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The Murty Classical Library of India began publishing classics of Indian literature in January 2015. The books, which are in dual-language format with the original language and English facing, are published by Harvard University Press. The Columbia University scholar, Sheldon Pollock, is the library's general editor. Pollock previously edited the Clay Sanskrit Library. The library was established through a $5.2 million gift from Rohan Murty, the son of Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy and social worker and author Sudha Murty. The series will include translations from Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Persian, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and other Indian languages. It will include fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and religious texts from all Indian traditions including Buddhism and Islam. The projected 500 volumes, to be published over a century, have a corpus of thousands of volumes of classic Indian literature to draw on.

Volumes

January 2015

• Therigatha: Poems of the First Buddhist Women, translated by Charles Hallisey, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2015), hardcover, 336 pages, ISBN 9780674427730
• The Story of Manu, by Allasani Peddana, translated by Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2015), hardcover, 656 pages, ISBN 9780674427761
• Sur's Ocean: Poems from the Early Tradition, Surdas, edited by Kenneth E. Bryant, translated by John Stratton Hawley, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2015), hardcover, 1072 pages ISBN 9780674427778
• Sufi Lyrics, Bullhe Shah, edited and translated by Christopher Shackle, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2015), hardcover, 496 pages, ISBN 9780674427747
• The History of Akbar, Volume 1 (the Akbarnama), by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, edited and translated by Wheeler Thackston, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2015), hardcover, 656 pages, ISBN 9780674427754

January 2016

• The History of Akbar, Volume 2 (the Akbarnama), by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, edited and translated by Wheeler Thackston, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2016), hardcover, 624 pages, ISBN 9780674504943
• The Epic of Ram, Volume 1, (the Ramcharitmanas) by Tulsidas, translated by Philip Lutgendorf, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2016), hardcover, 432 pages, ISBN 9780674425019
• The Epic of Ram, Volume 2, (the Ramcharitmanas) by Tulsidas, translated by Philip Lutgendorf, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2016), hardcover, 560 pages, ISBN 9780674088610
• Arjuna and the Hunter, (the Kirātārjunīya) by Bharavi, edited and translated by Indira Viswanathan Peterson, Murty Classical Library of India, Harvard University Press (January 2016), hardcover, 480 pages, ISBN 9780674504967

Formats

Paperback versions of the books are available throughout the Indian subcontinent for the equivalent of 3 to 5 USD, depending on the volume's size. Electronic editions of the works are planned for the future.

Criticism

A group of senior Sanskrit scholars and academicians floated a petition that requested removal of Professor Sheldon Pollock as chief editor and reconstitution of editorial group. The petition was signed by around 15000 persons till 7th March. Thirty-two of the 132 petitioners are from IITs across India, and some are former and current government officials, including N. Gopalaswami, former chief election commissioner who is now head of a new human resource development ministry committee on the promotion of Sanskrit. Others include Prof.K. Ramasubramanian from Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, Prof. Ramesh C Bhardwaj, Head, Department of Sanskrit of Delhi University, Dr Kapil Kapoor, former Pro Vice Chancellor, JNU, New Delhi.

The petition notes from the long academic career of Prof. Pollock that it is well-known that he has "deep antipathy towards many of the ideals and values cherished and practiced in our (Indian) civilization." It said "he echoes the views of Macaulay and Max Weber that the shastras generated in India serve no contemporary purpose except for the study of how Indians express themselves." To back up their claim, the petitioners cites his 1985 paper. In addition to his academic malice, the petitions also point towards his involvement in statements which are of a purely political nature and devoid of any academic merit; those statements have condemned various policies and actions of the government of India.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Murty Foundation has roped in a major PR firm, Ogilvy for mitigating the damaging effect of petition.

See also

• Rohan Murty
• Columbia University Indo-Iranian Series
• Harvard Oriental Series
• Loeb Classical Library

Notes and references

1. ^ Jennifer Schuessler (January 2, 2015). "Literature of India, Enshrined in a Series: Murty Classical Library Catalogs Indian Literature". The New York Times. The Times Company. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
2. Masoom Gupte (11 December 2014). "Rohan Murty debuts at Jaipur Literature Festival". The Economic Times.
3. "Murty family gift establishes Murty Classical Library of India series". Harvard Gazette. 29 April 2010.
4. "A literary colossus". Harvard Gazette. 5 March 2015.
5. Desk, NewsGram News. "132 Indian academicians call for removal of Sheldon Pollock as general editor of Murthy Classical Library - NewsGram". NewsGram. Retrieved 2016-03-07. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
6. ^ "Campaign for removal of Pollock from Murthy Library stepped up". Retrieved 2016-03-07.
7. Pollock, Sheldon (1985-01-01). "The Theory of Practice and the Practice of Theory in Indian Intellectual History". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 105 (3): 499–519. doi:10.2307/601525.
8. "Murty library editor: Petition wants US scholar removed, cites JNU remarks". The Indian Express. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-03-07.

External links

Official website

• Indian literature
• Dual-language series of texts