12-04-2007, 12:29 PM
The intent is to kindle sufficient interest in rewriting indic History. Let me know if any of the forum members would like to participate in organizing the seminar and/or subsequenytly be a part of th effort
Request for Intent to participate
Delhi Seminar (4q2008/1q2009)
Proposed Venue New Delhi
What is Past is Prologue (to the Future) said the bard
You are cordially invited to participate in a Seminar titled The Impact of a Distorted History on Strategic issues confronting the Indic civilizationâ. October xx,2008 or January xx,2009. This is a request for intent to participate, a preliminary response will help us plan the event
It is generally accepted by the cognoscenti in India that the Geopolitical and Strategic Environment facing India during the early decades of the 21st century remains a challenging one. Such a reality was part of the set of assumptions made by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. As Indiaâs first Prime Minister ,in the aftermath of the gaining of independence from the authoritarian centuries of colonial rule, a rule where the Colonial overlord was extremely solicitous in shielding us from the burden of making choices relative to our own governance, Pundit Nehru fashioned his own unique response to these challenges by formulating a non alignment policy premised on the reality that the world had to contend essentially with 2 superpowers. The fact of the matter was he leaned heavily towards the western alliance at least till the end of his tenure in office. It was only during subsequent years and decades that India and the Congress Party interpreted the policy of non alignment as if it were a canonical principle of Indian foreign policy. In other words, there is ample evidence that at least in the conception of Pundit Nehru , Non alignment was a means to an end rather than an end in itself , a subtlety that was frequently forgotten during subsequent decades. In so doing India veered away from its roots as enunciated by Chanakya (aka Kautilya) as laid out in his Arthasastra. How so , is a legitimate question ? We can only cite a couple of examples. Chanakya was firm that there was little room for morality in the conduct of foreign policy or in dealings with other powers. The paramount question in such dealings with adversaries, was whether the action being contemplated was in the self interest of the Kingdom.
Among the many other remarks he makes is with respect to the use of spies (or human intelligence) as it is now called . The vision of the Arthasastra, is truly breath taking, its practical utility timeless and the clarity of its exposition unique. The techniques of manipulating public opinion and creating disinformation, propounded by Chanakya anticipated modern intelligence systems by several centuries. It is not surprising then, that the lessons taught by that Master strategist, Chanakya alias Kautilya should have served as an appropriate example for India in the fashioning of its own modern intelligence apparatus.
All would have been well had India adhered to Chanakyan principles at least in dealing with potential adversaries and those who would attempt to dominate Indiaâs role in the world. But alas the sad reality is that India has been far from Chanakyan, preferring indeed to adopt a moralistic tone in its conduct of foreign policy and it is Pakistan that has done a far more creditable job in adopting Chanakya-niti than has India. It is our premise that such a laissez faire attitude towards the conduct of foreign policy stems from the propensity to amnesiacal bouts that the Indic periodically inflicts upon himself when it comes to his/her history.
This brings us to the motivations for holding the seminar. There is widespread nonchalance to the history of India amongst the body politic and a certain amount of disdain that the ancients have anything to teach us. We wish to do our part in dispelling such attitudes . The objective of the seminar is to increase awareness of the importance of learning the accurate History of India. The seminar is a small step towards questioning the established narrative of Indian history, present new research, uncover new facts, examine the relevance to the current strategic environment and propagate the correct history to the public at large in general, the classrooms and eventually influence those who would make policy for India.
In addition to Indologists, historians, and the community of think tanks specializing in strategic issues, the contents of the seminar are equally relevant to parents of school-going children, community and educational leaders, and public service professionals. Cultural self-esteem among impressionable young minds is a direct derivative of correctness of history taught in schools. Also the representation of the community in the media and in public space is a consequence of the same. Thus, for all of the above reasons and many more there is a veritable need from all quarters, scholars and general public alike to come together and effect a joint program of correction and propagation of the true history of the subcontinent.
We request interested authors to submit presentations in related areas including but not restricted to, the following
1. Identify key distinguishing characteristics and dates of the Indic civilization of relevance to the current strategic environment facing india
2. Indicate those areas of Indian history which are egregiously in error and the resulting impact on the manner in which India is viewed in the world today
3. Provide examples of policy based on an erroneous interpretation of History
4. Propose methodology and criteria to evaluate the accuracy of the current or future proposed narratives
5. Discuss the extent of Indiaâs contribution to technology and the sciences in the past and the consequences for Indian policy makers in dealing with other civilizations and nation states
6. Discuss the implications of the location of the Sarasvati Sindhu civilization on the posture of Pakistan and the relationship between India and Pakistan
A paper submission is not necessarily required to participate in the session deliberations. You may choose to contribute ad-hoc to the process of corrections of history, and be part of the plan for propagation among students and general public including the media. Conference attendance is highly recommended but not mandatory to be a valuable asset to the session deliberations. You can submit your paper which will be tabled at the session in absentia, and deliberated
upon by the session participants. If I can answer any of your questions, feel free to reach me via e-mail by replying to this communique.
Looking forward to your response.
