Indology and "the disastrous ideology of the 'pure Aryan race'"

[Walter Slaje]

I have only this brief remark to make in addition
to the previous ones of Houben, Gruenendahl and
Steiner: Pushed by the preceding argument over
the issue, I critically re-read Gruenendahl's
paper, and again, with no little delight.
Knowledge of the past depends on "sources of
knowledge" and on the way they are examined. In
the absence of pramaa.nas, there can hardly be
"knowledge". The same applies to twisted
pramaa.nas.
Let there be no doubt that Gruenendahl uses a
flawless, proven and powerful method for
researching the past: Scrutinizing
those sources and reporting them faithfully. And
then, of course, confronting them with the way
they had been presented and been subjected to
interpretation elsewhere. His approach remains a
sober and scholarly one, even though some may
feel uncomfortable seeing a long-cherished idea
beginning to vanish.
In any case, we have to accept Gruenendahl's
results as established until someone succeeds in
refuting his investigation by equal methods.
In all, it is not unlikely that we are witnessing
the destruction of  - intentionally or
unintentionally - construed "histories" by the
powers of factual truth. At one point, reality
inevitably catches up with unfounded theories.

WS

----------------------------
Prof Dr Walter Slaje
Hermann-Loens-Str. 1
D-99425 Weimar (Germany)
Tel/Fax: +49-(0)3643 501391
www.indologie.uni-halle.de

Ego ex animi mei sententia spondeo ac polliceor
me studia humanitatis impigro labore culturum et
provecturum
non sordidi lucri causa nec ad vanam captandam
gloriam,
sed quo magis veritas propagetur et lux eius, qua
salus
humani generis continetur, clarius effulgeat.
Vindobonae, die XXI. mensis Novembris MCMLXXXIII.