[INDOLOGY] India and Bharat

Wed Mar 23 01:09:23 UTC 2016

Dear Dr. Palaniappan

Regarding your point on acknowledging regional languages: the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS) has been a proponent of regional languages for
quite some time. Contrary to the perceptions of many, the RSS does not see
Hindi as the sole language of India, but as a link language co-existing
with regional languages. In the September 2015 edition of the *Panchajanya,
*the official Hindi weekly published by the RSS, the editorial stated
“Hindi is not against India’s regional languages. This is a myth being
perpetuated ....”[1] The lead article said: “It (Hindi) will prosper along
with other regional languages.”[1] Hindusthan Samachar, a news service
affiliated with the RSS, provides news services in thirteen languages apart
from Hindi: Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Nepali, Oriya, Asamiya, Kannad, Tamil,
Malayalam, Telugu, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Punjabi and Bangla.[2] Most of these
languages were added in 2014 (the agency was restarted in 2000 after a gap
of 14 years). Regional languages are also one of the areas of focus in the
“inclusive Hinduism” of the Sangha.[4]

[1] Press Trust of India (Sep 10 2015). Hindi can unite India, “chase away”
English: RSS organ. Indian Express. URL:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/hindi-can-unite-india-chase-away-english-rss-organ/#sthash.cBQ2BhoP.dpuf.
Retrieved Mar 23 2015.
[2] About Hindusthan Samachar (not dated).
http://mh.hindusthansamachar.com/static/about.aspx.
[3] Liz Matthew (Oct 28 2014). RSS news service launched in more regional
languages. Indian Express. URL:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/rss-news-service-launched-in-more-regional-languages/#sthash.YGCU8hwK.dpuf.
Retrieved Mar 23 2016.
[4] Vasudha Venugopal (Mar 16 2015). RSS's Nagpur meet decides on inclusive
Hinduism as key strategy for next 3 years. URL:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-03-16/news/60174729_1_bhaiyyaji-joshi-rss-general-secretary-suresh-akhil-bharatiya-pratinidhi-sabha.
Retrieved Mar 23 2016.

On 23 March 2016 at 01:30, Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

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> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan <Palaniappa at aol.com>
> To: Harsha Dehejia <harshadehejia at hotmail.com>
> Cc: Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
> Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2016 14:59:23 -0500
> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] India and Bharat
> Vamsi Juluri is not a ‘she' but a ‘he’. He is one of the prominent
> exponents of the Hindutva viewpoint in this country. Just take a look at
> the endorsers of his book on the back cover of the book ‘Rearming
> Hinduism’. This fight between ‘India’ and ‘South Asia’ is a favorite of the
> Hindutva and especially Rajiv Malhotra. Should the Indology list be
> involved in this? See his article
> http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/treasurehunt/it-is-time-to-speak-up-against-the-hinduphobia-of-foreign-writers-vamsee-juluri/
> .
>
> On a positive note, I am glad somebody on the Hindutva side acknowledges
> the existence of regional languages and presumably they are Indian and they
> have a ‘voice’ too. The vision plan for Sanskrit said, "Sanskrit, it is
> acknowledged, is not just a language. It is the voice of India’s soul and
> wisdom. It is the link between India’s past and present. It has been the
> vehicle of Knowledge Tradition of Bharat.” [emphasis mine]
>
> Regards,
> Palaniappan
>
> On Mar 22, 2016, at 1:55 PM, Harsha Dehejia <harshadehejia at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Friends:
> I was sent this email and since I am not able too respond sufficiently I
> am taking the courage and liberty of sending it to you all.  Appaentlty
> Vamsi is fighting to prevent India being lumped with South Asia in her
> University in California. Her questions are probing and sincere and she
> needs our support in her fight.
>
> Please respond to her directly at juluri at usfca.edu
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Harsha
> Prof. Harsha V. Dehejia
>
>
> This is the email for Vamsi Juluri
> May I request the historians in the group to share a few points if
> possible on the following so I could try and put it into a table?
>
> 1) What are the oldest references in Sanskrit literature to something like
> "Bharata"? What texts? What periods? What geographical spaces are referred
> to?
> 2) Are there other names for the Indian subcontinent in Indic texts? Did
> regional language literatures also have names of their own or was Bharata
> widely used? If so, from about when? (there's a lot of s asian bs in their
> letter accepted by the board on how india never had a sense of itself, no
> unity etc.)
> 3) What are some of the non-Indian names for India from ancient times?
> Roman/Greek texts, periods, names will be useful. Would anyone in the group
> also have an idea about Chinese/Korean/Japanese names ? What texts/periods?
> 4) Any other facts and anecdotes and citations that might be helpful.
> Thank you!
> Warmly
> Vamsee
> Vamsee Juluri, Ph.D.
> Professor of Media Studies, University of San Francisco
> Author of *Becoming a Global Audience: Longing and Belonging in Indian
> Music Television *(Peter Lang), *The Mythologist:A Novel *(Penguin India),
>  *Bollywood Nation: India through its Cinema *(Penguin India), *Rearming
> Hinduism: Nature, Hinduphobia and the Return of Indian Intelligence *
> <http://www.rearminghinduism.com/>(Westland, 2015) and *The Guru Within *(Westland,
> forthcoming)
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-- 
Nityānanda Miśra
http://nmisra.googlepages.com

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