When Prof. Pandurangi asked about the "western perspective," I supposed (charitably) that he was asking for outstanding recent representatives of a tradition of scholarship that is informed by comparative philology, comparative mythology, historical linguistics, ritual studies, and literary studies, regardless of whether it is produced in LA, Erlangen, Kyoto, or Pune. I hope he has received sufficient answers from specialists on this list. 

Now we are no longer talking about a request for information, but the possible justifications for speaking, in general terms, about the "Western" and "Indian" approaches, and as Dr. Paturi revealingly said, between "outsider" and "insider" perspectives. I don't think it's useful to have a conversation about the possible intellectual justifications for using these terms. The people who use those terms often, if not always, use them for other purposes than "doing useful intellectual work," and I trust the members of the list know precisely the uses to which these terms have been put in the last, say, five years.

Sorry to spam everyone's inboxes with an opinion rather than useful information. I hope that all of our friends and colleagues in India are staying as safe and healthy as they possibly can.

Andrew