‘India In The Eyes Of Europeans’ by Martin Farek, one of the scholars of the Comparative School of Cultures in the Czech Republic; is a book that analyses the biases of the Christian European scholarship in interpreting all that is foreign to it; especially the way that scholars influenced by Christian theology, Western and Indian alike, view Indian and more specifically Hindu history.
Sukrit Banerjee's review concisely outlines Patrick Olivelle's findings on the evolution of the Āśrama System.
The way Indology has been shaped through the centuries has resulted in Indic knowledge being alienated from its own people.
Decades of self-loathing has denied the younger generation access to its magnificent Indian heritage.
In this first of a two part interview, we speak with Dr Koenraad Elst about his areas of research, his books and his interest in Indian history, triggered by the politics around the Ram Temple in the late eighties.