SV: [Y-Indology] an appeal to "scholars"

[Guest guest]

Dear veteran member of the Eurocentric Indology Lynch Mob,

 

Since you are scholar, could you provide me with a list of your

publications. I have seen your PhD thesis and do not want to read your

political commentaries on contemporary India. I would welcome anything

else.

 

You did have the last word. You won! So rest in peace now.

 

Thanks

 

Vishal

INDOLOGY, Lars Martin Fosse <lmfosse@o...> wrote:

> Michael Witzel [sMTP:witzel@f...] skrev 12. juni 2001 00:14:

> > It is indeed best just to shut up or answer only to serious

Indologcial

> > questions (maybe better privately!!).

> >

> > This list has deteriorated beyond description, as was expected

when

> Dominik

> > set it up in this form... Similar excesses on other not moderated

lists.

> > Forget it.

>

> With all due respect, this was entirely predictable. That is why

some of us

> wanted a closed list for professionals in addition to the more

popular

> fora. The problem is quite simply this: Any Internet forum which is

open to

> the public at large, will easily attract all sorts of people. In the

> progaganda war between various brands of Hindutva ideologues and

other

> amateurs with other ideological agendas on the one hand and

professional

> academics on the other, it is obvious that an open scholarly list

will be a

> target. If professionals are on such a list, they have the option of

> shutting up and leaving the show to the amateurs, or they can take

> responsibility (as Witzel repeatedly has) and speak up. I personally

think

> that if you are on a list where the public at large is admitted, it

is your

> duty to speak up when nonsensical information is being propagated as

the

> Truth. On the other hand, scholars would need a quiet place where

they

> could discuss matters of importance to them in peace. Someone

suggested an

> A- and B-list. The A-list for pros with posting privileges, whereas

others

> only have reading privileges. The B-list for the general public,

where pros

> could step in and participate in the general debate to the extent

that they

> have time and energy for it.

>

> > This is supposed to be a discussion list, which means, at least in

a

> > traditional sense, that it is not about scholastic, vivaada style

> 'winning'

> > a point and about shouting, but about learning something new from

each

> > other. Well, forget it.

>

> Please remember that a propaganda war is essentially directed

against

> intellectual innocents who are not necessarily impressed by strict

logic

> but by elegance of phrase and street-smartness. Not to mention

volume. If

> you want to take part in a propaganda war, you must play according

to those

> rules at least some of the time. In the end, the target for rational

> discourse is the person who honestly doesn't know what to think, and

who

> asks for hard information. There are a few of those around too. And

they

> are our responsibility.

>

> Best regards,

>

> Lars Martin Fosse

>

> Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse

> Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,

> 0674 Oslo

> Norway

> Phone: +47 22 32 12 19

> Mobile phone: +47 90 91 91 45

> Fax 1: +47 22 32 12 19

> Fax 2: +47 85 02 12 50 (InFax)

> Email: lmfosse@o...