| Revision as of 14:14, 25 December 2005 edit59.92.144.155 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:52, 25 December 2005 edit undo68.193.158.108 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''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 ] (EJVS). | '''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 ] (EJVS). | ||
| Michael Witzel works on Aryan Invasion of the Indian sub-continent invited angry reactions from the Hindu nationalists. Any work on ancient history of India and invasion of Aryans from the middle east to India were vehemently protested by the more ardent believers among Hindu nationalists. Treatment of History as a political tool has created unnecessary controversy around his works. | |||
| Once an ardent proponent of the now-discredited Aryan Invasion Theory, Witzel has changed his thesis in recent years to claim that there was a "migration" of "Aryans" out of Europe into India. Together with India's government-funded Marxist ideologues, he claims to represent the "mainstream" opinion on the subject. His critics though contend that there is no scientific evidence pointing to the said migration, and that Witzel's opinions are based on his Creationist beliefs. They point to recent mtDNA-based discoveries that suggest that all humans are descended from a single migration out of Africa into India and then further east and beyond into Australasia. Witzel's refusal to take note of the scientific advances has landed him in a media and academic controversy. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 18:52, 25 December 2005
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 (EJVS).
Michael Witzel works on Aryan Invasion of the Indian sub-continent invited angry reactions from the Hindu nationalists. Any work on ancient history of India and invasion of Aryans from the middle east to India were vehemently protested by the more ardent believers among Hindu nationalists. Treatment of History as a political tool has created unnecessary controversy around his works.