To Various scientific institutions in the west, particularly anthropological and sociological bodies Regarding my mission for the globalisation of science particularly in the social sciences

 

Institute for the Study of the Globalisation of Science

(Registered as ‘Globalisation of Science Trust’)                       Founder-Trustee: Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Email: sujayrao2012@gmail.comTel:  (0091) 8096946728, 9741004269

 

To Various scientific institutions in the west, particularly anthropological and sociological bodies

Regarding my mission for the globalisation of science particularly in the social sciences

Dear Sir,

Greetings! I hope this mail finds you in the best of health and spirits. I hope that you are aware of my globalization of science mission, particularly for the social sciences. I have been working on this for around two decades – twenty years now, and have published around 118 papers and over ten books.  The core objectives and details of my mission can be found in my website https://globalisationsciencetrust.com . My complete list of publications can also be found in the aforesaid link. My full papers are available on SSRN, researchgate, academia.edu and other portals. My website also contains my mission statement and the pillars of my mission. You will get further details of my work by typing my name Sujay Rao Mandavilli in Google search. The world is going through great upheaval and change. Developing nations are rising like never before, and attempting to prove their mettle and their mite. In this connection, it is inevitable that the character of sciences, particularly social sciences must change in order that it may reflect realities and aspirations from different parts of the world. At the same time, Western science, particularly American science, is perceived to be in decline. We do not want this to happen, and must not allow this to happen in the greater and the broader interests of science. This is why science, particularly social sciences, must evolve and adapt with the times. Western universities can, to a large part drive this change. This can be done by ensuring that paradigms and frameworks reflect the broader aspirations of a cross-section of peoples and cultures. You might also wish to invite scholars from different parts of the world, and engage in cross-cultural design. This may be even necessary to prevent science, particularly social sciences from becoming obsolete. We hope this endeavour is initiated quickly and speedily, and sciences, particularly social sciences, reinvents itself as required.

Best and kind regards,

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Founder-Director,

Institute for the study of the globalisation of science

 

 

 

 

 

 

My views on Hinduism: Mail sent to BJP, RSS, VHP

 

Towards an enlightened and progressive interpretation of Hinduism

Hinduism has a truly hoary past. It has often been described as a way of life. It is a truly diverse religion, encompassing many different types of beliefs. It has no founder and is a geographical expression. Even though the term Hinduism is of fairly recent origin, and was probably first used in reference to the Indus river by Alberuni in the Tenth century, and the Hindu religion is in some respects the oldest on earth. Moreover, elements of what we know as Hinduism are older and may even date to the Stone Age. However, older names such Arya or noble in opposition to the Dasas were or the Mlechas and Sanathana Dharma were used before the term Hinduism came into use. Hinduism is both a hierarchical and polycentric religion. It is hierarchical because of the caste system and polycentric because there can be no centralized authority. It is also diverse along geographical and ethnic lines with institutionalized and inbuilt discrimination mechanisms and with a bewildering array of belief systems. 

However, most historical models to study Hinduism are badly outdated. Hinduism is not centered around the caste system alone as imagined by many scholars. In many periods of Hindu history, and among many communities, the caste system was either non-existent or extremely feeble. Hinduism is so complex and diverse, that there are many philosophical systems such as the Charvaka school which do not believe in the idea of God, a soul, or an afterlife. 

The roots of Hinduism lie in the Indus Valley Civilization which encompassed most of North-Western India. The precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization arose in Baluchistan in Mehrgarh in 7000 BC but we know little about its religion. The ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization were first described by Charles Masson in 1866. There were discovered when a railway track was being built. The first Indus seal was described by Alexander Cunningham in 1873 and further excavations were carried out by Fleet in 1907. The civilization came to light after major excavations in the 1920’s by Daya Ram Daya Ram Sahni, Madho Sarup Vats, RD Banerji and others. Animals are widely represented in the Indus seals, but it is unclear whether they are religious symbols. Marshall in 1931 in the publication “Mohenjodaro and the Indus Valley civilization” suggested that one of the deities was an archaic version of the God Siva. The cult of the mother was also widely used in the Indus valley. Another famous deity was the Lord of the Beasts. Some have also claimed that the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro which was forty feet by twenty three feet wide was used for ritual bathing. In the 1990’s a Swastika symbol came to light, and this is associated with later Hinduism. Some figurines depicting the Indian greeting ‘Namaste’ have also been claimed in addition to Vedic fire altars from Kalibangan, though these manifest towards the end of the Indus Valley Civilization. 

