nature of list

[Andrew Fort]

   I am glad Lance Nelson posted the letter, and I have
been mildly interested in the responses, pro and con.
For those considering staying or going, I suggest you
stay, but set the list to DIGESTS, so you can receive
messages once a day.  I find this allows me very quickly
to scroll through what I don't want to read, and not to
be bothered by new messages through the day.  In fact,
I unsubscribed from BUDDHIST because the list couldn't
be put in digest form.
   I don't say much on the list for two reasons: 1) I
don't like to contribute unless I feel I have some
expertise to add, and 2) time--to respond well to
an issue I _do_ know something about takes a real
time commitment.
   Finally, I think virtually every aspect of scholarship
has a political dimension (see the pinyin--Wade-Giles
debate on BUDDHA-L), so is fair game here.  However,
as a scholarly list, we need to bring careful, rigorous
thinking to the political issues.  Could anyone recommend
some thoughtful scholarship about the VHP/BJP and affiliated
organizations?  How do they interpret Indian history and/or
the nature of "Hinduism?"  Isvar Harris gave an interesting
talk on some of these issues at the August Congress on
Vedanta in Ohio, but that only made me realize how little
good material I am familiar with.
     Looking forward to increasing my bibliography, Andy Fort

Andrew O. Fort, Religion Dept.       RQ021RE at TCUAMUS
Texas Christian University           Fort Worth TX 76129