9-15 January, 1994
Melbourne Australia

A tremendous success
THE IXTH WORLD SANSKRIT CONFERENCE

By Robert Goldman and Sally Sutherland 

It is a well known fact that conferences are perceived in a
different manner by the participants of it. IIASN-2 (p. 16)
carried a report of Dr M.S. Oort about the IXth World Sanskrit
Conference in Melbourne which was rather negative. Goldman and
Sutherland attended the same conference. They gained a totally
different impression from it.
From January 9th to January 15th, 1994 the International
Association of Sanskrit Studies, La Trobe University, Deakin
University, The Australia-India Council, the National Centre for
South Asian Studies, and the Indian Council for Cultural
Relations sponsored and organized the IXth World Sanskrit
Conference in Melbourne, Australia. The conference was a
tremendous success from the point of view of the scholars
attending. It provided an opportunity for scholars of Sanskrit
and related areas to meet and exchange ideas in a pleasant
environment conducive to stimulating, intellectual exchange. The
intellectual breadth of the conference can be evidenced from its
range of papers, submitted by some two-hundred and fifty scholars
from around the world. The scholarly expertise and range of
discourse of the scholars enabled the formation of nineteen
sections divided into fifty-one panels, ranging from traditional
grammar to modern theoretical readings of ancient texts. For
Sanskritists - who are often the sole representative of the field
in their college or university community - this was truly an
intellectual feast.

CONTEXTUALIZATION
Especially useful and crucial for the survival and renewal of the
field was the organizers' inclusion of panels that sought to
contextualize the traditional materials or Indological
scholarship within new and emerging theoretical and
methodological trends in literary, historical, anthropological,
and cultural studies. Particularly important in this regard were
the panels on 'Contemporary Indology and Cultural Analysis,' and
'Pandita Tradition and Western Epistemes in Indology.' The papers
presented at these panels by us (Goldman and Sutherland) and
Australian scholars such as Bailey and Bilimoria made, we feel,
considerable progress in furthering efforts to intellectually
revitalize the field of Sanskrit Studies by addressing the sorts
of problems being grappled within allied branches of humanistic
scholarship.

THE DIFFERENT NEEDS OF SCHOLARS
The in-country organizers, Professors Greg Bailey and Purushottam
Bilimoria, must be commended for their insight, organization, and
planning. A conference such as this is exceedingly difficult to
organize since the diverse population of academics it attracts
has dramatically different needs and concerns. Professors Bailey
and Bilimoria were sensitive to these problems and did an
excellent job in accommodating the varying dietary, housing, and
intellectual needs of the participants.
Support for the conference on the Australian side was impressive.
The contributions of the local academic institutions and the
participation of scholars from many Australian institutions was
most gratifying. Particular thanks are due to the faculty and
administration of La Trobe and Deakin Universities as well as the
staff of the National Centre for South Asian Studies (Melbourne)
and a group of ardent student helpers. Also impressive was the
active participation and support on the part of the
representatives of the Government of India and the community of
Australians of Indian origin. Noteworthy here was the support of
India's High Commissioner of India, The Honourable A.M. Khaleeli,
the proprietors of Johnston Opals, the Australia-India Council
and the many Indian families who graciously accommodated
delegates from India. Their gracious hospitality and the
wonderful entertainment, including classical dance and music
performance, they provided was greatly appreciated and turned
this outstanding scholarly conference into a truly memorable
event.