Re:

Dear Colleagues,

I just received and would like to share this message from Dr. Siddharth
Singh (BHU), which I think will be of interest to you, as describes the
(sad) current all-India situation in studying Pali.

with every good wish,
Eugen



In a recent decision, Government of India has removed the Pali, ancient
classical language of India as a subject from the main examination of the
Civil Services examination (popularly known as Indian Administrative
Services i.e. IAS) of India, 2013; conducted by UPSC (Union Public service
Commission). The presence of Pali in this competitive exam was one of the
major reasons to attract many youngsters to opt and study the Pali and
Buddhist Studies, and at least this was playing a role to make this
declining rich discipline survived in its homeland.
Moreover, perhaps most of the Indian Buddhist scholars even themselves are
not aware that, Government of India doesn’t consider Pali as one of the
official classical languages of India.
In a 2006 press release, Minister of Tourism & Culture Ambika Soni told the
Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) the following criteria
were laid down to determine the eligibility of languages to be considered
for classification as a "Classical Language":
“High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of
1500-2000 years; A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a
valuable heritage by generations of speakers; The literary tradition be
original and not borrowed from another speech community; The classical
language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a
discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its
offshoots.”
Doesn’t Pali language and literature fulfil the above criteria? Pali, which
is said to be the dialect of the Buddha’s own teachings contained in
Tipitaka, which is a treasure of Buddhist knowledge and became carrier of
the propagation of Buddhism in the entire world, is on the verge of dying
in its own motherland.
This standpoint of Indian government is illogical, unjustified and reflects
ignorance of Indian bureaucratic system and political leadership towards
its own heritage. The removal of Pali by UPSC and non-recognition of Pali
as an Indian classical language calls for a strong protest not only by
those who are related with the Pali & Buddhist Studies but also by all
those who study, respect or relate themselves with Indology or Buddhism in
whatever ways.
Let’s raise our voice against this unwise decision by writing the letter
addressed to Dr. Manmohan Singh, The Prime Minister of India and raising
this issue on the common academic platforms to mount a pressure on
Government of India to take the following decisions:
3. Include Pali as a classical language of India
4. Withdraw the decision of removing Pali Language & Literature from the
Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public service Commission
(UPSC) of India.
Dr. Siddharth Singh,
Associate Professor,
Pali and Buddhist Studies,
Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U.),
Varanasi – 221005, U.P. , INDIA


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]