Jan 16 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)
'You've heard of Kalidas but what about Keshavdas?'
Sheldon Pollock, a professor of South Asian studies at Columbia University and the library's general editor, talks to TOI...
Did you consider transliterating original scripts in Roman script to connect with younger readers with limited language skills?
Yes, we thought a lot about it. But kids need to learn their script. Three generations of Turkish children have lost access to their past because Ataturk moved the country to Roman script. Chinese thought about abandoning their script but didn't, and they haven't suffered for it.
Is there no Indian language community that is doing justice to its literary past?
No. In modern Bengal everyone knows Bankim and Tagore but who has read Bharat Chandra, the 18th century poet? How many Hindi readers know of 16th century Hindi poet Keshavdas? Who reads ancient Telugu texts? Sanskrit? All Indian languages are equally disadvantaged. This is true across the world but in India, the case is more extreme because the legacy is so rich and complex. In Italy I can throw money at Latin, but in India?
The last year saw some very acrimonious attacks on Sanskrit scholars of Hindu texts, books were banned, publishers arm twisted. As a scholar what is your reaction?
When Wendy Doniger was banned, I was in India and among those who organized petitions etc. But I get that there is a sense of humiliation, anger and resentment that is an aftermath of colonialism. This anger is real and needs to be acknowledged. How do we get together around the metaphorical table and acknowledge each other's claims? Not denounce, suppress or shoot but agree to disagree or find areas of disagreement. MCLI will try and provide that context for the discussion. These books don't set out to demonstrate India's diversity, they simply report it. If they don't like it now, well, maybe they will some years later.
But the books do come at a time when the debate over culture and history is heating up.
We want to build a library of India's greatest literature. Contexts will change, shapes will shift, and passions will moderate. People will read and think through their position.
Yes, we thought a lot about it. But kids need to learn their script. Three generations of Turkish children have lost access to their past because Ataturk moved the country to Roman script. Chinese thought about abandoning their script but didn't, and they haven't suffered for it.
Is there no Indian language community that is doing justice to its literary past?
No. In modern Bengal everyone knows Bankim and Tagore but who has read Bharat Chandra, the 18th century poet? How many Hindi readers know of 16th century Hindi poet Keshavdas? Who reads ancient Telugu texts? Sanskrit? All Indian languages are equally disadvantaged. This is true across the world but in India, the case is more extreme because the legacy is so rich and complex. In Italy I can throw money at Latin, but in India?
The last year saw some very acrimonious attacks on Sanskrit scholars of Hindu texts, books were banned, publishers arm twisted. As a scholar what is your reaction?
When Wendy Doniger was banned, I was in India and among those who organized petitions etc. But I get that there is a sense of humiliation, anger and resentment that is an aftermath of colonialism. This anger is real and needs to be acknowledged. How do we get together around the metaphorical table and acknowledge each other's claims? Not denounce, suppress or shoot but agree to disagree or find areas of disagreement. MCLI will try and provide that context for the discussion. These books don't set out to demonstrate India's diversity, they simply report it. If they don't like it now, well, maybe they will some years later.
But the books do come at a time when the debate over culture and history is heating up.
We want to build a library of India's greatest literature. Contexts will change, shapes will shift, and passions will moderate. People will read and think through their position.
