Ishan BhatnagarAIR 5 · CSE 2025 · 196 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
Indological approach was pioneered by Govind Sadashiv Ghurye. It sought to understand Indian society based on textual basis by using ancient texts like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Sees caste as "integrating factor" of bringing diverse communities into Brahmanical fold.
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to present times.
- Studies institutions like family, kinship, caste from texts
Sees caste as "integrating factor" of bringing diverse communities into Brahmanical fold.
limitations in understanding marginalized Communities
Brahmanical Bias | arising out of reading Brahmanical texts such as Vedas, Puranas etc. (Carol upadhyay)
Hindu Nationalist view | since it sees dominant Hindu culture as culture of all of India (T.K. Oommen)
This leads to "Otherization" of Islam -> limited applicability to studying religious minorities (Carol Upadhyay)
Focus on culture over economic base : for A.R. Desai this led Ghurye to 'ignore economic exploitation underlying social relations. This means that lower classes are not sufficiently accomodated.
Ignores Dalit Perspectives | Gail Omvedt argued that indology glorifies that Brahmanical view of society in Varna ashrama dharma, which does not deal with Dalit exploitation, experiences, & subculture.
Views tribals as "backward hindus" -> assimilative idea denies them a separate identity (Verrier Elwin)
No critical engagement with gender stereotyping
Close · a summary
Hence, Indological approach had serious limitations, leading to Dalit sociology, subaltern approach etc.