For me It does matter. Why the Indian way of keeping history as puranas and Ithihas not used to determine the existence of historical Indian figures, Why not the Indian dating system is used of time of Rajas/Rani ect;
Why don't we hear or see anything about..let say..Prithivi Raj, Veer Shivaji, Rani Laksham Bai, Rani Durgawati, Veer Savakar or any "Indian Nationalist", when it comes to Indian History.
Don't know about those people, as I've never heard of them.
However, the Puranas and Itahasas are not good for accurate history, since they contain things which are, to be honest, incorrect. The Vayu Purana, for example, actually contains a multiplication error. In addition, they have been interpolated several times. They have not been demonstrated to be accurate renditions of history any more than Biblical legends.
Most unfortunate, indeed.You are right, Any time a Indian claims to know his/her own history they are branded a nationalist, as if its such a bad thing. While any American can pride himself in the history of his country, even if it was built on the blood of the original inhabitants.
Me, I prefer to take pride in my heritage rather than my birthland. :clover:
I don't think such an assumption is as pervasive as it used to be.And the assumption that to become civilized, the stronger have to destroy the weak, the light (skinned) has to defeat the dark (skinned)
No, but such things can be studied.Undefined by who...the Europeans?
Well can anyone go to India and understand all the dialects and their link to Sanskrit without knowing a word of it?
Not really sure I understand.How would you know why the Tamil culture is so similar to Northern but the languages are different without being from south and north of India?
I don't know, because I'm not familiar with the culture of early 1700s Europe.Being a Christian in the early 1700, would you even consider Hinduism older and more advanced then Christianity.
I can see a problem right away. It's actually a logical fallacy to assume that something must be correct simply because it's traditional.Well its not a small task, but few things i can think of.
Recognising History as told by the people who know their own history as valid, this will be a good way to start.
Measurement of Time according to traditional methods.
Understanding variation in Language as written in ancient text and as according to tradition.
Understanding texts according to the proper traditional interpretations.