Satish: You raise a good point. I have not followed the exchange between VJ and you; so I do not have any comments one way or the other.
Some of the points you raise are interesting; and I don't want to get judgmental of this group. I have not studied the pattern of postings and moderation in this group to offer any insight. So whatever I say is not about the members or moderators here (I don't want to get banned, do I ?)
History: At a high level, we see it through our two sets of eyes or prisms. Ours and outsiders.
Outsiders: Travelers, traders, monks, Imperial forces, Western Powers etc have added commentary on our people, their way of life and past happenings. They have used their framework of reference to study and write about us. Sometimes they can not step outside that framework, and sometimes they can do. For example in the movie Avatar; the aliens still had limbs and bodily functions & emotions like humans. James Cameron would not make money if we humans can not in any way relate to even those aliens.
We see the Caste system having evolved to what it is now by the handiwork of British because they saw the system as a class system which existed in Europe. So the prism they used was different.
Ours: We derive history not only from the outsiders point of view but based on our own perspective. Folklore, granma stories, regional and national scholars work hard to present the case from their perspective.
Irrespective of which prism one uses, there are enough chances that biases, prejudices and agenda creep into the research. And while looking at history, it is very tough to not touch upon the aspect of religion.
And once the sub-topic is touched, then all hell breaks lose.
I like to hear from other members too on this subject.
So whatever I say is not about the members or moderators here (I don't want to get banned, do I ?)
Hi Grs i dont think any member has been banned till now in this group.
> History: At a high level, we see it through our two sets of eyes or prisms. Ours and outsiders. Outsiders: Travelers, traders, monks, Imperial forces, Western Powers etc have added commentary on our people, their way of life and past happenings. They have used their framework of reference to study and write about us.
thats a remarkable point. the views of travellers is so important.
marco polo conti batuta wrote about 13th and 14th century south india. so did khusro and wassaf even if they were with invading armies. in fact their accounts are the only surviving detailed writings about some dynasties
>>> all hell breaks lose.
thats precisely not justified to the hundreds of members who joined the group for pure history topics