What is Indology?
‘Indo’ means Indian, and ‘-logy’ is the suffix that forms the names of sciences or departments of study, as in zoology or mythology. Indology, then, is the study of Indians. But the study of a people is never sound without the study of its land and of the lands around it, because neighbouring influences always shape a people’s character and culture. Indology.org takes that wider view: a multidimensional study of India and Indians, past, present and future.
The site
Indology.org is the home of M. N. Behera’s Brownstudy on Heathenland and, over time, a library of four books and the research around them. The site is organised by subject as well as by book: six research areas gather the chapters, plates, essays and sources that belong to each. The Atlas holds the author’s own maps and diagrams. The Journal carries essays and news, and the Readers’ Circle is where readers write back.
The editor
The site is published by the author’s representative, who also wrote the book’s Foreword in 2003. Enquiries about the book, its editions and the reproduction of its plates go to the editor.
Editorial note
Indology.org presents the arguments of Brownstudy on Heathenland as its author made them in 2003. The chapter summaries on this site describe what each chapter asks and how the author answers; they do not argue his case, and the site’s editors do not endorse every conclusion. The author’s own Prefatory Note, printed on the book page, sets out the spirit in which the book was written. Readers who disagree are invited to write to the editor, and selected responses are published.