Dr. Kalyanaramanji's who authored
an article on India forum on this subject notes:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Reclaiming bharatiya studies
http://www.india-forum.com/articles/105/1/ In this article on vernaculars and sanskrit written in March 2006, I commented on the distortions indulged in by Sheldon Pollock and Robert (also Sally Sutherland) Goldman denigrating the contributions of sanskrit language and literature to bharatiya society and samskriti. I had endorsed Rajiv Malhotra's observations that " The Western Sanskritist, he says, feels this most acutely, given that Sanskrit was the principal discursive instrument of domination in premodern India. Thus Pollock deftly turns Said's attack on imperialism into nonsense by insisting that the subjugated Indians are themselves imperialists, as much as the conquering Europeans. In Pollock's view, the trend continues today, and sanskrit is being continuously reappropriated by many of the most reactionary and communalist sectors of the population (Pollock 1993: 116). " The distortions indulged in by Michael Witzel are well documented at
http://www.vigilonline.com/downloads/Dos...Witzel.pdf
Now some are lamenting (see Annex) the closure of sanskrit (and indian philology) studies in Cambridge and Berlin universities. The closure of the sanskrit (aha, southasian studies) at Harvard u cannot be far behind.
Is this a good thing or bad? Methinks, these are good auguries, good developments nailing the last nail on the coffin of a mythical discipline called 'indology' closely following a non-falsifiable discipline called indo-european linguistics (IEL).
The indologists are themselves to blame for landing themselves in this state of lament, given as they are to insulting bharatiya traditions, ethos and civilization at every turn, every opportunity.
Methinks, the vacuum created by the epitaph being sung on indology should result in a new upsurge of bharatiya studies based on bharatiya ethos and traditions. A wealth of literature and epigraphs exist; a wealth of tradition is enshrined in magnificent sculptures, art treasures, music and dance forms all over bharatam ââ¬â a cultural domain which extended from Takshas'ila into Nagara Vatika (Angkor Wat) and beyond into Japan in a Sanatana dhamma ââ¬â esha dhammo sanantano continuum.
It is time to reclaim bharatiya studies from the relics called indologists and create a new fervor among the youth of the youngest nation of the world and instill in them a sense of pride in their millennial, civilizational heritage.Â
The time is now, to unshackle ourselves from the siege started by indologists and vaingloriously pursued by pseudo-secular groups. A beginning has been made. See notes and documentation at
http://sarasvati95.googlepages.com The rotten, motivated account of ancient socio-cultural history written by indologist-marxist combine has to be replaced by Itihaasa Bharati, an account of the contributions made by jaati, janajaati to bharatiya ethos, traditions, samskriti.
As a first step, the 'aryan hoax' of a marble statue depicting William Jones (Supreme Court judge of East India Company) wearing a skull-cap should be removed from the chapel at Oxford College. (See picture, thanks to Rajiv Malhotra, at
http://rajivmalhotra.sulekha.com/content...mally2.jpg ) He was NO law-giver of Bharatam. He knew little about dharmas'aastra-s. Bharatiya rishi-s and ancestors are the law-givers, the dharmaatma of Bharatam.
Kalyanaraman December 10, 2006
<b>Annex</b>
Two messages of Indo-eurasian_research yahoogroup have been forwarded to me.
This is to inform, that not ony at Cambridge but also at Berlin there will be no in-depth Sanskrit Studies any more in near future.
Since 1821 Sanskrit has been taught at a Berlin university by such well kown scholars as Bopp, Weber, Pischel, Lüders et.al.
http://web.fu-berlin.de/indologie/geschi...allg1.html
Now as a result of structural policy of the two major Berlin universities on the one hand and the over all BA/MA reforms on the other there will be no more students after 2008 of Sanskrit in a BA-course. As a consequence traditional Indology will seize to exist at Berlin.
http://web.fu-berlin.de/indologie/Zukunft.htm
There is no consolation in the fact, that the teaching of Indian Art-History will survive for the time being as a subject under the roof of General Art-History and Modern Indian History will still be taught at Humboldt-University. Sanskrit and the other historical Indian Languages and the bulk of literature and informations transmitted through them will remain closed to all students of that fields.
