[INDOLOGY] does anyone have any reliable information about this?

Mon Oct 6 20:00:03 UTC 2014

It sounds highly unlikely to me that the "original collection" of the Gilgit manuscripts is lost for ever. Moreover, the news reports also seem to create some confusion. The major part of this collection has been lying with the National Archives of India in New Delhi since 1947 and they do not seem to have any intention of returning the collection back to the Kashmir Government. Despite its unceasing efforts to get the Mss back in Srinagar the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has been unsuccessful. Here are some more news reports about this:

1. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2009/Jun/1/gilgit-manuscripts-theft-of-heritage-58.asp

2. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Jun/21/govt-receives-facsimile-edition-of-gilgit-manuscripts-57.asp

3. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2014/Apr/6/sunday-special-how-kashmir-lost-1400-year-old-gilgit-manuscripts-14.asp

The news of June 20, 2012 says that the National Archives in Delhi had forwarded a facsimile edition of the Mss to the State Government when the latter demanded the return of the original Mss. I suspect that this report is talking about the same edition that the National Archives had published in collaboration with Japan's Institue of Oriental Philosophy and the Soka Gokkai Institute. (See the inauguration video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh0hGxWanO8)

The report of April 5, 2014 says that the Valley Citizens Council had filed a case in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court demanding the collection back. The recent DNA news report (October 3, 2014) says, "Ironically, some of the parts of these documents placed at the Central Asian Studies Department of Kashmir University were returned to the Museum authorities just a week before the floods.” 

As far as I am aware, the collection was supposed to be a part of the Oriental Research Library of the Jammu and Kashmir Research Department. So if the collection was returned a 'week back before the floods’ it should have been returned back to the Research Department and not to the S.P. Museum. The Oriental Research Library of the Kashmir Government is located in a safe, fire and water proof building in the Allama Iqbal Library of the University of Kashmir. The Centre of Central Asian Studies in Kashmir University has no separate Mss library. Kashmir University campus was not affected by the floods either. As far as the damage to the small collection of Mss and artifacts in the S.P. Museum is concerned (to which the news reports are referring), that certainly is true. It is also worth mentioning here that all the Mss of this small collection are digitalized by the IGNCA along with the collection of the Oriental Research Library of the J & K Research Department. 

Unless the above statement ‘just a week before the floods’ really means that the J & K High Court had instructed the National Archives to return the Gilgit Mss back to the State, and the National Archives did return some parts of the “original” Gilgit Mss, then there might be some truth in the claims of the DNA news report. But this is highly unconvincing. Also, I am not sure if the concerned reporter or even the local administrative authorities are making a distinction between a facsimile and an original manuscript.

Several years back when I had observed a very rare and important Ms of the Īśvarapratyabhijñā-vivṛtti-vimarśinī (almost in 800 folios) being almost completely damaged because of the lack of conservation in the National Archives of Delhi, I had repeatedly requested Dr Kapila Vatsyayan to take steps to look after the Kashmir Manuscript collection (which consists of Gilgit Mss and other 213 Mss of the J&K State Research Department) in the National Archives. On my repeated requests Dr Vatsyayan had instructed the then director of the archives Mr Lov Verma to create a separate section for this collection taking into consideration the international importance of the Gilgit Mss. I did not follow its development. 

Best wishes.

Mrinal Kaul

************************
Mrinal Kaul
Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale"
Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo
Piazza S. Domenico Maggiore, (Piano 5)
12-80134, Napoli (Palazzo Corigliano)
ITALIA
*************************
Tel: +39-3472579917
https://unior.academia.edu/MrinalKaul
http://www.unior.it
e-mail: mrinal.kaul at stx.oxon.org 

On Oct 6, 2014, at 3:20 PM, Walter Slaje <slaje at kabelmail.de> wrote:

> Some more details,
> before:
> http://www.risingkashmir.com/sps-museum-stands-testimony-to-official-neglect/
> 
> and after:
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2014/Sep/25/flood-fury-hits-kashmir-s-treasure-trove-43.asp
> 
> Regards,
> WS
> 
> 
> -----------------------------
> Prof. Dr. Walter Slaje
> Hermann-Löns-Str. 1
> D-99425 Weimar
> Deutschland
> 
> Ego ex animi mei sententia spondeo ac polliceor
> studia humanitatis impigro labore culturum et provecturum
> non sordidi lucri causa nec ad vanam captandam gloriam,
> sed quo magis veritas propagetur et lux eius, qua salus
> humani generis continetur, clarius effulgeat.
> Vindobonae, die XXI. mensis Novembris MCMLXXXIII. 
> 
> 2014-10-06 14:59 GMT+02:00 John Huntington <john.darumadera at gmail.com>:
> This report does not contain specifics about the museum, but the situation is truly a disaster
> 
> https://www.authintmail.com/2014/kashmir/day-death-and-destruction-kashmir-162902
> 
> John 
> 
> 
> 
> John C. Huntington, Professor Emeritus
> Buddhist Art, Asian Numismatics, 
> Field and Object Art Photography
>  john.darumadera at gmail.com
> 
> 
> On Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 5:55 AM, Jonathan Silk <kauzeya at gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-dna-exclusive-kashmir-floods-damage-2000-year-old-buddhist-treasures-2023160
> 
> -- 
> J. Silk
> Leiden University
> Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS
> Matthias de Vrieshof 3, Room 0.05b
> 2311 BZ Leiden
> The Netherlands
> 
> copies of my publications may be found at
> http://www.buddhismandsocialjustice.com/silk_publications.html
> 
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