There is NO MINISTER in the Government of India who is in charge of
explorations under the sea. The announcement was actually done by the
HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, and no one knows what his actual
words were. MMJoshi however holds additional charge of 'Ocean
Development'.
The discoveries have moreover been disowned by the Archaeological
Survey of India.
And the wholesale condemnation of the announcements has also toned
down considerably. The following interviews of Aslko Parpola and
Iravatham Mahadevan to Frontline, a Marxist biweekly, should throw
some light on this matter -
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1907/19070940.htm
The interview of Mahadevan and Parpola alone on this controversy by
Frontline is understandable, since both have recently immersed
themselves into the thick of Indian politics by commenting on our
internal matters. None of the them is a professional archaeologist by
training although Mahadevan has contributed signficantly to
Archaeology in India.
As for Meadow, it would be interesting to know that Dilip
Chakrabarti, an archaeologist of Indian origin based at Cambridge
(UK), accuses him of a 'political agenda' in a letter to an Indian
magazine. Meadow is also not exactly liked by the Indian Archaeology
establishment from what I have heard. He, in turn, has called
Indian/Pakistani writing on IVC as often laced with 'flights of
fancy'. The context in which this remark occurs in writing makes me
think of him as a racist.
Anyway, all these three people, along with Witzel, have actively
supported the political agenda of Frontline in a concerted manner in
the last two odd years. Witzel and Meadow are friends and have
offered a course jointly at Harvard for a decade.
And now Witzel is publishing a book by Mahadevan in the prestigious
Harvard Oriental Series for reasons that cannot be comprehended on
pure academic grounds by me.
Wheels within wheels....
Which is why I strongly advise that members of this list are better
off not commenting on Indian political matters, when things are not
much better in American and European academia. Marxist ideology is
considered fit for the west, but certain Western academicians have no
qualms in supporting Communist ideologues and their publications in
India. Akin to dumping third grade technologies no longer used in the
First World to Third World Countries?? [No, I am not referring to you
at all].
What is important when people associate with the likes of Hancock,
from a practical perspective, is that it will bring much needed money
for these explorations. India does not have enough money (athough
technical expertise is there) to carry out such research.
Vishal
--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> What I find particularly surprising is that any responsible
official should have wished to discuss these things with Michael
Cremo. Those on the list who know anything about palaeoanthropology
will probably have heard of "Forbidden Archaeology: The Hidden
History of the Human Race".