarks that the camp-followers of the Western scholars continue to see through the eyes of their western masters. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>The great exponent of Indian culture,K.M. Munshi has written quite diabolically about Aryans and Rishies and described them beef eaters, drinkers, gamblers, etc, in his book Lopa-Mudra</b></span>. In the preface to the book Shri Munshi has stated that whatever he has written in the book is based on Rigveda. However, when Swami Vidyanand asked him to quote the mantras on the authority of which he had written all this in his book - he wrote back as under in his letter dated 2nd February, 1950. <br /><br /><span style="background-color: orange;"><b>" I believe the Vedas to have been composed by human beings in the very early stage of our culture and my attempt in this book has been to create an atmosphere which I find in the Vedas as translated by Western scholars and as given in Dr.Keith's Vedic Index. I have accepted their views of life and conditions in those times." </b></span> <br /><br />Talking about the pernecious effects of mis-interpretation and mis-translation, Swami Vidyanand Saraswati further says that by adopting literal meanings of words instead of etymological or derivative meanings,the Vedas have been shown as a book of facinating stories. In this way our brains have been stuffed with rocks of faithlessness in the Vedas. (Note: The above english translation of the book Aryon Ka Aadi desh i.e.,- Original Home of the Aryans by Swami Vidyanand Saaswati is out of print, however, Hindi enlarged edition , pub.by Arya Prakashan, Ajmeri Gate, Delhi is available).<br /><br />
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-7179643855800061892016-10-05T06:35:00.001-07:002016-10-05T06:35:12.092-07:00Wendy Doniger's 'Grandchildren' mobilized to lead Hinduphobia - with NRI funding<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Rajiv Malhotra:</i> <br />
Andrea Jain who wrote <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RajivMalhotra.Official/posts/705693039584036" target="_blank">this </a>Hinduphobic article was student of the notorious <a href="http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.com/2014/02/wendys-child-jeffrey-kripal-on-sri.html" target="_blank">Jeffrey Kripal</a> (himself a <a href="http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.com/2014/02/hitchhikers-guide-to-invading-sacred.html" target="_blank">Wendy's Child </a>and target of many of my writings.) <br /><br />Despite all this pedigree, the<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> NRI fools funded a Jain studies chair at the University where Jeffrey K teaches</b></span> and put him in position of authority to call the shots there. <br /><br />See the <a href="http://news.rice.edu/2016/02/02/rice-jain-community-join-forces-to-further-global-understanding-of-ancient-indian-religion/" target="_blank">Jain Chair announcement</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />What is going on with our rich NRIs - claiming to be nationalists before one audience, and then funding such institutionalized Hinduphobia?<br /><br />Why have many of you [members] failed to expose this syndrome of NRI duplicity?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-87377334110327825132016-08-27T20:49:00.002-07:002016-08-31T06:12:40.601-07:00Question: Why are you targeting Sheldon Pollock personally, i.e. one man?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , , "roboto"; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.25px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">An important point that we want people to understand. Please read the following FAQ closely. Also <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , , "roboto";">read the comment by <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , , "roboto";">Sonal Mansingh<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , , "roboto";">.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoNormal" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1485" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1484" style="font-weight: bold;"><u id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1501"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1500" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Question</span></u><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1483" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1482">Why are you targeting Sheldon Pollock personally (i.e. one man)?</i></span></span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoNormal" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1480" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoNormal" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1464" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Answer</span></u></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1462" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">: <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b>We are never targeting anyone personally, but critiquing and responding to their ideas. We see these ideas as a serious<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><u>school of thought</u><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and not as one person’s. Before choosing a target for purva-paksha and uttara-paksha, one must ask the following kinds of questions</b></span>:</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1506" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">· <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">What is the specific harm being caused to us by a given target, which we hope to undermine?</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1509" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">· <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1508" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">What further high-value targets become within our range once we have successfully engaged this target?</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1512" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">· <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1511" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">What does our team gain through this fight, in terms of learning new sophisticated methods?</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1515" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">· <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1514" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">What would be the demoralizing effect on the opponent’s supporters, and how would this boost the morale of our support base?</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1518" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.25in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">· <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1517" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">How did our tradition respond to similar situations?</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoNormal" id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1521" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1520" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Such an inquiry led to the following position regarding the above question.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">1. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1524"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1523" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Following the purva-paksha system</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">a. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1527" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The purva/uttara paksha system of argumentation on behalf of one’s tradition requires naming the opponent, citing his/her specific works and then giving a sound, logical critique. It is not done by sweeping generalizations of opponents. It is essentially a “case studies” method in which specific instances of differences get argued with specific opponents (similar in some ways to the famous Harvard business school case studies approach). While a general treatise with critique can be ignored, a direct critique of named opponents who have stature is non-ignorable, which is important.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">b. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">There is a difference between doing a purva-paksha and developing a new shastra/siddhanta on a given subject. Before a new shastra can emerge, one must first clear the table of existing theories by doing specific purva-paksha on the major ones. This is how the system of knowledge continually renews and refreshes itself. Ignoring the opponent was not seen as a worthy thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">c. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The target should be a leader representing an important school of thought, one with lineage, followers and traction.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">In other words, we like to critique an entire ecosystem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">2. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Harm being caused that we must remedy</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">: Sheldon Pollock is not just an individual but also the leaders of an important school of thought causing the following problems that are very serious, concrete and immediate:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">a. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Harmful content and substance</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">:<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> There are vast and deep problems with Pollock’s positions, and they often remain camouflaged beneath his surface praise and emotional appeals</b></span>. The book,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://thebattleforsanskrit.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Battle For Sanskrit</i></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(TBFS), started exposing these. The first Swadeshi Indology conference (SI-1) validated these concerns and added more substance to the criticisms. The next conference is going to take this criticism to a much higher level. For specific issues with his scholarship, the reader is referred to TBFS and the SI-1 web site. But as a sample, he alleges that: (1) the Sanskrit tradition from its beginning has been socially oppressive, (2) shastras by design have prevented creative thinking, (3) Sanskrit texts contained toxins that influenced the Nazis to commit the holocaust, (4) the Ramayana contains seeds of violence and this has been provoked against Muslims, (5), mimamsa was developed in response to Buddhism, as a way to codify biases, (6) rasa entered late in the tradition, and even later it was reinterpreted (by Rupa Goswami) to introduce sacredness, (7) kavya has from the beginning been a device for kings’ projection of power in an aesthetic manner; and so on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">b. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #ffd966;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Hijacking Sringeri</span></u></b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">: Prior to TBFS, he already had provisional commitment from Sringeri mattha to set up Adi Shankara Chairs in US Ivy Leagues, with Pollock himself in charge of selecting and directing the academic programs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">c. <span style="background-color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: black;"> <b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></span></span><span style="background-color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: black;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Hinduphobic parampara</span></u></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">: He has trained and influenced one of the largest and most influential group of students and peers. His importance through his writings is well attested by the Western academic establishment. These followers include many sepoy scholars/journalists whose works are filled with venom against Hinduism. Many who wonder “why bother critiquing Pollock?” must wake up and discover that many individuals they are fighting are trained by him and/or operating under his ideological influence. Rather than fighting isolated instances, we must get to the roots of the system that produces such instances.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">d. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #f1c232;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Official recognition & infiltration</span></u></b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">: His followers have infiltrated the official establishments of higher learning, media and education, and he has received official awards. This has made his positions officially endorsed in India. Hence they need to be examined closely and evaluated objectively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">e. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #f1c232;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Murty Classics Library</span></u></b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">: A direct and immediate consequence of TBFS was a major petition against the MCLI, which triggered response and counter-response from both sides. This brought to the surface the previously hidden faces of Pollockism. In fact, the recent Vande Mantram Library initiative is an example of a direct result of the awareness created by TBFS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">3. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Knowledge being acquired by our scholars and further purva-paksha opportunities</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">a. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Because very few of our traditional scholars have done purva-paksha on the latest Western Indology, this work has required them to learn about many areas of Western thought, research methodologies and institutional mechanisms. Some of these insights may help us upgrade our competitiveness in the global discourse. This knowledge better equips us to encounter with many other Western schools besides just Pollock, from a much deeper level than our scholars have done in the past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">b. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Subsequent purva-paksha targets under consideration include: Romila Tnapar, Wendy Doniger, Western(ized) feminists, to name a few. In each case, we wish to adopt a focused and sharply targeted approach in order to maximize the impact on the ground.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">4. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Psychological warfare</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">a. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">By toppling the leader of a school, the followers of that school get demoralized. New recruits into their program become harder to attract.<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b> This already happened to other intellectual leaders we targeted in the past</b></span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">b. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Simultaneously, we are witnessing a boost to the self-confidence of our young scholars. They are becoming fearless and better skilled at debating in open forums.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">c. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b>An important quality to cultivate is being<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><u>non-ignorable</u></b></span>. This cannot be achieved by criticizing dead scholars (who will not talk back), dead empires, marginal players, or over abstracted and over-generalized opposing views. To trigger lively debate that can transform the discourse requires one to name names, be direct and sharp – precisely the qualities exhibited in our tradition of debates in the past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">5. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Waking up some tamasic, lazy and pompous “insiders”</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">a. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It is our experience that many “insider” scholars, including and especially some with big reputations and high society profiles, are pathetically out of touch with the latest scholarship, lazy to do any new reading in a serious manner, and even deficient in analytical/debating experience to engage Westerns with confidence. Some of them are also sold out through various forms of patronage. Hence they tend to be cynical about such attempts as the Swadeshi Indology movement where hard work and original, non-emotional scholarship is being required for membership.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">b. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The strategy adopted by SI is to welcome all established scholars on the terms of rigor and objectivity, rather than mental blockages or emotions. Many senior scholars are already solidly in the SI movement and their leadership is given paramount importance.</span></div>
<div class="ygrps-yiv-1185667096MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, san-serif, Roboto; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.95px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.75in; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">c. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The good news is that we find the new, young scholars to be very enthusiastic and competent in this pursuit. This fits well with our goal to develop next generation specialized teams of scholars with different kinds of subject-matter expertise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">d. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1542" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><b>The old-school scholars who did not make much impact but spent their energies traveling for events and enjoying the limelight, now feel threatened by a new stock of scholars that are bypassing them</b>. There is also blatant jealousy on display at times. We do not want our scholars to get discouraged by this, and one purpose of writing this is to prepare them for such cynicisms.</span></div>
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<br />
<b>Now, here is some additional context.</b> <br />
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<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1046" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1045">When I was researching on Pollock in 2015, I went around many senior scholars in India for leads, help, sources, etc. Did not want to rediscover what was already known to our people.</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1050" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1049">Result: Very disappointing. Hardly any serious work had been or was being done, little interest to get off their rear ends and work hard, lots of bombast/ego, pride, emotions, etc.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1052" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1054">But not surprised because i have been through this inertia in India for 25 years on various topics.</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1086" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1141">Basically our "scholars" want to get maximize personal benefit with minimum effort/investment of their own.</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1084" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1083">Case study: One retired Delhi U prof who is well known as natya shatra "expert" (though scantily published) wanted to save himself the effort of reading Pollock. So he felt that giving me enough chai and a samosa at India Int'l Center cafeteria would allow him to pick my brain while he and his wife would sit and take notes. This would let him beat me by getting a quick blog out of his own. Serious books are unnecessary as per this lot, because it is too much effort. Result is that the western Indologists call the shots when it comes to prescribing books in colleges worldwide even though the subject is Indology.</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1076" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1075">I told him he would have to wait for my book to come out first, as leaking out the critical research and responses by me would not be appropriate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>In the end he and his wife gave up trying.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1072" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1071"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Within a couple of weeks from this "samosa-based research" attempt, his article suddenly appeared in IndiaFacts attacking Pollock and Rohan Murthy</span>. Note that when I met and told him about Pollock, he had only hesard about him tangentially and lacked even the basic idea of what Pollock's work or controversy were about. Now he was writing like an overnight "expert". However, as expected, there was no substance in his article - merely emotional allegations based on how everything wasgenerally wrong with the West. So no need to spend effort reading Pollock.</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1102" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1101">Fast forward several months. My tbfs book comes out, gets rave reviews by top Sanskrit scholars in India, there are 25 events, lots of awareness. This man wants to ignore all this material because it is overwhelming to him. He now wants to make it seem that it was unimportant (because he could/did nothing about the topic).</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1110" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1109">Next comes a big surprise. Last week there was some meeting in Delhi to create a rival to Murthy Classics Library - an initiative inspired by tbfs and the subsequent petition against MCLI. One of the speakers presents a summary of the Swadeshi Indology movement. Guess who is the top cynic speaking out against "conferences targeting Pollock?" <span style="background-color: yellow;">Its our DU friend who last year was desperate to get masala on Pollock so he could put out a very rapid article critical of Pollock. Contradicting his own previous desires/article, last week he argued: we must not attack one man's work. He gives every reason not to be so focused in conferences</span>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1105" style="display: list-item !important; list-style-type: disc !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1472355343981_1107">Of course, our team of three SI scholars argued back and explained the importance of specialized. focused analyses.</span></li>
</ul>
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In light of this, I decided we must do a FAQ on why we targeted Pollock per se, not personally but as a school of Indology.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The <a href="http://swadeshiindology.com/si-2/faqs/" target="_blank">link </a>above takes you to a summary of the importance of specializing. Some of it is taken from TBFS.</div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow;">I hope serious scholars will take the time and study it. This issue is important for us to debate</span>. As I noted in this attachment, Indian scholarly events are too unproductive, more like flea markets with substandard speakers regurgitating their same old material for many years.</div>
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As you can see, so much of our fight is internal, with our own people.</div>
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<br /></div>
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regards,</div>
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rajiv<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Smt. Sonal Mansingh, who is a famous performer and expert on Indian Nritya/Natya responds:</b></span><br />