In all probability, the Hindu religion arose as a result of a complex process of multi-stage acculturation between major and minor religious groups residing in the region. According to the old theory, the Aryans entered India in 1500 BC, but this is disputed. We had explained in our previous papers why this may have been unlikely. There may have been peaceful migrations, and migration may have happened earlier than previously assumed. Thus the transformation of the Indus valley to Post-Harappan India may have been a complex process. Aryan culture appears to have peaked around 1500 BC, its formation having been aided by inputs from Ancient Iran from 1700 BC. Hinduism was thus a melange and a fusion of various streams of beliefs, which included Aryan, Harappan beliefs in addition to other minor beliefs of North India. Thus, Proto-Siva may have been absorbed into the Hindu pantheon as the God of destruction, Yama, another perhaps less known deity of the north as the God of death: much of this however, remains a conjecture. The Rig Veda, the oldest and the most archaic among the Vedas was compiled in 1500 BC. It was largely passed down orally. The other Vedas were Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda. Early Upanishads were the Brihadaryanaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad. The Satapata Brahmana was compiled in 800 BC. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata were believed to have been compiled between 200 BC and 200 AD, though sections may have been much older. 

Therefore, Hinduism is truly diverse unlike Christianity and Islam, which are more monolithic in nature, and are mostly derived from a single tradition. Hinduism is therefore a way of life, and represents the cultures and traditions of the diverse peoples of India. According to Hinduism, God is present in everything at all times. Therefore, Hinduism talks about Vasudeva Kutumbam, which means the whole world is one family. This is the tradition of Hinduism that we must embrace. Unfortunately, historical models to study Hinduism are badly outdated, and Hinduism studies have greatly suffered as a result. Hinduism studies in some Western circles, have been wrongly and fallaciously associated with the caste system, and this is wrong. Ambedkar may also have criticized Hinduism bitterly due to his own unfortunate personal experiences, but his criticism may also have been based on outdated historical models. While many course corrections are indeed required, and models for the study of ancient Indian history must be brought uptodate, some fanatical interpretations of Hinduism that are based on a hatred of other cultures and traditions have emerged in the recent past. This will only bring Hinduism and Indian cultural and religious traditions a bad name, and must be nipped in the bud. This is because people are now better educated that ever before (The world has also become highly globalized, and barriers are being rapidly broken down). People can therefore easily see through them. It therefore stands to reason that enlightened and progressive interpretations of Hinduism must prevail. Interpretations of Hinduism must also be in line with a scientific temper, as Hinduism can easily be made relatively compatible with modern science, at least in relation to other religions. We propose that this can be called the Vijnana school in Hinduism, The Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had fought valiantly against the evils and the evils of the caste system in the early twentieth century. They must also therefore fight for scientific and liberal interpretations of Hinduism, a move that will only stand them in good stead, and help the cause of Hinduism and India as well. 

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Need for objective interpretations of history - mail to BJP, RSS, VHP

 

Institute for the Study of the Globalisation of Science

(Registered as ‘Globalisation of Science Trust’)                       Founder-Trustee: Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Email: sujayrao2012@gmail.comTel:  (0091) 9741004269

=============================================

Dear Sir, 

Greetings from the Institute for the study of the globalization of science. You might be aware of all my publications on historiography and history. In case you are not, you might want to look them up by typing my name Sujay Rao Mandavilli on Google search. I would like to impress upon you the fact that scientific approaches to history-writing are required and not ideology-driven ones. This is extremely important given the fact that we are trying to make India a scientific and an intellectual superpower. Ideologies may include Marxist ideology, Dravidian nationalist ideology, Dalit nationalist ideology and Hindutva, or any other ideology for that matter. This is extremely important as we try to train the next generation of Indians to think scientifically. 

