---------- Forwarded message ---------- Mid Day, January 6, 2003
Mob ransacks Pune's Bhandarkar Institute By: Rupa Chapalgaonkar January 5, 2004 Pune: The 87-year old Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) bears a sad look. A temple of thousands of rare manuscripts, ancient books and palm leaf inscriptions the institute's relentless efforts were destroyed in half hour's time, when a mob ransacked the institute, leaving behind an irreparable loss. The institute was ransacked by nearly 250 members of a group called Sambhaji Brigade over a book written on Shivaji by foreign author James Lane. The book 'Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India' acknowledges one of the Sanskrit scholars, Shrikant Bahulkar of BORI in it. The Shiv Sainiks had blackened Bahulkar's face to express their anger over this mention on December 22. To protest this incident, Gajanan Mehendale, well-known scholar and chief editor, Cultural Index of Mahabharata, BORI tore 400 unpublished pages of his biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. However, the controversy seemed to have resolved when Lane apologized for his statements on Shivaji. The book's publisher, Oxford University Press, too, withdrew the book from the market by its publisher Oxford University Press. However, today's incident has aggrieved veteran scholars at the institute who have given every bit of their life for development of the institute. Especially, excruciating is the destruction of manuscripts, 30,000 in all, stored in 50 cupboards in institute's premises. The manuscripts, which were based on varied subjects like Ayurveda, veda, kavya, shilpa, mahabharata, bhakti, amongst various other, were sourced from many parts of the world. Palm leaf inscriptions, photographs, statues too have been caused an irreparable damage. Computers storing digitalized volumes of information lie in a smashed state. Dr Gajanan Mehendale, 86 years of age, feels, that research will become impossible in institutions like BORI if anti-social elements will try to bog down researchers by use of violence. N B Marathe, assistant editor, Cultural Index of Mahabharata, says with mellowed eyes, "We did not give out the original manuscripts to anyone be it person from any part of the world. Today, we do not have words left to express our anger." Students from countries like Germany, Japan, Switzerland, China, France, United Kingdom visit BORI for research every year. President of the Governing Council of the Institute Leela Arjunwadkar, who falls short of words as she stands in front of heaps of broken glasses all over the institute, is unable to assess the monetary loss but feels that the cultural heritage of India has received a big setback. "It is difficult for the institute to stand back on its feet," she says. According to an eye-witness, the mob came to the institute at a time when the institute was less crowded. While some started pelting stones and breaking glasses, some cut the telephone lines so the police could not be contacted. The Pune police have rounded up nearly 71 men, who came in Sumo jeeps at 11 am in the institute. Joint Police Commissioner (crime), Maheshgauri, said, "Those who will be arrested will be booked under relevant sections of IPC like sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 295, 395, 120 (b), and 121." BORI was established in the year 1917 to commemorate the works of Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar. When the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute was founded in 1917, the then Government of Bombay handed over its entire collection of manuscripts (nearly 20,000 manuscripts) to the Institute. The Institute has also received grants from the Government of India and the University Grants Commission for specific research projects. The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute normally works through its four main Departments: 1. Mahabharata and Research Unit. 2. Manuscripts. 3. Publication and 4. Post-Graduate Teaching and Research. ------------------------------------------------------------------- To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from Goa-Research-Net ------------------------------------------------------------------- * Send us a brief self-intro to justify your interest in this "specialized" forum. This should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] (NOT [EMAIL PROTECTED]) * Leave SUBJECT blank * On first line of the BODY of your message, type: subscribe goa-research-net [EMAIL PROTECTED] or unsubscribe goa-research-net [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------------------
