Trilingual inscription from Sri Lanka

[Ramanitharan Kandiah]

At 04:50 PM 04/24/1999 +0000, you wrote:
>Date sent:                Fri, 23 Apr 1999 12:44:47 +0200
>Subject:               Re: Trilingual inscription from Sri Lanka
>To:                         INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK
>
>
>> The "epigraphist" S. Paranavitana is totally untrustworthy. The least you
can say is that
>> he had a lot of fantasy, but he might be better called a scientific fraud.
>>
>>
>
>Adding to the several objections to the above statement, I would like
>to point out, that to call S. Paranavitana a scientific fraud is not
>only an insult to him and to Sri Lankan archaeology, but also to
>Paranavitana's supervisor at Leiden University, the eminent
>Sanskritist, epigraphist and art historian Prof. J. Ph. Vogel.
>
>Ellen Raven
>Kern Institute of Indology, Leiden
>
>

Sorry for my 0000002 cent worthy point.

Paranavitana might have been a *trained archaeologist.*
However only training does NOT make a geniue professional, I believe.
Sri Lankan archaeology is a shame in most of the time.
And, for my layman reading, I blame Dr. Paranavitana for some extent.
As another poster mentioned earlier, Paranavitana might have done good
works in the beginning, but in later times rather than celebral disease, he
was motivated with Sinhala myth induced chuvanism.... I understand.

'Cultural triangles' and diggings in traditional tamil lands by 100%
Sinhala professionals consisting archaeological dept of Sri Lanka
is, and SHOULD BE, an insult (if not a crime) to  Sri Lankan archaeology.
And, I understand, like *old* Paranavitana, Sri Lankan Archaelogical Dept also
wants to see what WANT in their diggings in the traditional tamil lands,
rather than what actually there are.

Archaeological Dept of University of Jaffna was refused to do their diggings
in the traditional (buddhist) tamil villages, kan-tharOdai and vallipuram.
I assume the restrictions are same even at this moment.

May ex-professors of University of Jaffna tell more than what I said.

In early 80's, ThriyAi, a traditional tamil land, was projected (and "proved")
as a buddhist sinhala place in ancient time.

And, very recently (not even two months back), Trincomalee (known as
thirukOneswaram)
was claimed as a earliest buddhist place (with its kOkarNa vihara) that was
captured by the
Hindu tamils. This particular news was in a Sri lankan newspaper.

What a wonderful and geniue archaeological work done by Sri Lankan state
sponsered professionals!

It does not matter how genious he was, Paranavitana is not a genuine
professonal, at least when he was old.

He was motivated with his ethnic feelings rather than a professional
interest, at least for a layman like me.

And, I do not find the logic behind how saying Paranavitana a fraud becomes
an offence to his supervisor.
{I wonder if calling Hilter a racist makes his mother a jew-biter :-(}

Ramanitharan, K.
Tulane University,
New Orleans LA.
99'04/24 Sat.