Rajiv<br />Apropos ur 28th August mail: <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>this Naatya Shastra 'scholar' has threatened to expose classical dancers who according to him, know nothing abt it</b></span>. He is more aggressive now than before having been brought as Exe Trustee of most prestigious Govt cultural organisation. In any case, Pompous pretentiousness is the hallmark of most scholars & academicians, Indian or non-Indian. Sincerely<br />Sonal Mansingh<br /><br />Rajiv: Sonal ji, I have always considered the performers (and you are among the foremost of this era) as our exemplars, not the cynical bookworms sitting on the sideline passing comments... <br />
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-34189140649917629402016-08-18T17:51:00.002-07:002016-08-18T17:51:23.950-07:00The difference between two kinds of differences: Digestible and Non-digestible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1092"><u id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1091"><span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1090" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Two kinds of differences: Digestible and Non-digestible</span></u></b></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1087" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">I want to respond to a common confusion about <span style="background-color: yellow;">the kind of difference we need to assert in order to protect ourselves</span>. <span style="background-color: yellow;">A difference that the other religion can adopt is not sustainable and can easily become a part of the other faith as well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1081" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">For example: Removing shoes to enter a temple, wearing tilak, eating with one’s hands without silverware, eating on a banana leaf, wearing saffron clothes, giving prasad, etc. – each of these has become common practice in Christian churches in south India. None of these differences causes any violation in the core tenets of Christianity. They see these practices as mere “culture” that can be accepted by them without any problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1071" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">The church developed the doctrine and practice called “inculturation” precisely to encourage its followers to adopt local cultures, symbols, even festivals, etc. in order to “localize Christianity”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1117" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">This is no different than MacDonald’s adopting Paneer Burger for menus in India and Chow Mein for China. It is a very common globalization strategy to adapt products for local markets. The church gave this the name “<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>inculturation</b></span>” and experimented it for generations in Africa, Latin America before introducing systematically in India. Each adapted product is market tested, feedback given from field operations to headquarters, policies updated, new versions developed, etc. This process is ongoing very studiously.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1120" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>This is why Western Indologists like to separate religion and culture, so they can reject the former and digest the latter</b></span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">What are the Hindu dharma items that the Christian host cannot digest because these items would violate core Christian tenets? These are the kinds of things explained in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://beingdifferentbook.com/" target="_blank"><i>Being Different</i></a><u>.</u> If such a tenet were absorbed by the Christian side, they would need to distort it in order to make it fit their framework and assumptions. Here the Hindu side must forcefully resist letting such distortions take place – for which we need well-informed and assertive Hindus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">What would happen if Christians were to ingest such non-digestible items in their authentic form (i.e. without being able to distort them)? The result would be what I have called the <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>poison pills</b></span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Below is a post I received that I now want to respond to. I have removed references to a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>specific guru because that leads to personal fights for/against, which is silly, because what we want to do is to discuss the principles and learn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">The discussion thread was about examples of digestion; a guru’s position on yoga came up in this context. A follower of his defended him by writing the following:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">‘<span style="font-style: italic;">As a counter example, I can say I first learnt one of the main essences of "Being Different" from XYZ's talks, long before Rajiv's book "Being Different" was published. Like for example his talk on uniqueness of Hindu Temples, as he says here "Nowhere else in the world, such wisdom exists", or his talk on how Indian Temples are totally different from places of worship of other religions like Churches or Mosques.’</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Note that he is <b>unconscious of the distinction between digestible and non-digestible differences</b>. Merely praising Hinduism is useless if the issue is to explain what/why certain differences are non-negotiable for us and at the same unacceptable to the other side. The question is not how Hindu temples are superior/unique. But in what ways do they have features that are<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><u>impossible</u><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for Christians to adopt and adapt? Clearly the person who wrote the above is not focusing on this, and it remains unclear whether his guru is sufficiently focusing on teaching<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b><u>non-digestible</u><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>differences</b></span>. Difference can be at many levels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">What I am requiring is impossible to do without reversing the gaze and first studying the other religion. How can you be sure that Hindu item X is non-digestible into a certain religion, and that it will act as a poison pill, if you have only a superficial idea of that religion?</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_15_0_1_1471567320515_1141" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">This is the crux of the matter. Teachers who are mixed up about the other religion, perhaps partly because they want to be politically correct with them, simply lack the depth of knowledge about the other religion to be able to formulate Hindu dharma in non-digestible terms. <b>They can go on praising Hinduism, but that does not address the issue of digestion</b>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-80979259973096166142016-08-10T05:29:00.000-07:002016-08-10T05:32:10.678-07:00Followers have a blind spot regarding their gurus that they need to overcome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A very important message from Rajiv in the background of discussions in the forum on some of the stands taken/policies followed by some present day gurus or their lineages.<br />
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He says:<br />
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There is a serious mix up here [in the forum] that is a common occurrence among Hindus everywhere. It has to do with the notion that to be a good guru he/she must be enlightened, a term which is further assumed to mean perfection in every domain of activity. Therefore, if someone challenges that guru's position on something, it is seen as an insult to the guru's integrity. This starts a fight in which the guru's character/legitimacy become the topic of contention.<br />
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I have tried numerous times to explain that one must compartmentalize domains of knowledge and expertise. Being enlightened is one domain, but there are also many others. Can your guru (and the same applies to mine) run as fast as the Olympic champion? Or match Tendulkar's record of 100 centuries?<br />
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The point being there are many domains out there and just because a given guru is enlightened to teach us Vedanta does not imply infallibility. Even Avatara takes form within maryada, and hence is bound by the limits of the body, i.e. disease, old age, death, etc.<br />
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It is foolish escapism to imagine some infallible, perfect state in all domains achieved by any human in our times. I would like to put to test any claims of infallibility - our tradition DOES ask us to test the guru.<br />
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The false notion on this leads to chauvinism about one's guru, his/her being beyond all criticisms, etc. When I have spoken privately to gurus on this, they say they are ordinary humans who have achieved insights and abilities to teach that require long term tapasya, but they never say they are perfect/infallible in every domain of activity.<br />
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So it is perfectly fine to question a guru on his/her policy on other religions, knowledge on how digestion works, pro's and cons on building hybrid systems, etc.<br />
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My <span style="font-style: italic;">UTurn Theory</span> case studies are full of instances where gurus were simply foolish in the way they got deceived by Judeo-Christian followers, and this is a big reason for our failure today. The same also applies to the arrogance of many Hindu political leaders who go on promoting policies that are simply retrograde. The long term implications of some well intended policies are often not appreciated by gurus who have not acquired sufficient knowledge outside their own domain of expertise.<br />
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This problem is illustrated by what has happened at one of the foremost Bhagavad-gita teaching movements. </div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Their acharyas at one point did not want to let me speak at their gatherings, citing the reason that by policy they limit their discussions to the works of their organization's founder. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">But then a large number of parents and teachers of their bal-vihara made a list of questions to be answered. These questions are faced by the children in their daily lives and are not adequately addressed in the organization's teachings. They asked this guru to please address these issues. Many of the parents/teachers of this organization are members of our egroup here. So they are well informed about such matters. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The good news is that their acharya personally called me to invite me to address all his students. We are good friends now. I see this as a sign of maturity. He accepts the limits of their internal teachings, and what I will present is not a threat of any kind, and complements their own knowledge.</li>
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So in this way I have developed good relations with many other gurus as well. Swami Dayananda Saraswati never hesitated to bring in outside subject-matter experts to teach in his ashrams those topics that were outside his core topic of Vedanta. This shows maturity, not deficiency of any kind.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bottom line</span>: A guru is not being undermined if we disagree with his policy on yoga's relationship to other religions, and if we claim that he lacks adequate knowledge of other religions. Nor are we insulting a guru when we disagree with his policy to include Jesus on the altar, and when we state that he is not an expert on Christian theology or its present socio-political strategies.</div>
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Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-64340994820113346842016-05-30T23:40:00.003-07:002016-05-30T23:40:23.960-07:00Forum member's experience as a Hindu professor in a Christian college in TN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A newly inducted member to the discussion group had a very heart breaking story to relate regarding her experiences as a Hindu professor of English in a Christian college in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.<br />
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We reproduce here her exact words.<br />
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1. As a Prof of English in a Catholic College experienced innumerable verbal attacks, gestures of disapproval and arrogant remarks from colleagues: a. Human Rights class open attack on Brahmins - "Brahmins only used to molest Dalits."<div>
<br />2. When I had a chat on Whats app with my student - a journalist currently with Indian Express - I criticized her for using the term "saffron bulls" and I told her not to denigrate that noble term which symbolizes sacrifice. I referred to noble works of Swami Vivekananda. From an unknown activist I had wordy dual who condemned Swami Vivekananda as Castetist and he said he too had done nothing for the Dalits. I had to argue through the night. I showed him how DMK has done only ethnic cleansing of the Brahmins and not improved the situation of the Dalits. But he was not convinced. </div>
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<br />3. I had an opportunity to get a Dalit girl married in my own house (to avoid a critical situation about 8 months back.) I had priest in my house (a Catholic priest who was not happy about the turn of events for my gesture broke their myth of Brahmin brutality against the Dalits) But openly he abused the Hindu gods and our faith. (Whom are you going to see when you reach Heaven. Your religion confuses you with so many Gods).</div>
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<br />4. I happened to wear the label Brahmin and though I achieved a great deal in college there was always a step motherly treatment. I was denied FIP . ( I had to pursue my Ph.D without any leave benefits. I had to exhaust all my personal leave.)</div>
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<br />5. I have received threat calls in college. When I mentioned the term Taliban (an announcement in the The Hindu- about 25 years back) I had an anonymous call threatening me. (At that time the nuns had to awareness- I am still waiting to talk to that nun - for recently 60 odd Christians were killed in Pakistan during Easter by Taliban.)</div>
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<br />6. Conversion into Christianity is rampant as Sri Rajivji has pointed out now it is the Pentecosts. My own Prof. of Tamil has been hounding a Brahmin Prof (both retired) with constant e mailing saying that she would not reach Heaven if does not become a Christian.<br /><br />7. I read the Scriptures daily. so they have branded that I am R.S.S. and a Hindutva. Only a Christian and a Muslim has the right in India to be religious. If I defend Hinduism I have always been under attack.<br /><br />I saved my maid a refugee from Sri Lanka from being converted.Her family went through horrible pressure from a local Christian group.</div>
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<br />8. I hear that they woo the people with newer and newer techniques. Especially lower class in the villages. Vegetables are given on Sundays. <br /><br />I can go on. I used to be so badly treated that in 2006 I had a psychological and neurological disorder. I did not wish to continue there. But when they sensed that my leaving the institution would lead to criticism (for I am a popular teacher a favourite among students) they begged me to come back.<br /><br />I have medical records and service records to prove that one whole year I was going through depression. I could not go to any Human rights org. </div>
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<br />The funniest thing is they would easily advice me to forgive. The tactics is they would bring the Bible and say forgive.<br /><br />I am an African American and American studies scholar. I know all about AF/Am litt. Now there is a huge attempt to create a non existent Dalit literature, The voice is Ms. Meena Kandasamy. She has declared that she has embraced "Dalit" ism I wonder what she means by it. The African Americans have been pouring out their misery ever since they set foot on American soil in the 17 the century. I do not understand how on earth they can achieve a manufactured literature in a short period. I read Kanch Illiya's poem attacking the Brahmins. <br /><br />I feel a systematic, serious confrontation of all these charges with facts must be done soon enough.<br /><br />Almost all the U.G.C. sponsored conferences have been pro - Dalit and Brahmin bashing only I have been attending many.<br /><br />Thanks for your time. If I need to elaborate on any of the experiences I am willing to.<br /><br />I tried introducing Yoga in the campus about five years back with the help of a Hindu called Yoga master Subramanian. <br /><br />But last year "Mindful Meditation" was introduced by a Priest much to the disappointment of Christians themselves and they laughed at it calling Mindless meditation. The first thing the students were asked to buy was a pillow. <br /><br />Last year 2015 I was forced to organize a National Conference on Human Rights Issues in Literature and Sociology. Please follow the activities of a person called Dr. Balakrishnan of Roots - a NGO - I am sure a Christian group is supporting him. <br /><br />During the Key note address he attacked Hindu belief systems and mocked at the idea of going to temples. As I am heading the Dept. I could not openly accuse him. But I boycotted the publication of papers. He calls himself Academic Event manager. Conducts a lot of programmes for the youth. He is a vocal Anti Brahmin advocate and so he along with five members including the so called Brahmin principal called Dr. Murali were chucked out of the local college called The Madura College. You could verify info.<br /><br />More specifically He is part of the Brahmin versus Dalit Narrative -- Breaking India force.<br /><br />But Roots is doing academic programme focusing on Dalits and I am sure it a Breaking India racket. You could probe. This org. is in Madurai. It is a one man army with support from a Christian called Periera. (Not sure of the spelling.) They have a press called Shanlax. Almost all the papers are eulogizing the works by Bama a Dalit writer who is compared with African American Writers. I get angry by these comparative studies. But I am always at a loss. <br /><br />I have guided Ph.D scholars in this area and still have about 9 students. I can never support the argument that Dalits suffered like the African American slaves. By the way I have been part of the U.S. State sponsored International Visitor's Program.. Met writers like James Alan Mc Pherson.<br /><br />I live in an area called Vel Murugan Nagar. There is a priest called Dudley Thangiah in this area who is well known for conversion. Now it is all a stealthy deal. He does not rechristen them. They believers have Hindu names but attend church. What he does is one influential member in the family is converted and the rest are swept in.</div>
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<br />I see a New Prayer Tower in Nehru Nagar an adjacent colony. I shall get more details. Madurai is full of prayer houses not formal churches where Dalit conversions are rampant.<br />The caste politics is another reason for conversion.<br /><br />My Nadar friend tells me her entire family is broken to pieces because of conversion. They are owners of Flour mill called Mayil Brand. Excepting the eldest son's family all are converted. Conversion and breaking of Hindu families in Virudhunagar has been going on for 3 to 4 decades now.<br /><br />Now Southern Tamil Nadu - Ramnad belt is fully Muslim area. Illaiangudi and surrounding areas mini Pakistan. Tanjore Kumbakonam Muslim concentration. Kanyakumari Thirunelvelli are all Christian belts. Now Madurai is infested with Evangelical movements.</div>
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<br />There is British priest working near Nagamalai Pudhukptai doing conversion. Pentecosts openly declare that they can make a living doing Evangelical work. Money is pumped in from the West for sure.<br /><br />There are open attacks on Ramayan in colleges like Lady Doak where priest come and give lectures on these Scriptures mocking them.<br /><br />There is Church called First Assemble of God and there is more recent one on Vaigai river bed near Fatima college (Dindigul Road) an org. from Ceylon doing a lot of Conversions. <br /><br />Please appoint someone to enter into these churches and record their sermons. <br /><br />In Dhargas there is an open order that none should stop with a single child. Must have 5 or 4 children. But Shakshi Maharaj of U.P. was heavily criticized by the media NDTV is vocal in supporting Muslims and Christians. That one channel is enough to Break India.<br /><br />All their programs are attacking Modi. Similarly The Hindu is another Anti Hindu paper which exaggerates anything against the Minorities and no violence against Majority community ever gets reported.<br /><br />There must be a Ban on Conversion soon. And derecognize all those who got converted in the last ten years.</div>
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Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-71416126736501390622016-05-12T01:23:00.001-07:002016-05-12T01:23:26.756-07:00How I prioritize my work, battles, feedback, critics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
By Rajiv Malhotra<br /><br />Here are my thoughts, and the ways I solicit and deal with critical feedback in order to strengthen my work.<br /><br /><u>Principles</u>:<div>
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<li>Being from software R&D background, I understand the value of debugging a system in order to strengthen it. We used to hire outsiders to try and defeat the system, in order to learn its vulnerabilities. Even when considered ready, it was first released to a few beta sites for further debugging. Once out with customers, the maintenance team must be good at receiving feedback, and dealing with it in a new release. So I am not one to run away from problems with my work. But there is a system to this.</li>
<li>Errors are not all of the same type. Some are serious errors in the deep architecture and these can require major redesign. Some have isolated impact that is contained within one module/feature only. Some can be bypassed such that the system works despite the error. Some are merely inconvenient or even cosmetic. There are certain "error reports" that are not errors at all, but the complainant wants a different functionality or a different approach than intended by the system design; the issue raised is not a bug but a matter of preference; maybe we don’t want to offer that feature for whatever reason – that’s our call.</li>
<li>Errors must be graded, stratified and not all treated equally. Some are urgent, others can and must wait, some will be addressed in the next system (or book in this case) to be developed, and many are to be entirely ignored.</li>
<li>Ultimately, the system developer decides what matters most to his client base. He must figure out the priorities for his success. An outsider might not know all the factors that go into his decision and his priorities. There are many considerations and levels of tradeoffs. In other words, someone unfamiliar with all the facts can be a nuisance if his opinions are based on what he sees from within his mental burqa.</li>
