[INDOLOGY] Developing story on alleged plagiarism by Rajiv Malhotra

[Robert Zydenbos]

I've added my name to that petition, with the comment: "For years Mr
Malhotra has made himself known internationally as a viciously
aggressive ethnocentric pamphleteer without the slightest scholarly
substance or merit of note, attacking persons intercontinentally who
have committed their professional lives to the study of aspects of the
culture of India and to a deepening of academic knowledge about Indian
culture. These indications of blatant plagiary demonstrate Mr Malhotra's
profound lack of scholarly as well as, especially, moral substance and
deserve to be widely publicized."

This petition deserves the support of all of us. The examples given
there are crass. Given that I was uncomfortably confronted by Malhotra
fans in the Indian academic community during my last trip to India (in
other words: there are colleagues who take his stuff seriously, even if
they are not exactly top-rank colleagues), I believe it is not
unimportant to expose the fellow in such a simple and clear way when in
his noisy hybris he has thus overreached himself.

RZ


Jesse Knutson wrote:

> Dear Friends and Colleagues, I have created this simple petition.
> Someone suggested that addressing it to Harper Collins would be more
> effective, since they have something at stake, whereas the author will
> likely not admit any wrongdoing. If anyone has suggestions for improving
> the petition or revamping it, they would be welcome as this is the first
> time I have made a petition on change.org <http://change.org>. I hope
> this helps the effort. Best, भवदीयः,J
> 
> https://www.change.org/p/harper-collins-india-in-view-of-the-widespread-plagiarism-found-in-rajiv-malhotra-s-book-indra-s-net-published-by-harper-collins-india-we-call-on-the-publisher-to-make-a-formal-public-apology-and-to-withdraw-the-book-from-the-market?recruiter=5167386&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
> <https://www.change.org/p/harper-collins-india-in-view-of-the-widespread-plagiarism-found-in-rajiv-malhotra-s-book-indra-s-net-published-by-harper-collins-india-we-call-on-the-publisher-to-make-a-formal-public-apology-and-to-withdraw-the-book-from-the-market?recruiter=5167386&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink>


-- 
Prof. Dr. Robert J. Zydenbos
Institute of Indology and Tibetology
Department of Asian Studies
University of Munich
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
80538 Munich
Germany
Tel. (+49-89-) 2180-5782
Fax (+49-89-) 2180-5827
Web http://zydenbos.userweb.mwn.de/