Challenge to Indologists

[Guest guest]

This chalenge is not an indological one, but a pedagogic one. Some

Indologists are concerned about Indians getting their history wrong,

but should they also be not be concerned about their home countries

getting it wrong?

 

The following site

http://www.bigmyth.com/

advertises itself as " new experimental learning module designed for

use in European primary school classrooms" to teach the sociology of

religions.

 

Thus runs their view of Indian history. which seems to be good joke

had it not been for the fact it is supposed to be learning tool for

Europeans of an impressionable age.

 

--------------------

http://www.bigmyth.com/download/HINDU%20CULTURE.doc

 

 

HINDU CULTURE

 

LOCATION

India is the seventh largest country in the world and with its almost

one billion people, the second most populated country in the world,

after China. The official name for the country is the Republic of

India. However, other names for India are Bharat and Hindustan.

 

HISTORY

The earliest civilization in India was in the Indus River Valley

between 2600 and 2000 BCE. They lived in the northwestern part of

India.

 

Around 1500 BCE northern India was invaded by the Aryans, people who

came from Iran and Southern Russia. The Aryans were light-skinned

wandering tribes who forced the local dark-skinned people of Northern

India, called Dravidians, southwards. For this reason, the Northern

Indians are believed to be the descendants of the Aryans and the

Southern Indians are considered descendants of the Dravidians.

--------------------------

 

Thus runs the Aryan Invasion Theory put in the crudest possible way,

which is supposed to have been given up by Indologists for a long

time.? Have the Indologists going to spend time in disabusing false

notions of Indian history , like the above, in their home countries.

 

 

To give another sample, under "Exercises" the school children are

asked to ponder on this "3.1 What are the most important

differences between Vedism and Hinduism? " as if these two entities

are different.

 

Thanks for the answers

 

Vijayaraghavan

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, "Lars Martin Fosse" <lmfosse@o...> wrote:

> As for the Dravidians, they tend to be rather dark, but you will find

> non-Dravidians who are dark, and you will find dark people who speak

> non-Dravidian languages. The basic point: Dravidian is primarily a lingui=

stic

> term, not a racial one. Whether Dravidians always were victims, is a diff=

erent

> matter. Probably, they were as warlike as most other peoples on earth. Bu=

t we

> know little about this. Reconstructing early Indian history on the basis =

of the

> very scant data we have, is necessarily difficult.

>

 

A good source:

 

The four hundred songs of war and wisdom : an anthology of poems from class=

ical Tamil :

the Pu_ran¯a_n¯u_ru / translated and edited by George L. Hart and Hank Heif=

etz.

Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, c1999.

 

Recently this book won a National award for translations.

 

 

> Mind you: Dravidians of low-caste origin have no problems seeing themselv=

es as

> victims of high-caste (i.e. "Aryan") aggression, and this is the reason w=

hy

> "Western" Indology is so controversial. In an attempt to create social ha=

rmony

> (without having to solve the social problems responsible for the disharmo=

ny),

> India now tries to rewrite history as if you could create harmony with a =

magical

> sleight of hand. It would have been better to leave it to professional hi=

storians

> (and not only Westerners) to ponder the intricacies of early Indian histo=

ry in

> the academic context and instead deliver a frontal attack against casteis=

t ideas,

> social discrimination, maltreatment of untouchables etc. If India solves =

its

> problems, it can live with any kind of distant past. Other peoples' dista=

nt past

> was not much better.

>

> Lars Martin Fosse

>

> Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse

> Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,

> 0674 Oslo

> Norway

> Phone: +47 22 32 12 19

> Fax: +47 22 32 12 19

> Fax: +47 22 32 12 19

> Email: lmfosse@o...