Vivvo CMS 4.1 http://www.india-forum.com/ ©2007 Spoonlabs d.o.o. http://www.india-forum.com/files.php?file= http://www.india-forum.com/ http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/It-Is-Official-Now---Romila-Thapar-Defends-The-Aryan-Invasio-157.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:39:18 +0000 The Vedic peoples discriminated against the Dasa, a group of people who spoke a different language that did not sound at all like Sanskrit. The Brahmins sometimes made fun of the Dasa and said that they spoke as if they had no noses. (Pinch your nose and see what you would sound like.) The Dasa had wide flat noses and long curly black hair, and the Brahmins claimed that they had darker skin and called them uncivilized barbarians, who didn?t know how to behave.? http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Hindus-Fight-Discrimination-In-California-Textbooks---2-156.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:35:00 +0000 In my earlier article, ?Hindus fight discrimination in California textbooks - 1,? I had pointed out how anti-Hindu ideologues, led by Professor Michael Witzel of Harvard, are intent on denying Hindu girls in California an opportunity to take justifiable pride in the achievements of females among their ancestors. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Hindus-Fight-Discrimination-In-California-Textbooks---3-155.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:32:39 +0000 If you are a Harijan Hindu, and if your child goes to a California school, she would be told that she is a broken person ? that is, if Michael Witzel et al have their say. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Hindus-Fight-Discrimination-In-California-Textbooks---4-154.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:28:08 +0000 In my earlier articles, I had summarized the California textbook trial, and had also analyzed the specious recommendations of anti-Hindu ideologues with respect to the status of women in ancient India, historicizing the origins of Hinduism using creationist, racist and 19th century colonial theories, and their shocking suggestion that Harijan Hindu children be derogatorily called ?broken persons.? In this article, I will examine their accusation that Hindu groups attempted to portray Hinduism as a monotheistic religion along the lines of Christianity and Islam. Is it not patronizing to claim that Hindus want to model their religion after Christianity or Islam? Never mind, let us see the validity of this accusation. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Towards-a-Positive-Portrayal-Of-The-Hindu-Traditions-153.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:22:00 +0000 What is at stake in the California textbook controversy? Few would agree that it concerns only the image of Hinduism as offered to the pupils of the California state schools. The controversy involves much more than that alone. It is the next phase in the NRI community?s struggle for a less biased and more benign portrayal of Hinduism in the educational system and in American society in general. In the last three years many similar incidents have occurred: the acrimonious debate about ?Wendy?s Child Syndrome?; the Kripal and Courtright controversies; the indignation about the depiction of Hindu deities on bikini?s, slippers and toilet seats; etc. These transient outbursts express a solid and growing concern about the derogatory conceptions of the Hindu traditions, which still dominate the western societies and academia. In very general terms, the aim of this struggle could be put as follows: to make the world aware of the positive contributions the Indian culture and its traditions have made and can make to humanity. Since this is an aim I share, I would like to assess the NRI community?s progress towards its realization. This evaluation will take the California textbook controversy as a reference point, while addressing some of the broader issues involved. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Indian-Scholar-Deciphers-Indus-Script-152.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:13:44 +0000 CHENNAI: The Indus valley script, an enigma for scholars for over 130 years, has been deciphered by Dr S Kalyanaraman, a Chennai based scholar. Ever since the first Indus seal with script was discovered in 1870 by Alexander Cunningham, efforts were on to decipher the script. "The decipherment of the script is central to unraveling the true chronology and history of Indian civilization and culture," Dr Kalyanaraman told Haindava Keralam. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Vedic-Mathematicians-In-Ancient-India-Part-III-150.html Indian History Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:04:47 +0000 The Ancient Vedics seemed to have an obsession for precision as well as a fascination for large numbers. A combination such as this makes an excellent prerequisite for time keeping and for devising a useful and practical calendar. So, they turned to the sky and began to decipher the meaning behind the various cycles they observed. Let us see how they went about developing a calendar that would convey a lot of information merely by knowing the day of the month after constant observation of the sky both during the day and the night over centuries. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/Let-Israel-Be-Jewish-104.html Indian History Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:11:13 +0000 Israel has allowed Daystar, a Texas-based Christian evangelical TV channel, to telecast into Israeli homes and attempt to proselytize Israel?s five million Jews. Is this religious freedom or adding insult to the Jewish injury. http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/History-Of-The-Indic-Civilization---A-Prolegomena-100.html Indian History Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:41:50 +0000 It is clear that much of what we learned in our school history books is suspect if not downright erroneous, starting from the chronology of ancient India to the postulation of an Aryan Invasion, the location of the ancient home of the Zoroastrian people, the dating of Chandra Gupta Maurya's reign, the dating of the Buddha himself, the embellishment of the Caste system by the Colonial overlord, the dating of the impregnation of Indic culture in countries of South East Asia to name a few. More importantly, the Eurocentric approach to the narration of the fascinating story of Indian History taken by English authors is substantially at variance with the facts and the history as we knew it prior to the arrival of the Europeans in the Indian subcontinent. We will do our best to peel the layers of the onion, but it is too large a task to be undertaken by a handful of individuals, especially as the narration of this history is firmly in the grip of the Marxists who are deeply ensconced in New Delhi and whose viewpoint is substantially in conformance with the story as told by the British. Why do Indian Marxists espouse a blatantly colonialist point of view ? There is more than one overriding reason, but we will illustrate one http://www.india-forum.com/indian_history/The-Debate-Over-the-Origin-Of-The-Vedics-099.html Indian History Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:34:41 +0000 If one asks an average Indic whether he has any comments on the debate regarding the origin of the Vedics, his first reaction might be that he was not aware there was a debate and as far as he could recall the Vedics had since the beginning of recorded history, populated an area roughly contiguous with present day Haryana and Uttaranchal. In other words (it is my suspicion that ) this topic is not exactly one that occupies center stage in the streets and living rooms of Mumbai and Kolkatta .However, this remains a subject with far reaching implications for the future of India. One example being the dialog that is taking place in India over the perceived inequalities among various classes of Indic society today, their causes and how they should be handled. One other point should be made regarding the consequences of such a hypothesis . The colonial overlord thereby made the implication very clearly that they were just the latest in a long line of conquerors and had as much right to be present as the descendants of the Vedics ,who would after all be now be regarded as conqueror much as the Normans conquered England. India-Forum - Discussion forum on Hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History ,Indian Politics ,Indian Business, Strategic Security, Internation Affairs.