Swastikas, Nazis, & co.

[Guest guest]

Dear Readers,

 

On Sun, Jun 10, 2001 at 11:38:47PM +0200, Lars Martin Fosse wrote:

 

> aishwaryannamboodiri [sMTP:aishwaryannamboodiri] skrev

> 10. juni 2001 21:37:

> >

> > It is not sufficient ( as you so graciously did) to acknowledge that

> > some Indologists -like other academics-

> > collaborated . You have to name names: who were

> > they?

>

> If you read the paper by Sheldon Pollock quoted earlier on this list, you

> will find a lot of names - in fact, you will find most of the great names

> of German Indology in the 1930ies. I have, by the way, been told by a

> reliable person that only a couple of German Indologists were willing to

> give Pollock practical help and support when he wrote his article.

> Evidently, some people don't like the mud to hit the fan.

 

All this talk of swastikas, Nazis, and ``Indology: the dark

side'', reminds me of an anecdote I was told some while ago. It

concerned a passage from Edward Conze's autobiography. I now

longer have a copy to hand so can't give the reference.

Actually, it was a type-written proof so I'm not sure if it was

ever published. Perhaps someone on the list knows ... It's a

very good read, highly recommended.

 

Anyway, Conze was at table. His neighbour, someone of

significance, turned and enquired after his Buddhological

research. It seems his researches had found favour. He was told

to keep up the good work.

 

I can only imagine that this news caused Conze not a small

degree of concern. But whatever his feelings, this anecdote is

evidence that it is possible for one's work to become

politicized through forces outside of one's control. Would it

be accurate to consider Conze a ``collaborator''?

 

 

Many regards,

 

Richard Mahoney

 

 

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