--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
>
> That earlier stage can be identified with early Proto-Indo-Iranian
> (the contrast between back and front "a" must have existed at the
> time the IIr. velar palatalisations took place), and is not so much
> an earlier stage of Sanskrit as a form of pre-Sanskrit (and pre-
> Avestan, pre-Old Persian, pre-Nuristani, etc.). The whole problem
> with Prof. M. is that he refuses to see the obvious.
>
> Piotr
Yes, and the worst thing about it is that, judging from what he
wrote in his "The Avestan - A Historical and Comparative Grammar",
Misra apparently once subscribed to the scientifically-sound view.
It makes you wonder if he hasn't being motivated by the present
political atmosphere in India, especially when we hear such
disturbing news as that of N. S. Rajaram's inclusion in the Indian
Council of Historical Research. It makes you shudder! Mediocre and
even very bad artists, scholars, scientists, historians, etc. have
time and again been able to make a name for themselves by abandoning
their principles and aligning with the rising political tide. Let's
hope that Misra's is just a case of ignorance rather than lack of
character.
David