[INDOLOGY] A regressive face of Indology at the World Sanskrit Conference

[Roland Steiner]

Jürgen Hanneder asked me to forward his message to the list.

Best wishes,
Roland Steiner

* * *

Dear Colleagues,

in connection with recent discussions about the WSC it might be  
interesting to know that the
Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG) has recently withdrawn its  
institutional membership in
the IASS in protest. This followed amongst other things pronouncements  
by the president of the IASS
about a Svadeshi Indology. When the Indological section of DMG decided  
to ask for clarification
about this point and was not satisfied with the answer by the IASS we  
decided to withdraw.

The report from the WSC and the discussion on this list seem to  
indicate that it has become more
difficult to pursue purely academic studies in this heated  
environment, a fact that for newcomers
to the field and students can be a bit shocking. But we should not  
forget that there are also
academic institutions older than the IASS, not connected or answering  
to political institutions,
with international conferences that have so far remained without such  
disturbances.

With best wishes,
Jürgen Hanneder