<li>In writing my books, I go out of my way to face critics. Everyone knows this about me. Some of these encounters get captured on videos you can watch, but most are in private settings. I go deep into “enemy”/opponent territory to understand their reactions, and this is for my own good. For the first 10-15 years I spent much time going to every Hinduism related academic conference/meeting and engaged the top tier scholars of every stripe. For my books, I send every draft to at least 10 critics for detailed peer review – in some instances I pay the critic to allow him to spend quality time and give me a critical analysis. In this feedback I am not looking for accolades, but quite the opposite. I am hardly sitting in my comfort zone the way most of our folks are. My works are the product of multiple encounters over many years with all sorts of people across the ideological spectrum. I can do this only because this has been my full-time work for nearly 25 years. Also, I thrive in debates and discussions to honestly introspect on serious issues, and I do not approach a topic with a closed mind. This is why I am able to innovate.</li>
<li>The major impact I seek from a book is where I focus on getting feedback, not on side issues. I want to write a book only when there is some big paradigm change I want, and one that is badly needed. I am not interested in quibbling about whether someone translated a particular verse correctly, unless that has impact on the overall paradigm. Remember that I was a chief design architect of large, complex systems, and now I seek intellectual situations with equivalent significance. I am not concerned with every small module of code being correct – many others are able to do that and they are probably better at it than me.</li>
<li>For example, in Pollock’s case, my major contribution is to have (a) decoded some of his most important theories/frameworks, (b) articulated these in ways that more people can understand, and (c) offered some preliminary responses or red flags from the dharma standpoint. I am not interested in minute errors here and there that would not help to demolish some major thesis of his. I will let others do that. Unfortunately, almost nobody on our side has even as of now properly understood his theories/lens; most of our folks still focus on relatively trivial issues in his work.</li>
<li>Pollock does not consider himself a Sanskrit language expert, and nor do I consider TBFS an analysis of his Sanskrit skills. Pollock is a major <u>philologist</u> today; philology = “making sense of texts” using some <u>theory of interpretation</u>. I critique him in his approach to philology. This is his deep work. It’s his work’s architecture. As a systems architect, this is how I analyze it. Finding a mistake here and there in his Sanskrit makes little impact on his philology – that would be pedantic for my purpose. For one thing, such errors are easily corrected without altering his philology. It is his philology that I am after. The famous Sanskrit expert in Bangalore who wrote a review of my book did not understand the difference between philology and use of Sanskrit as a language; hence much of what he said is of little significance.</li>
<li>Those few individuals who then took his review and turned it into a sort of public fiasco were even further removed from what would matter to my work, or to Pollock’s. These noisemakers are twice removed from where my priorities lie. This is why I call them pests because in my priority scheme, they are best ignored. Their issues do not belong do not impact whether or not I am able to pierce holes through Pollock’s political philology and liberation philology. Pollock’s impact in Indology is for having introduced the most widely accepted philology system and trained an army in its propagation. The impact I desire is to put enough reasonable doubt in his system that it does not become a de facto standard in Indology. Unfortunately, prior to my intervention, he was being very successful in making deep inroads into our Sanskrit studies establishment. The same Sanskrit folks who are embarrassed because they were sitting around staring at their navels, are now jealous and upset that I am doing what they were being expected to do all their careers.</li>
</ol>
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<br /><u>Algorithm</u>: With this background, below is my algorithm on how I choose to ignore/filter those I consider pests, hecklers, attention seekers, shallow noisemakers, opportunists, etc.<br /><br />1. Does a given feedback relate to Pollock’s thesis and my counter-thesis? If so, it is priority 1 and gets my attention. If not, it is below priority level 1.<br /><br />2. If below top priority 1, what is the effort required to rework it compared to the benefit to my target readers? In other words, will fixing this error help in a big way to educate my readers for their own analyses/critiques of Pollock’s philology? If of marginal/pedantic value, then it gets demoted below priority level 2, to level 3 or lower.<br /><br />3. Is the critic genuine or someone seeking publicity, opportunistic, bringing down someone else just to hoist himself up? If so, I <u>don’t want to encourage such behavior</u>, and hence I would further lower the priority to level 4 or less.<br /><br />The pests don’t like being ignored. They angrily demand as their birthright that I must deal with every single issue they raise as if they control my priorities. But are they my boss? Do I work for them? Do they have enough experience in this field to decide my priorities? Do they know enough about my workload and what is on my plate to be able to optimize how I should best allocate my time and resources? I have my own algorithms and keep updating them heuristically based on what makes me better at my game. I learn from the best khiladis in the world, not failures, would-be players, junior players, and especially not from persons lacking strategic minds.<br /><br />Yesterday I did two important interviews with Vijaya who visited me for the day. These will get edited and put on Youtube. I told her that I spend as much as 50% of my prana dealing with type 4 persons who waste time. I request my supporters to help me get rid of the pests so we can focus where our collective yajna takes us.<br /><br />I asked her: who are the ones in out texts that destroy the yajna of someone else. She said they are rakshasas. She also suggested Karna as the prototype who opportunistically switches sides as he is not rooted in dharma. This made me think: Just how grounded are such hecklers in the dharma? If they are not transformed by guru and by sadhana, then what is their motive for claiming to be “champions of Hindu dharma?” Are they trying to ruin the yajna without having one of their own? Are they loose canons?<br /><br />In my interviews taped yesterday, I thanked the type 2 genuine supporters. I can continue on my journey with their encouragement.</div>
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Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-50727521434590166382016-05-11T03:06:00.001-07:002016-05-11T03:06:28.217-07:00Part 2 of review of TBFS by Shrinivas Tilak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a reproduction of the second part of the review of TBFS done by Shrinivas Tilak for the magazine Hindu Vishva<br />
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Pollock on Sanskrit and sanskriti by Rajiv Malhotra<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shrinivas Tilak*<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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2015) in <i>Hindu Vishva</i> (January-March 2016), I discussed author Rajiv
Malhotra’s fair and faithful presentation and rigorous examination (Purva
paksha) of Professor Sheldon Pollock’s allegations that Sanskrit is dead,
politically motivated, and socially oppressive. In this follow up article I
present Rajiv Malhotra’s (hereafter RM) spirited and energetic refutation (Uttara
paksha) of Professor Pollock (hereafter Pollock) in the form of <i>nirnayas</i>
(considered verdicts or decisions) delivered on points of order pertaining to
Sanskrit and <i>sanskriti</i> raised in Pollock’s various writings: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nirnaya on Sanskrit
and Prakrit, Nirnaya on Shruti,
Nirnaya on Kavya and Shastra, Nirnaya on Sanskrit and Sanskriti, Nirnaya on
American Orientalism. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nirnaya
on Sanskrit and Prakrit<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Agreeing with Pollock
that </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">Vedic
Sanskrit was used mainly for ritual purposes, RM explains in his <i>The Battle
For Sanskrit</i> (hereafter TBFS) that a simplified form of Sanskrit nevertheless
served as a basis for languages derived from Prakrit and spoken by ordinary
people. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sanskrit has always functioned as
a meta-language for these languages (RM rejects Pollock’s use of ‘vernaculars’
for languages derived from Prakrit) facilitating a bi-directional flow between
the two. This interaction has remained a continued source of decentralized and
open architecture encompassing unity and diversity in India. Sanskrit has also acted
as the template of <i>sanskriti</i> with its
various <i>angas</i> (limbs)--architecture, dance, theatre, sculpture, poetry,
etc. Rejecting them in favor of modern, westernized cultural practices as demanded
by Pollock would alienate Hindus/Indians from their traditional roots. Furthermore,
Sanskrit has made available its rich vocabulary for engaging in discourse in
sciences and in other fields that are meaningful and necessary in everyday life
activities (natural sciences, mathematics, linguistics, medicine, ethics, and political
thought). RM laments that Pollock fails to acknowledge this power and potential
of Sanskrit. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">Merchants and monks who travelled long distances for trade and commerce were
able to engage in conversations, debates, and lectures with locals spreading in
the process Sanskrit (and often some Prakrit-derived languages) across India
and beyond. Since Vedic metaphysics held a deeper place in the lives of people it
was replicated in different places with local geographies and kingdoms
substituted in place of those mentioned in such source texts as the Ramayana.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">RM vigorously contests
Pollock’s suggestion that mantras, being in some cases meaningless in the
conventional sense, could be discarded. RM argues that such action would amount
to rejecting the important place the concept of <i>vac</i> has in Hindu
cosmology. Such a step would entail loss of a key <i>adhyatmika</i> (inner
science of self) resource. Chanting of mantras has also been an integral part
in the performance of <i>yajna</i>, which plays a significant role in social
cohesion. Discarding the practice of chanting mantras in <i>yajna</i> or in
meditation as demanded by Pollock would result in loss of the integrative power
of traditional rituals of Hindus rendering them more intellectually dependent
on (and subservient to) the West.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">RM further clarifies that
chanting of mantras from the <i>Shrutis</i>, as part of meditative practices,
serves a useful purpose for the sound vibrations (<i>spanda</i> or <i>spandana</i>)
that are produced are beyond (or above) the limited literal or conceptual
meanings Pollock associates with them. <i>Spanda</i> is the dynamic aspect of <i>shakti</i>,
the energy of Shiva, the supreme Self. In Hinduism <i>spanda</i> is not a
fantasy or a merely philosophical concept, it can be experienced and felt
directly as expounded in the <i>Spanda Karikas</i>, a classic text of Kashmir
Shaivism, from the 10<sup>th</sup> century CE attributed to Vasugupta. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nirnaya on Kavya and
Shastra <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">While Pollock deliberately breaks <i>shastras</i> from <i>kavya</i> in
his deliberations, RM takes them together following the traditional convention.
While acknowledging that the <i>kavya</i> and <i>shastra</i> are two distinct
types of works, RM insists that this distinction is only a heuristic device and
not a clear-cut or absolute boundary as posited by Pollock. Indeed, many <i>kavyas</i>
demonstrate keen awareness of knowledge of various types from <i>shastras</i>.
Conversely, <i>shastras </i>are often expressed in a poetic format and often display
an excellent literary quality. Indeed, Sanskrit spread through its cultural
applications via such <i>shastras</i> as ayurveda, astrology, philosophy,
mathematics, and performing arts. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pollock
selectively quotes from one chapter of Kalidasa’s <i>Shakuntala</i> as an
example of the politicization of Sanskrit <i>kavya</i>. Had he added the traditional
lens to his gaze, observes RM, Pollock would have recognized that Hindus
appreciate such works for their aesthetics independently of (or in addition to)
any political motive or framework. Pollock talks about Bilhana’s <i>Vikramankadevacarita</i>,
in the eleventh century, as another example of political <i>kavya</i>. But he
does not mention Bilhana’s <i>Caurapancashika</i> (The Love Thief), which is
appreciated for its romantic aesthetic. One should also consider the
reproduction of Ramayana in Tamil (twelfth century, by Kamban) and in Avadhi
(sixteenth century, by Tulsidas) as non-political <i>kavyas</i> expressive of <i>bhakti
</i>(TBFS endnote # 263). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nirnaya on Sanskrit
and Sanskriti<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">RM is particularly keen
to controvert Pollock and company’s sinister attempts to break Sanskrit away from
<i>sanskriti.</i> Sanskrit is better studied, he argues, using traditional
methods and models that are compatible with its function both as a language of
rituals and sacred discourses as well as worldly matters.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"> He denies Pollock’s charge that
t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">raditional Sanskrit scholars are averse
to the critical study of Sanskrit or to using tools of philology, cognitive
science and history developed for this purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">People of India or
Southeast Asia did not approach Sanskrit exclusively through the lens of
politics; rather, they saw it in the context of cultural practices and
spiritual realization. This is in conformity with ongoing Indic ethos—an
interconnected network of Sanskrit, <i>sanskriti</i>, and <i>dharma</i>. As to Pollock’s
charge that women in India are/were denied access to Sanskrit; the fact is that
women have internalized Sanskrit, and for many of them, the intimacy with it is
based on oral culture rather than written materials. While Pollock et al think
of Sanskrit as a 'religious' language, it is fascinating to find out that
Indian women have preserved the oral and worldly dimension of Sanskrit to this
day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In Chapter seven of TBFS
(‘The Web of Sanskriti as a Potential Alternative Hypothesis’) RM presents the
‘web of sanskriti’ as an alternative approach to the notion of Sanskrit
cosmopolis put forth by Pollock. RM
demonstrates how grass-roots spirituality can play a meaningful role in the
spread of languages and culture. In Chapter ten (‘The Re-colonization of Indian
Minds’) RM suggests ways of correcting the distorted perceptions of Sanskrit, <i>sanskriti</i>,
and dharma that have spread beyond academia into media, industry leadership,
government, and even among many traditional centers of Sanskrit learning (<i>pithas</i>)
in contemporary India.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">RM foils Pollock’s
attempt to divide and set the people of India against each other through agency
of the caste system. RM points out that select elements of Vedic metaphysics,
the web of <i>sanskriti,</i> and the
Sanskrit language could be replicated in different places because they enjoyed
a deep place of respect in the hearts and lives of local populations. Sanskrit
and its texts expressed the fabric of cosmic reality and Indians (kings,
brahmins, merchants, or farmers) were naturally drawn and inspired to explore,
discover, share, and celebrate the manifestation of this reality in their
personal and social lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">Pollock’s call to ‘liberation philology’ (designed on the lines of a
movement called ‘liberation theology’ that challenged Roman Catholic collusion
with oppression in the nineteen-sixties and seventies) for secularizing
Sanskrit is an important plank of American orientalism. RM strenuously objects
to this allusion because it obscures a significant difference between ‘liberation
philology’ and liberation theology, which was a movement internal<i> </i>to Christianity and fully accepting of
its fundamental principles. Indeed, this latter was largely a call for a <i>return</i> to these principles. However,
Pollock rejects the Vedic roots of the Sanskrit tradition altogether and
regards them as no more than relics of primitive thinking or attempts to blind
people to their oppression. Furthermore, his liberation philology seriously
misrepresents the texts it purports to illuminate, and distorts both the
evidence and the function of these texts in the lives of real people, both in
the past and the present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">As an alternative to Pollock’s ‘liberation philology,’ RM proposes what
he calls a ‘sacred<i> </i>philology,’ [I
would prefer to call it ‘<i>sadhana</i> philology’] a philology rooted in the
conviction that Sanskrit cannot be divorced from its matrix in the Vedas and
Upanishads or from its orientation towards the transcendent realm. RM’s
proposed alternative is quite different from the stance of the Western, secular
academy that Pollock represents because sacred philology would involve a respect
for and a practice of <i>tapasya</i> and meditation that constitutes the basis
of all four dharmic pathways to liberation originating in India (i.e. Buddhism,
Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism) (TBFS 282-283).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">After a fair and faithful depiction and scrutiny of Professor Pollock’s
views on Sanskrit, i.e. Purva paksha without bias (<i>puravgraha</i> or <i>pakshapata</i>)
and their refutation (Uttara paksha) Rajiv Malhotra provides his own well
thought out and crafted plan to preserve and promote Sanskrit and sanskriti (to
be discussed in a subsequent issue of <i>Hindu Vishva</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">* Shrinivas Tilak (Ph.D. History of
Religions, McGill University, Montreal, Canada) is author of The Myth of
Sarvodaya: A study in Vinoba’s concept (New Delhi: Breakthrough Communications
1984); Religion and Aging in the Indian Tradition (Albany, N. Y.: State
University of New York Press, 1989); Understanding karma in light of Paul
Ricoeur’s philosophical anthropology and hermeneutics (Charleston, SC: BookSurge,
revised, paperback edition, 2007); and Reawakening to a secular Hindu nation:
M. S. Golwalkar’s vision of a Dharmasāpekşa Hindurāşţra (Charleston, SC:
BookSurge, 2008). Contact <shrinivas.tilak@gmail.com><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-12924708969214327052016-05-05T09:15:00.001-07:002016-05-05T09:25:14.079-07:00Interview with Rajiv Malhotra: A point by point response to R. Ganesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By Ravi Joshi<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This following interview of Rajiv Malhotra
discusses the critique made by R Ganesh of Rajiv’s latest book <i>The Battle for Sanskrit</i> which deals with
the scholarship of American Indologist Sheldon Pollock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Rajiv Malhotra is a prominent researcher,
writer, speaker and public intellectual on current affairs as they relate to
civilizations, cross-cultural encounters, religion and science. Among the
issues on which he has raised awareness is that Indian civilization is studied
through biased and distorted lenses by western scholars. He has authored many
best-sellers, including his latest book, <i>The
Battle For Sanskrit</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sheldon Pollock is an American sanskritist well-known
for his writings on the intellectual and literary history of India. He also
studies comparative intellectual history and occupies a prestigious
professorship at Columbia University. He was the general editor of the Clay Sanskrit
Library and is the founding editor of the Murty Classical Library of India. He
is the primary focus of Rajiv Malhotra’s latest book <i>The Battle for Sanskrit</i> where his work is critiqued systematically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">The
Battle for Sanskrit</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is Rajiv Malhotra’s latest book
challenging the ongoing western approach to the discourse on India. It seeks to
alert traditional scholars of the analysis of Indian texts made by an important
school of thought that is led primarily by Sheldon Pollock. The scholars of
this school are intervening in modern Indian society with the explicitly stated
purpose of removing ‘poisons’ allegedly built into Sanskrit texts. They hold
that many Sanskrit texts are socially oppressive and serve as a political
weapon of the ruling elite; that the sacred aspects need to be refuted or side
lined; and that Sanskrit has long been dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">R Ganesh is a Bangalore-based Sanskrit
scholar and practitioner of the art of avadhana. He is an author in Sanskrit
and Kannada and an extempore poet in multiple languages. He has performed
avadhanas in Kannada, Sanskrit, Telugu and Prakrit. He is known for extempore
composition of poetry and chitrakavya. He also gives public lectures on dance
(natya sastra), music, art, culture, literature, poetics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh recently wrote a scathing attack on
Rajiv Malhotra’s book, <i>The Battle For
Sanskrit</i> (TBFS). The attack became personal against Rajiv Malhotra’s
competence. This raised another controversy at a time when most of us expected
all lovers of dharma to rally behind the defense of our sanskriti and take up
the battles articulated in TBFS. Ganesh has divided some of the activists and
this needs to be healed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To put the matter to rest, I decided to interview
Rajiv Malhotra on some very specific and concrete claims made by R. Ganesh. The
goal here is to set aside personality issues and delve into the subject matter
of Pollock, Hindu dharma, TBFS and Ganesh’s views.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is a long but important interview, so
for ease of reading I divided the issues into the following thematic categories:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">1</span>. The qualifications required to do Rajiv Malhotra’s work<br />
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2. Issues concerning methodology and Ganesh’s overall approach<br />
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3. Disagreements concerning the interpretation of our sanskriti<br />
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4. Who is being logical or illogical?<br />
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5. What should be the future course for our sanskriti?</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101108"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Theme
1: The qualifications required to do Rajiv Malhotra’s work<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: Someone
reading Ganesh’s review could easily think that he is poisoning the well by
branding you unfairly</b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>. Some of Ganesh’s
supporters have made this negative branding even more explicit. What is your
response to charges that you are unqualified to do your work?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the opening para itself, Ganesh cites a
theme from the Mahabharata to give us some obvious advice: “Act not in haste! A
loss of sagacity (<i>viveka</i>) is the worst calamity. Fortune and prosperity
comes to one who analyses and calculates.” Ganesh then applies this wisdom to
say that I am unqualified for the work I am doing: “In the battle for Sanskrit,
Rajiv Malhotra is like an enthusiastic <i>commander
of a committed army</i> whose strengths and weaknesses he himself is sadly
unable to reconcile.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The commander of an army that he refers to
is like a CEO, and must be evaluated as such. He is not supposed to be like a
techie or some narrow subject-matter expert. He cannot be a frog-in-the-well.
