Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-23 Thread Robert P. GOLDMAN via INDOLOGY 
Dear Colleagues,

 It is indeed very encouraging to know that Dr. Rasheed has taken up the 
teaching of Sanskrit and that he has some enthusiastic students. After all, 
Sanskrit is as much a part of Pakistan’s heritage as it is of India’s and much 
of SE Asia and beyond despite the narrow sectarian positions that have followed 
partition.

In the late 1990’s I had some discussions with the late Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan 
who was then the Director of the  IGNCA and she expressed a hope that some 
arrangement could be made with PU to digitize the Sanskrit collection  in 
collaboration with her institution  but of course nothing came of it. There was 
also some vague talk of a western institution purchasing the collection. But 
again nothing happened.

At that time I had an opportunity to visit the collection in an effort to find 
out what was there. The Library staff were grudging at best and expressed no 
interest in what they called somewhat dismissively  the Sansikrit materials. 
They did let me go through the collection's extensive card catalog but would 
not allow me into the manuscript room or rooms.   If I asked for specific 
manuscript, they would send one of their staff to fetch them for me one at a 
time. I asked for works in a variety of genres and  looked through them. They 
seemed, as far as I could tell, fairly well preserved.  When I asked the 
supervisor how many manuscripts were in the collection, he shrugged and said. 
“Kaafi.” All rather disappointing. 

One hopes that now that the teaching of the language is going on at LUMS there 
may be further developments concerning this important collection .

Happy holidays to you all.

Bob

Dr. R.P. Goldman
William and Catherine Magistretti Professor of Sanskrit Emeritus
and
Professor in the Graduate School
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
The University of California at Berkeley

> On Dec 13, 2025, at 9:12 AM, Mark Allon via INDOLOGY 
>  wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
>  
> Dr Shahid Rasheed’s teaching of Sanskrit at the Lahore University of 
> Management Sciences (LUMS) is clearly a wonderful step forward in 
> invigorating the formal teaching of Sanskrit in Pakistan, but the opening 
> statement of this article “The teaching of Sanskrit has quietly returned to 
> classrooms in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the first time since 
> Partition” is inaccurate.
>  
> I do not have a full account of the teaching of Sanskrit and related 
> languages in Pakistan since partition, but Sanskrit has certainly been taught 
> at Punjab University by Prof. Abdur Rahman and most recently by Prof. 
> Muhammad Hameed. See, for example, the BS Archaeology syllabus for 2021 
> 
>  and 2023 
> 
>  which includes “Preliminary Sanskrit” with an outline of the syllabus given 
> (2021, p. 82; 2023, pp. 30-31), besides “Indian Palaeography and Epigraphy.”
>  
> Further, Dr. Mueezuddin Hakal has been teaching Sanskrit for archaeology 
> students at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations (TIAC), Quaid-i-Azam 
> University (QAU), Islamabad, for some time.
>  
> It is possible that Ahmad Hasan Dani, who studied Sanskrit in India prior to 
> partition, before moving to Pakistan, taught Sanskrit.  
>  
> Though not a formal course, in order to invigorate Pakistani student’s 
> exposure to Sanskrit and Gandhari, Jason Neelis (Wilfrid Laurier University, 
> Canada) and I conducted a three-day workshop on “Early Buddhist Manuscripts 
> and Inscriptions” at TIAC, Quaid-i Azam University, in December last year. 
> The students, who were mostly from their MA Archaeology program, were very 
> keen in learning these languages.
>  
> Regards
> Mark
>  
> Associate Professor Mark Allon FAHA
> Asian Studies
> University of Sydney NSW 2006
> Australia
> Staff webpage: 
> https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/mark-allon.html
> Gandharan Buddhist Texts: https://gandhari-texts.sydney.edu.au/
> Publications: https://sydney.academia.edu/MarkAllon 
> <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JV5aCr81nyt2NG0Qqh7fkh4u6Hh?domain=sydney.academia.edu>
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> From: INDOLOGY  On Behalf Of Antonia 
> Ruppel via INDOLOGY
> Sent: Saturday, 13 December 2025 4:25 PM
> To: Shrinivas Tilak 
> Cc: Indology 
> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan
>  
> 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-

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-22 Thread Dominik Wujastyk via INDOLOGY 
This was the University of Vienna's Woolner Project in which I participated
in 2009.  The project website that I prepared still exists:

   - https://istb-staticsites.univie.ac.at/woolner/index681a.html?id=1

but the prosopographical database, based on about 2000 philosophical
manuscripts in the Lahore Woolner collection at PUL, is no long maintained
and is not available to the public as far as I know.  In many respects, the
database has been superseded by PanditProject .

