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The similarities and contacts between early Soviet Indologists and Indian Dalit intellectuals, as regards the critique of Indo-European philology is explored. Attention focuses on A.P. Barannikov's works of the 1930s and 1940s in which colonial philology is presented as the result of collaboration between colonial and indigenous Brahman intellectuals, which challenges the common conception of such philology as a European imposition in postcolonial studies today. The eclipse of Barannikov's work in Soviet Indology when, during the Cold War, support for a unitary Indian nationalism was promoted in opposition to Western colonial narratives, is also considered. Consideration of Barannikov's work in the light of Dalit studies today shows its renewed relevance, and points to ways in which the limitations of some of the rigid dichotomies of Postcolonial Studies can be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since life began on Earth, the human being has been on an incessant journey, seeking unexplored oases and unchartered realms both inside and outside. A glance through our myths, legends and history unravel a plethora of such cruises to possess the hitherto 'unpossessed.' Ayyappa Paniker, who is widely acclaimed for launching a new poetic sensibility in Malayalam, unveils the search for life, love, roots, tradition and meaning in the poems that he wrote. This quest again forms the crux of one of his best poems, 'Gotrayanam' translated into English as 'Southbound'. It recounts a tribal leader's exhortation to his people as they set out on a journey which is reminiscent of the historical Aryan movement towards the south of India. It is the tale of a collective voyage which transcends the mere physical dimensions of the journey to encompass the tribe's discovery of their own selves. Reading through the poem, we find that the 'gothram' is no more the Aryan race, but the whole ofhumanity. This paper seeks to traverse their path once again and examine how the journey unveils the process of the human being's maturing into life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a conference held by the Department of Indo-European Studies of the University of Budapest on Indo-European philology entitled "Letting the Texts Speak: The Importance of Textual Studies in Contemporary Indology." Speakers at the conference included Indian cabinet minister H.E. Anand Sharma, Humanities professor Dr. Tamás Dezsö, and Indian Council for Cultural Relations director Sangeeta Bahadur Mann.

The last paragraph (lines 88-92) of Col. IV of the Old Persian version of the Bisotun inscription is one of the most difficult passages in this great inscription. In it, Darius points to the addition of an 'Aryan' (i.e. Old Persian) version to the two previous (i.e. the Elamite and Babylonian) versions of the inscription. There is no firm basis for the prevailing opinion that 'Aryan' refers to the Old Persian cuneiform script, and thus concluding that this script did not exist before the Bisotun inscription. Darius also announces that the text of the inscription was copied on clay tablets and on parchment and circulated throughout his empire, adding that two items were added to the copies of the inscription. Darius's tomb inscriptions (DNa and DNb) reveal his emphasis on his genealogy, and on his virtues, skills and abilities. These are the two items which were added to the copies of the Bisotun inscription and circulated to all the provinces of the Achaemenid Empire. The old Persian words used to refer to 'genealogy' and 'personality' in this part of the inscription should be read as nāmanāfa- and uvādā- respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Indo-European background of Hinduism. Based on the theories of philosopher Georges Dumézil, the author suggests that cultural factors influenced the origin of Indo-European languages and notes various similarities between the Indo-European and Indo-Iranian traditions. The author departs from Dumézil, arguing that the Mahabharata texts did not originate in India and noting the similarities between them and Greek epics.

Researchers interested in the history of the Indo-European family of languages have used a variety of methods to estimate the phylogeny of the family, and have obtained widely differing results. In this paper we explore the reconstructions of the Indo-European phylogeny obtained by using the major phylogeny estimation procedures on an existing database of 336 characters (including lexical, phonological, and morphological characters) for 24 Indo-European languages. Our study finds that the different methods agree in part, but that there are also several striking differences. We discuss the reasons for these differences, and make proposals with respect to phylogenetic reconstruction in historical linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of an attempt to recover the first-order subgrouping of the Indo-European family using a new computational method devised by the authors and based on a 'perfect phylogeny' algorithm. The methodology is also briefly described, and points of theory and methodology are addressed in connection with the experiment whose results are here reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dumézil regarded the insistence on etymological equations as a blockage in consideration of the Indo-European ideology, whereas the occurrence of a comparative grammar and a common religious nomenclature necessitated the advantage of genetic comparisons over comparisons excluding the notions of organic contiguity. He considered it self-evident that societies sharing a political, juridical, ethical, and religious vocabulary likewise share a coherent system of thought, and that this system may be sought beyond the manifestations of signs. This presupposition led Dumézil to compare sets of ideas, circumscribed by their inherent systematic constancy, yet dissolved in an irreversible cluster of formal variability.

Looks at the elements of Indo-European inheritance in the literature of `Odyssey' particularly on Penelope and her remarriage and its relation to Odysseus' return. Discussion on genetic linguistic comparison; Examination on some aspects of the Mahabharata; Legal status of Penelope and the women in India; Indic ritual for the consecration of the king.