My movement requires me to be able to identify and define the immense variety
of specialized battlefields we must engage. I must study the strengths/weaknesses
of the main opponents we face, not only as individuals but also the workings of
their institutional support apparatus. Any such leader must know the opposing
side’s history, ideology, motives, strategic plans and tactical maneuvers. He
must know how opponents have infiltrated and installed their own supporters
among us, including many who serve them unconsciously and even imagine they are
operating with good intentions for our civilization. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This CEO type of leadership is not just a
matter of book knowledge, and is certainly not limited to book knowledge about
our own systems. It also demands extensive experience in <i>direct close combat</i> with the best warriors of the opposing side.
Such a leader must be psychologically strong like a kshatriya. He must be
articulate with good debating skills. To debate the West on its own turf
requires considerable real-world experience in the global intellectual
kurukshetra, which is not to be confused with meetings of “like-minded people”
in India. One must have experience leaving one’s comfort zone of supporters,
and confidently walking directly into the line of enemy fire, even when surrounded
by a hundred or more heavily armed opponents. Such a warrior must be able to
win arguments and come out stronger for the next battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For my specialized area of work, the
battlefield is situated globally, the gatekeepers are mostly hostile towards
us, and we have a ragtag army to start with. I am sure Ganesh will agree with
the importance of intellectual combat experience in the western battlefields,
just as his avadhanas provide him the field-experience in <i>his</i> domain of expertise. Has Ganesh known enough about my
background in this specific kind of battlefield over the past quarter century,
to be able to justify his sweeping dismissal of my effectiveness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh then amplifies his dismissal of my
personal competence, by citing some words of the legendary Prof. M Hiriyanna.
Ironically, even though Hiriyanna is very well-known in his own right, Ganesh
establishes Hiriyanna’s credentials by quoting that the Harvard professor
Daniel Ingalls praised him as a “great scholar”. I will not dwell upon this
inferiority complex many Indians have, a complex that compels them to cite a
westerner’s pat on the back as the gold standard of legitimacy. I have
extensively written on this signature quality of many Indians. Why should one
of our great avadhana leaders need to cite Harvard’s Ingalls to prove the
greatness of Hiriyanna?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh cites Hiriyanna saying that “It will
be a serious deficiency if the Pandit passes through his career as a student
altogether oblivious of this new knowledge…” Ganesh wants to make the valid
point that we must not be living in old knowledge and that an expert must also
learn new knowledge. Hiriyanna is quoted saying that “there was a lack of
historical perspective in what he [the pandit] knew.” Hiriyanna rightfully
complained that “Pandits confined their attention only to the subject in which
they specialized, and even there to a few chosen books related to it… But
thoroughness is no antidote against the narrowness of mental outlook.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh goes through many such elaborate
quotations not only to demonstrate that he has such book knowledge, but to make
the case that my knowledge is obsolete because I am stuck in old knowledge.
However, he cites no evidence at all to prove that such lofty quotes apply to
me. Ganesh assumes that quoting someone about the criteria for failure
automatically proves that the criteria apply to me. This is a ridiculous level
of illogical reasoning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In fact, had Ganesh taken the time to read
my works, he would know that I emphasize new knowledge acquired in several
ways, including the following methods: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>I regard the “rishi-state” of higher consciousness as a method our exemplars have used to constantly refresh knowledge, and not get frozen in time;</li>
<li>I have read a vast corpus of literature by our opponents pertaining to a broad spectrum of topics in the humanities and social sciences;</li>
<li>I engage opponents in debate as often as I can because this is an important form of knowledge acquisition;</li>
<li>I promote and participate in the use of modern scientific empiricism to study old knowledge with open minds, in order to benefit both the science and our improved insights about the tradition; and</li>
<li>I advocate the adaptation and writing of new smritis for our times.</li>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh’s obvious statement about the need
for new knowledge should not require him to cite quotations by an Indian X and
validating the Indian by citing a Harvard professor Y. It is an example of very
pedantic, commonsense points made in his article. He then gives us a tutorial
on sanatana dharma that mentions rather well-known things. None of this
pertains to Pollock’s work or my purva-paksha of Pollock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">I
wish to turn his argument back on him: The complaint he cites about pandits
being ignorant of the latest knowledge from new sources is applicable to those
traditional scholars who are not up to date in knowledge of Western Indology,
which is the subject matter of our discussion.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Furthermore, our tradition has always encouraged
and even valorized innovative thinkers who seemed to lack formal training in
some field, but who successfully challenged those with eminent “credentials”. His
branding me right up front as unqualified is unscholarly and elitist. Ganesh
says that “Malhotra’s understanding of Sanskrit and Sanskriti seems second hand
since he puts a premium on form (<i>rupa</i>) as against content (<i>svarupa</i>)
and uses pseudo-logic instead of non-qualified universal experiential wisdom to
counter the enemies (see pp. 44-49 for an elaborate but hazy diagnosis of the
problem).” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My response is as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li>On what basis can he conclude that I lack first-hand experience of sanskriti? He fails to define the scope of sanskriti and then show that I am deficient in it. This would require him to do detailed pariksha of my background, my sadhana, my guru, and so forth - something he has not done. This goes to show that Ganesh has a somewhat reductionist view of what our sanskriti is, and he makes sweeping judgments of others whom he hardly knows.</li>
<li>His argument about the distinction between rupa and svarupa is irrelevant. Yes, in metaphysical contexts, the aim is to transcend rupa into understanding of svarupa but that has nothing to do with the context of defending dharma socially and politically from hostile interpretations.</li>
<li>His reference to my book’s pages 44-49 shows a lack of basic understanding of my book. In those pages I do not discuss the “enemies” at all, but rather our home team’s internal shortcomings. This is a standard SWOT analysis done to assess one’s competitiveness. It is based on numerous interviews I did over the years to assess the views and preparedness of various kinds of individuals who ought to be on our home team. Ganesh seems to be unfamiliar with such techniques, and dismisses it as “an elaborate but hazy diagnosis of the problem.” He wants to pass judgment on everything whether he has a clue or not.</li>
<li>Pollock also resorts to this kind of hubris many times. It reminds me of a corporate slogan: “If you cannot dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit!”</li>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: What are your thoughts on
Ganesh’s strengths and knowledge gaps?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101109"><span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh is a great scholar but I find him
lacking knowledge of the specific meta-narrative in which Sheldon Pollock’s
work is located. Without understanding this fully, it is useless and in fact
misleading to attempt to do purva-paksha on isolated verses and statements made
by Pollock. The following four-tier model explains the layers of knowledge one
must bring to bear on such a purva-paksha.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;"> It organizes scholarship into
categories, from the </span><span lang="EN-US">most general to the narrowest:</span></div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><u style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Wide sweeping critique of
western Indology</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">. Cover lots of old Indologists,
from Christian to secular, clubbing all of them under a simplistic profile as
“western”. Most postcolonial scholarship has focused on this and some of it has
been pretty useful. Few traditional Indian scholars have done serious work
here, and most of them regurgitate bombastic, emotional and politicized
criticisms. In any case, this is not where my focus lies in TBFS. We already have
lots of such material from numerous writers over many decades. But this genre
of ideology is not what we encounter today, because western Indologists like
Pollock have moved on and other more sophisticated theories have superseded.</span></li>
<li><u style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Present ecosystem of Western
Indology and where the Pollock School fits in</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">. This
tier looks at prevailing infrastructure for knowledge production, such as: institutions,
ideologies, agendas, distribution channels, etc. This research looks at not
only western scholars but also their Indian collaborators and sepoys. What are
their strategies at work? Who funds what? What is the purpose of all this work?
To do this type of work, one must have expertise in <u>industry analysis</u>. I
would say <i>Breaking India</i> is a book in
this genre.</span></li>
<li><u style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Deconstruction of Pollock
school's specific lens</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">. Here one must look at this
school’s meta-theories, narratives, key vocabulary, plans. What are the
implications to dharma being studied in this way? How has this knowledge spread
over the past 30+ years? Who is who in their army? This requires a <u>multi-disciplinary</u>
approach, and knowledge of heavy English, Western thought and the ability to
decode multilayered (including sly/deceptive) writing style that is typical of
western scholars who want to look politically correct. I request the reader to
please go through my article, <i>The
Challenges of Understanding Sheldon Pollock</i>, available at: <a href="http://swarajyamag.com/culture/rajiv-malhotra-explains-the-challenges-of-understanding-sheldon-pollock">http://swarajyamag.com/culture/rajiv-malhotra-explains-the-challenges-of-understanding-sheldon-pollock</a></span></li>
<li><u style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Text specific micro-analysis</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">. This entails analysis of specific Indian texts as per Pollock
school and as per our tradition. This supports our uttara-paksha. It requires
serious knowledge of <u>Sanskrit and also of texts</u> in detail.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span lang="EN-US">My interest is in tiers 2 & 3. I saw
this huge gap in our home team's work thus far. Most of them regurgitate tier 1
repeatedly. But that writing is too superficial to make any impact. It is also
obsolete as even the westerners today have disowned it. Westerners have
replaced this old Orientalism with their own new Orientalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In a nutshell, Ganesh and most Indian
scholars miss tiers 2 and 3 entirely, and do not seem to realize this. Their
ideas of western Indology are frozen in the old era of tier 1. They investigate
specific issues (i.e. tier-4) in the context of tier-1. Because they miss the
middle tiers, which is where Pollock’s original and creative theories and
lenses belong, they miss out on what is special about Pollock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Therefore,
Ganesh and I are doing two different types of yajnas. They entail two distinct subject
matter areas, with different kinds of opponents and issues. I am aware of my
shortcomings, and explain in my book the necessity for more specialists like
Ganesh to join as teams. But unfortunately, he sees his corner of the field as
though it were the entire global kurukshetra. For some mysterious reason he is
blind to his own limitations.</span></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US">
Nevertheless, Ganesh and other traditional scholars need to undertake the
important work based on the tier 2 and tier 3 analysis of Pollock</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Theme 2: Issues concerning
methodology and Ganesh’s overall approach<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: What was your first reaction to R. Ganesh’s review of
your book, <i>The Battle For Sanskrit</i>? </b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I wish to thank Shri R. Ganesh for showing
interest in my book by writing a lengthy critique. Any such critique has the
effect to wake up traditional scholars and draw their attention to the prevailing
intellectual battlefield.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, there are many serious errors,
misunderstandings and contradictions in Sri Ganesh’s article. I would like to
point out a few of the statements that are irrelevant/pedantic or that
misrepresent what is written in TBFS. I would also like to clarify my domains
of expertise and repeat TBFSs call for traditional scholars to work in
collaboration with me in ways that complement one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Q: Ganesh dismisses
your thesis of breaking India forces, calling it a “conspiracy theory”. What is
your response?</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101107"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><br /></span></b></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Ganesh complains that my notion
of western orientalists appropriating the Indian left “sound like conspiracy
theories”. Had he written this before my books <i>Breaking India</i> and <i>Being
Different</i> became extremely influential, that would be one thing. But in the
past several years a large number of Indians in multiple disciplines have read
and appreciated that thesis. Someone dismissing it as “conspiracy theories”
today is clearly out of touch with the real-world events that are taking place
all around us. Our experts must be better informed about the world or else not
opine so authoritatively.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: </b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>Please
respond to Ganesh’s charge that your “meticulous analysis of the works of
Sheldon Pollock”, is “also an indicator of Malhotra’s obsession with Western
academia, to the extent that the reader gets the impression that Hinduism will
not survive unless Western academia views it in a better light.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh contradicts himself and cannot seem
to make up his mind on whether such a systematic purva-paksha is a good thing
or not. He accepts Pollock’s importance and the principle of purva-paksha, and
yet finds my “meticulous analysis” to be a sign of obsession. This is like
someone complaining of the “obsession” of Shankara and other exemplars of
purva-paksha to critique their opponents with rigor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh also accuses me of “playing the
blame game” and advocates that we must “counter Pollock with facts.” This
charge assumes that I did not counter Pollock with facts. It is a ridiculous
misrepresentation, given I worked so hard to get into the “facts” of Pollock
while Ganesh shows no knowledge of Pollock apart from what he sees in TBFS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh also misrepresents me when he says that
I want Western academia to view Hinduism in a better light. My fight is exactly
in the opposite direction: I oppose funding western Indology chairs that hope
to win over Western academia. I want Swadeshi Indology to become strong. The Indian Grand Narrative must be home grown
and only then can we export it. Others will not respect us until we respect ourselves
with unity. Anyone who has read my works knows all this well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: What is your response to Ganesh’s criticism that: “The
first imperative step of establishing <i>pramana</i>s is missing in <i>The
Battle for Sanskrit</i>.” </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the absence of common pramanas between
Western Indology and our tradition, it is impossible to debate because we may
be talking about rishi consciousness but Pollock being a Marxist, disregards
that such a thing even exists, and he only cares about socioeconomic
dimensions. TBFS is constantly showing that Pollock rejects the claims of
sacredness, and hence automatically rejects Vedas and experience of higher
states. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The important point raised in TBFS is that the
battle has to be initially fought on western terms, since the West is presently
“the establishment” and we are their consumers.
