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comprehensive policy of granting subsidies to the already existing privately organised Research Institutions in the various regions. Such financial aid should be given not only for specific projects but also for certain necessities like the library and for other non- recurring items like building, enquipment, micro-film apparatus, etc. While reports on their work might be called for from these Institutions and the proper utilisation by them of the grants verified, their autonomy should not be interfered with. It should also be seen that the official red-tape does not hamper the progress of the work of these Institutions, which is already slow. It appeared to us from what we saw that the public also could do very much more for the growth and maintenance of these Institutions.
53. There is one point which we would like to stress in respect of the Government helping these private Institutes. It should be the concern of the Government to see that Sanskrit and Indological Research develops in all parts of India. The enlightened public in every region naturally desires to participate in the cultural activities in the country, and the Regional Research Institutes often meet such public desire. It is, therefore, for the Government to see that the Research Institutes ,are helped to develop in all the regions of the country. The policy of selecting some particular region for Sanskrit and concentrating on helping the Institutes in that region alone would be detrimental to the growth of Sanskrit research in the country at large. It is not always possible for scholars and institutes working at distant centres to manage to attract the attention of the Government. The Government should, therefore, devise ways and means to 'discover' these Institutions functioning in different areas, examine the work which they are doing, and formulate a uniform policy for helping them.
54. The way in which the present Indology Committee of the Ministry of Education is working is of an extremely ad hoc nature. Many people interested in Research do not even know of its existence. It deals with the applications of just a few bodies or individuals who are in the know of things. We understand that this Committee has adopted the policy of helping only 'projects'. What line of work can be called a 'project' and what not, cannot be easily determined. Even the normal work of an Institute can be arranged project-wise. Further, this policy would hardly meet the situation in which we found certain parts of the country completely ignored. The enthusiastic workers in those areas were feeling extremely frustrated. With pioneering zeal and with little help during the British days, these enthusiastic workers had laboured and built up, in their respective regions, a net work of cultural units in the form of these Institutions. It would be a pity if they were to suffer from a sense of frustration even under the new set-up. We believe that it will not be an exaggeration to say that the dispensation of help by the Government to Sanskrit and Indological work carried on in the country has, in recent years, suffered from niggardliness. There has been no adequate appreciation of the Research work done in different centres: The setting up of committees, calling for memoranda, holding of meetings-all this has gone on, registering no appreciable
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progress, but only producing a feeling of frustrations among scholars. A more generous policy and a sympathetic handling of the situation are called for. This Commission desires to make a strong plea to the Gov- ernment on behalf of these private Institutes and learned Societies for a generous and rationalised system of help.
The Central Institute of Indology 55. Recently we have been frequently hearing of a Central Insti- tute of Indology. The setting up of such a Central Institute was proposed, some years ago, by the All-India Oriental Conference. After Independence, the Government have set up several National Institutes of scientific and technological character at different centres in the country. But despite the fact that scholars and conferences have been pressing the matter, the Government have not so far started even one Central Institute for the study of Indian Humanities, particularly ancient Indian History. Philosophy, Literature. and Culture. We recommend that such an Institute, for which schemes are already before the Government, be started as early as possible. This Central Institute should not interfere with nor be merely a co-ordinating bureau for University Research Departments and other Research Institutes now functioning in the country. It should supplement the work of these bodies, and have, as its main objective, Research Work which is being neglected at present and which can be carried out only with the special facilities such as the Government alone can provide for. In this category comes the work which we have touched upon already, namely, the-study of cultures of the countries with which India had contacts in ancient times. The core of this Institute should be the section devoted to Sanskrit, Vedic, IndoEuropean, and Indian Philosophy and Religion. There should be another Section devoted to Munda, Dravidian and Sino-Tibetan languages and their relation to Sanskrit ; a third devoted to the History and Antiquities of Egypt and the Near East (Hittite and Iranian); a fourth devoted to Central Asia, Nepal, Tibet and China; and a fifth devoted to South- East Asian countries (including Indonesia). The Central Manuscripts Survey, which we have recommended, may function with the Sanskrit Section of this Institute.
56. Two other. useful lines of work which this Central Institute could undertake would be the publication of an Annual Bibliography of Indology, and assisting scholars and institutions working in the coun- try by functioning as a central clearance house for the supply of references, information, contacts, copies of manuscripts, etc., from different parts of India as well as from foreign centres. For carrying out its work, this Institute should have on its staff Professors and other classes of Research Scholars. The Institute should devote special attention to the task of training younger scholars through special training courses and fellowships. Some of the Fellows might be trained abroad, and, in some cases, the Institute might also arrange to invite specialists from outside. The archaeological missions to outside countries, proposed above, should be organised by this Institute. But these missions should not consist only of pure archaeologists, but should be composite missions
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comprising linguists and literary men, folklorists, students of art, etc., so that the material studied or brought might cover all aspects of the culture of these countries. The administrative set-up of this Central Institute of Indology need not detain us here; it will, of course, have a body of experts to advise and to govern and direct its activities.