 

Mail to Frontline and Hindu group of publications

 

Institute for the Study of the Globalisation of Science

(Registered as ‘Globalisation of Science Trust’)                       Founder-Trustee: Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Email: isgosglobal@gmail.comTel:  (0091) 8096946728, 9741004269

 

To the editor, Frontline Magazine, Hindu group of publications

Dear Sir,

Greetings of the day! I hope this letter finds you in  the best of health and spirits. You might be aware about me and my publications. In case you are not,  please find my profile attached with a complete list of publications. I have been following the Frontline magazine for many decades now. As I matter of fact, I remember having purchased the second issue of your magazine dated 16^th of December 1984, and then having hunted down the very first issue as a souvenir. Much as I appreciate and admire your magazine in parts, I cannot but fail to notice that it is somewhat left-leaning in orientation. While you may have taken a principled stand to combat the menace and the treat of the far-right, you will perhaps agree with me that academic Marxism is not only outdated, but the right and the appropriate way to fight the far right is only through objective neutrality. Anything else is not only anathema, but will only throw up counter reactions and encourage the far right even more. For example, your appear to support Dravidian nationalism in many basis including a tacit support for the Dravidian Harappa hypothesis which from my viewpoint is untenable. I have also written extensively about the perils and follies of Marxist historiography from a non-religious perspective. I will even go as far as to say this: “One kind of bias legitimizes every other kind of bias”. This should be the social sciences equivalent of “Every action will have an equal and opposite reaction”. The issue is two-fold. Firstly, you will lose public trust and self-respect. Secondly, the right will have something to shout about. Hope you will take all this into consideration while writing your future articles. Some members or erstwhile members of your management also appear to be outdated, like former editor N.Ram, and there is plenty of scope for via media approaches, both in the ambit and purview of economic theory and culture. I do hope you will take all this into consideration,

Warm regards,

 

 

 

Letter to Dr Amit Shah on the role of English and Hindi in India

 

Institute for the Study of the Globalisation of Science

(Registered as ‘Globalisation of Science Trust’)                       Founder-Trustee: Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Email: isgosglobal@gmail.comTel:  (0091) 8096946728, 9741004269

 

To Mr Amit Shah, Home Minister, Government of India

You statements regarding role of Hindi and English in India

Dear Mr Amit Shah,

Greetings! I  hope this mail finds you in the best of health and spirits. It is with great alarm and  concern that I have observed and noted your ongoing and recent statements regarding the use or proposed discontinuation of the English language in India, and its replacement with Hindi which is obviously impossible on linguistic or anthropological grounds. In this regard, please note the following:

1. English is a neutral language, while Hindi is not:In case of Hindi, some states will have two languages, some states will have three languages. If English is removed, some states will have one language, some states will have two languages. Those who have Hindi, have it as their mother tongue; while non-Hindi speakers will have it as an alien language. This will be a double discrimination against a non-Hindi speaker. This is highly discriminatory, and obviously undemocratic. English is the only viable neutral link language, as opposed to other neutral languages such as Sanskrit which are opposed by some Dalit and Tamil groups who see it as a symbol of Brahminical hegemony. Sanskrit also has very little business of commercial value, and is generally seen as non-implementable, and non-communicable.

2. Language dynamics has become a major field of study in the fields of linguistics and anthropology. Languages spread in accordance to the principles of language dynamics, and not based on the whims of a politician or what he or she decides. It is not the prerogative of Amit Shah or any other politician to tell people what language to speak. This too is blatantly undemocratic. I have been writing extensively on language dynamics for over a decade now, with many publications in peer-reviewed journals. Hindi cannot replace English in India at any time, and this is quite obvious.

3. Countries which have attempted to impose the language of one community on other communities have either long since disintegrated or become failed states. Classic examples of this are the USSR which broke up and Pakistan which split after its eastern wing seceded to form Bangladesh. Also, kindly note that the central government cannot support the language of one or more states in a federal set up. Each state has to have its own language policy. India is not Chian. I have written about the differences between India and China extensively in my papers.

4. We also have other organizations and Entities such as the United Nations and the PEN club who have come up with declarations such as the UN declaration of human rights and the declaration of linguistic rights. We do not also want our language policy to contradict or contravene international frameworks. I will also write to these organizations shortly to ask them to strengthen their own respective frameworks.