TBFS is targeting the heart of establishment. This is an unfortunate state,
but realistic. Once we become the main knowledge producers in modern Indology,
we can dictate the terms and establish the pramanas for debate. Right now, we
live in a society governed by laws and processes that are not based on our
pramanas. To enter the debating court, we are being required to fit within
Western Universalism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I am acutely aware of this dilemma and have
spent most of my adult life arguing against this state of affairs. But I am
also a pragmatist and cannot limit myself to the old style of argumentation
just to show off that I am knowledgeable in pramanas. Today’s research
methodology must be inter-disciplinary. I like to take the fight to the
opponent’s battlefield, and this cannot be achieved as a conversation among
insiders only.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: You mention that Ganesh is at times confused between your
position and Pollock’s position that you criticize. Please give some examples.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I often quote or paraphrase Pollock to
explain his thoughts to my readers, but Ganesh takes it as my position and
starts to criticize it. For example, he says: “Why this divide between sacred
and beautiful?” This divide is Pollock’s divide, not mine. Pollock wants to put
a wall between shastra and kavya. I go through great pains to try and explain
what Pollock says, and then I give my rebuttal. Just to make it perfectly
clear, I do not believe in any absolute Pollock-like divide between
sacred/beauty or between shastra/kavya. Unbeknownst to Ganesh, what he says is
in agreement with my views; we both oppose Pollock on the issue of sacred/beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another example is when Ganesh claims that
I do not understand what shastra and kavya mean, but does not prove this
allegation by citing my writings. Instead, he seems to refer to my paraphrasing
of Pollock’s views; he misunderstands these as mine. Ganesh’s following
statement is in alignment with what my book says: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">“Any organized body of knowledge is <i>sastra</i>;
it serves two purposes – to govern and to reveal. A system of grammar is a <i>sastra</i>.
It tells us what is the right usage (governs) and shows us new connections
(reveals). A <i>sastra</i> may or may not be connected to the Vedas.
Any creative work that evokes <i>rasa</i> (art experience; aesthetic delight)
is <i>kavya</i>.” </span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He also writes: “In general, <i>yajña</i>
refers to an act of self-dedication or service above self.” But this has always
been my view, and yet he claims that I do not understand yajna. Similarly, he
gives well-known definitions of terms like darshana, etc. straight from
elementary textbooks, without telling us why his quotes are relevant to my book.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h2 align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101097"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Theme
3: Disagreements concerning the interpretation of our sanskriti<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Q: </span><span lang="EN-US">He accuses you many times of not
understanding the diversity of Indian traditions. Can you respond to the
following charges he makes?</span></b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>“[Malhotra’s] understanding of the nature of sanatana dharma as a transcendental system is flawed. He aims to show that Hinduism is exclusivist in its own way …”</b></li>
<li><b>“Western scholars are familiar with dissent but they often lack a framework to reconcile with the differences and transcend them. While Malhotra respects this spirit, he is unable, unfortunately, to express it clearly in his book.</b></li>
<li><b>“We must also realize that diversity is the way of the world and should learn to tolerate opposing views.”</b></li>
<li><b>He claims there are “many instances of Malhotra’s monolithic view of Indian culture and tradition.”</b></li>
<li><b>“He should realize that the same tradition that he is defending has these diverse views.”</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One
of the most glaring misrepresentations of my work is his repeated assertion that
I am against the diversity of Indian traditions. No serious reader of my work
has ever said such a thing. In fact, my earlier book, <i>Being Different</i>,
which he cites, says the exact opposite: it contrasts Indian diversity with the
Western focus on the normative and the Abrahamic emphasis upon "one
truth". In fact, a key highlight of <i>Being
Different</i> is that it goes beyond the common platitudes we read about our
diversity, and proposes <u>a
comprehensive theory on <i>why</i> there is diversity</u>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
contrast between what I call <i>history-centrism</i> and <i>adhyatma-vidya</i>
are key building blocks I have formulated to explain not just the diversity in
our traditions, but more importantly <i>why</i> this diversity exists. This
insight as to the underlying <i>causes</i>
of diversity in one civilization and monoculture in the other civilization is
worked out in considerable detail in my work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In
my subsequent book, <i>Indra's Net</i>, I develop this thesis further into what
I call the <i>open architecture</i> of dharma systems. Not only do I explain
the immense diversity, I also examine the profound underlying unity - hence
there is no fear of chaos as in the case of the Abrahamic systems. There is no
control-obsession in our culture in the sense that the West has. I explain <i>why</i> this unity-diversity is there,
whereas most writers have been content merely praising it, without adequately
asking what sustains it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Given
that this theory of our diversity has been one of my important areas of work, I
find it disappointing that Ganesh misunderstood me. For instance, he does not
understand the notion of integral unity as explained in detail in my writings, when
he writes: “Malhotra speaks about an ‘Integral unity of Hindu metaphysics’ (pp.
98-102) without caring to look at divergent view from within the tradition.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By
definition, an integral unity allows plurality within a shared architecture.
Sometimes, blind orthodoxy blurs the appreciation of any novelty in
articulating our heritage. One of the hallmarks of our tradition is its ability
to evolve with the changing times. This requires us to be receptive and open to
new knowledge from new sources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: What do you
think of Ganesh’s criticism of the categories “tradition” and “American
Orientalism”? He writes the following:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>“Often clubbing all insider views as ‘the traditionalist view’ – his argument is rendered weaker.”</b></li>
<li><b>“He begins to falter when he compares the ‘Sanskrit Traditionalists’ and ‘American Orientalists’.”</b></li>
<li><b>“There is no single group that one can call ‘Sanskrit Traditionalists’.”</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh’s
foundational misunderstanding of my work concerns the nature of
unity-diversity, and this feeds into numerous other incorrect analyses by him. He
does not understand the cluster nature of various dharma systems in their
integral unity. He has not read chapter 2, one of the largest chapters in TBFS,
which is devoted to explain this. Frankly, I doubt Ganesh knows much about the
category I have designated as American Orientalists, which I emphasize must be
differentiated from earlier European Orientalists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I
go to great length to explain that insiders/outsiders and
traditionalists/Orientalists are clusters and not homogeneous categories. Pages
30-34 are entirely devoted specifically to define and nuance these terms. Pages
35-43 list nine separate ways in which the traditionalists differ from
Orientalists, and give a brief overview of each difference to show its
significance. I refer the reader to the tables on pages 24-25 and 76, along
with the accompanying text, and invite him/her to assess whether my analysis of
this matter deserves to be so flippantly dismissed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Q: </span><span lang="EN-US">You have made a core point in your book
about Pollock’s removal of sacredness from Sanskrit texts</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><b>. How does Ganesh see this?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">TBFS argues against Pollock’s allegation
that sacred Sanskrit texts are toxic and that they oppress Dalits and women. He
espouses removing the sacredness and I oppose him vehemently on this. It is in
this context that I state in my book that: “Traditionally, Hindus have read
Sanskrit for the purpose of understanding the ideas of ultimate reality.” To
me, this sentence makes perfect sense for the intended purpose and context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, Ganesh picks this very same
sentence from my book and rejects it summarily without explaining the context
of what I am trying to establish. He writes: “The ultimate reality is beyond
form – it is immaterial if Sanskrit is used as a means.” It is true that the
ultimate reality is beyond form, but how does it follow that Sanskrit can be
disposed of as a means to the formless? Sanskrit mantras are important to many
sacred practices, and reaching the formless ultimate reality <i>does</i> involve vyavaharika processes in
certain practices. Besides, my reasons for questioning Pollock’s removal of
sacredness is not only based on his rejection of our idea of ultimate reality;
my concern is also that such a removal is a mischievous effort by the Left to
accuse sacred Sanskrit texts of violating human rights. Once again, <i>Ganesh is shadowboxing an imaginary position
without understanding the context of what I am refuting in Pollock theses.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He writes: “Further, how does he account
for the teachings of many poets and sages who were unaware of Sanskrit?” Of
course, we all know that many poets wrote in other languages. But Sanskrit’s
sacred usages do not imply that other languages are useless. Ganesh seems to
think that sacredness of Sanskrit is a claim of its exclusiveness among all
languages for sacred purposes. When I say that an entity X has a property Y, I
am not saying that other entities cannot have property Y as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Furthermore, while it is correct that
learning Sanskrit is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for
spiritual enlightenment on an individual basis, it is dangerous to dismiss the
importance and criticality of Sanskrit to the transmission of the dharmic
traditions at a societal level. Sanskrit
is the language in which the Vedas have been transmitted, and it is the
language in which our mantras have been revealed; in the very sounds of the
Sanskrit language lay pathways to the transcendental realms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: He criticizes your
interpretation of mantras. Please comment.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101099"><span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The context in which I mention mantras in
my book must be understood before one can evaluate what I say. The context is
that I am refuting Pollock when he considers mantras (and other “non-secular” aspects)
to be socially toxic and oppressive against Dalits and women.<br />
<br />
Ganesh cites my view that: “Meditation mantras…produce effects which ordinary
sounds do not.” Ganesh gives a rejoinder by assuming that I must refer to
“healing effects” of mantras, but that is a false assumption. He tries to show
that mantras cannot heal in Ayurveda; but that is beside the point because
their effects can be of various kinds, not necessarily for healing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh is arguing about the issue of
healing, whereas my book is arguing on a <i>different</i>
issue, namely, that mantras and other sacred elements do not cause social
oppression. They produce effects. But TBFS does not go into any specific kinds
of effects, and certainly makes no medical claims.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: Is Ganesh misinterpreting what
you mean by transcendence</b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh is bothered by my use of terms like
“supersensory experiences,” “higher states of consciousness” and “‘rishi’ state
of consciousness”. He dismisses all such statements as “arbitrary”, presumably
because they do not fit the jargon he has learned. He is particularly troubled
with my statement that: “The idea of selfhood that is transcending the ordinary
ego is increasingly accepted in scientific inquiry.” The fact is that cognitive
scientists and neuroscientists now discuss states where the subject does <i>not</i> experience a separated, isolated
experience of self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Rather than being inquisitive to pursue
such new knowledge, Ganesh hastily tells us that: “All such remarks only weaken
his argument since the debate is happening at the level of <i>pratyaksa</i> and
<i>anumana</i>.” He must appreciate that western cognitive science does <i>not</i> claim to have “measured” the higher
states of consciousness, but claims to have discovered correlates to it that
are measurable. This is a big difference to be appreciated. It is also a big
breakthrough in modern science. I wish he would be more interested in reading
the literature on recent studies, and join in the effort to show that the west
is busy digesting our knowledge into their own paradigms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Furthermore, Ganesh is missing a key point.
It is not correct that this debate is happening at the level of <i>pratyaksa</i> and <i>anumana</i>. To concede this point would be to concede the battle to
Pollock. Pollock as a Marxist is by
definition materialist and would dismiss the relevance of the levels of
consciousness that deal with the <i>para</i>
– those which can be experienced through aparoksha gyanam (direct experience)
that is not reliant on sensory experience or intellect alone. But Sanatana Dharma cannot be confined to a
materialist understanding of the universe alone – therefore, any materialist
interpretations like the Marxist ones and what Pollock champions inevitably
distorts and warps the tradition. To
play into the lens Pollock uses would be to concede the battle before it is
even fought. Just because Pollock
dismisses the higher levels of pramana we use in understanding our tradition
does not mean that we should, too! The whole point of TBFS is to put forth our
own interpretations of dharma to debunk his distortions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: He does not like your term
“beyond” to explain paramarthika. </b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>What is your
response?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh misinterprets my statement that
“paramarthika is the realm ‘beyond’”. He retorts that “paramarthika is not just beyond but also within.” He assumes that
beyond means some spatially removed place out there in the sky, as in an
Abrahamic notion of heaven. But I use “beyond” (which I put in quotes in my
text for this nuance) in a way that does not have anything to with inside or
outside in a spatial sense. It means beyond the ordinary state of
consciousness, beyond what is ordinarily experienced by most of us. It is
roughly equivalent to the prefix “para” (adopted from Sanskrit into English). To
be clear, in the very same sentence I say that vyavaharika, by contrast, is
“the ordinary reality around us.” A more technical way might be to say that
“beyond” refers to what the six pramanas cannot reveal – these being </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Pratyaksha (Perception), Anumana
(Inference), Upamana (Comparison), Arthapatti (Postulation), Anupalabdhi
(Non-apprehension), and Sabda (Verbal Testimony)</span><span lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Furthermore, Ganesh contradicts his own
position in another part of his article when he writes “The ultimate reality is
beyond form.” If his view on “beyond” above is valid, then this statement by
him would also be falsified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh is also concerned that “Malhotra has
not given a direct quote of Pollock rejecting the paramarthika.” This shows Ganesh’s inability (or disinterest) in
reading Pollock beyond surgical punch lines in isolation. If he has read
Pollock’s magnum opus, “<i>The language of
gods …</i>”, he ought to be able to track the references to it given in TBFS.
He would easily discover Pollock’s reliance upon Vico throughout. TBFS mentions
how Pollock translates parmarthika-sat and vyavaharika-sat to correspond to the
Latin terms, <i>verum</i> and <i>certum</i>, respectively. Pollock’s
arguments that follow based on this mapping lead to his sidelining of
paramarthika. This level of understanding Pollock is a prerequisite before
Ganesh can begin to write any non-trivial review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: </b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>Ganesh
says that your statement about four ‘levels’ of speech is incorrect, because
according to him, there are four ‘stages’ in chronological sequence and not ‘levels’.
Please respond.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He is wrong in his understanding of vac.
