Write letters of congratulations to Berlin's Institute for Indology and others who say NO to indology

[Guest guest]

HinduThought, kalyan97 <kalyan97 wrote:

 

This message posted on IER on 11 Dec. 2006, has been forwarded to

me. I

suggest that since the subject of study relates to Bharatam,

Bharatiya

should have a say in the matter.

 

How about an online petition congratulating Cambridge and the Berlin

school

authorities?

 

Apart from creating distortions and indulging in motivated

denigration, what

has indology contributed to unraveling the bharatiya traditions,

ethos and

civilizational inheritance?

 

I for one would congratulate Berlin's Institute of Indology for

planning to

close it down. Same goes for the closure of indolgy studies elsewhere

outside of Bharatam. Bharatiya studies should be studied of

bharatiya, for

bharatiya and NOT allowed to be kept unde seige by eurocentric

creationists.

Arya, ayya, leave us alone; we have had enough of the colonial loot

followed

by william jones type indologists wearing skull-caps. It is

reparation

settlement time.

 

Some moves are afoot to tap funds from wealthy NRIs. I hope NRIs

will see

through the pathetic plight of eurocentric creationists who are

themselves

to blame for the emergency situation they find themselves in.

Solution? Do

prayas'cittam. Penance on Alps or Colorado heights may help. Of

course, some

may prefer Nepal or even China. There is little prospect that

witzelites

will really care to instill a sense of pride in the children in

schools

studying Hindu civilization. The mess is too deep for tears.

 

kalyan

 

Fwd: [indo-Eurasia] Planned Closure of Berlin's Institute for

Indology

 

- ** witzel

*To:* Indo-Eurasian_research ; INDOLOGY ;

INDOLOGY ; indo_iranian ;

INDOLOGIE

*Cc:* witzel

*Sent:* 11 December 2006 Monday 19:27

*Subject:* [indo-Eurasia] Planned Closure of Berlin's Institute for

Indology

 

 

Dear List,

 

Yesterday I discussed the general background of the Berlin case on

the List,

but

there is much more to be said, which I will try to cover today or

tomorrow

(involving, for example, new B.A.and M.A. rules in Germany, which

besides

financial issues are big factors in the proposed closings.) Here is

what I

said

yesterday about the background:

 

Indo-Eurasian_research/message/5607

 

However, since time is of the essence, last night I wrote a detailed

letter

to

the Berlin authorities.

 

We have been told that it would be potentially helpful if other

researchers

involved either in Sanskrit, Indology, or other ancient fields that

directly

*or* indirectly depend on these fields could do the same. We have

set up a

special email address for letters addressed to the German officials

at:

 

berlinindology

 

Any letters sent to this address will be retransmitted to all the

appropriate

German officials, with a copy in each case to you. Your letters or

names

will

NOT be made public.

 

In my own letter (quite long, in German) I stressed some of the

following

points, which I give below in abbreviated English form. I provide

this as

only

a very crude model, since it gives some background information that

you

might

not have, that you are free to draw from in any way you want in your

own

message. The more personal your notes the better, of course, but you

can use

or

discard any of the materials in the model (you may also find data

that you

might

want to use in my post above) as you wish.

 

See also (in German):

<http://web.fu-berlin.de/indologie/geschichte/ph_allg1.html>

<http://web.fu-berlin.de/indologie/Zukunft.htm>

 

Official meetings are being held this week to further discuss the

proposed

closings, so the sooner your notes are written, the better.

 

With many thanks and best wishes,

Michael Witzel

 

---------------

 

 

To Whom It May Concern [we will add in the appropriate titles;

you'll be

cc'd

final copies]:

 

A few days ago I learned through international channels that there

were

plans

underway to abolish Indian studies in Berlin. I am writing to you

today to

ask

that Berlin's world famous Institute of Indology not be closed.

 

[You may of course want to add something briefly about your own

background

here.]

 

This request does not apply to modern South Asian Studies, which I

understand

are to be continued in some form, but to Classical Philology and

Indology.

 

Classical Indian philology, primarily referring to Sanskrit studies,

has

been a

mainstay at Berlin since 1821, and even during the communist period

after

World

War II, the discipline was continued at Humboldt University by

Professors

Ruben

and Morgenroth. Indology, which depends heavily on knowledge of

Sanskrit,

deals

broadly with native Indian world views, religion, the history of

science,

and

art as represented in Sanskrit texts and those of related ancient

languages.

It is impossible to understand modern Indian topics without first

mastering

Sanskrit, which lies at the heart of Indian culture.

 

Sanskrit, which was one of the official languages of India until

1835, is

essential for any understanding of the massive numbers of Indian

texts

produced

over the last three thousand years in fields including traditional

Indian

medicine (Ayurveda) and linguistics, which in its unique indigenous

forms

(via

Panini, etc.) continue to provide a major stimulus to modern

linguistic

studies.

 

Just as every other modern civilization, contemporary India can only

be

understood through study (via Sanskrit) of its foundational texts

and their

impact in the medieval and modern periods. Knowledge of such studies

is even

critical in the Indian political arena, due the unusual stress paid

to

ancient

history in modern Indian culture. In the national elections of 2004,

even

classical philologists were frequently drawn into the political

discourse

precisely for this reason.

 

For many reasons, even in modern studies of India, studies of

Sanskrit and

classical Indology play critical roles. Berlin has a proud tradition

of

studying Sanskrit that spans nearly 200 years, and many

internationally

famous

scholars have emerged from its Institute of Indology.

 

In the early 19th century, introduction of the study of ancient

India was

one of

the essential points in Humboldt's reform of German universities. It

is

critical

that this not be forgotten now that India is coming into its own as

a global

power and its economic and political importance is increasing.

 

It can finally be noted that the reputation of German Indology is

well-recognized in India. The long-standing interest of German

intellectuals

in

Indian civilization has made Indology one of Germany's best

ambassadors to

the

country. The closure of Berlin's prestigious Institutes for Indology

would

be

met with by disbelief both in India and in the global scholarly

community.

 

The preservation of the Institute is also important to help preserve

Berlin's

reputation as an international research center. Closure of Sanskrit

studies

in

Berlin would be especially short-sighted in light of the large

collections

of

Indian manuscripts in the Prussian State Library, in the Berlin-

Brandenburg

Academy, and in the rich holdings of Berlin's Museum of Indian Art.

Any such

closure would bring 200 years of a great tradition to an end.

 

I therefore appeal to you to preserve B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. level

courses in

Sanskrit and Indology. To do otherwise would tragically bring to an

end one

of

Germany's proudest historical institutions.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

X.Y.

 

(official position) (address) (email)

 

 

 

 

 

--

Dharma protects those who protect it

Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha

 

S. Kalyanaraman