I vaguely remember that Prof. Karin Preisendanz was trying to prepare a descriptive catalogue of the MSS either in Lahore or Karachi.
On Sat, 13 Dec 2025, 21:45 Patrick Olivelle via INDOLOGY, < [email protected]> wrote: > What Madhav says is very true. I was fortunate that someone who happened > to be Pakistan obtained copies of two manuscripts of the Manusmṛti in the > lat 1990s from the Panjab University Library in Lahore (La1 and La2 in my > edition). I do hope some international funding will be available to > digitize these before they all turn to dust. > > Patrick > > > > On Dec 13, 2025, at 10:07 AM, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks, Antonia, > > This is a nice detailed article. Many years ago, when I was searching > for manuscripts of the Śaunakīya Caturādhyayika, I saw a reference to a > manuscript in the Lahore University library. I contacted the librarian, and > he responded by saying that there are many rooms filled with Sanskrit > manuscripts, but no one knows what they are. He was generous in offering to > help me if I could come to Lahore. Due to my home circumstances > that did not materialize. I hope someday the collection of Sanskrit > manuscripts in Pakistan would be digitized and made available for > researchers. > > Madhav > > Madhav M. Deshpande > Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics > University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA > Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies > Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India > > [Residence: Campbell, California, USA] > > > On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 7:26 AM Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> The Tribune article shows up for me without any issues, but perhaps >> that's because I am in the EU? At any rate, I've pasted the text below: >> >> >> The teaching of Sanskrit has quietly returned to classrooms in the >> Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the first time since Partition, with the >> Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) introducing a course in the >> classical language. What began as a three-month weekend workshop gradually >> evolved into a full four-credit university course after the overwhelming >> response it received. >> >> Dr Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of the Gurmani Centre, told The Tribune that >> Pakistan houses one of the richest but least-studied Sanskrit archives at >> the Punjab University library. “A significant collection of Sanskrit >> palm-leaf manuscripts were catalogued in the 1930s by scholar JCR Woolner, >> but no Pakistani academic has engaged with this collection since 1947. Only >> foreign researchers use it. Training scholars locally will change that,” he >> says. >> >> The LUMS also plans to offer courses on the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad >> Gita. “Hopefully, this sets a momentum,” says Dr Qasmi. “In 10-15 years, we >> could see Pakistan-based scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata.” >> >> Dr Qasmi said initially, a weekend programme was offered that was open to >> everyone--students, researchers, lawyers and academics. “After we saw the >> response, we decided to introduce it as a proper university course. Even >> though the number of students is still small, we hope it will grow over the >> next few years. Ideally, by spring 2027, we should be able to teach the >> language as a year-long course.” >> >> At the heart of the initiative is Dr Shahid Rasheed, Associate Professor >> of sociology at Forman Christian College, whose interest in Sanskrit began >> long before the LUMS approached him. “Classical languages contain much >> wisdom for mankind. I started with learning Arabic and Persian, and then >> studied Sanskrit,” he told The Tribune. With no local teachers or >> textbooks, he turned to online platforms, studying under Cambridge Sanskrit >> scholar Antonia Ruppel and Australian Indologist McComas Taylor. “It took >> almost a year to cover classical Sanskrit grammar. And I’m still studying >> it.” >> >> After Dr Qasmi reached out, Dr Rasheed took a sabbatical from FC College >> to teach the course at the LUMS. “I mainly teach grammar. When I was >> teaching ‘subhashitas’, the wisdom verses or shlokas, many of my students >> were fascinated to discover that so many Urdu words come from Sanskrit. >> Many didn’t even know that Sanskrit was different from Hindi. In the first >> week, they found it a challenging language. But once they grasped the >> logical structure, they started enjoying it. The pleasure of solving >> something difficult is immense,” he says. >> >> “Modern languages derive from classical traditions. There is just a veil >> that separates them--once you cross it, you realise they are all our own,” >> adds Dr Rasheed. >> >> Dr Qasmi explains that the initiative also aligns with the university’s >> broader language ecosystem, which includes Sindhi, Pashto, Punjabi, >> Baluchi, Arabic and Persian. “We understand the importance of connecting >> with this incredible tradition, which is part of the Pakistani-Indian >> global heritage. So much of our literature, poetry, art and philosophy go >> back to the Vedic age. Many historians believe that the Vedas were written >> in this region. It then becomes even more important to read the classical >> texts in their original language.” >> >> Despite the political sensitivities involved, both scholars believe the >> intellectual climate is shifting. Dr Rasheed often encounters curiosity >> about his own study of the language. “People ask me why I’m learning >> Sanskrit. I tell them, why should we not learn it? It is the binding >> language of the entire region. Sanskrit grammarian Panini’s village was in >> this region. Much writing was done here during the Indus Valley >> Civilisation. Sanskrit is like a mountain--a cultural monument. We need to >> own it. It is ours too; it’s not tied to any one particular religion.” >> >> “If we want people to come closer, then it’s essential to understand and >> absorb our rich classical traditions. Imagine if more Hindus and Sikhs in >> India started learning Arabic, and more Muslims in Pakistan took up >> Sanskrit, it could be a fresh, hopeful start for South Asia, where >> languages become bridges instead of barriers,” concludes Dr Rasheed. >> >> On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 at 14:55, Shrinivas Tilak < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Members of the Indology group often provide links to very interesting >>> topics pertaining to Sanskrit etc to a newspaper in India. Unfortunately, >>> there is a torrent of ads that you need to negotiate before you finally are >>> able to reach to the story. I am often tempted to give up and not proceed. >>> Is there some way to archive the story in an ads-free location? >>> >>> On Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 12:20:39 a.m. EST, Ananya Vajpeyi via >>> INDOLOGY <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >>> Congratulations are in order then, Antonia! >>> Warm best, >>> AV. >>> >>> On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 2:02 AM Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Dear Madhav, >>> >>> Thank you for sharing this! Here's the original piece in the Tribune >>> that The Wire is referring to: >>> >>> >>> https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/sanskrit-returns-to-pak-varsity-first-time-since-partition/ >>> >>> Shahid Rasheed, who is behind this initiative, is a true polymath and >>> co-founder of a school trust ( >>> https://i-care-foundation.org/charity/zaawiya-trust-school/). I think >>> he began learning Sanskrit with McComas and has been doing Latin and Greek >>> (and some more Sanskrit) with me at Yogic Studies for a while now. >>> >>> Antonia >>> >>> On Thu, 11 Dec 2025 at 17:05, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> A Welcome Development: >>> https://thewire.in/south-asia/in-a-first-since-independence-a-pakistan-university-is-teaching-sanskrit >>> >>> Madhav M. Deshpande >>> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics >>> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA >>> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies >>> Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, >>> India >>> >>> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> INDOLOGY mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> INDOLOGY mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> *Ananya Vajpeyi* >>> https://www.csds.in/ananya_vajpeyi >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> INDOLOGY mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> INDOLOGY mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >> > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > > This message is from an external sender. Learn more about why this << > matters at https://links.utexas.edu/rtyclf. << > > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >
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