For example, Sri Aurobindo discusses levels. The significance of levels is that
they can exist simultaneously whereas stages are in a strict chronological
order, one at a time. Advanced tantra and other yogic techniques take
practitioners to higher states where they are <i>simultaneously</i> able to function in higher and lower levels. These
are not always mutually exclusive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In any case, this is an example of a very
pedantic issue, as it would not make any difference to my thesis if I were to
replace ‘levels’ with ‘stages’. The point TBFS is arguing is that Pollock is
wrong in considering the oral tradition to be useless. My argument is that some
of the pathways from external speech all the way to subtler forms and the
ultimate para level are important, and if one has only text but no orality
these would get sidelined. <i>The real point
here is that the four levels/stages are unavailable in text mode, but are
available in oral practices</i>. This point is unaffected whether these are
stages or levels. Ganesh missed the point and quibbles over something very
pedantic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: Are you troubled that Ganesh
does not buy into your argument on the non-translatability of certain Sanskrit
words</b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh disagrees with my notion of
non-translatability of certain Sanskrit words. He gives the following
rejoinder: “In general, the defining feature of a technical work (pertaining to
philosophy, or medicine, or science) is that it can be translated, since it has
a precise language of its own (and is not bound to a particular language).”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh goes on to argue that “anything that
comes within universal experience can be translated.” My arguments on
non-translatability have been made very extensively in <i>Being Different</i>, with a whole chapter devoted to this. The reader
should go through that chapter and decide whether Ganesh is patently wrong in
his views on whether certain Sanskrit words are non-translatable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He then says something that is simply irrelevant
to the issue at hand: “Further, even in Sanskrit, the same word has different
connotations in different subjects.” <i>Being
Different</i> already explains this fact with numerous examples, but this is an
independent point unrelated to non-translatability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h2 align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101096"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Theme
4: Who is being logical or illogical?<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: Ganesh </b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>questions your logical abilities and calls it “pseudo-logic”. You have pointed out illogical statements
made by him. Please explain.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh is making some <i>illogical</i> statements, ironically with the stated purpose of exposing
"Malhotra's pseudo-logic". I offer a few examples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In some instances, he adopts my position and yet says I am wrong. For instance, he quotes me: “Dhyana (meditation) is available without the need for analysis since it is entirely experiential. (p. 98)” Then he disagrees with this, saying: “If this is the case, how do we account for the fact that dhyana has been analyzed extensively on the basis of experience?”</li>
</ul>
Analyzing an experience after the fact does not mean the analysis is required to have the experience. My statement that dhyana does not require analysis, is not refuted by his valid statement that some people have analyzed dhyana. That they have analyzed does not mean the analysis is mandatory for attaining the experience.<br />
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Ganesh’s failure to understand the context of my statement leads him to think it is incorrect. He quotes TBFS: “…Natya Shastra was a text developed to enable the theatrical performance of itihasas.” This statement is taken from the section on Integral Unity (pages 98-102) where I am arguing against Pollock’s claim to decouple paramarthika and vyavaharika. In order to refute Pollock’s claim, I cite numerous examples of their unity and one of them is that Vedas, itihasas and Natya Shastra are linked and cannot be decoupled into separate camps with mutual tension the way Pollock does. Ganesh states some irrelevant facts which have nothing to do with the context in which I state my position about the integral unity of our traditions to jump to his conclusion that this is “one of the many instances of Malhotra’s monolithic view of Indian culture and tradition.” He offers no logic as to how he reached this conclusion.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Ganesh reaches an illogical conclusion in discussing my reference to the critical edition of the Ramayana that was compiled by MS University. TBFS mentions that the critical edition was later misused by Western Indologists to make incorrect interpretations. This critical edition gave them easier access which they previously lacked. Does this mean we should not do such critical editions? Certainly not. All I am pointing out is that just as China controls the way foreigners can access its intellectual resources, so also we could at least make some policies on when to allow Westerners unfettered access. For instance, we could consider having some scrutiny over their access. They must state the purpose for which they are requesting the access, and we must monitor their works to verify that they have not violated their obligations. Moreover, knowing their motive will help us do a thorough purva-paksha of their positions, and also help produce rejoinders (as uttara). This ensures a balance between freedom and control and firmly establishes the adhikara with our civilization. </li>
</ul>
As an analogy, I offer the following: The Kumbha Mela is very open (point X). But western scholars have used this openness to infiltrate it with nefarious designs that I have recently written about (point Y). Because we don’t like Y, the solution is not to stop X (i.e. we should not end our openness). One possible solution is to bring some mechanisms of monitoring, and taking corrective action when required. Simply abandoning the adhikara and letting outsiders have a free run is unwise.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Ganesh does not understand the logic involved in this point. He misinterprets my written words (page 322) when he asserts: “Malhotra opines that it was unwise of M S University, Baroda to have compiled a critical edition of the Ramayana and preparing an English translation (p. 322).” This is not at all what I wrote and I never blamed MS University’s project either. Rather, I blamed western scholars for taking advantage of this openness, and what we can learn from this experience. What I propose is to have some controls, and not passively give away our adhikara.<br />
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Another example of an illogical analysis concerns my statement about popular culture. In my discussions with Kanchi Shankaracharya, he explicitly agreed with my view written in TBFS that “Kavya is literature that can be merely entertaining, or can also be a means for experiencing transcendence.” In fact, the Shankaracharya emphasized numerous times that we must develop a strategy to popularize our knowledge through visual entertainment such as film, TV and theater. He explained to me the importance of doing this today. </li>
</ul>
<div>
Yet, Ganesh quotes the above statement from my book, and classifies it under the heading: “Ignorance of Existing Literature and Divergent Views.” The factoid he cites has no bearing on the falsification or otherwise of my position. He uses the approach of muddying the issue by excessive citation of texts as if merely quoting proves anything by itself.<br />
<h2 align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc447101104"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Theme
5: What should be the future course for our sanskriti?<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: He seems to disagree
with you on whether to encourage new knowledge production in Sanskrit.</b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b> Can you respond?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh dismisses the idea that Sanskrit’s
revival could include producing new knowledge. He writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">“Also, his suggestion for the revival of
Sanskrit is to produce new knowledge in Sanskrit. Is this even practical given
that scholars from many mainstream non-English languages (like Chinese, Dutch,
French, German, Spanish, etc.) are finding it hard to make a name for
themselves in the academic community, which is under the firm grip of English?”</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh disagrees with Chamu Krishna Shastry
(quoted on page 297) that Sanskrit must once again become a language of
innovation and change, absorbing new words from elsewhere, and inventing new
ones internally, as and when the need arises. Ganesh retorts that “Innovation
is not language-specific. Appropriating works (and words) into Sanskrit is not
of practical value since the world is becoming a global village.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I wish to point out that China and Japan <i>are</i> examples of government programs to
produce new knowledge in their native languages. Mumbai based Shri Arnaal has
developed software for machine translation of texts pertaining to specific
subject matter, such that it would bring about a paradigm shift in the ability
of non-English knowledge production. Machine translation is expected to usher in
a new age of non-English languages becoming empowered in their own right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another concrete example is that Prof Bal
Ram Singh (a biochemist) and Prof Girish Jha (a Sanskritist) have had
productive collaborations where new scientific meanings and significance of
Sanskrit terms are being discovered in sophisticated experiments in medicine. Old
Sanskrit texts are the basis for their experiments today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One can also examine how computational
linguistics is thriving in the West as a field built on the study of Sanskrit
grammar. It is at the cutting edge in computer science. Many persons (most
notably BVK Sastry) have pointed out the loss of intellectual capital by the
Indian side when this field is being de-Sanskritized by the west with the full
collaboration of Indian scholars. This is what happens when we adopt the
posture of not developing new knowledge on our own terms, and allow others to
further enrich their intellectual platform at the cost of ours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Finally, I want to point out that Ganesh’s
position on new knowledge production in Sanskrit is aligned with what Pollock
means by calling Sanskrit dead. Pollock rightfully says that a language cannot
be alive by merely parroting old materials. This is precisely what happened to
Greek/Latin and hence they became classical/dead languages whose only purpose
is for rituals and occasional opera that very few understand and that serve for
nostalgia only. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I expected Ganesh to champion Sanskrit as a
living language for innovation, and not use it only for performances to entertain
audiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Q: Explain Ganesh’s disagreement with your proposal that
new smritis must be developed for today.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh attacks my suggestion that we must
write new smritis and adapt old ones for this era, and that traditional
scholars should play an important role in doing this. He writes: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">“How is this practical? If someone were to
compose a new constitution of India in Sanskrit, would s/he be taken seriously?
For example, refer to the <i>sastra</i>s and <i>smriti</i>s composed by great
scholars like Vasishta Ganapati Muni and Pullela Sriramachandrudu – what is the
value given to their works by the laity and by the scholars? One can compose a <i>smriti</i>
but what executive authority does s/he have? What are the kind of new texts can
traditional scholars develop in Sanskrit? And what to make of compositions in
Sanskrit hailing a tyrant like Lenin…” </span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We clearly disagree on how to interpret the
notion of smritis for our time. And yes, the constitution does serve as a
smriti whether we like it or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The issue of what authority such a new
smriti would enjoy is a complex one. Many smritis written in the past did <i>not</i> necessarily become official state
policy enforced on the public. They were in many cases a proposal or a
particular individual’s view of society at a time and place. They were debated
among experts in the marketplace of ideas. Some were merely descriptive (how
things <i>happen</i> to be) and not
necessarily prescriptive (how things <i>ought</i>
to be). Others have the tone of formal authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh is blind to a very serious challenge
we face: <i>Today, the Indian Left led by
Pollock’s team is in the process of developing new smritis very actively and
very politically</i>. They don’t explicitly call them smritis in order to not
raise flags prematurely. But anyone who has properly read Pollock ought to know
that his call to scholars to do what he terms “liberation philology” is
precisely this kind of project of writing new policies for society today. There
are plenty of doctrines about Dalit empowerment today that function like
smritis in a pragmatic sense. Pollock’s “political philology” is the
descriptive part and his “liberation philology” is the prescriptive part. The
latter is what leads to calls for foreign interventions in India.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While our opponents have been busy
formulating new positions, then turning these into formal policies, and finally
using international agencies to make official international laws that can be imposed
on India, most of our own brilliant traditional scholars seem clueless and
disinterested in entering this battle of new policies. This is analogous to
someone who claims to be leading an army, but who does not believe in any
R&D for new weapons, even though the enemies all around have been upgrading
their weapon systems. <i>Smritis are like
weapon systems in ideological warfare, and we cannot afford leaders who just
don’t get this.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Q: Is Ganesh accurately representing your stance on Sanskrit as it
relates to non-Indian languages</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US">?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I advocate against studying Sanskrit texts
using the methods developed for the study of Greek/Latin classics, because
those are dead languages and officially acknowledged as such. I cited Arabic,
Mandarin and Persian as examples of old languages that are treated as living
languages by their government and intellectuals. Ganesh misses my point
completely. He says: “Malhotra wants Sanskrit to be bracketed with Arabic,
Mandarin, and Persian instead of Greek and Latin (p. 377).” Bracketed in what
sense? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He says that Sanskrit grammar has been
static whereas the grammars of widely spoken languages like Arabic, Mandarin,
and Persian have undergone changes over the years. This is true, but it does
not impinge upon my suggestion that we should decouple from the methods of
Western Indologists that are based on studying dead languages. Whether Sanskrit
grammar should or should not evolve beyond Panini is an unrelated issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">My
concluding remarks<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I do hope these responses by Rajiv Malhotra
will reduce the tension caused by Ganesh’s rash statements, and that both sides
will be able to work constructively together. Sanatana dharma needs this today.
Many of us also feel that Ganesh might have been misled by some individuals
with their own petty politics and agendas. However, given his stature, we hope
he appreciates the big picture issues that are at stake here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-62267837666816049572016-05-04T01:43:00.001-07:002016-05-04T01:43:03.763-07:00Don’t Cry Dona from Chicago<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>By Naveen Chandra</b><br /><br />The article The Repression of Religious Studies by Wendy Doniger touches on many topics of which I chose to answer a few. <br /><br /><b>A. Intellectual Territorial Integrity Violations</b><br /><br />Soon after Rajiv Malhotra’s seminal book, <i>The Battle For Sanskrit</i>, came out, scholars from various fields signed a petition to remove Pollock from the leadership of MCLI, among who was Makarand Paranjpe, a JNU professor of English. He answered in his erudite way outlining the reasons why this petition was signed. Either the Dona from Chicago didn’t read it or didn’t understand it or chose to ignore it or all the above, we don’t know. Didn’t she also do a similar thing in the past? Sheldon Pollock himself invaded the intellectual territory of others on August 27, 2015 when he signed a petition to bar Mr. Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister from going to Silicon Valley, which effort was characterized as “far Left” by the Silicon Engineers who signed a counter petition welcoming Mr. Modi, as “a very strong representation from faculty in engineering disciplines, who, arguably, are best prepared to comment on Digital India as well as the Aadhaar program.’ Obviously Pollock’s efforts were not on par with the engineers’ qualifications with the implication that he was not qualified to comment on Digital India. <br /><br /><b>Qualifications of Sheldon Pollock Questioned</b><br /><br />1. Pollock’s previous experience with Clay Library has to be looked into. Translations by Doniger (“Harsh Ratnavali”) and Pollock ("Raghu Vamsa "and "Rasamanjari") were found to be have many pitfalls (<a href="https://hrdayasamvada.wordpress.com/">https://hrdayasamvada.wordpress.com</a>). His translation of a verse from Chandodogyopanishad was found to contain many errors (<a href="http://www.jagritbharat.com/index.php/bfs/browse-shashtrarth/1210-pollock-s-translational-woes-continue-12-errors-found-in-his-handling-of-a-single-two-line-sanskrit-verse">http://www.jagritbharat.com/index.php/bfs/browse-shashtrarth/1210-pollock-s-translational-woes-continue-12-errors-found-in-his-handling-of-a-single-two-line-sanskrit-verse</a>.)<br /><br />2. It is clear that Pollock is man of contradictions. For example in his paper published in 1985 he at one place says sastras are prescriptive followed by the statement later that there were professions which did not follow any sastras. Elsewhere he says at one place Sanskrit helped the languages of Southeast Asia followed by statement that Sanskrit killed those languages.<br /><br />3. He works a theory, cites data supporting that theory and ignores data that don’t. His theory was that the sastras were repressive of the society. He says these texts are dogmatic, regressive used for political and social oppression, without providing any evidence. People read an Upanishad or one of the Darshanas or Geeta because they find them enlightening, freeing and progressive. He quotes Kautilya who showed disdain for sastras but does not follow up on this stream of thought and ignores it when concluding.<br /><br />4. For a man who spent 40 years writing about Hinduism his knowledge of his subject matter leaves many gaps. He missed major paradigm shifts in Hindu philosophy - Vedas, Upanishads, Darshanas, Advaita, Visishtadvaita and Dvaita each represented a change suggesting an evolution of thought. He does not mention this most important feature of Hindu philosophy. <br /><br />5. He said that the worship of Ram is a ‘cult’ popularized around the 12thC to rally the masses against the Turkish invaders by projecting them as the demonic ‘other’. Is he suggesting that Ravana the villain of Ramayana was a Muslim? Even though Ravana was a Brahmin he did not escape punishment for his misdeeds. Historical evidences to Ramayana date back, as Nandita Krishna says, to Lumbini pillar erected by Ashoka in 249 BCE. Famous Sanskrit books such as Uttararamacharita by Bhavabhuti in 8th and Raghuvamsa by Kalidasa in 5Th based on Ramayana were written well before 12th century. In Sangam literature, in the book Puranaanooru, in verse 378, on page 604, there is a mention of jewels of Raman’s wife Sithai. This could have been anytime between 4th Century BCE and 5th Century CE.<br /><br />6. According to him Mahabharata is the most dangerous political story in the world because it is a deep meditation on the fratricide in civil war. Mahabharata war was not a civil war. It was a war fought between two clans- Kauravas and Pandavas who were cousins not brothers. His admiration for Moguls is well known and he should know that the history of Moguls is the best example of meditation on the fratricide.