ABSTRACT
A most natural route presents itself to social scientists seeking a better understanding of a non-Western culture such as India: turning to the specialists who have been studying that culture and its texts. In the domain of comparative political theory, for instance, it is argued that we should call on scholarship from Indology if we want a more accurate picture of Indian traditions of thought. This chapter takes this concern seriously and looks at the results yielded by this kind of move. Would a deep dive into Indology really improve the social-scientific understanding of Indian culture and society? The chapter examines the current state of Vedic studies and its speculations about ancient Indian society and its social organisation. The claims produced by specialists on the Rigveda and Vedic culture prove to be highly problematic. Using outdated and flawed notions such as those of ‘tribe’ and ‘homology’, they produce incoherent accounts of ‘Vedic society’ and ‘religion’. Hence, if social scientists truly intend to gain a better understanding of Indian culture, ancient or modern, drawing on Indological scholarship leaves them worse off in this case.