The Woolner database, which was the heart of the project and was restricted
only to philosophical works, was intended to combine prosopographical
information about authors, works and PUL manuscripts with digital images of
the PUL manuscripts.  However, after receiving expensive cameras and
laptops, and after a lot of work was done by Korean and Austrian scholars,
the PUL management withdrew permission for photographing whole manuscripts,
permitting only first two and last two folia.  And these were not to be
made public via the database.  That effectively ended the project.

One of the breakthrough discoveries made by Prof. Preisendanz was a card
index file in the PUL library basement that provided a key connecting the
manuscript numbering in the published 1932-1941 catalogues of Sanskrit
manuscripts to their physical locations on the shelves in the library.
Before knowing about the card index, the PUL librarians could not respond
to requests for items in the catalogue because its serial numbers bore no
relation to the shelf locations.

Sincerely,
--
Dominik Wujastyk, Professor Emeritus, Classical Indian History
University of Alberta

"The University of Alberta is committed to the pursuit of truth,
the advancement of learning, and the dissemination of knowledge
through teaching, research and other scholarly and creative activities and
service."
-- Collective Agreement

3.01



On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 at 09:27, Shrikant Bahulkar via INDOLOGY <
[email protected]> wrote:

> I vaguely remember that Prof. Karin Preisendanz was trying to prepare a
> descriptive catalogue of the MSS either in Lahore or Karachi.
>
> ___
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> [email protected]
> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>

___
INDOLOGY mailing list
[email protected]
https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-13 Thread Mark Allon via INDOLOGY 
Dear all,

Dr Shahid Rasheed’s teaching of Sanskrit at the Lahore University of Management 
Sciences (LUMS) is clearly a wonderful step forward in invigorating the formal 
teaching of Sanskrit in Pakistan, but the opening statement of this article 
“The teaching of Sanskrit has quietly returned to classrooms in the Islamic 
Republic of Pakistan for the first time since Partition” is inaccurate.

I do not have a full account of the teaching of Sanskrit and related languages 
in Pakistan since partition, but Sanskrit has certainly been taught at Punjab 
University by Prof. Abdur Rahman and most recently by Prof. Muhammad Hameed. 
See, for example, the BS Archaeology syllabus for 
2021
 and 
2023
 which includes “Preliminary Sanskrit” with an outline of the syllabus given 
(2021, p. 82; 2023, pp. 30-31), besides “Indian Palaeography and Epigraphy.”

Further, Dr. Mueezuddin Hakal has been teaching Sanskrit for archaeology 
students at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations (TIAC), Quaid-i-Azam 
University (QAU), Islamabad, for some time.

It is possible that Ahmad Hasan Dani, who studied Sanskrit in India prior to 
partition, before moving to Pakistan, taught Sanskrit.

Though not a formal course, in order to invigorate Pakistani student’s exposure 
to Sanskrit and Gandhari, Jason Neelis (Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada) and 
I conducted a three-day workshop on “Early Buddhist Manuscripts and 
Inscriptions” at TIAC, Quaid-i Azam University, in December last year. The 
students, who were mostly from their MA Archaeology program, were very keen in 
learning these languages.

Regards
Mark

Associate Professor Mark Allon FAHA
Asian Studies
University of Sydney NSW 2006
Australia
Staff webpage: 
https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/mark-allon.html
Gandharan Buddhist Texts: https://gandhari-texts.sydney.edu.au/
Publications: 
https://sydney.academia.edu/MarkAllon<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JV5aCr81nyt2NG0Qqh7fkh4u6Hh?domain=sydney.academia.edu>





From: INDOLOGY  On Behalf Of Antonia 
Ruppel via INDOLOGY
Sent: Saturday, 13 December 2025 4:25 PM
To: Shrinivas Tilak 
Cc: Indology 
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

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 langu

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-13 Thread Shrikant Bahulkar via INDOLOGY 
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

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-13 Thread Patrick Olivelle via INDOLOGY 
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 
 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 
mailto:[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

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-13 Thread Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY 
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

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-13 Thread Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY 
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 
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  wrote:
>
>
> Congratulations are in order then, Antonia!
> Warm best,
> AV.
>
> On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 2:02 AM Antonia Rupp

Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-13 Thread Shrinivas Tilak via INDOLOGY 
 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  wrote: 
 
 Congratulations are in order then, Antonia! Warm best,AV.
On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 2:02 AM Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY 
 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 
 wrote:

A Welcome Development: 
https://thewire.in/south-asia/in-a-first-since-independence-a-pakistan-university-is-teaching-sanskrit
Madhav M. DeshpandeProfessor Emeritus, Sanskrit and LinguisticsUniversity of 
Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USASenior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

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-- 
Ananya Vajpeyihttps://www.csds.in/ananya_vajpeyi




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Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-12 Thread Ananya Vajpeyi via INDOLOGY 
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

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Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan

2025-12-12 Thread Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY 
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
>

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