Academic Stars

Being mediocre, and thrown out of academia, about 25 years ago, into selling insurance, investments and real estate, I enjoyed reading Ms. Melwani’s , ‘Academic Stars’ in Little India , Jan 2007, pages 10-28, very much. Teaching of English by Indians to the students of the west has been highlighted in the article, which made me to reflect on my days of learning English language in India. Back in 1950s, in sleepy, primitive Bihar, where I got most of my education, in our days the best students went into engineering, medicine, physics and mathematics. The second best studied biology, English literature, geography, economics and political science. Those who could not make into these opted for Sanskrit, philosophy, history, Hindi and Urdu. However, the bright and the best did equally well, irrespective of their chosen (and given ) fields of endeavor. Those who studied English literature were considered, in our times, snobs, aping the British, and trying to get into Indian Civil/Administrative Services, eventually to become a Burra Sahib in newly independent India, to acquire power, as district magistrate, over people, have plenty of chaprasis, mali, cook, aaya, nigh guard etc and perpetuate the mechanics of British raj
by pleasing the new masters, the politicians in power. Those English lovers, who did
not succeed getting into power, settled for teaching the English language at schools, college and universities. But those with nationalistic and philanthropic bent of mind studied Hindi, Sanskrit and Philosophy, tried to become a pandit, and dreamed of bringing the ancient Gurukul system of education back to life. But the latter did not succeed much, especially due to the neglect perpetrated on the Indian culture and Indian languages by these English loving students, the IAS/IFS/ICS officers, with help from power politicians. English becoming lingua franqua, of the world, eventually dominated all Indian languages and literature in India, especially with the growth of science and technology the world over. Indian literature (s) suffered, at the hands of English, Hindi the most.
No wonder to get recognition, and make money, in India and abroad, one has to write in English only, and get published in the west. Several schools have been established in the USA and elsewhere, out of India to impart education and conduct research in Indian culture and history, as well as in Sanskrit literature, many times with generous donations from the affluent Indians. But no where, in those 50 or so schools, I have found any Indian (a Hindu) appointed as professor of the subject, or for that matter in Buddhism, Jainism either. It should always be a white, Christian guy teaching Sanskrit and Indian Culture. What an anomaly. Can we find a Hindu, Indian teaching Christianity and Western Culture in American/British Universities ? Even in India ? It will be a great delight and education to find and know about one such case. While the same can not be said about Islam, even Sikhism, which always require an authentic teacher.
I have not read much of Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate, featured in your article, expect
‘The Argumentative Indian’, which is very enjoyable and makes excellent reading, except its India bashing, here and there in various sections, coupled with venomous comments against BJP and its Hindutva. Has Sen written on the ills of the western society, its political system, especially of USA and UK, where he has spent most of his academic
life ? It will be interesting to know. This is true also for Arundhati Roy, obviously not featured in your piece, as she does not hold an academic position in the USA, whose brilliance is awesome, but her India bashing ( and speaking against USA) does not bode well for me. Ofcourse, recognition in the West comes from reciting Shakespeare, speaking against Hinduism and Indian culture. And not by admiring the Vedas and Sanatan Dharma, which were founded on the principles of self-upliftment, betterment of humanity, and not for prizes and materialistic glories, hence neglected by Indians in India and aborad. But the Indian culture and Sanskrit had its own adherents in Ramkrishna, Vivekanand, Aurobindo, CV Raman, Raman Maharshi, JC Bose, Tagore, Gandhi, Prabhupad, to name a few, who influenced the West so much . A report on these will bring a very noble but different, and proud perspective onbb India and the Indians.