New directions in Indic studies is an important and timely topic. I am pleased to see this discussion move forward with a cohort of Indian and Western academics. However, I want to point out two things. 

First, the gender makeup of this conference is concerning. Of thirteen speakers, only two are women. I implore you all in the future to take note of such demographics and work to form panels with a more equal gender representation. 

Second, I am saddened to see that Professor Sunaina Singh, vice chancellor of Nalanda University is included in the list of inaugural speakers. As some of you know, my own experience at Nalanda University under Professor Singh's leadership was mired in controversy. Not only did Professor Singh make her issues with my course public, she made comments about me to several journalists of a very personal (and false) nature that did not make it into print. She also blocked me from receiving my final month's salary for the work that I did at the university. In the year after I worked at Nalanda, an atmosphere of fear and censorship was reported in the press, with students feeling trapped, instances of physical abuse, and the mistreatment of foreign academic staff. https://scroll.in/article/854841/it-is-a-closed-place-why-students-are-leaving-nalanda-university

I hope that in its new directions, Indic studies can be a safe haven for scholars of all backgrounds to work together rather than one in which academics are lambasted in the press, threatened, and told that their ethnic background disqualifies them from teaching. 

Patricia Sauthoff