By Dick Plukker
Answering questions is, of course, not the main activity of the
India Institute. When the Institute was founded in January 1989,
its activities were officially formulated as follows:
the objective of the India Institute is to contribute to an
accurate conceptualization and understanding of India, its people
and its culture in the Netherlands. Emphasis is laid on aspects
such as languages, philosophy, religions, art and history. In
order to realize its objective, the India Institute offers
courses and lectures, provides information and brings out
publications.
This wording shows a clear choice in favour of providing
schooling and information to the general public. There is a
preference for not working for a select group of insiders. The
India Institute has been transformed into an easily accessible
organization, open to everyone who is interested and motivated.
Fees are kept as low as possible and no entrance qualifications
are needed.
In January 1989, the India Institute set about its work on a very
modest scale. Just two language courses, 'Elementary Sanskrit'
and 'Elementary Hindi', and an introductory course called 'India:
the land and the people' were taught. These courses were fairly
well attended and the founders of the India Institute felt
encouraged to continue their rather precarious undertaking.
Now, in the year 1994-1995, the core of the India Institute's
programme consists of annually taught language courses (basic and
advanced) in Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu, and the survey courses
'India: the land and the people', 'Indian Philosophy' and 'Indian
Art'. In addition, the programme contains more specialized
courses (that change yearly), such as 'The Vedanta of Shankara',
'Panini' and 'Indian Art in Asia'. (Series of) lectures on
various subjects have been given: 'Man and Environment in India',
'Classical Music of India', 'The Vedic Pravargya Ritual'. The
first publications have appeared ('A Hindi Course', 'A Survey of
India', 'An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy'). Students vary
from postgraduate anthropologists preparing for fieldwork in
India to the Dutch partners of Indians planning a family trip to
India. The Institute maintains good contacts with many different
organizations, from the 'Landelijke India Werkgroep' (National
India Working Group, Utrecht), to the 'Landour Language School'
(Mussoorie), from The New Age Shop Himalaya (Amsterdam) to the
Institute for Modern Asian History (University of Amsterdam).
The foundation of the India Institute
In a number of articles in the previous issues of the IIAS
Newsletter there have been repeated references to how Indology,
among other academic disciplines, was severely hit by budget cuts
and staff reductions during the 1980s. For example, in June 1988
the Institute for South Asian Art and Archaeology and the
Department of Indian Languages at the University of Amsterdam
were abolished. The same issues of this Newsletter have likewise
reported at length on the revival of Asian Studies in the
Netherlands. The well-known report 'Baby Krishna', presented in
by the Committee Staal in 1990, marks the turning point. It is
no coincidence that the foundation of the India Institute took
place in 1989 between those dates. It was the staff and students
of the afore-mentioned Department of Indian Languages who called
the India Institute to life. They were convinced that the
cultural importance of India - judged either on its intrinsic
merits or inferred from the country's growing economic and
political importance - fully justified the establishment, outside
the university, of a facility where cultural expertise would be
easily available. Within the academic world the Committee Staal
formulated similar views in respect to the broader field of Asian
Studies. It succeeded in convincing the Netherlands Ministry of
Education and Sciences of the necessity of founding a centre for
research in and (inter-) national co-ordination of Asian
Studies.
Unfortunately, due to some oversight, 'Baby Krishna' failed to
mention the India Institute in its inventory of Asian Studies in
the Netherlands. The India Institute remained the private
initiative of a few enthusiastic Dutch Indologists (Drs. P.
Groeneweg, Dr. D.F. Plukker and Dr. J.A.F. Roodbergen). The
number of students and other persons interested which continues
to grow by the year has now amply proven its right to exist.
The future
The initiators of the India Institute are not short of plans and
ideas. One of the new activities will be a Hindi language trip
to India next October. There will be new publications, including
a Sanskrit course (in Dutch), to appear next year. There are
ambitions to widen the scope of activities, and an eye is being
kept out for suitable accommodation for them, but financial
resources are limited. As mentioned before, it is a matter of
principle to keep the level of fees as low as can be accounted
for economically. It is hoped that this idealistic position can
be maintained in the future.
For further information:
India Institute
P.O.B. 75861
1070 AW Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel. +31-20-6626662 or +31-20-6641223
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