''The Battle for Sanskrit: Is Sanskrit Political or Sacred, Oppressive or Liberating, Dead or Alive?'' is a 2016 book written by

Rajiv Malhotra Rajiv Malhotra (born 15 September 1950) is an Indian-born American Hindutva ideologue, author and founder of Infinity Foundation, which focuses on Indic studies, and also funds projects such as Columbia University's project to translate the ...

which criticizes the academic discipline of Indology, as practiced by Western scholars and particularly

Sheldon Pollock Sheldon I. Pollock (born 1948) is an American scholar of Sanskrit, the intellectual and literary history of India, and comparative intellectual history. He is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University. He was ...

. Malhotra criticizes the hegemony of "Western" approaches in studying India esp. Sanskrit texts and frames a rebuttal from within the traditions of ''

Tarka sastra Tarka sastra (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit term for the philosophy of dialectics, logic and reasoning, and art of debate that analyzes the nature and source of knowledge and its validity. ''Shastra'' in Sanskrit means that which gives teaching, instr ...

''. Lamenting the increasing hold of Western thoughtschools even among Indian indologists, historians, and journalists, he urges for the mainstreaming of "traditional indigenous" approaches. In a review,

Bibek Debroy Bibek Debroy is an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty ...

commended Malhotra for exhorting the need of alternative paradigms in Indology notwithstanding the polemics against Pollock. The book found support in the Hindu Right; it was cited in a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

urging for the removal of Sheldon Pollock from the editorship of the Murty Classical Library of India.

Introduction

Malhotra explains why he wrote this book. He notes the hegemony of western approaches in studying India, and asks for a study of this western approach from a traditional point of view. His book is an attempt to provide such a reversal. According to Malhotra, western Indology scholars are deliberately intervening in Indian societies by offering analyses of Sanskrit texts which would be rejected by "the traditional Indian experts." He also finds western scholars too ''prescriptive'', that is, being "political activists" that want to prescribe a specific way of life. The cover of the book is a picture of artwork featuring the British philologist William Jones (1746–1794) which Malhotra had seen displayed in Oxford, depicting Jones giving knowledge to Hindu pandits. The inducement for this book was the prospect of Sringeri Peetham, the monastery founded by

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

in south India, collaborating with Columbia University to set up an "Adi Shankara Chair" for Hindu religion and philosophy, sponsored by an Indian donor. The instalment committee for the chair was to be headed by

, whom Malhotra regards as an erudite scholar but also as one who undermines the traditional understanding. Malhotra contacted the lead donor to voice his concerns, which were not shared by the donor. Nevertheless, Malhotra fears "the issue of potential conflict when the occupant of the chair takes positions that undermine the very tradition that has backed and funded the chair." According to Malhotra,

Chapter 1: The Hijacking of Sanskrit and Sanskriti

According to Malhotra, Sanskrit forms the essence of Indian civilisation. Malhotra discerns an "insider" and an "outsider" approach to the study of Sanskrit texts based on the academic concept of

Emic and etic In anthropology, folkloristics, and the social and behavioral sciences, emic () and etic () refer to two kinds of field research done and viewpoints obtained. The "emic" approach is an insider's perspective, which looks at the beliefs, va ...

. However Malhotra emphasizes his distinction between insiders and outsiders is not based on ethnicity, but the lens through which one looks at Sanskrit texts. Insiders view Sanskrit as sacred, but outsiders view the sacredness of Sanskrit as merely a smokescreen for oppressive views.

Chapter 2: From European Orientalism to American Orientalism

Contemporary American scholars differ from their British counterparts, having greater access to Indian society and Indian collaborators. American Orientalism has a great impact. Malhotra describes the circumstances in which American Orientalism grew and how it differs from European Orientalism. According to Malhotra it is influenced by Marxism, using a liberation philology, which under the guise of empowering social groups such as

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s pits them against each other and against Hinduism. Malhotra gives special attention to Sheldon Pollock. According to Malhotra, Pollock is determined in "utterly purging Sanskrit studies of their sacred dimension." Malhotra singles out Pollock as being exemplary of this American Orientalism, since he is considered its foremost exponent, and Malhotra wants to realise a maximum impact with his criticism of American Orientalism.

Chapter 3: The Obsession with Secularizing Sanskrit

According to Malhotra, Pollock separates the spiritual transcendent aspect of Sanskrit, ''paramarthika'', from the mundane worldly aspect, ''vyavaharika''. Pollock then dismisses the ''paramarthika'' as being irrational. Malhotra further states that Pollock is incorrect in portraying '' kāvya'', a Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets, as fundamentally different from Vedic ideas. He states that Pollock "secularises" the ''kāvya'' literature by removing its transcendental dimensions.

Reception

Bibek Debroy in his review states that, According to Bibek Debroy, ''The Battle for Sanskrit'' follows the traditional Indian style mentioned in the Sanskrit '' tarka shastra'' tradition of reasoning. "You cite your opponent’s argument (''purva paksha'') and counter it with your own argument (''uttara paksha'')".

writes, "Malhotra does the same with Pollock, setting out the Pollock arguments first and focusing particularly on Pollock’s views on the

Valmiki Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

." According to Debroy, Malhotra agrees that there's no 'one true' approach in this, rather he wants the "home team" to be "''energized''". This book is best understood as an exhortation for that alternative paradigm. Bibek Debroy believes that even though the book has been labelled a ‘Battle for Sanskrit’, it is about our legacy and believes that "for people to be persuaded that this would be a terrible idea, this is a wonderful book that needs to be read and disseminated." The book found support from writers who call to join this "battle," like Rajeev Srinivasan. It was also cited in a

by the Hindu Right urging for the removal of Sheldon Pollock from the editorship of the Murty Classical Library of India.Nikita Puri
Murty Classical Library: Project interrupted
Business Standard, 12 March 2016. See als
the full input of Rajiv Malhotra
to the journalist.

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Hijacking of Sanskrit and Sanskriti

Chapter 2: From European Orientalism to American Orientalism

Chapter 3: The Obsession with Secularizing Sanskrit

Reception

See also

References

Notes

Further reading