Difference between a scholar and a propagandist. A scholar studies a topic he speaks on comprehensively and includes all facts, including those contradicting his thesis. A propagandist cherry picks and vanishes when facts contradicting or diluting his thesis are put out.
Various propagandists currently associated with BJP-RSS ecosystem target various institutions of eminence.Anuj Dhar&Mission Netaji targets history of Subhas Babu &Netaji Research Bureau. With all its NRB has contributed much more than these charlatans. Next tweet
Netaji Research Bureau has for example completed twelve volumes of writings of Subhas Chandra Bose as Netaji Collected Works. A treasure trove to know the real Subhas Chandra Bose. It has also facilitated various scholarly research on Bose
American scholars like Leonard Gordon, Joyce Lebra authored some of the most scholarly works on Subhas Chandra Bose. Both have acknowledged Netaji Research Bureau for providing primary sources. Some of Lebra's works were seeded during seminars at NRB.
In contrast, Dhar and Mission Netaji have propagated some conspiracy theories on Subhas Chandra Bose and are actively engaged in disassociating him from his birth community he so loved. Some of Dhar's nonsense refuted here sringeribelur.wordpress.com/the-hindu-beng…
Another article refuting Dhar's nonsense sringeribelur.wordpress.com/the-organic-co… Simply put, if Dhar's conspiracy theories are right Subhas Chandra Bose himself would have to have been an utterly deluded fool.
Dhar and Mission Netaji rarely counters arguments refuting the absurdity of their claims & usually get abusive when pushed. Marks of a propagandist. Screen shots showing this behavior can be found in the above 2 articles.
Regdless of what he was earlier,Elst now is showing himself as just another propagandist of the BJP-RSS ecosystem. He hasn't written books in a while,his columns lately are collections of opinions sans substantiation- far cry 4m Goel's Tome on Hindu Temples-What happened to them?
Elst's tweets are far worse. None of those tweets cite any evidence. When presented counter evidence, he doesn't respond and just repeats his PoVs. Mark of propagandist yet again. To be fair, he isnt abusive unlike Dhar et al. So, the level is still higher.
Let's look at Elst's tweets on Ramakrishna Mission. He shows no cognizance of RKM's stated stances on why they applied to be called non Hindus. If he is unaware of those, it speaks very poorly of his research skills. When those shared, he doesn't respond in the same thread
Another damning evidence - Swami Narayan Sect had also applied to be called a non Hindu for a vile cause - to stop Dalits entry to their temples. When pointed the same, Elst skips the thread. He perhaps can't afford to name Swami Narayan in a negative context
Swami Narayan for one has shown abject sycophancy of RSS. For other its HQ is in the North West region of India - the region from where subsistence of some of the propagandists associated with BJP-RSS ecosystem comes.
Interestingly, Elst mentions only RKM & Lingayats for trying to get themselves declared non Hindus. RSS have not been able to own either of these, just yet. But, Swami Narayan Sect he would not dare name. A polite explanation for this selectivity is agenda.
The agenda driven attack on Ramakrishna Mission by Elst is remarkable given the enormous scholarly contributions of RKM in the field of Hinduism. It has compiled a lot of authoritative works on Hindu philosophy and theology - @maidros78 can help here
Now, it would be a severe injustice to compare Elst and Dhar in terms of scholarly output. Elst's books are enlightening unlike Dhar's conspiracy theories. That's also why this devolution of a scholar into propagandism is sad.
Notwithstanding, RKM's contribution to Hinduism through scholarship far outweighs its negatives, which there are. And far outweighs Elst's own contribution to Hinduism.
Lastly, it is unclear to me if net net Elst’s own contribution has been positive considering his propaganda denying that Bengal famine was a genocide and absolving the British of pushing India towards partition.
