Dear Philipp,

I object to this move. Bagchee’s post was interesting and very much to the point of our recent discussion, and I think the main way one could find it defamatory would be by confusing correlation with causation. To those who have witnessed this forum over a period of several years, the idea that the committee had “no choice but to remove Joydeep Bagchee permanently from the list” may seem far-fetched. Not only will progress in matters of gender equality not be made by the committee proceeding in this way, but the committee may be seen to be actively hindering the making of such progress. I may be wrong, but I cannot help but suspect that Bagchee’s previous contributions, which have been famously abominated by some on this list, may have prejudiced the committee against him and caused it to overreact in this instance. One might also wonder whether the committee’s decision is somehow connected to its current male to female ratio (4:1 following the unfortunate resignation of Dr Truschke).

Yours collegially,

Simon Brodbeck

Cardiff University

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From: INDOLOGY [mailto:indology-bounces@list.indology.info] On Behalf Of Philipp Maas via INDOLOGY
Sent: 17 April 2019 08:46
To: Indology <indology@list.indology.info>
Cc: jbagchee@gmail.com; Indology Committee <indology-owner@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Joydeep Bagchee's membership to INDOLOGY

Dear Members of INDOLOGY,

The post that Joydeep Bagchee sent to this list on 16 April under the header “Re: [INDOLOGY] Response to Shrinivasa Varakhedi” severely violates the rules for usage of the INDOLOGY list, which state that “In particular, personal attacks of an ad-hominem nature, rude language, and off-topic postings are violations of the list rules. The definition and understanding of what constitutes improper use of the forum shall be a matter for the Governing Committee. [...] The Governing Committee may penalize personal attacks or defamatory speech directed against other list members with a temporary or permanent removal from the list.“ (http://www.indology.info/email/email-const/). 

The above mentioned severe violation of the Guidelines left the INDOLOGY Governing Committee with no choice but to remove Joydeep Bagchee permanently from the list.

With best regards,

Philipp Maas

Governing Committee Member on duty

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