57. One thing, however, needs to be emphasised again : The Central Institute of Indology cannot and should not be started without a strong Sanskrit section ; in all respects, Sanskrit should receive due attention here as the core subject. There is cause for the apprehension that Archaeology, History and other allied subjects would overwhelm and smother Sanskrit and ultimately elbow it out. The Commission wishes to urge upon the Government to see that this will not happen.
Co-ordination 58. Reference has already been made to the need for uniform standards and procedures among the Universities regarding their higher Research Degrees. Both in respect of the Research done at the Universities and that carried out by private individuals or bodies, 'certain lines of improvement can be suggested. There are endless subjects awaiting Research, and the scope for work is, indeed, large Still there is the undesirable duplication of work and overlapping of effort. Greater co-ordination and the development of an attitude of adjustment among Sanskritists and Indologists would considerably minimise the possibility of duplication. The Inter-University Board issues, from time to time, a Bulletin mentioning subjects taken up for Research in the different Universities, but this Bulletin is not sufficienly well-known to teachers and students. A year-to-year inventory of subjects of research in the field of Sanskrit and Indology, which is actually being done or which is being earnestly taken up, should be published and circulated to the Universities. This inventory should be prepared by the Central Institute after first-hand checking. It might be that some scholars, who had the facilities for getting some valuable material in the form of Manuscripts, etc., would 'corner' work and indulge in 'pegging' and preventing others who had probably more time and energy to do the work on the same subjects more expeditiously. Some scholars are reticent about the work which they are doing or have on their programme, lest some one might forestall them by putting out a 'half-boiled' production on the subject on which they are doing or hoping to do a solid piece of work. If an atmosphere of genuine co-operation was created, the two scholars might avoid duplication and competition by doing the work jointly.
Conferences 59. The periodical Conferences in the field of Indology serve a very useful purpose in the matter of such co-ordination. By the very mingling of scholars from various Universities and Institutions in different parts of the country, the Conferences engender a spirit of co-operation and collaboration. The main Conference in the domain of Sanskrit and allied subjects is the All-India Oriental Conference. which meets once every two years at different centres. Among the Indian
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Conferences dealing with the Humanities, this Conference covers the widest field and has the largest number of Sections. Two other ,Conferences born out of the All-India Oriental Conference are the 'Indian History Congress and the Indian Philosophy Congress, both of which meet once a year. There are also the annual meetings of the Linguistic Society of India, the Numismatic Society, and the Museum Association. Of all these, the Oriental Conference is the biggest all-India forum for Indological scholars. It has its own Sections covering the subjects of the two separate Congresses, namely, of History and Philosophy. It is a major Conference of the country on the side of the Humanities, and stands on a par with the Indian Science Congress. Yet it does not, receive from the Government the support and encouragement which the Indian Science Congress gets. We would recommend the placing of the All-India Oriental Conference on a permanent basis, with adequate financial resources to maintain an office and to put forth some specific work all through the year.
60. There is much scope for the expansion of the work of the Oriental Conference. For instance, to its existing Sections, it can usefully add a further Section devoted to Greater India and Indian Cultural Contacts abroad. The Government should help the Oriental Conference to get foreign scholars to come and participate in this and similar other Sections. The Pandita-Parisad should be made a regular feature of all the Sessions of the, Conference. The three-day Session of the Conference should be enlarged into a five-day Session, and the various Sections should thus be enabled to do a larger amount of work by a thorough discussion of the more important papers. Without in any way reducing the popularity of this largely attended Conference, a more rigorous standard should be applied in the matter of the selection of papers. The summaries of papers should be got ready fairly in advance so as to make more serious discussion possible. As the All-India Oriental Conference is the premier forum for Indological studies in this country, and as all scholars, young and old, look up to it for recognition, it certainly acts as a great incentive for work. It also opens up before scholars new avenues of work and brings them into contact with fellow-workers in allied fields. The Conference has thus a vital role to play in the growth of Research and the promotion of enthusiasm for Sanskrit studies among the younger scholars. We, therefore, suggest that all facilities should be given by the Universities and similar bodies to as many of their scholars as possible to attend its Sessions.
