Fifteenth All-India Oriental Conference
Summary
Chintaharan Chakravarti reports on the fifteenth session of the All‑India Oriental Conference, held in Bombay in November 1949. With President‑elect S. K. De absent, Prof. Nilakantha Sastri chaired the meeting. Dr. De’s printed address, presented to delegates, urged two major reforms: he advocated reorienting Indian educational policy to give greater prominence to classical studies and called for expanding oriental research to include the life and literature of neighbouring Asian regions. About 250 papers were submitted across eighteen sections, with Sanskrit literature attracting the most contributions and history the second largest. The report notes logistical challenges: the number of papers far exceeded the time available, and summaries circulated to attendees were often poorly edited. Nevertheless, the conference featured vibrant discussions, including two symposia on using Sanskrit as a terminological lingua franca and on developing simplified Sanskrit. Delegates also enjoyed performances of the Abhijñāna‑Śakuntalam staged by the Haritoṣa Samiti and visits to cultural sites such as Kaivalyadhāma and the Elephanta Caves. The conference passed resolutions calling on the Government of India to establish an All‑India Indological Research Institute and to create a Manuscript Survey Department to safeguard and catalogue ancient manuscripts. It also elected the executive committee and announced that the next session would be held in Lucknow under Prof. Hiriyanna. Chakravarti suggests reforms for future sessions: amalgamating or dropping some sections, merging history and archaeology under the separate History Congress, and providing better edited summaries and pre‑circulated papers. These changes, he argues, would make the conference more intelligible and useful to scholars.
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Conclusion
The fifteenth All‑India Oriental Conference showcased the breadth of oriental research in post‑independence India, but it also exposed organisational shortcomings. Chintaharan Chakravarti’s report emphasises the need for better coordination, fewer overlapping sections and stronger institutional support through an Indological research institute and a manuscript survey. The conference nevertheless demonstrated the vitality of classical studies and the growing interest in connecting Indian scholarship with broader Asian cultures.