SV: attack on Professor S. Bahulkar

[Madhav Deshpande]

I was in Pune when the attack on Bahulkar took place.  The scholars are the BORI protested in the local news papers about the attack and a Marathi historian tore up his own unpublished book on Shivaji in protest.  Bahulkar informed me that later Raj Thakare, the nephew of Bal Thakare came to Pune to apologise in person.  However, the latest incident at the BORI shows how dangerous the situation has become.  The BORI had made a public declaration that it has nothing to do with the anti-Shivaji remarks.  That was obviously not enough for the mob that came to destroy its holdings.

Madhav Deshpande

-----Original Message-----
From: Indology on behalf of Lars Martin Fosse
Sent: Mon 1/5/2004 3:25 PM
To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
Subject:      SV: attack on Professor S. Bahulkar
 
Harry Falk wrote:
>
> This incredible fashist incident would be easier to digest if
> some scholar from CASS or BORI would tell us that their
> alleged inactivity is a misunderstanding. Harry Falk
>

That might take more than usual courage. People who stand up to Hindutva
activists risk being beaten up severly and have their property smashed.
There is a limit to how courageous we should ask people to be when we're
sitting safe in Europe.

But the incident could perhaps relieve Western scholars of any bad
conscience they might harbour for Western acquisition of manuscripts.
When a country is in turmoil, the cultural heritage is always in grave
danger, as we have seen both in Afghanistan and in the former
Yugoslavia. Sometimes things are safer here than in their country of
origin.

Furthermore, the episode proves how important it is to photograph or
copy and distribute manuscript material as soon as possible. The
catastrophe at the Bhandarkar Research Institute could easily repeat
itself in several places. Manuscripts are threatened by a number of
hazards, not only vandalism. Let us hope that this episode teaches
greater caution and concern.

Best regards,

Lars Martin Fosse


From:
Dr.art. Lars Martin Fosse
Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
0674 Oslo - Norway
Phone: +47 22 32 12 19 Fax:  +47 850 21 250
Mobile phone: +47 90 91 91 45
E-mail: lmfosse at online.no
DO NOT OPEN UNEXPECTED ATTACHMENTS.
MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS BEING ABUSED BY
MALICIOUS OPERATORS.