Answer to Mr. Ararwal

[Michael Witzel]

At 10:11 +0100 9/2/99, Dominik Wujastyk wrote:
>  This forum is a scholarly one, aimed at universtity-level
>researchers.  As such, we are not obliged to adopt the
>lowest-common-denominator prejudices...

Having read  the once-again, all-consuming  "Aryan debate" of the past 2
weeks in one stretch (diSTyA, I was away!), I have not learnt ONE new fact,
nor have I seen one NEW evaluation of known facts that have not been
published already.

Instead, a lot of (fierce) opinions, and sometimes with judgements made
even before  a book / article has been read (completely) ...  Not to speak
about simply wrong facts and outright disinformation (about these,
separately). All of this leads nowhere.

The only benefit, that is a *heuristical* one, I can see in all of this is
that such shrill criticisms keep us on our collective toes and induce us to
constantly review the evidence and our conclusions. Which is welcome.

As for the critics of the past 200 years of Indology,  it must be stated
that we cannot always start for them,  again, from the proverbial "Adam and
Eve" (or from the much more the probable mitochondrial African Eve and the
nuclear Adam), and explain basic facts about language comparison, textual
levels, the development of the Vedic and Iranian languages over time,
substrates, animal bones, metals in archaeology,  astronomy and texts,
etc. etc.

Further, the "new paradigm" must agree with internationally accepted facts
and data from the various sciences, from astronomy to zoology.
There are handbooks, after all.  If one does not like them, one should
write e.g. a new palaeontology, and see how one will fare with zoology
specialists who have no (emotional or other ) involvement with South
Asia... We can securely  leave such "new paradigm"  people to the tender
mercies of the (natural) scientists.  (Exampes provided, if wished for).

More separately
MW.









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Michael Witzel                          Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies
Harvard University                  www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs
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