SV: attack on Professor S. Bahulkar

[Lars Martin Fosse]

Dear Jan,

> Europe is not, and, of course, was not, exempted
> from comparable deplorable developments....

This is certainly true, and that is why it is so frustrating that we
seem to have to go through this once more ... It's a bit like getting
measles for a second time in your old age.

Duara's article is interesting, but I believe he only touches on an
aspect of the problem. In a deeper sense, this is also very much about
religion, a sense of identity, a complex of inferiority (producing
overcompensation through exaggerated notions of former glory) and fear
of a shattered notional cosmos.

Traditional Asian and Middle Eastern ideas about the world are in
trouble when confronted with the cool, rational and irreverent attitude
of modern science and scholarship. (E.g.: Read Pervez Hoodbhoy's book on
Islam and science, and you will see how difficult it is to reconcile
Islam and science in a comfortable manner). Like Christians earlier,
many traditional Asians and Middle Easterners feel threatened by modern
knowledge, and they react in self-defense. This is not so strange, it is
to be expected. The problem is: what do we do about it? I have been
involved in several discussions about Western Indology and the
"negative" picture it allegedly paints of India - apparently Indologists
and journalists are put in the same drawer and the ones made to pay for
the sins of the others.

If we want to keep our independence, I am afraid that there's is little
we can do. Our job is to give a realistic, rational account of South
Asian matters that make sense to educated people in our own countries,
using the methods and approaches that are normally used in academic
life. But by doing so, we cannot avoid giving offense to many people in
Asia and the Middle East. I would really like to know if any of you see
a way out of this dilemma.

> it is
> all the more regretable that in Indological fora
> like the present one the active participation
> from Indian and India-based scholars is
> practically nil.

Yes, it is. But I am not sure that such participation would make much of
a difference as far as mutual understanding is concerned. I believe both
sides know very well how the other side thinks. What we have, is an
ideological war, and compromises are probably far between.

Best regards,

Lars Martin

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Dr.art. Lars Martin Fosse
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