In a spirit of equanimity, I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the letter of Prof. Varakhedi (mentioned above) that has been critical of the content of the Forum itself. I am appreciative of the spirit of his remarks, and thank him for the critical feedback; however, as the one who had initially proposed the event, I would like to clarify that the basic aim of the forum (as I had proposed it) was not political, and certainly had no anti-Indian intent. I regret if it has been interpreted as such. On the contrary, the idea was to host a positive and inclusivist space at the WSC where we might listen to the personal stories of women, and especially one from a socially underprivileged background, who have courageously led professional careers in Sanskrit studies in the face of various challenges and stigmas in their lives. Such spaces are regularly organized at campuses and professional academic meetings across North America. Now this clearly did not succeed at the WSC, and I accept responsibility for this failure.
In saying this, however, I do not mean to excuse the disrespectful and aggressive behaviour that was exhibited on that evening by members of the audience. It is a basic assumption of a professional academic community that decorum, civility, and respect ought to be maintained at public events, and that all delegates, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, etc., should feel comfortable to articulate their opinions without fear of being bullied. The behaviour displayed at the WSC that night was a travesty, and it should not be tolerated. However, finding myself in a place of privilege and power in comparison to the women who were most impacted by what happened, I feel it necessary that I acknowledge and apologize for my own role in letting it happen.
c) Where Do We Go from Here?
I struggle to write these words, out of a fear that they may be insensitive or unhelpful to those who have been traumatized by what happened. For those of us who desire a more respectful, inclusive, and diverse professional society of international scholars engaged in the study of Sanskrit and premodern South Asia, this perhaps represents a challenge to be more mindful and self-reflective in how we conduct ourselves, how we organize events, how we write, how we speak to, and learn from, one another. For the IASS, this will be a moment to offer a more concrete policy outlining its expectations of scholarly decorum and to clarify its role within, and vision for, World Sanskrit Conferences in the future. As Dr. Vajpeyi asks us, it is a time to search our souls and see what we find. As we do so, it is my sincere hope that we can help each other find pathways that might lead us away from acrimony and blame, and towards spaces of trust, mutual respect, and amity—pathways that may allow us to navigate around those dark mountains that we struggle to move.