28 November - 2 December, 1994
Kovalam, Kerala
THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INDIA STUDIES (ISIS)

By Deepali Pal

From remote times, there have been numerous instances in which
India has been sought to be understood both by people from other
countries and by Indians themselves. Examples of this would be
the so-called classical accounts of India by European observers,
travellers, and students of different cultures and by the authors
of the Itihasas and Puranas, who may be said to have been
pioneers in achieving an understanding of India. This effort to
comprehend India still continues.

Not only in the classical period but also in medieval times,
scholars like Huang Tsang, Alberuni and a number of others
studied the subject. In modern times, the many writings and
speeches of Rabindranath Tagore on the mystery and reality of
India and Jawaharlal Nehru's "Discovery of India" represent two
major attempts to develop an integral view of history and
culture. In the colonial period there were three methodologies
which deserve mentioning:

(1) The Christian missionary
(2) The empire-builders and administrators from abroad
(3) The scholars attracted to and motivated by the civilization
and culture of India.

FRAGMENTATION AND GENERALIZATION
This effort has been carried out mainly in two principal ways
viz: the philological and the sociological. Of these two, the
first depends more on analysis and the minute study of fragments
and the second on wide, sweeping generalizations.

It may be said that most of the foreign as well as the Indian
scholars who have studied and written in English on India have
done so by adopting the approaches and methods which were
developed by the Westerners for the study of Greek and Roman
civilizations. The question may be raised whether approaches and
methods of this sort are adequate for understanding civilisations
as different as the Egyptian, the Indian, the Chinese, and the
Aztec. In understanding modern India or modern China, the
anthropological or sociological methods developed for the field
study of the Amerindians and the Pacific Islanders would hardly
be adequate. A multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-religious
country like India, from all accounts, appears to have had a
continuous civilization for over millennia. How can this be
grasped holistically?

BRIDGE BETWEEN INDOLOGY AND INDIA STUDIES
In several countries in the West, largely owing to the impetus
given by Max Muller, schools and scholars of Indology have
contributed substantially to the study of Indian scriptures,
languages, and ancient literature. When the Honourable Prime
Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao visited Germany, he came in contact
with several Indologists who shared his deep fascination and
lifetime interest in India. These scholars also mentioned that
they were a dwindling group and stressed the need for India to
take steps to sustain an interest in Indology and the study of
modern India.

The traditional scholarly fascination with studies on ancient
India perhaps contributes to the fact that scholarly interest in
contemporary India has tended to be restricted to a small group
- which is growing smaller - of "India experts". And yet the vast
and vibrant multi-cultural model that India represents, the
developments in every aspect of human endeavour and existence in
the second most populous country in the world, makes it
self-evident that the study of ancient India will continue to
attract interest. It is essential to build a bridge between the
classical and the contemporary, between "Indology" and "India
Studies".

A National Organizing Committee was constituted, the patron of
which is the Hon. Prime Minister, while the Chairman is Prof.
K.S. Murty, an eminent scholar. It was decided that India
scholars from around the world should meet and interact on
selected themes over a 5-day period in India.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is the
secretariat for the Symposium. This is appropriate, because one
of the principal objectives of the ICCR is to improve the manner
in which India is perceived and projected abroad. This symposium
will thus function as a major step in projecting a holistic view
of India.

This symposium is intended to (a) draw up a critical review of
the achievements and current work in studies relating to India
(ancient, classical, medieval and contemporary) in all their
aspects, (b) encourage the discovery of new dimensions of Indian
life and thought, and (c) attempt to suggest new directions for
such studies, so that they become more comprehensive,
multidisciplinary, and relevant for understanding the actualities
that constitute present-day India and for opening up a futuristic
vista of a practicable 'passage to more than it.'

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Indian Council for Cultural Relations
Azad Bhavan, Indraprastha Estate
New Delhi 110 002
India
Tel: +91-11-331 8471 / 331 8303