Michael Witzel

Michael Witzel ( born 1943 in Schwiebus ) is a German Indologist. He has taught since 1986 as Professor of Wales Sanskrit at Harvard University (USA). Witzel is editor of the Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies and the Harvard Oriental Series.

Life

Witzel studied Indology in Germany, inter alia, Paul Thieme and Karl Hoffmann, later in Nepal Mimamsaka Jununath Pandit. He conducted research projects in Kathmandu and taught since 1972 in Tübingen and sufferings Sanskrit and since 1986 at Harvard University. In the meantime, he worked as a visiting lecturer in Kyoto, Paris and Tokyo.

Research

Witzel early philological work deals especially with ancient Vedic texts on which he produced editions and translations. Together with Toshifumi Goto he also undertook a new transfer of the Rig Veda, the first part was published (1st and 2nd Circle of Songs ) in 2007 in the newly formed publisher of world religions.

In his studies he examined various Vedic Texts and their significance for the spread of Vedic culture in northern India and dealt with Vedic dialects.

Among other research topics to Witzel concentrated since 1987 increasingly on the ancient Indian history and studies produced partly in collaboration with archaeologists from Harvard University. There was also a thorough exploration of the linguistic aspect of the ancient Indian history, where he abhandelte in several articles vorvedische languages ​​and the extracted loanwords them.

Debate on the Indo-Aryan migration

Witzel wrote articles on the issue of Indo-Aryan migration and leaned decidedly out-of -India Theory of Shrikant G. Talageri, Koenraad Elst and others from. In " Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts" ( Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 2001) he went into detail on the theses of the proponents of a model of the original homeland of the Aryans in India and had it back on the basis of philological arguments.

In 2002 /03 received by the Indologists Nicholas Kazanas first time a representative of the indigenous theory, the opportunity to put forward his ideas in the Journal of Indo- European Studies. It was exceptionally waived a peer-reviewed. The publisher James Patrick Mallory gave as a reason that, given the highly emotional debate would be ready not a mainstream indologist to take on this task with neutral and unbiased perspective. He therefore decided to reprint the article, however, accompanied by nine critical responses from reviewers, what was allowed Kazanas respond again. Witzel 2003, however, criticized this publication and threw the publisher before, the Indian nationalists could in future rely on and they claim as their great prestige gain.

California textbook controversy

In 2005, Witzel turned into a debate about some changes in California textbooks one which American Hindus had proposed to the origins of ancient Indian history more in their favor than - represent sections of the Indian population - according to their own understanding. Witzel, who received support from academic Indologists, was appointed head of a group of experts who critically reviewed the proposed changes and in the end brought about a compromise. Witzel saw in their originally intended corrections a plan by Hindu nationalists who followed the project, the history of India for political and ideological reasons to rewrite.