<br /><br />7. His opinion that Sanskrit is a ‘dead’ language whose revival was done by barbarous invaders coupled with carefully read this “The German Holocaust was inspired by the Nazis reading of Sanskrit texts” is not evidence based. <br /><br />8. His statement that Rama didn’t have free will and was a fatalist to accept decisions made by his father assumes that Rama was incapable of making any decisions independently. The events in Ramayana show otherwise- his dealings with Sugreeva, Hanuman and Vibheeshana show him as a very sagacious person and his conduct in War show him as a capable leader and fighter. Sam Harris says,” Decision is already made before you are aware of it. We are not the conscious makers of our actions”, thus nullifying the concept of Free Will. Spinoza thought that there was no Free Will. Thus even the western opinion is divided on this issue. What is Pollock doing criticizing Rama for not having free will? <br /><br />There are many other issues on which Pollock either does not understand Hindu documents or is willfully misrepresenting them for a higher goal such as breaking up of India. These are enough to show that he is not capable to run a classical library of Indian languages translated into English.<br /><br /><b>B. Need for Swadeshi Indology</b><br /><br /><i>The Battle For Sanskrit</i> argues that South Asian Studies first carried out under the aegis of European Orientalism, and when money ran out there found a new lease under American Orientalism, is nothing but a mutual admiration society that has as put by an observer “little regard to due process, academic rigor and rational approach to theorizing”, as seen by allowing Pollock to formulate theories without evidence as shown above. His theory on oral tradition, his penchant for using outdated works in interpreting ancient Hindu books, his dismissal of ideas that run contrary to his theory without giving a reason or evidence, declaring “social and grammatical orders are related by their very nature” without proof, and his famous contradictions that go unchallenged all point to the breakdown of peer evaluation in the process of publications on South Asian Studies. Is this treatment reserved for Hindu studies alone? Will they make statements like these on other religions? Academic freedom allows classifying Ramayana and Mahabharata under mythology but no book under Islam, Christianity or Judaism is classified as mythology according to Rajiv Malhotra.<br /><br />Ursula King spins a theory that Vivekananda borrowing ideas from the west such as compassion erected an edifice of modern Hinduism which otherwise did not exist before. This is well explained in Malhotra’s earlier book, Indra’s Net. In doing so he contradicted Adi Sanakara’s theory of attaining mukti from jnaana path alone. This statement became the lynch pin of the entire western Indology that relegates Hinduism to a meaningless conglomeration of a million unconnected narratives, ideas, processes, personalities events and places. In the worst case scenario these Indologists compare Hinduism to Humpty Dumpty put together by Vivekananda with glue of western ideas. For Ursula King nothing seems to have happened in Hinduism in the eleven hundred years from Sankara to Vivekananda which is either total ignorance or total willful misrepresentation of history to undermine Hinduism. <br /><br />Besides Advaita in the eighth century two other equally important schools of thought emerged one in the eleventh century called Visishtadvaita proposed by Raamaanujaachaarya and the second one in the thirteenth century called Dvaita proposed by Madhvaachaarya. While Advaita in a nutshell says Brahman and Prakriti are same, only Brahman is Real, Ramanuja says they are both same and real, and Madhva says Hari and Prakriti are different and are real, Narayan and Hari respectively taking the place of Brahman in the two traditions. These fundamental differences are debated by scholars showing a robust evolution of thought in Hinduism totally ignored by western scholars. All three Achaaryas as they were known also gave Bhashyas to Upanishads and Geeta in accordance with their theories. Many other thinkers gave interpretations to the three theories themselves essence of which was there were many ways to attain mukti. Sankara wrote three great poems that are the source of puja even today- Bhaja Govindam, Mahishaasura Mardanam and Kanakadhaara stotram evidence that he advocated Karma and Bhakti besides Jnaana as paths to Mukti. <br /><br />Those who criticize Hindu society for lack of compassion forget David Copperfield, Les Miserables, Count of Monte Cristo, Brothers Karamazov, Grapes of Wrath and others where Western Society’s inhuman behavior towards other human beings is portrayed in great detail. The violence that marked Europe is conveniently forgotten. The colonialism, oppression, suppression, slavery, imperialism are shoved under the rug from everybody’s view. Of all the societies in the past Hindu society was the most egalitarian and giving. Hindus didn’t borrow compassion from the west. The borrowing of compassion was done in the fifteenth century by the Jesuits who took it to Europe where it became digested and now passes on as a western commodity. <br /><br />Great many western Indologists come with background of Theology, Seminary training and Evangelical fervor, Ursula King, Wendy Doniger and Richard Fox young being the prominent examples. Thus their interest in Hinduism is not limited to an objective study of but to nitpicking and putting down Hinduism paving the way to conversions.<br /><br />These later day interpreters of Hinduism pay no attention to earlier thinkers like Bailey, Playfair, Voltaire, Hodgkinson, Thoreau, Durant, Emerson, Toynbee, Romain Rolland, Oppenheimer, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Goethe, Mark Twain and others who showered encomiums on Hinduism, but they instead push their critical view to damage Hinduism with sole purpose of . carrying on culturally genocidal conversion. In this they are ably led by Marxists like Pollock who cling onto outdated theories of class struggle that have failed in the erstwhile USSR beside other countries including India.<br /><br />The contributions made by Hindus are never mentioned in California text books but only negative aspects thanks to South Asian scholars at Universities. Thankfully, there has been a growing chorus of Hindu voices complaining about this now. The utter failure of Max Mueller in writing the true history when added to the current crop make Hindus cringe at the prospect of foreigners writing their history. If somebody said to Gandhi,”France is ruled by French, Germany by Germans, but let us rule India, as we know better”, what would he have said. Furthermore all academic work done in India is ignored by American Orientalists on one pretext or other.That is why there is a need for Swadeshi Indology, a term and concept developed and proposed by Rajiv Malhotra.<br /><br /><b>C. Book banning case study; Satanic Verses</b><br /><br />The author of The Hindus did not in her own words suffer from the case. The book was not banned. It was sold under the counter stealthily. She likes it that she has upped the Hindu objectors. She made money albeit immorally bordering on intellectual dishonesty, whereas Satanic Verses was banned. Does the author claim her book is comparable to Verses in literary values such as style, creativity and language? Why did Verses fail so much financially and faired so much worse politically but excelled intellectually? Why did her book an instrument in the hands of evangelists did better financially and politically but miserably failed intellectually? Does she stop to think? Which book will survive in the long run? Compare the magnanimity of Hindu objectors that allowed the sale of The Hindus to be continued to the dogged, mindless and vicious campaign that banned Verses, a great literary work. By the way on what side is she and her friends are on banning Verses?<br /><br /><b>D. What does Rajiv Malhotra say?</b><br /><br />Rajiv Malhotra says of Pollock, “I found Pollock's modus operandi to be work back from a conclusion, offering selective references to support it, and oftentimes simply base it on an assumption with no evidence to back it.”<br /><br />We saw above ample evidence for this. Malhotra asks questions such as did Sanskrit prevent anyone from learning, are Hindus fatalists, are sastras repressive, did Vedas prevent growth of knowledge, are the Rishis same as Christian priests of Europe of a bygone era, what is the true meaning of four ashrams, what is the true meaning of four purusharthas, does Karma prohibit meaningful engagements of individuals in making families and communities prosperous, is Sanskrit responsible for German debacle, is Hindu society chaotic, and many others and asks Hindus to learn about their history, practices and greatness much to the chagrin of South Asian Studies scholars who give answers denigrating Hinduism. Malhotra asks Hindus to do poorva paksha and uttara paksha to get to the truth much to the discomfort of American Orientalists. Malhotra brings to the attention of Hindus the works of Reinhold Guenendahl that refute Pollock but does not get the public exposure they deserve as the space is occupied by more wealthy Americans who control the media.<br /><br />Naturally a truth seeker like Malhotra gets the ire of a prevaricating Dona from Chicago.<br /><br /><b> F. Brahmins Blamed Again</b><br />Dona from Chicago says the wealthy Brahmins in the US support Malhotra in his battle against her and Pollock. American Orientalists’ favourite target finds its rightful place in this write up. Is there any grain of truth in this yarn? Why didn’t the Dona from Chicago do some home work before she made this baseless allegation? American Orientalists have signed close to fifteen petitions against Hinduism, India, Modi and similar causes some time in the numbers that exceeded 500, including the Dona from Chicago. Many of these are also persons of Indian origin. Did she check how many of them were Brahmins? Isn’t it a bit hypocritical to cry that Brahmins support Malhotra at the same time drawing huge support from them to her cause? She is promoting hatred which is illegal in the US and the FBI would like to take a look at her. <br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b>: American Orientalists are outdated in their knowledge, are prevaricating, are hypocritical, are unscientific, are irrational, are promoters of hatred against Brahmins, are ignorant of Hinduism, lack academic integrity- these are only a few among other character flaws. I as a Hindu would not want them write about Hinduism.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> </div>
Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-21415508046679821912016-05-03T05:45:00.001-07:002016-05-03T05:45:07.945-07:00Working draft - Players and priorities in the Kurukshetra<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Players and Priorities in
the Kurukshetra<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Rajiv Malhotra<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While 25 years ago I routinely
faced serious resistance from our community when I discussed how our discourse
is dominated by outsiders, today there is enough awareness of this problem.
Despite this awareness, we have not yet achieved much by way of actually
changing the discourse in the mainstream. One of the reasons is that too often
our opinion leaders do not start with a clear statement of our goals in the
mainstream; they tend to jump ahead to opine or start taking actions that might
not be well thought through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this brief note, I want
to focus one issue one: the relationship between deep structures and
superficial discourse. From this follows my analysis of the types of players who
are active and what prevents better coordination among ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Can superficial involvement topple the deep structures?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
are many levels and sub-levels of discourse, but for my purpose here I will discuss
the two extremes (namely, the deep level and the superficial level). My thesis
is succinctly stated below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While mainstream
media and pop culture tend to discuss things superficially, there lies a
deep level of discourse that requires more specialized expertise to
engage. This is where the intellectual power resides. One must drill down
to this level to really know what is going on that matters.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our opponents have
worked hard at the deep level for the past several generations. They have
systematically established their ideologies, assumptions, loyal players,
and the means of knowledge production and distribution. Often, they have
not only conceded the superficial level to us as a way to make us happy
and complicit, they have also actively helped us at the surface level to
seem like allies. By now, very few among us are aware of what goes on at
the deep level, and fewer still are concerned about this with enough
passion and fearlessness to be able to make any impact. Most of us are
negotiating their place within the deep structure controlled by others. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are
micro-optimizing our position in the sense of short sighted improvements
and benefits for a few. We are sacrificing the marco situation as a
result. We have been doing this for many centuries. First it was the
Muslims in control, then the Europeans, and now the Americans. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over the past 25
years, there has been a groundswell improvement of public awareness of
this predicament. However, not much has been achieved in the deep levels
where the structures remain hostile to our civilization. We are fighting
superficial battles even after becoming aware of the serious predicament
we face.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The deep structures
cannot be disrupted by using superficial methods and superficially trained
minds. This is where the crux of my issue lies.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The deep level of work
required is inherently tough, multi-disciplinary, risky, and there is no
quick victory or personal gratification in the conventional sense. In
other words, it is thankless work demanding high sacrifice and with high
personal risks.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given the enormity of
the deep level challenges, we need multiple experts each specializing in
different kinds of issues. There is room for plenty of leadership without
tripping over each other or trying to bring each other down. However, we
lack such broad vision among many of the leaders. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is too much
opportunism, and this is because the easy/quick superficial levels are
more enticing, and because most of our people reward the superficial work.
It is a quick way ahead for many. This means there is neglect of the deeper
levels, and to much glorification and limelight for superficial work. Many
are turning the deep discourse into superficial level for quick fame. Who
will do the heavy lifting then?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My advice to
individuals wanting to be deeply involved is to pick a movement and
dedicate yourself to it. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Match your work with your
svadharma, and turn that into your yajna.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
first, I will give a simple overview of the different types of players in the
battlefield. Then was can find ways to organize ourselves better to achieve the
goal of toppling the deep structures and discourse that we have inherited from
the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Categories of players<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
simple view most of us have is that there are just two kinds of players in the
intellectual battlefield, our home team and our opponents. My movement has been
to fight those opponents who are the thought leaders, and not waste time
fighting the ordinary ones. I choose those opponents where I can make a game
changing impact, and especially where others on our ideological side have not
taken up the fight yet, or at least nobody has done the heavy lifting required
to spark such a fight. I am now doing this kind of pioneering work with
Pollock, and I have earlier started similar movements against other heavy
weights like Wendy Doniger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Individuals
on my home team are those supporting my strategy, identification of targets,
plans and methods. In other words, they must be team players and must have
enough tapasya and competence to be useful in pragmatic ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However,
another major category of players is of those who are not on my home team, who
are other pro-dharma leaders aligned with our ideals and fighting for dharma on
their own. For example, I have great respect for leaders of dharma such as Dr.
Subramanian Swamy and Baba Ramdev, and intellectuals like S. Gurumurthy, Madhu
Kishwar and Koenraad Elst, who have each achieved their own independent impact
in a substantial way. The diagram below shows these three types of players.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif17yFYu40eLEPWfMImVNgsOOSZotdJ2-DUX98vA4Qe1XVoAz_XGnbutFy3GjRuOprBwYnqepgiZ8zpZn864UmkA2R6_qHoUJL4ZCRqLqbxYY2ovzZVDTHSrKE4IQoAaikv4y9xhW5Ij4/s1600/Players+and+Priorities+in+the+kurukshetra.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif17yFYu40eLEPWfMImVNgsOOSZotdJ2-DUX98vA4Qe1XVoAz_XGnbutFy3GjRuOprBwYnqepgiZ8zpZn864UmkA2R6_qHoUJL4ZCRqLqbxYY2ovzZVDTHSrKE4IQoAaikv4y9xhW5Ij4/s640/Players+and+Priorities+in+the+kurukshetra.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang=EN-US>My Home
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<span
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<span
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<span
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
point to appreciate is that these other dharmic forces (type 3) act
independently of my work; but we appreciate each other’s work, try to stay in
touch privately and help each other when we can. One can use the analogy of
coalition partners – separate identity and organizations, but aligned
strategically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Focus: the type 4 nuisance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
wish life in the kurukshetra was this simple. Unfortunately, much of my energy
is wasted on a fourth category of persons. The reason form writing this paper
is to draw attention to this group. The other categories are mentioned very
briefly just to locate the type 4 group and discuss them in detail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
is a very large set of individuals acting in disruptive ways while thinking
they are helping our cause. To put it simply, these are persons who are
unwilling to fit into my home team (type 2) and are not competent enough or
effective enough to have become high-impact players in their own right (type
3). I want to discuss this type 4 individual in detail. The diagram that
follows shows all four categories I have introduced thus far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
problem with such misfits can be understood by first appreciating the
importance of any enterprise having a common strategic plan. A master chef has
a well-developed recipe he wants to make with the help of others, but he cannot
afford to allow helpers who have their own recipes no matter how good. Imagine
that a chief town planner has developed the master architecture for a major
project, complete with standards, methods, priorities and so forth. Then
imagine some workers join who don’t want to follow these plans but have their
own rival or conflicting ideas. Yet they do not want to go away and take
responsibility for developing their own separate town somewhere else. They want
to work here but not follow the narrative that has been put in place to guide
the project. Any leader would find this behavior an obstruction and look for a
way to get rid of such people. The same can be said for someone who joins a
surgical team for a complex surgery, but who revolts in the middle of the
surgery against the plan being carried out by the chief surgeon. A military
commander would not tolerate some on his team that argues in the middle of
battle and demands his own approach to battle be carried out instead. These are
all examples we learn in the corporate world as team builders and leaders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
is a time for brainstorming to make decisions, and a time to comply with the
team’s playbook once that is set. Too often, I find that we Indians lack this
kind of team dynamics and there tends to be internal fighting when the focus
ought to be to unite against the opponents out there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
my career as an entrepreneur, I used to offer such rebellious but otherwise
intelligent individuals a chance to lead their own project, one in which they
would be the boss. Many did take up such challenges and performed very well.
