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| '''Michael Witzel''' (born ] |
'''Michael Witzel''' (born ]) is Wales Professor of Sanskrit at ]. He has been teaching Sanskrit since ]. He is noted for his studies of the dialects of ], old ] and the development of ] . He is editor-in-chief of the ] , and the ] . He has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. | ||
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| Witzel's analysis of the Vedic dialects have been praised as "a breakthrough in Vedic Studies" by ] , Professor of philosophy and South Asian studies. | Witzel's analysis of the Vedic dialects have been praised as "a breakthrough in Vedic Studies" by ] , Professor of philosophy and South Asian studies. | ||
| Witzel |
Witzel has defended theories of the ] against Hindutva claims equating ] with the ], involving claims of decipherment of the ] (Farmer, Sproat, Witzel 2004). | ||
| == Criticism == | == Criticism == | ||
| Michael Witzel has been involved in controversies with traditional ] scholars, and with ] (Hindu nationalist) ideologists. The controversies have at times descended into '']'' hostilities. | |||
| ] |
], in his '']'', a book attempting to disprove the "]", explores what he alleges to be errors and manipulations in Witzel's tracing of Vedic lineages and geographical evidence in the Rigveda. Witzel described this effort as "a long and confused ‘analysis’ in Talageri’s book of" and as an "angry assault on" his 1995 paper, and has criticized what he considers to be Talageri's erroneous starting point, that he ascribes to his neglect of the analysis of the Rgveda by ] (Prolegomena, 1888, now available in English, Delhi: Motilal 2005). | ||
| On another note, Swaminathan, retired Principal of Guruvayoor Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, dissected Witzel's assertion (based on results established in 'western' |
On another note, Swaminathan, retired Principal of Guruvayoor Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, dissected Witzel's assertion (based on results established in 'western' vedic studies since the work of ]) that ancient grammarian Panini and Sayana did not know of the injunctive used in the RigVeda and concluded that Witzel himself was ignorant of their work in the face of much evidence to the contrary. Witzel's supporters argue that critics often neglect to distinguish Witzel's own results with those of Indology in general. | ||
| == Politics == | == Politics == | ||
| Witzel was also involved in weighing against a petition to the California Curriculum Commission from Hindu organizations in North America protesting and asking for corrections to alleged misrepresentations of Hinduism in school textbooks and academia. Witzel has claimed that the petition was politically motivated, the 170 recommodations come from non-specialists, and that 58 of them be rejected outright. The board though, after considering the merits of each recommendation by the Hindu groups, accepted most of them while accepting only about a dozen of Witzel's rejections. | |||
| Witzel is spear-heading a drive with a coalition of self proclaimed Hindu experts against attempts by two US Hindu groups to revise California textbooks to reflect the true views of ancient Indian history. Witzel was called in November 2005 by the California Board of Education to a formal Content Review Panel (CRP) to review his objections, after he sent a frantic letter to the board raising his concerns claiming support of various non-Hindutva Indian-American organizations, including those representing the Dalits (formerly known as "Untouchables"). But after hearing his objections, the panel rejected most of his recommendations.After a series of preliminary public hearings by the Board or various subsidiary bodies, as of January 2006 the California textbook issue officially remains unresolved. A final decision on the textbook controversy, which has drawn international attention in the press, is expected in the first few months of 2006. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
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| *Michael Witzel, ''Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics'', in: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 307-352. | *Michael Witzel, ''Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics'', in: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 307-352. | ||
| *Michael Witzel, Das Alte Indien . München: C.H. Beck 2003 | *Michael Witzel, Das Alte Indien . München: C.H. Beck 2003 | ||
| *Michael Witzel, The Rgvedic Religious System and its Central Asian and Hindukush Antecedents. In: A. Griffiths & J.E.M. Houben (eds.). The Vedas: Texts, Language and Ritual. Groningen: Forsten 2004: 581-636 | *Michael Witzel, The Rgvedic Religious System and its Central Asian and Hindukush Antecedents. In: A. Griffiths & J.E.M. Houben (eds.). The Vedas: Texts, Language and Ritual. Groningen: Forsten 2004: 581-636 | ||
| * | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | |||
| * | * | ||
| * | * | ||
Revision as of 23:32, 18 January 2006
Michael Witzel (born 1943) is Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University. He has been teaching Sanskrit since 1972. He is noted for his studies of the dialects of Vedic Sanskrit, old Indian history and the development of Vedic religion . He is editor-in-chief of the Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies , and the Harvard Oriental Series . He has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003.
Work
Witzel's analysis of the Vedic dialects have been praised as "a breakthrough in Vedic Studies" by Frits Staal , Professor of philosophy and South Asian studies.
Witzel has defended theories of the Indo-Aryan migration against Hindutva claims equating Vedic civilization with the Indus Valley civilization, involving claims of decipherment of the Indus Script (Farmer, Sproat, Witzel 2004).
Criticism
Michael Witzel has been involved in controversies with traditional Hindu scholars, and with Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) ideologists. The controversies have at times descended into ad hominem hostilities.
Shrikant Talageri, in his The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis, a book attempting to disprove the "Indo-Aryan migration", explores what he alleges to be errors and manipulations in Witzel's tracing of Vedic lineages and geographical evidence in the Rigveda. Witzel described this effort as "a long and confused ‘analysis’ in Talageri’s book of" and as an "angry assault on" his 1995 paper, and has criticized what he considers to be Talageri's erroneous starting point, that he ascribes to his neglect of the analysis of the Rgveda by Hermann Oldenberg (Prolegomena, 1888, now available in English, Delhi: Motilal 2005).
On another note, Swaminathan, retired Principal of Guruvayoor Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, dissected Witzel's assertion (based on results established in 'western' vedic studies since the work of Paul Thieme) that ancient grammarian Panini and Sayana did not know of the injunctive used in the RigVeda and concluded that Witzel himself was ignorant of their work in the face of much evidence to the contrary. Witzel's supporters argue that critics often neglect to distinguish Witzel's own results with those of Indology in general.
Politics
Witzel was also involved in weighing against a petition to the California Curriculum Commission from Hindu organizations in North America protesting and asking for corrections to alleged misrepresentations of Hinduism in school textbooks and academia. Witzel has claimed that the petition was politically motivated, the 170 recommodations come from non-specialists, and that 58 of them be rejected outright. The board though, after considering the merits of each recommendation by the Hindu groups, accepted most of them while accepting only about a dozen of Witzel's rejections.
References
- Steve Farmer, Richard Sproat, and Michael Witzel, "The Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a Literate Harappan Civilization", EVJS, vol. 11 (2004), issue 2 (Dec) (PDF)
- Michael Witzel, Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, 1989, 97–265.
- Michael Witzel, Early Indian History: Linguistic and Textual Parameters, in: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 85-125.
- Michael Witzel, Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics, in: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 307-352.
- Michael Witzel, Das Alte Indien . München: C.H. Beck 2003
- Michael Witzel, The Rgvedic Religious System and its Central Asian and Hindukush Antecedents. In: A. Griffiths & J.E.M. Houben (eds.). The Vedas: Texts, Language and Ritual. Groningen: Forsten 2004: 581-636
- California textbook controversy
External links
- Witzel's Harvard homepage
- EJVS homepage
- for all pro and contra pages of the Talageri & Frawley debates
- "Witzel's Vanishing Ocean - How to Interpret the Vedic Texts Anyway you Want" by David Frawley
- "Michael Witzel - An Examination of Western Vedic Scholarship" chapter 9 of Shrikant G. Talageri's The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis