RAJARAM EPISODE

[Bijoy Misra]

Are you happy because Rajaram gets a bash or are you happy
that Harappans received attention?  As I have said your various
research and points of view have a different bias, that
you need to contemplate.

As a person of Indian origin I appreciate research in Indology.
But I sincerely beg objectivity and unbiased research.

Reagrds,

Bijoy Misra


On Sun, 1 Oct 2000, Samar Abbas wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Sep 2000, Anand M. Sharan wrote:
> > I think we are wasting a lot of time here going after Rajaram and not
> > making efforts in deciphering the Indus script .
>
>  It is not just one person - it is the whole Vedic Harappa theory that is
> at stake here. The entire Vedic Indus hypothesis is now in severe danger
> of going down with Rajaram.
>
>  As Rajaram's model is the only Sanskritic model to date, and is now part
> of Indian school curriculum, it is only natural that so much attention
> should be focussed on it. Also, Rajaram said that he only cared about the
> Indian press where "millions" read his work, and did not bother about
> Western academic publications which "rot away in dusty library shelves".
> It was essentially an open challenge to Indologists - which has now at
> last been taken up in the only forum which Rajaram bothers about: the
> Indian mass media. Demolishing his claims in Western journals would have
> had no effect and would have been too kind.
>
> > I posted on my web about the Migration of Indus People where the
> > decipherment by Pathak and Verma was mentioned .
>
> That work is definitely interesting and indeed, perfectly viable. However,
> obvious false hypotheses like Rajaram's theory must first be excluded from
> the domain of viable ones - just like in `multiple choice' exams. Once
> that is done, it is certain that the decipherment of Pathak and Verma will
> receive impetus.
>
> N.Ganesan wrote: " The political propaganda ... must be countered in India
> > by Indologists like Witzel & others."
>
>  The importance of Witzel and Farmer's work - esp. the press reports -
> cannot be overemphasised. In India, the appearance of an article in
> newspapers is viewed as a `publication', perhaps even more important than
> that. Such articles are even cited in `scholarly' books. It has taken some
> time for western Indologists to realise this.
>
>   And of course, for non-specialists it becomes the sole source of
> information. Many educated persons - even historians - were actually
> convinced by Rajaram et al that OIT was correct, mainly because there was
> no opposition to his continuous flow of press articles.
>
>  The Rajaram affair is having a good impact on Indology though. For
> the first time in decades, Indologists are now occupying front-page news
> space. And more money is being spent on Indology. The common man is
> suddenly interested in archaeology. Once again, in direct contrast with
> the West.
>
> Samar.
>