CCR has engaged Indian civilization both directly and through comparative cases. The 2014 review of Charles Trautmann’s India: Brief History of A Civilization in v71 by John Grayzel, and Joseph Drew’s review of Michel Danino’s The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati (Penguin Random House India, 2010) in v85, are the most direct engagements. Danino’s book, an extended search for the Vedic Sarasvati river, contributes to the debate about the relationship between the Harappan/Indus-Sarasvati civilization and the later Vedic civilization.

Joseph Drew’s editor’s note in v66, “Southeast Asian Identities: The Case of Cambodia” continues into Indian territory: “Hinduism, as we know, developed as early as Mohenjo-Daro and the Harappan culture. We believe that Shiva, followed by Agni, Indra and Varuna, may have been worshipped as far back as 2500 B.C.” and “the Indo-European Aryans took control of the subcontinent, suppressing the Dravidians, who had a superior culture.” Drew’s treatment of Buddhism as “a revolt, a breakthrough, against the priests and the rituals which the Hindu culture had developed” connects to Weber’s treatment of Theravada Buddhism as a sect-conversion and Mahayana Buddhism as a church-conversion.

In v92, “The Migratory Routes of the Ancient Indo-Europeans” is included as part of the epilogue to a comparative-civilization textbook, linking Indian civilization to the broader Indo-European world.

Source summaries:

  • v66 (Spring 2012) — Drew’s editor’s note on Ben Gurion’s study of Buddhism and Judaism sets up the Indian and Jewish parallels. (v66)
  • v71 (Fall 2014) — John Grayzel reviews Charles Trautmann’s India: Brief History of A Civilization. (v71)
  • v85 (Fall 2021) — Joseph Drew reviews Michel Danino’s The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati. (v85)
  • v92 (Spring 2025) — Epilogue on the migratory routes of the ancient Indo-Europeans. (v92)