[INDOLOGY] Statement Regarding the Murty Classical Library of India

Tue Mar 5 19:35:04 UTC 2024

Dear Prof. Venkatesan and Indology List,

I wanted to thank Archana for informing the wider community about the
events surrounding the Murty Classical Library of India. I do hope we can
lend our voices to call for an investigation of by the Provost at Harvard
University into the dismissal of the editorial board. These scholars have
been tirelessly undertaking a great humanistic enterprise to bring the
richness of the South Asian classical tradition to a wider readership; such
work must be celebrated and cultivated. I do hope that Harvard, the
Provost, and Prof. Patil will offer some clarification about recent events
and the future of MCLI soon.

Sincerely,

Luther Obrock

Assistant Professor of Sanskrit
University of California, Berkeley

On Tue, Mar 5, 2024 at 8:03 AM Jesse Knutson via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Merci Lyne! mon inspiration est toujours de la langue française bien que
> ce soit écrit en anglais!
>
> On Tue, Mar 5, 2024 at 2:25 PM Lyne Bansat-Boudon <
> Lyne.Bansat-Boudon at ephe.psl.eu> wrote:
>
>> Dear Jesse,
>>
>> This is a very fine "Défense et Illustration", if not "de la langue
>> française" , at least of this incomparable Library.
>>
>> Thanks for this.
>>
>> Lyne
>>
>> Lyne Bansat-Boudon
>>
>> Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde
>>
>> Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses
>>
>> Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France
>> ------------------------------
>> *De :* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> de la part de
>> Jesse Knutson via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Envoyé :* mardi 5 mars 2024 14:16
>> *À :* Robert P. GOLDMAN <rpg at berkeley.edu>
>> *Cc :* Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Objet :* Re: [INDOLOGY] Statement Regarding the Murty Classical Library
>> of India
>>
>> I cannot fathom why this is happening, but I fear that I already know the
>> kinds of forces compromising academic integrity in this instance, since
>> they are likely the same ones at work in many other less spectacular ones.
>> Leaving speculation aside for now, I’ll just say that MCLI has been to my
>> mind one of the most exciting and uplifting initiatives in our field. The
>> way it has weathered previous attacks with solemn dignity has also been a
>> model and inspiration. MCLI is exactly the kind of thing I yearned for when
>> I first started getting interested in Sanskrit as a tender youth, and it
>> really stands to change the world as I see it. I can also say from
>> firsthand experience that each of our colleagues who has been fired from
>> their position is a scholar and editor of the highest possible order. Their
>> dismissal is an act of such insanity that I wonder if anyone behind it
>> could even be fit to stand trial. In any case this is an indelible stain on
>> the reputation of MCLI and HUP.
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 4, 2024 at 7:58 PM Robert P. GOLDMAN via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> This is deeply disturbing although, alas, hardly surprising. It reflects,
>> no doubt ,political interference with this groundbreaking and outstanding
>> scholarly series. List members should add their voices to those of  the
>>  former members of the editorial board.
>>
>> Dr. R.P. Goldman
>> William and Catherine Magistretti Professor of Sanskrit Emeritus
>> and
>> Joint Editor of the South Asia Across the Disciplines  Publication Series
>> Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
>> Berkeley, CA 94720-2540
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 4, 2024, at 8:29 AM, Archana Venkatesan via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Respected Colleagues,
>>
>> With apologies for cross-posting, please see the attached communication
>> from the former editors of the Murty Classical Library of India.
>>
>> Archana
>>
>> --
>> *"When writers die they become books, which is, after all, not too bad an
>> incarnation."*  Jorge Luis Borges
>>
>> Archana Venkatesan
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://archana.faculty.ucdavis.edu/__;!!PvDODwlR4mBZyAb0!VgfNW29l13F9XyBjEt94VIJ9a8371sf67wcOStxwK7VmoIZj1n9oow9QuPXnNJ95juwrN0UuVpm8yceWS3u8JDPoQTXc$>
>>  (archana.faculty.ucdavis.edu
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://archana.faculty.ucdavis.edu/__;!!PvDODwlR4mBZyAb0!VgfNW29l13F9XyBjEt94VIJ9a8371sf67wcOStxwK7VmoIZj1n9oow9QuPXnNJ95juwrN0UuVpm8yceWS3u8JAURrzEc$>
>> )
>> Graduate Advisor, Graduate Program in the Study of Religion
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://religionsgrad.ucdavis.edu/__;!!PvDODwlR4mBZyAb0!VgfNW29l13F9XyBjEt94VIJ9a8371sf67wcOStxwK7VmoIZj1n9oow9QuPXnNJ95juwrN0UuVpm8yceWS3u8JObnZLoy$>
>> (2022-2024)
>> *Professor, Religious Studies and Comparative Literature*
>> Phone: 530-754-2821 (Office)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jesse Knutson PhD
>> Professor of Sanskrit Language and Literature
>> Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
>> University of Hawai'i, Mānoa
>> 461 Spalding
>>
>> E io ch’avea d’error la testa cinta,
>> dissi: «Maestro, che è quel ch’i’ odo?
>> e che gent’ è che par nel duol sì vinta?
>>
>> Ed elli a me: «Questo misero modo
>> tegnon l’anime triste di coloro
>> che visser sanza ’nfamia e sanza lodo.
>>
>> Mischiate sono a quel cattivo coro
>> de li angeli che non furon ribelli
>> né fur fedeli a Dio, ma per sé fuoro.
>>
>> Caccianli i ciel per non esser men belli,
>>
>> né lo profondo inferno li riceve,
>>
>>
>>                   ch’alcuna gloria i rei avrebber d’elli». (Inferno 3.31-39)
>>
>
>
> --
> Jesse Knutson PhD
> Professor of Sanskrit Language and Literature
> Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
> University of Hawai'i, Mānoa
> 461 Spalding
>
> E io ch’avea d’error la testa cinta,
> dissi: «Maestro, che è quel ch’i’ odo?
> e che gent’ è che par nel duol sì vinta?
>
> Ed elli a me: «Questo misero modo
> tegnon l’anime triste di coloro
> che visser sanza ’nfamia e sanza lodo.
>
> Mischiate sono a quel cattivo coro
> de li angeli che non furon ribelli
> né fur fedeli a Dio, ma per sé fuoro.
>
> Caccianli i ciel per non esser men belli,
>
> né lo profondo inferno li riceve,
>               ch’alcuna gloria i rei avrebber d’elli». (Inferno 3.31-39)
>
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>
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