I hope this makes sense to you. Focus instead on developing ALL Indian languages lexically to meet the technical challenges and requirements of the twenty-first century. I do not blindly support English at any cost, and those who want to pursue education in their mother tongue should be encouraged to do so. The antiquated and obsolete Rajbhasha department must be replaced forthwith with the department of Indian languages. I have written extensively on language policy. I am attaching my list of publications herewith. Your proposed policies are not in the interests of a strong and united India. All Indian states must teach the language of the state and English as primary languages. In addition, the learning of another Indian language is also welcome. As a matter of fact, Indians must be encouraged to learn other Indian languages to communicate with other Indians such most Indians may not want to use English all the time. The latter is somewhat elitist, and can play only some roles in society. We have no other options here, this is only a Hobson’s choice. I am copying this letter to other government department and to some international agencies as well.

Best and kind regards,

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Founder-Director,

Institute for the study of the globalisation of science

 

 

 

To Various political parties and governments in India: On the urgent need to revamp pedagogy and education in India

 

Institute for the Study of the Globalisation of Science

(Registered as ‘Globalisation of Science Trust’)                       Founder-Trustee: Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Email: isgosglobal@gmail.comTel:  (0091) 8096946728, 9741004269

 

To Various political parties and governments in India

On the urgent need to revamp pedagogy and education in India

Dear Sir,

Greetings! I  hope this mail finds you in the best of health and spirits. This is to draw your attention on the need to upgrade educational systems in India. As you are probably aware, education is the lifeblood of a nation, and a symbol of economic, cultural and intellectual progress. This must become the basis of further economic progress of the nation. There is an urgent need to revamp and overhaul our education systems to bring them in line and in tune with latest pedagogical research. In this connection, I have published a large number of publications on education and pedagogy. Please find my list of publications attached. These are downloadable from the internet. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. 

Best and kind regards,

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Founder-Director,

Institute for the study of the globalisation of science

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mail to the various political parties and central government departments on population management

 

Institute for the Study of the Globalisation of Science

(Registered as ‘Globalisation of Science Trust’)                       Founder-Trustee: Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Email: isgosglobal@gmail.comTel:  (0091) 8096946728, 9741004269

 

To the various political parties and central government departments on population management

Dear Sir,

Greetings of the day! I hope this letter finds you in  the best of health and spirits. You might be aware about me and my publications. In case you are not,  please find my profile attached with a complete list of publications. It is with great alarm and concern that I have noted the recent right-leaning and pronatalist tendencies regarding affairs pertaining to population matters. This may be in due to large part because birth rates are extremely low elsewhere, but in India birth rates are a respectable and decent 1.9 to 2.0 children per woman (Total fertility rates). There is also a myth of perfectly sustainable development as I have discussed several times, and there are many ways to deal with low fertility rates as I have discussed in depth in my publications and papers. It is also the quality of human resources that counts, and the government must make it a point to improve the quality of human resources for which I have made many recommendations. I have also spoken about an ideal total fertility rate of between 1.3 to 1.7 children per woman, as this will give society enough time to adjust to changing circumstances and scenarios. Even if birth rates fall lower than this, there may be very little we may be able to do other than to adopt altered population management strategies. Many, if not most nations with low fertility rates are doing very well economically while many countries with high birth rates are floundering such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. We need to take into account and consideration the long-term survival of the human species too. This is extremely important, and must take precedence over everything else in the real world. Please find a list of my publications below:

My book:

Sujay Rao Mandavilli (2024)  [Book] Sound population management ad infinitum: How relatively low fertility rates can lead to an “Evergreen demographic boon” Google Books 2024:  November

My research publications:

Sujay Rao Mandavilli (2025)  Population management and the environment: Why we need population management strategies to be much better integrated with environmental movements SSRN 2025:  January

Sujay Rao Mandavilli (2025)  Dismantling the population composition fallacy: Why we need to treat low fertility as the new normal and work on improving education systems instead SSRN 2025

Sujay Rao Mandavilli (2024)  Capitalizing on the many benefits of low birth rates: Why we need a “Low populations for the environment” movement and a “High quality human resource” movement SSRN 2024:  December

Warm regards,