61. By helping the All-India Oriental Conference to develop new Sections related to Asian countries and cultures, the Government would be securing a gain, which would be more than merely academic. In the post-war world, when the countries of Asia have been brought closer to one another and when the means of communication are easier, it is felt that the cultural relations between India and the other countries of Asia should be revived. This object can be fulfilled in some measure by periodical Conferences of Asian Orientalists. It would, therefore, be desirable if India took the lead in establishing an All-Asia Forum
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of ancient cultures. The bonds of learning are universal, and the bringing together of scholars from different Asian countries in a common assembly would go a long way in creating an atmosphere of goodwill and fellow-feeling. At different times in human history, peoples have given and partaken of the best of one another. The sum- total of human knowledge at the present day represents the collective contribution of nations, great and small, dead and living. In this great activity of enhancing the sum-total of human knowledge, the East, especially India, had a large share, and we are rightly proud of it. If, in ancient times, the missionary and commercial enterprise of India reached far-off lands and succeeded in establishing cultural relationships with those lands, our academic enterprise should do so in modern times. The countries of Asia must understand one another, and there is no better place for developing such understanding than a common assembly of the learned; which can evolve a new partnership in the light of the past cultural relations. This is, no doubt, an ambitious scheme, but we suggest that the All-India Oriental Conference, with the active help of the Central and the State Governments, should explore the possibilities of creating a wide- spread intellectual comradeship among the oriental scholars of Asia.
Prizes 62. Like endowment Lectureships, the institution of prizes would also act as an effective stimulus for substantial Research work. It is gratifying to note that the Sahitya Akademi is offering a prize of Rs. 5000/- for the best expository work bearing on a subject in the field of Sanskrit. The All-India Oriental Conference also should devise ways and means to institute a susbstantial prize for the most outstanding Indological work done in the course of the two years preceding a Session of the Conference.
Foundations and Trusts 63. Research Institutions and Universities receive, from time to time, some amount of public benefactions. There are patrons of learning who support individual scholars privately, and, occasionally, some Sanskritist or Philosopher is helped to go abroad on cultural work. But, comparable to the great Foundations of America, or even to that of the Tatas and a few others in this country, which help only Science, there are no special Foundations in India to help research and advanced studies in Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, Archaeology. etc. We wish that the great philanthrophists and patrons of culture in the country come forward to create some All-India Foundations for advanced studies in Sanskrit and allied subjects.
64. It has been pointed out at the outset that Research or the critical study of our literature, thought and history was not something foreign to the spirit of our ancient writers. On the promotion on proper lines of Research in Sanskrit depends to a large extent the development and consolidation of our cultural heritage. There was a time when scholarly pilgrims from outside came to India to learn. The growth of
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our studies and the standards that we now develop should be such as would enable India to assume, once again, the role of a host-country in the realm of knowledge. There is also another important reason why India should now devote greater attention to Oriental Research. Oriental scholarship in Europe and America is definitely on the wane today; the days of giants and big work in Sanskrit are past. As against this, interest in this branch of knowledge is on the increase in this country. Facilities should, therefore, be provided here, which would enable Indian scholars, to whom this subject is native, to hold the leadership in Sanskrit and Indological studies.
65. It is true that, in modern times, scientific and technological studies should receive, as they actually do, greater State support ; but there is no reason why humanistic studies should be treated with apathy and neglect. Today, in the Colleges in India, there is a strong scientific and technological bias. Students crowd into these courses without much forethought. Many of these students are definitely not in a position to pursue the study of Science and Technology. Under these circumstances, one wonders whether it would not be desirable to persuade some of them to go in for the Humanities.
66. Sanskrit studies are part of the humanistic studies ; they cannot flourish, any more than other branches of the Humanities like Indian Philosophy, in an uncongenial climate. Unless the educational policy is rationalised and re-oriented by proper selection and introduction of general education courses strong in the Humanities, and unless the student-stream is properly channelised, there is no point in tinkering a little here and a little there and pretending to have helped Sanskrit studies, or, for that matter, the studies pertaining to other languages, literatures, philosophy, etc. We copy the West, but not fully or at its best. In the Massachussets Institute of Technology, there is perhaps the strongest course in the Humanities, and, what is more, there is compulsory provision in that course for the study of non-Western literature. If there is 50 to 60 per cent Technology or specialised studies, there is 40 to 50 per cent of general education comprising Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and the Humanities. The entire General Education Programme in the United States is compulsory. We would, therefore, suggest that, side by side with Science and Technology, the Humanities, and particularly the study of Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy, History and Culture, should receive adequate attention in University education, and that, in the Universities' and Research Institutions, the facilities for Sanskrit and allied Research should be substantially increased on the lines indicated in this Chapter.
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