On the Gore and Glory of Western Indology
V. V. Raman
Rochester Institute of Technology
The field of inquiry and commentary which has come to be known as
Indology had its origins, like Sinology, Egyptology, and other such
disciplines, in the exploratory, intrusive, and scholarly interests of
European colonialism, missionary zeal, and Enlightenment. Many centuries
earlier, Islamic expansionism had shown a similar enthusiasm for
understanding, interpreting, translating, and critiquing the literature,
philosophy, and traditions of other peoples.
Aside from genuine intellectual curiosity, there were at least two
other motivations for the Western pursuit of Indology. One was the need
to have a clear understanding of the history and culture of the people
the colonialists wanted to (had to) govern. The other was to use that
knowledge to persuade Hindus that theirs was a religion which, with all
its inner light, needed to be replaced by a better religion, namely,
Christianity. This is why not only independent scholars, but also
government-affiliated thinkers and missionaries took interest in
Indology.
For almost two centuries, as a result of the efforts of Western
scholars, with ever increasing collaboration with Hindu academics and
religious thinkers, Indology has been flourishing and evolving. Thanks
to the untiring dedication of such people, much of ancient Hindu history
has been reconstructed. Thanks to a number of Western archaeologists the
even more ancient Indic civilizations were unearthed. The rich treasures
of Sanskrit as well as Tamil and other vernacular literatures have been
translated, commented upon, and propagated to the world by the exertions
of Western scholars and linguists. Herein lies the glory of Western
Indological scholarship.
However, the colonizing and Christianizing motivations of early
Indologists are, in retrospect, offensive to Neo-Hindus today. More
regrettably, in the view of some, many Indian minds have been
transformed to the Western mode of thinking and analyzing historical and
spiritual matters. This is drastically different from traditional modes.
As a result, a deep chasm has arisen not only between English-educated
Indian scholars who think like their Western colleagues and their
non-English speaking compatriots whose approach to religion and
tradition are untouched by modern ways, but also between an awakened
body of modern Indians who have recognized the self-serving Euro-centric
interpretations, unintentional mis-portrayals, and intentional
distortions of India's rich culture, ancient traditions, and complex
religions. All this is the gore of Western Indological scholarship.
The happy collaboration between Western and Indian scholars has thus
been subject to some serious assaults. A number of post-modern Hindu
thinkers have been seeing in much of Indology, past and present, many
culture-insensitive and racially motivated factors with more hidden
agenda than had been surmised thus far. A new movement has already taken
its initial steps whose goal is to expose, condemn, and keep away what
is considered to be cold-blooded scholarship with a hidden-agenda with
little reverence or sensitivity for the living religion that is
Hinduism. In this new vision, which incidentally, has a number of
Western scholars among its protagonists, a great many supposedly
sympathetic Indologists are, in fact, wolves in sheep's skin.
We live in an age of diversity and pluralism which call for
appreciation of and respect for all cultures of the human family. And it
also sets lines which one is not supposed to cross with disrespectful
pronouncements on the cultures of other peoples. What this means is that
(non-Hindu) Western scholars need to be more sensitive in their writings
and interpretations on the Hindu world, they should strive to understand
at a deeper level how practicing Hindus may feel upon reading their
writings.
In this context, it is good to remember that similar circumstances
arose (and are still present) within the matrix of Western culture which
is, as of now, largely Judeo-Christian. Many scholars in the West have
written (and continue to write) cold-bloodedly, unsympathetically,
critically, even disrespectfully and disparagingly, on aspects of
Christianity and Judaism, incurring similar displeasure and protests.
The opponents to such legitimate protests point out that putting
restrictions on the freedom to express one's thoughts and views on any
subject is contrary to one of the tenets of enlightened discourse.
Be that as it may, as a result of all that is happening in the
context of these not-always calm debates, one of two things will most
probably come to pass. If the acrimony continues with increasing
intensity, it is possible that in the decades to come, interest in
Indology will gradually diminish in the West. This would be one
unfortunate outcome. Or again, after all the historical anger and
missionary zeal calm down, after India asserts herself as an equal
partner with the West in the fields of science, technology, as also in
military and economic strength, that is to say, after the West ceases
to be hegemonic in the global arena, then perhaps Indian Indologists
will again join hands again with their Western colleagues to explore and
enrich further the fruitful and fascinating field of Indic culture and
civilization.
I hope and pray for the the latter to come about. As of now it
appears as if many Neo-Hindus will be quite happy either way.
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