Sincerely yours,
Kosla Vepa, Ph.D. Indic Studies Foundation Inc.
E-Mail: history-seminar at heconf dot com
Request for Intent to participate
Delhi Seminar (4q2008/1q2009)
Proposed Venue New Delhi
What is Past is Prologue (to the Future) said the bard
You are cordially invited to participate in a Seminar titled The Impact of a Distorted History on Strategic issues confronting the Indic civilizationâ. October xx,2008 or January xx,2009. This is a request for intent to participate, a preliminary response will help us plan the event
It is generally accepted by the cognoscenti in India that the Geopolitical and Strategic Environment facing India during the early decades of the 21st century remains a challenging one. Such a reality was part of the set of assumptions made by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. As Indiaâs first Prime Minister ,in the aftermath of the gaining of independence from the authoritarian centuries of colonial rule, a rule where the Colonial overlord was extremely solicitous in shielding us from the burden of making choices relative to our own governance, Pundit Nehru fashioned his own unique response to these challenges by formulating a non alignment policy premised on the reality that the world had to contend essentially with 2 superpowers. The fact of the matter was he leaned heavily towards the western alliance at least till the end of his tenure in office. It was only during subsequent years and decades that India and the Congress Party interpreted the policy of non alignment as if it were a canonical principle of Indian foreign policy. In other words, there is ample evidence that at least in the conception of Pundit Nehru , Non alignment was a means to an end rather than an end in itself , a subtlety that was frequently forgotten during subsequent decades. In so doing India veered away from its roots as enunciated by Chanakya (aka Kautilya) as laid out in his Arthasastra. How so , is a legitimate question ? We can only cite a couple of examples. Chanakya was firm that there was little room for morality in the conduct of foreign policy or in dealings with other powers. The paramount question in such dealings with adversaries, was whether the action being contemplated was in the self interest of the Kingdom.
Among the many other remarks he makes is with respect to the use of spies (or human intelligence) as it is now called . The vision of the Arthasastra, is truly breath taking, its practical utility timeless and the clarity of its exposition unique. The techniques of manipulating public opinion and creating disinformation, propounded by Chanakya anticipated modern intelligence systems by several centuries. It is not surprising then, that the lessons taught by that Master strategist, Chanakya alias Kautilya should have served as an appropriate example for India in the fashioning of its own modern intelligence apparatus.
All would have been well had India adhered to Chanakyan principles at least in dealing with potential adversaries and those who would attempt to dominate Indiaâs role in the world. But alas the sad reality is that India has been far from Chanakyan, preferring indeed to adopt a moralistic tone in its conduct of foreign policy and it is Pakistan that has done a far more creditable job in adopting Chanakya-niti than has India. It is our premise that such a laissez faire attitude towards the conduct of foreign policy stems from the propensity to amnesiacal bouts that the Indic periodically inflicts upon himself when it comes to his/her history.
This brings us to the motivations for holding the seminar. There is widespread nonchalance to the history of India amongst the body politic and a certain amount of disdain that the ancients have anything to teach us. We wish to do our part in dispelling such attitudes . The objective of the seminar is to increase awareness of the importance of learning the accurate History of India. The seminar is a small step towards questioning the established narrative of Indian history, present new research, uncover new facts, examine the relevance to the current strategic environment and propagate the correct history to the public at large in general, the classrooms and eventually influence those who would make policy for India.
In addition to Indologists, historians, and the community of think tanks specializing in strategic issues, the contents of the seminar are equally relevant to parents of school-going children, community and educational leaders, and public service professionals. Cultural self-esteem among impressionable young minds is a direct derivative of correctness of history taught in schools. Also the representation of the community in the media and in public space is a consequence of the same. Thus, for all of the above reasons and many more there is a veritable need from all quarters, scholars and general public alike to come together and effect a joint program of correction and propagation of the true history of the subcontinent.
We request interested authors to submit presentations in related areas including but not restricted to, the following
1. Identify key distinguishing characteristics and dates of the Indic civilization of relevance to the current strategic environment facing india
2. Indicate those areas of Indian history which are egregiously in error and the resulting impact on the manner in which India is viewed in the world today
3. Provide examples of policy based on an erroneous interpretation of History
4. Propose methodology and criteria to evaluate the accuracy of the current or future proposed narratives
5. Discuss the extent of Indiaâs contribution to technology and the sciences in the past and the consequences for Indian policy makers in dealing with other civilizations and nation states
6. Discuss the implications of the location of the Sarasvati Sindhu civilization on the posture of Pakistan and the relationship between India and Pakistan
A paper submission is not necessarily required to participate in the session deliberations. You may choose to contribute ad-hoc to the process of corrections of history, and be part of the plan for propagation among students and general public including the media. Conference attendance is highly recommended but not mandatory to be a valuable asset to the session deliberations. You can submit your paper which will be tabled at the session in absentia, and deliberated
upon by the session participants. If I can answer any of your questions, feel free to reach me via e-mail by replying to this communique.
Looking forward to your response.
Sincerely yours,
Kosla Vepa, Ph.D. Indic Studies Foundation Inc.
E-Mail: history-seminar at heconf dot com