Vidhyadhar Date
The Times of India
May 17, 1999
Title: India emerges as major exporter of scholarly books on Buddhism Author: Vidhyadhar Date Publication: The Times of India Date: May 17, 1999 Even though Buddhism was born in India, It has been all but wiped out from the country. Most of the research work in Buddhist studies is also being done not in India but in the West. However, India has emerged as a major exporter of scholarly books on Buddhism. Curiously most of the manuscripts are imported, published in India and then exported, mainly to the West. Motilal Banarasidas are the biggest publishers of books on Buddhism and most of their authors are foreigners and the books are sold mainly in the West. Most of the research in Buddhism is being done in the United States and in Japan. In India the gap has been filled to some extent by the K.G. Somaiya Institute of Buddhist Studies opened in Mumbai in 1993 by the Dalai Lama. The Trailokya Boudha Mahasangh at Dapodi near Pune also publishes a lot of Buddhist literature written mainly by British Buddhist scholars. Westerners have a fascination for Buddhism because they are sick of excessive materialism and consumerism, said Kalapakam Sankarnarayan, director of the Somaiya Centre. Buddhism had also become fashionable in the West, she said. Though Buddhist studies had suffered in India, Buddhism was very much alive in art and architecture in the country, she said. Over the years Motilal Banarasidas have become an institution in the field of Indology, Oriental research, Sanskrit, Buddhist and Jain studies. This publishing firm has been associated with top scholars from India and abroad for several years in its 96-year-old history. "It was at the instance of former President and philosopher S. Radhakrishnan that we embarked on publishing sacred books of the East in 50 volumes and have been closely associated with publishing Max Mueller," said R.P. Jain of Motilal Banarasidas. Among other prestigious publications are a Linguistic Survey of India by George Grierson in 11 volumes, Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva translated into English by C. H. Tawney in 1 0 volumes, Taxila by Sir John Marshall in three volumes and 27 volumes of Buddhist Tradition series edited by Alex Wyman. It has also published Religions of Asia edited by Lewis Lancaster in five volumes. Delhi-based Motilal Banarasidas opened a bookshop at Mahalaxmi, next to Crossword, a couple of years ago as part of its countrywide expansion. The bookshop is a great asset for any researcher in Indology, said scholar and author Devangana Desai. Madhu Shetye, a former Communist corporator, who is doing research in Buddhism, said Marxists must go back to the roots of Indian culture to understand Indian society better. The books published by Motilal Banarasidas have opened new frontiers for me, he said. There is also a big market in Japan.
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