They would be classified as type 3 in the above diagram – i.e. those cut out to
be their own autonomous leaders. But many such rebellious individuals were not
capable to lead their own ventures, because they lacked the necessary strategic
thinking, leadership experience and risk taking. They were not cut out to take
responsibility and be accountable for producing the results expected. Nor would
they follow the lead of someone else. Such team misfits have to be removed
after some attempts have been made to try and work with them. This becomes
important for the sake of the health of the overall enterprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many
such individuals turn out to be opportunists who sneak in under the guise of
wanting to help. But they want to quickly pick up some ideas or resources, and
then go away to try their own mobilization. Some of them have the audacity of
demanding that I should work for them. They try to impose their own
scheme/narrative of how to do things and constantly argue against the approach
I have developed over many years and one that works for me. After internal
bickering which is unproductive, one has to ask them to leave us alone. This
can turn into acrimony as the person feels insulted that their capabilities
were rejected. Indians must learn more team work and accept that often a good
individual worker might be a bad team member. For the sake of team performance,
it become better to remove the individual. Anyone who has run complex projects
knows what I am talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once
such a relationship has become antagonistic, there is a range of potential
outcomes possible. One hopes the person peacefully goes away. We can be friends
from a distance, leaving each other alone. But too often the disgruntled person
become a hijacker because by now he knows too many secrets. I have had individuals try to blackmail me
with warning that they will join my enemies. Many indeed have done so. Some
persons vacillate between playing a positive role in one of my teams and
turning toxic when we reject his or her ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At
some stage, one must recognize that the relationship cannot be salvaged and it
becomes a matter of damage control. I see them as pests or hecklers that I must
try to contain somehow. The diagram below has many signature qualities listed
in bullet points under type 4. This might seem strange to readers who are
inexperienced in this kind of work, because they assume that Hindus would come
to seva with a spirit of dedication and surrender of the ego. In practice, this
is not how it works. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
the recent clash with R. Ganesh, several type 4 individuals showed their true
colors. I have this side of them for many years. Some are newcomers who tried
marching in and demanding to take things over, and when politely asked to leave
us alone, they turned hostile. I am not naming persons here, but if you look at
the archives on some Facebook and others discussions you will find such
patterns of behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
for R. Ganesh himself, I never expected that he would want to work in my home
team following our grand strategy. But it would have been nice if he had carved
a niche in the kurukshetra and become a responsible leader of type 3. We could
be friends from a distance while sympathizing and morally supporting each
other. A sign of slavery of a defeated people is this silo mentality. To get
out of this we need to put lacs of our youth through corporate leadership roles
where they learn how to play roles from the big ones to the small ones, in
harmony and with the use of diverse people with specialized strengths and
weaknesses. Unfortunately, our education system does not emphasize leadership
or management or strategic thinking skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqWemrRBoNMblgYnBGS1hK3YMuvud7T133-VqM0KOjrGSj5lnM0bCOU2ASC7NIHDFmN0G4n3ssANtrTmT1NcZRnBNkhJRDQlnTPXO0hAPHHAwH36OhYd2-p0oJQd-BLXJ6PTLuX1pMtY/s1600/Players+and+Priorities+in+the+kurukshetra1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqWemrRBoNMblgYnBGS1hK3YMuvud7T133-VqM0KOjrGSj5lnM0bCOU2ASC7NIHDFmN0G4n3ssANtrTmT1NcZRnBNkhJRDQlnTPXO0hAPHHAwH36OhYd2-p0oJQd-BLXJ6PTLuX1pMtY/s640/Players+and+Priorities+in+the+kurukshetra1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
fifth type of person is someone who does not want to commit to concrete roles
in a type 2 or 3 setting, and nor is ambitious as a type 4 activist wanting to
do things his own way. Such individuals stay out of the limelight, and might do
things like retweeting or supporting from the outside once in a while. They can
be very useful because we have a large number of them and collectively they
definitely matter. We cannot count on them to do big tasks, but nor are we
concerned that they might turn toxic and destructive. Those who wish to remain
passive readers in order to learn for the sake of self-improvement belong here
as well. While many of them will remain here long term, several will migrate to
one of the other categories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let
me return to the challenge I posed earlier: How can we align the players and formulate
priorities to topple the deep discourse? The simplistic grid like I have
presented here, though far from perfect, allows readers to crystalize a view of
the internal politics we must deal with deftly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately,
many talented individuals are sitting and watching, some are splashing water to
get attention, some are trying to trip the hard working leaders out of
excitement or to get personal attention; some do this out of jealousy and
spite. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not
only should you avoid becoming another type 4 destructive person, I suggest
that you must actively engage in fighting the type 4 persons. Just as the
body’s immune system defends it from threatening forces, so also we need help
to fight off such disruptive forces even if they are micro-optimizing and seem
to have good intentions on the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-49880782418082682502016-05-01T10:46:00.001-07:002016-05-01T10:46:45.128-07:00A limited assessment of and response to some statements of Professor Tyler Williams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This blog initially appeared <a href="https://meghk.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/a-limited-assessment-of-and-response-to-some-statements-of-professor-tyler-williams/" target="_blank">here</a> and is penned by Megh Kalyanasundaram<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
On 2016 April 15, in a talk at Columbia University by Shri Rajiv Malhotra, a member of the audience, introduced himself as “…Tyler Williams…<i>I am a </i><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>Professor</i></span><i> of Hindi and Urdu, I also teach a bit of Sanskrit, bit of Persian, I also teach about Bhakti, teach about Indian religion…</i>” (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olQlPZuEWLY" style="background-color: transparent; color: #57ad68; text-decoration: none;">Video</a> time stamp (VTS): 54:29-54:37) and curiously, chose not include in his introduction, the name of the university he taught at.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
In what was meant to be a question, Tyler Williams (TW) made a few statements, which can be called misrepresentations and/or allegations. This short piece highlights 2 such statements (in <span style="color: blue;"><i>italicised-blue</i></span> below) and evidence from Shri Malhotra’s scholarship as to why these statements can be called misrepresentations.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #003366;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Tyler Williams’ (wilful or otherwise) Misrepresentation #1</span></span><span style="font-weight: 700;">: </span><i>‘Insiders and Outsiders’ related</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
Tyler Williams said (VTS 56:04-56:10)) <span style="font-weight: 700;">“</span><i>…t<span style="color: blue;">he schema that you have given, that I am outsider and they are an insider, the white students are outsiders</span>…</i><span style="font-weight: 700;">“</span><span style="font-weight: 700;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: navy; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Evidence (from RM’s scholarship) on why TW’s statement is a misrepresentation:</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Evidence 1:</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
I also wish to clarify that I do not consider all Western scholars as ‘outsiders’, nor all Indians or Hindus as ‘insiders’. These are provisional terms to get the conversation started. My suggestion to the reader is that s/he should first read the Conclusion chapter that concisely articulates the final takeaway message of this book. It lists a set of debates I want between the insiders and outsiders on a range of issues raised in this book. <span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>(Source: Rajiv Malhotra, The Battle for Sanskrit, Introduction, Hard Copy version Page 28, Kindle Location 508-518) </i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Evidence 2:</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
My book frames these issues in terms of two opposing lenses: the lens of insiders, who are those with loyalty to the Vedic worldview, and lens of outsiders, who are those who dismiss (or at least marginalize) the Vedas and look at the Sanskrit texts primarily through Marxist and postmodernist theories of social oppression and political domination.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: 'PT Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
Adopting the insider perspective, my main objections to Pollock and other outsiders concern the following methods and views:</div>
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•The methodological separation between the secular and the sacred in studying Sanskrit tradition;</div>
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•The claim that racial and ethnic oppression, class discrimination and gender bias are intrinsic to Sanskrit and its conceptual matrix in the Vedas;</div>
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•The side-lining of the oral tradition as a dynamic part of Indian history and thought;</div>
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•The politicizing of the genre of kavya;</div>
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•The outright dismissal of the positive value of shastra;</div>
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•The insistence on a dramatic split between Sanskrit and the vernaculars;</div>
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•The determination to show maximum split between Hinduism and Buddhism;The distortion of the Ramayana as socially abusive and as harbouring anti-Muslim rabble rousing <span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>(Source: Rajiv Malhotra’s blog </i></span><a href="http://thebattleforsanskrit.com/insiders-versus-outsiders/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #57ad68; text-decoration: none;">Insiders Vs Outsiders: Who speaks for our heritage?</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>) </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Tyler Williams’ (wilful or otherwise) Misrepresentation #2:</span></span><i> ‘</i><i>Dalits’ related</i></span></div>
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Tyler Williams said (VTS 56:04-56:10) “…t<i>he idea that Dalits are outsiders to the Hindu community</i>…” (Video time stamp 56:13-56:16)</div>
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<span style="color: navy; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Evidence (from RM’s scholarship) on why TW’s statement is a misrepresentation:</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Evidence 1:</span></span></div>
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In 4 of out 5 books which Shri Rajiv Malhotra has authored, the string ‘Dalit’ appears over 533 times (book-wise detail included below).</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Book</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Number of occurrences of the string ‘Dalit’ occurs, as part of the word ‘Dalits’ or as stand-alone word</span></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Kindle version location number</span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">The Battle for Sanskrit </span>(Is Sanskrit Political or Sacred, Oppressive or Liberating, Dead or Alive?)</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">20</span></div>
</td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">456, 1143, 1211, 1258, 2241, 2250, 2273, 2334, 2702, 2711, 2892 3560, 3685, 4479, 4605, 4785, 5550, 6104, 8046</span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Breaking India</span> (Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines)</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">> 500; The word ‘Dalits’ appears 152 times</span></div>
</td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">Too many to list</span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Indira’s Net</span> (Defending Hinduism’s philosophical unity)</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">10</span></div>
</td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">659, 894, 2316 (twice), 2566, 2619, 4500, 6436, 6530, 6801</span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Being Different </span>(An Indian challenge to Western Universalism)</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">3</span></div>
</td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">6296, 6298, 6301</span></td></tr>
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Where exactly, in any of these 533+ locations specified above (or for that matter anywhere else) has Shri Malhotra, propagated the idea “…Dalits are outsiders to the Hindu community…” as alleged by Tyler Williams?</div>
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How can anyone who has actually read Breaking India (which has the word Dalit in its title sub-text: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines) and Indra’s Net, logically allege that Mr. Malhotra considers Dalits are outsiders to the Hindu community?</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Evidence 2:</span></div>
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In fact, the opposite of Tyler Williams (Dalit-related) allegation is perhaps closer to the truth, evidenced by Mr. Malhotra’s thesis (in his words) pitted against the ‘Neo Hinduism’ thesis, from the book Indra’s Net (Defending Hinduism’s philosophical unity).</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">From Indra’s Net->Part 1 PURVA PAKSHA->Summary of both sides of debate->Tabulation (9 of 10)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Neo-Hinduism</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Contemporary Hinduism (My thesis)</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">Hinduism is inherently oppressive of minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Dalits and women. It forces others into its own homogeneity for gaining political control. Hindutva is its later incarnation and its goal has been to impose homogeneity</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;">Contemporary Hinduism renews the coherence and unity of diverse Indian traditions. It does not harm their diversity, and has, in fact, the most open architecture among the main faiths of the world. Its lack of historical absolutes (in the sense of Abrahamic religions) accounts for these extraordinary qualities)</span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"></td><td style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px 1px 0px; padding: 0.4em;" valign="top"><div align="right" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><i>‘My thesis’ above refers to Rajiv Malhotra’s thesis</i></span></div>
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Of course, the above misrepresentations could have been reconciled to atleast some extent had Tyler Williams said he had not read Shri Rajiv Malhotra’s books. One could perhaps then rationalise and allow for a benefit of doubt about Tyler Williams position (and/or complicity in furthering a separatist propaganda) in view of not having read Mr. Malhotra’s scholarship.</div>
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However, does Tyler Williams allow room for such a benefit of doubt to be extended given his:</div>
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> claim “…I have read your book” (VTS 56:46-47; 58:18-23) and yet misrepresenting (evidence provided above), all this despite being a “Professor”, of whom the expectation of correctness , atleast in the academic way of referencing, would normally be higher than a lay man?</div>
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&</div>
> false (implied) allegation that Shri Rajiv Malhotra may tarnish TW’s name like that of he did of TW’s colleagues (VTS 54:44-54:47), while what he actually did could be construed as attempting to tarnish Shri Malhotra’s name, by bringing up plagiarism allegations, which have been comprehensively addressed at various levels, including clarification between related publishers.</blockquote>
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(To read a comprehensive analysis of the plagiarism allegations, refer here: <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">https://traditionresponds.wordpress.com</span>; To extend your support to Rajiv Malhotra, sign this petition: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/publishers-of-rajiv-malhotra-s-books-do-not-yield-to-mafia-pressure-tactics-that-seek-to-compromise-intellectual-freedom" style="background-color: transparent; color: #57ad68; text-decoration: none;">https://www.change.org/p/publishers-of-rajiv-malhotra-s-books-do-not-yield-to-mafia-pressure-tactics-that-seek-to-compromise-intellectual-freedom</a>)</div>
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Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592615870176912948.post-5912477568149386202016-05-01T09:04:00.002-07:002016-05-01T09:04:28.728-07:00The deepest Orientalist - By Prof. Makarand R Paranjape<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a reproduction of an articles that first appeared in the <a href="http://wap.business-standard.com/article/opinion/makarand-r-paranjape-the-deepest-orientalist-116042901513_1.html" target="_blank">Business Standard</a> penned by Prof. Makarand Paranjape.<br />
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“<i>From its colonial origins in Justice Sir William to its consummation in SS Obersturmführer Wüst [a Nazi official], Sanskrit and Indian studies have contributed directly to consolidating and sustaining programs of domination.</i>”<br /><br />—Deep Orientalism<br /><br />The author, or should I say authority, behind these words is Sheldon Pollock, Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University, and Mentor-Chief Editor of the Murty Library. The Murty Library, with its generous endowment of $5.6 million has, however, been mired in controversy. A petition, signed by several concerned academics, asked for the removal of Mr Pollock from the project, as well as a re-think of its methods and goals.<br /><br />If Mr Pollock’s condemnation of the Vedic-Shastric tradition as rigid and oppressive was injurious in The Theory of Practice and the Practice of Theory in Indian Intellectual History (1983), Deep Orientalism (1993), is even more insulting. Here Mr Pollock claims that German Orientalists and Sanskrit not only aided the “colonization and domination of Europe itself,” but in “the ultimate ‘orientalist’ project, the legitimation of genocide.” Sanskrit implicated in the extermination of six million Jews?!<br /><br />Why should Mr Pollock give such extraordinarily evil agency to India’s “sacred” language, which he is elsewhere at pains to prove “dead”? In his oft-cited paper, The Death of Sanskrit (2001), he doesn’t so much prove that Sanskrit is/was dead. When he fails to “kill” it, he resorts to a strange sleight of scholarly hand: “Sanskrit had never been exactly alive in the first place.” Traditional Sanskrit scholarship in India being already destroyed, this attack on German Orientalism leaves only one powerful competing scholarly tradition standing: American Indology.<br /><br />Reinhold Grunendahl critiques Pollock convincingly. Deep Orientalism has one unambiguous, if ambitious path: “‘Indology beyond the Raj and Auschwitz’ leads to the ‘New Raj’ across the deep blue sea.” But the “New Raj” of American Indology has one thing in common with the old Raj of British imperialism. Its Rajas and Nabobs, such as Mr Pollock, are increasingly funded by the “sweat, toil, and blood” of Indians, in this case, Indian “cyber-coolies,” who have made companies like <a href="http://wap.business-standard.com/company/infosys-2806.html">Infosys</a> rich. American Indology backed by Indian philanthropy is a lethal combination. It leads us to laud, fete, fund, and award Padma Shris to Mr Pollock and his ilk.<br /><br />One thing is absolutely clear after the smoke settles in the recent crossfire over the Murty Library: American Indology today occupies an almost unquestionable authority over Indian traditions. Any move to critique its hegemony is met with multiple attacks against individuals questioning its methods and results, both of which are exalted to levels of near infallibility.<br /><br />In this context, a passing but telling observation in Rajiv Malhotra’s The Battle For Sanskrit is worth recalling. Indian soldiers were recruited by the British colonialists to fight in over 100 battles against fellow Indians, not to mention other “enemies” of the British including the Afghans, Burmese, Chinese, Turks, Germans, and Italians. But they couldn’t raise a single battalion of the Chinese to fight for them, let alone against their fellow-Chinese. This should tell us something of the Indian mentality. Most of Mr Pollock’s “sepoys” are Indians themselves, either trained in elite American universities or sold on images of their past produced by American neo-Orientalism.<br /><br />Let me offer one more example. In Ramayana and Political Imagination in India (1993), Mr Pollock argues that India’s multiple medieval Ramayanas actually served to create a “political theology” to demonise and attack those who stood outside its “sanctioned polity”. Bringing this theme up to date, Mr Pollock damns the Ramayana tradition as the “mytheme par excellence that reactionary politics in India today” uses “in the interests of a theocratization of the state and the creation of an internal enemy”.<br /><br />Again, frustrated with the persistence of Ramayana, Mr Pollock concludes, “because of even the Sanskrit text’s instability…there may no longer exist any such thing as the Ramayana, if ever there did.” No surprise that Mr Pollock and his followers want to abolish the very existence of “India” as an academic entity substituting it by the meaningless epithet “South Asia” — south of what and for whom?<br /><br />How deep an Orientalist Mr Pollock is clear only towards the close of Deep Orientalism. Given that both “history" and “object” of the “field of knowledge” called Orientalism was “permeated with power,” he declares that Orientalists are now at a loss because they “no longer know why they are doing what they do.”<br /><br />But, apparently, Mr Pollock knows exactly what he is up to. He has re-invented Orientalism so that wealthy Indians endow his professorship, pay him for desacralising Sanskrit and secularising Sanskriti, signing anti-Narendra Modi political petitions, and hectoring the world’s largest democracy how it should conduct itself.<br /><br /><i>The writer is professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University</i></div>
Being DIfferenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775443542791465764noreply@blogger.com0