SV: Indologist writings on the Web like R. Eaton

[Lars Martin Fosse]

Venkatraman Iyer [venkatraman_iyer at HOTMAIL.COM] wrote:
> Have a qn./suggestion to Indologists:
> There are only about (perhaps) 200 or so serious researchers on
> pre-modern India in the West. Only, they and their affliated
> university libraries can afford the Indological academic publications.
> Given the rupee/dollar ratio, and poor funding of humanities and
> libraries in India, would it be possible to put more books written on
> Indian history, etc. on the web along the lines of Berkeley
> initiative? The readership market will grow exponentially as India
> gets wired to the web more and more. The latest critiques and theories
> will reach more pf Indian public, now they are given only hindutva
> publications of Rajararam, etc. and euhemeristic authors like Malti
> Shendge.
>
> I'd guess Indologists may not mind putting their books, articles on
> the web because most of their research is accomplished by funding from
> tax money. UC at Berkeley is showing a way to procure funds.
>
> Any thoughts?

This is a very important point which I too have tried to make on occasion.
Indians are often seriously handicapped when it comes to following up what
happens in Western Indology, simply because many Western publications (both
books and journals) are obscenely expensive. The result is a skewed debate
where Indians can be criticized for not being up-to-date, but where they
don't have the chance to be so in the first place.

I once suggested on this list that Indologists should make English their
"business language" (drop French and German etc. that are not always
mastered by Indians). Another way of getting around this problem, is to
insist upon the publication of journals and books on Indian matters in
India. In other words: drop the prestigious, but extremely expensive
Western publishers if you want to reach Indians in India as well as people
in the West.

But somehow, I don't think this will happen.

Lars Martin



Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
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