[INDOLOGY @ ] Latin in India (Was: JNU Rejects Indology/classical studies)

April 25, 2001

Allen W Thrasher wrote:

>

> There is an Indian Society for Greek and Roman Studies in Bareilly

> which publishes a journal, Yavanika. I wrote the editor a letter a

> year ago asking for information on the state of the study of these

> languages in India, and whether anyone had written a history of the

> subject, but have received no response.

yavanika is manage by Prof UP Arora, dept of ancient history and culture

univ of Rohilkhand, bareilly.

His interest and skills are in Greek studies, Latin is

included for broadening the classical horizon.

But that dept deos not formally teach Greek or Latin.

There is no formal curricular education of Greek or LAtin in India.

Some individuals transmit it to interested students and some

priests do Latin as part of their learning.

Greek not even that, as the orthodox church did not come to

proselytise here. As remnants of the colony of Greek traders of 18/19th

century in Calcutta , there is a Church, a modern greek teaching

kysklos, but no univ has thought of doing anything there.

JNU has begun a dept of Greek language and culture, funded entirely

by the Greek govt, it is working out its programs and course content,

has completed an initial certicate course last week.

> Presumably both must have

> been offered widely in India at one stage for those Indians who wished

> to take the IAS exams but couldn't afford a public school education in

> England.

Not so, as far my info goes.

svasti,

Bharat Gupt

Associate Professor, Delhi University,

PO Box 8518, Ashok Vihar, Delhi 110052 INDIA.

mobile:9810077914

home phones 91+11+724 1490, fax/TEL 741-5658,

email: bharatgupt

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