To indologists this measures are obvious as short sighted and ridiculous in the light of the importance of Sanskrit and its derivates for the development and spread of all cultures in India, Central- and South-East-Asia.
It is deplorable that the many years fight of a scholar of great international
reputation as Harry Falk for the survival of his field at one of the two Berlin
universities seems to have been in vain.
Caren Dreyer
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indo-Eurasia...ch/message/5590 5 December 2006
To continue our discussion of the abolition of Sanskrit at Cambridge and Berlin:
After reunification there were about 20 institutes for Indology in Germany -- I leave aside here Austria and the German speaking part of Switzerland: Bern, Zurich, Vienna, Graz. In Germany, this number has his has now been whittled down to some 15.
The obvious reason is, as we will see below: just money.
To begin, it must be underlined that universities in Europe usually are government funded: by the central Govt. in Britain, France, Holland, and by the various federal states in Germany. (The few new, fledgling private Universities have not taken off yet.)
Berlin Indology, after reunification, was the largest in all of Germany, with 2 institutes at its 2 universities: the old Humboldt U. (heavily Marxified between 1945-1990) and the post '45 Free University in W. Berlin . In the Indology listings of 1996 I count some 30 Professors, lecturers (etc.). How many of them, and which institutions, will have survived, we will be able to see in the new version, due early next yearââ¬Â¦ In addition to this accumulation of specialists, we have the magnificent Museum of Indian Art (re)built in 1968, the extremely well stocked Oriental Division of the former Prussian State (Royal) Library, the Catalogue Project of Indian MSS, and the Academy.
However, the Berlin case is just the last instance of a general disastrous trend of diminishing resources (see next message). At Berlin, the situation has been dire for 15 years. W. Berlin always was a heavily subsidized island inside E. Germany. After reunification, the
new federal state of Berlin has been and still is in great financial trouble. (Recently they have even dissolved their symphony orchestra, if memory serves right).
Therefore, the Berlin authorities decided to pool the resources of the two Indology departments at Berlin. Humboldt University should have got Indian Philology (that has been cut out now at Freie Universitaet). But Humboldt wants to concentrate on modern India (true to their, now generally abandoned, 45 years of Marxist interest just in modern nations). While Indian Philology was cut at Free U., Indian Art will move, next Wednesday, to the general Arts Dept.
It is a Catch 22 situation: Free U. does not want Indian Philology, nor does Humboldt who wants to be 'modern' and have room for new "Profs. Of excellence" (another American fad that has invaded Europe and Japan and wrecks havoc everywhere now).
The net result is the loss we now deplore. It is a more than small scandal that the second oldest chair in Indian Studies in Germany has fallen prey to cutbacks and the parochial interests of those directly involved: all levels of administration at Free U. do not want Indian Philology.
(I do not need to stress here why we need the study of older India if we want to understand modern society etc. Colonial and post-'47 history, as championed in many places worldwide now, does not cut it.)
Therefore, as some have already expressed, it could only be private donors that should step up to the plate now. Unfortunately, the culture of giving for cultural institutions is not very much developed in Germany (and Europe in general).The motto rather is: "We pay a lot of taxes" ââ¬â-I paid some 60% in Hollandââ¬â"so the state has to take care of our universities, museums, orchestras, etc."
Unfortunately the state (Berlin) is bankrupt...
As in Germany matters of culture always are the prerogative of the individual federal states, one might hope that the situation could be reversed in some years, and that it would suffice, for the moment, to keep a minimum of staff in place or some activities running. However, Berlin is so run down and still has to carry so much restoration of things neglected during communist era that this hope is premature.
We should deliberate here what could be done practically, and of course, also point out, to the authorities (not much hope, see above), so rather, accuse, wherever possible: what has been carried out here, is a *cultural* misdeed.
Can you imagine Germany's capital and largest city to be without the study of India, just when India is emerging globally?
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