From Vishal Agrawal

[Dominik Wujastyk]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 12:01:55 PDT
From: Vishal Agarwal <vishalagarwal at hotmail.com>
To: ucgadkw at UCL.AC.UK
Subject: Request for a favor

Requested Dr. Wujastyk,

Please post it for me on the Indology list. Kindly also request the members
of the Indology list to desist from dragging my name in their discussions.

Thanks

Vishal
________________

Dear List Members,
While I was expelled from the list a long time back, I certainly have a
right
to defend myself against serious allegations made against me by a veteran
list member Dr. Thompson. He says:

"I call the List's attention to K. Elst's very first post to this List
[dated
9/2/99], in which he defends his dear friend "Vishalji", who had just
finished threatening me, clearly and directly and publically, by reminding
me
of the wisdom of the principle of self-preservation; "

Note that
1. My statement was sent PRIVATELY (and not publicly) to two list members
including Dr. Vassilkov, who  reproduced it on the public forum without my
permission.
2. The statement was not intended for Dr. Thompson in particular, it was
actually meant for all Indologists.
3. The statement was NOT a threat and my intention was solely to state that
in the intellectual/academic arena of India, the Indologists might become
irrelevant if the resort to non academic reactions to the writings of their
opponents. I was innocently unaware that the phrase 'self preservation' is
restricted to preservation of one's physical self only, and cannot be used
metaphorically to preserve one's intellectual self. This was clarified
publicly AND privately subsequently. I am appending the relevant paragraphs
of my original email to let the members judge for themselves, keeping in
mind my subsequent clarifications. And again, if my words caused any anguish
to him, I apologize. I do find it odd that Dr. Thompson should persist with
such misrepresentation though.
4. Dr. Fosse clarified in a private email to me that Dr. Thompson himself
took a light view of that statement at that time and gave me the benefit of
doubt. I therefore fail to understand why he has chosen to drag me into his
dirty polemics at this stage. If Mr. Fosse permits, I can send a copy of his
email to Dr. Thompson.

Again, I reiterate that I can back my statements with copies of all my
private and public correspondence with him and with others. I request Dr.
Thompson not to defame me unnecessarily and indecently. If he has any
objection to what I said, the courts of law are open in the United States of
America.

Sincerely,

Vishal Agarwal
____________________
APPENDIX: My original statement sent via email to Dr. Vassilkov and Dr.
Thompson

GT:  "How much longer must we endure the waste of time involved in restuing
his banalities over and over and over again? And what about  the
accompanying insults? How long shall we bite our tongues while this sort of
charlatan persaudes all of India that it is Atlantis all over again?"
VA: "You seem to  have acknowledged the fact that the AIT theory is drawing
increasing derision in India. It is in the interest of your own self
preservation that you give scholarly responses to your opponents rather than
use pejorative terms against them. Since you have not posted any response to
them, where does the question of wasting time arise?? For a start, why not
respond to my questions on the date of RV proposed by you. Using these very
linguistic criteria, Mary Boyce places Zarathushtra in the 14th Cent.
B.C.E. (A fact acknowledged by a prominent list member in a private
communication to me)".

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