I've always argued that antiquated books, sculptures and paintings should not be repatriated back to India due to lack of preservation ecosystem and culture. Just look at the historic sites (barring a very few popular ones), they are either literally pissed on upon or become a poster board for election campaigns.
Antique manuscripts were (as the article says!) explicitly not part of this program due to Indian antiquities laws. Big [citation needed] for pretty much all of that, but it isn’t even relevant to the article being discussed.
It’s entirely relevant. The last paragraph of the article makes the same claim about the state of the libraries.
From another part:
Mr Michelson-Ambelang told the BBC that the removal of books from South Asia through programmes like PL-480 "creates knowledge gaps", as researchers from there often need to travel to the West to access these resources.
The knowledge gap is that America has the books and India doesn’t. If the books had stayed in India, I think that would have closed the knowledge gap because nobody would have them. They would have been lost just like the other copies of the books.
They said “antiquated books”. Wikipedia suggests that’s more than 100 years old. The program is more than 60 years old. I’m sure some of the million-plus books that were sent over are antiquated by now, if they weren’t already. The restriction was only on manuscripts.
No that doesn't make sense. What would memorization have to do with millenia old preserved manuscripts?
Were the Vedas et al memorized before being written down? Yes, of course. However, regular discoveries are made of ancient manuscripts in various Buddhist temples.
Before posting this have you checked the state of preservation [0] in the West? The real issue IMHO that if stolen good are returned to their rightful owners, Museums will be empty and libraries will be half empty.
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I've always argued that antiquated books, sculptures and paintings should not be repatriated back to India due to lack of preservation ecosystem and culture. Just look at the historic sites (barring a very few popular ones), they are either literally pissed on upon or become a poster board for election campaigns.
There was an ancient temple near Mysore to which a metal plaque was attached, with corresponding rust stains.
It explains in some swirly script language, execpt for "5Rs", that there is a fine for defacing the building (I had it translated).
A 5 rupee fine was a big deal back in the Raj
Antique manuscripts were (as the article says!) explicitly not part of this program due to Indian antiquities laws. Big [citation needed] for pretty much all of that, but it isn’t even relevant to the article being discussed.
It’s entirely relevant. The last paragraph of the article makes the same claim about the state of the libraries.
From another part:
The knowledge gap is that America has the books and India doesn’t. If the books had stayed in India, I think that would have closed the knowledge gap because nobody would have them. They would have been lost just like the other copies of the books.
Again, this article has absolutely nothing to do with antiquities.
They said “antiquated books”. Wikipedia suggests that’s more than 100 years old. The program is more than 60 years old. I’m sure some of the million-plus books that were sent over are antiquated by now, if they weren’t already. The restriction was only on manuscripts.
I've done no research in this, but if this were true, why are there orders of magnitude more Sanskrit manuscripts than any other ancient language?
Because it was memorized.
Hot and humid climates result in (historically)rapid decay of plant and animal based writing surfaces
No that doesn't make sense. What would memorization have to do with millenia old preserved manuscripts?
Were the Vedas et al memorized before being written down? Yes, of course. However, regular discoveries are made of ancient manuscripts in various Buddhist temples.
What doesn’t make sense? That humidity affects the likelihood that an ancient text will be preserved?
Humidity doesn’t guarantee that something will rot. It makes it more likely.
The item will need to be protected from the natural environment. Or stored in a location that is an exception to the general climate.
Compare that to the Middle East. Where the natural climate assists in preservation.
I have always argued that homeless people shouldn't be allowed to own anything because of a lack of individual responsibility.
(I could list many similar paternalistic takes)
Before posting this have you checked the state of preservation [0] in the West? The real issue IMHO that if stolen good are returned to their rightful owners, Museums will be empty and libraries will be half empty.
[0] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgy4w221z5o