In a bow to pressure from scholars worldwide, Oxford University Press said on Friday it will immediately reprint The Collected Essays of A.K. Ramanujan, an Indian scholar, poet, and translator, and another book containing his work. It announced the decision in a statement sent to more than 450 scholars who signed a letter of protest in November. The scholars expressed deep concern about censorship and the press's role in controversies in India over Ramanujan's essay "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation."
The essay traces the historical and cultural evolution of the Ramayana epic, a text central to Hinduism, through many incarnations in Asian cultures and religions. In October, the University of Delhi dropped the piece from its undergraduate curriculum because of complaints from some conservative Hindus. The press was also sued in Indian court by a plaintiff who accused it of publishing work that offended Hindu sensibilities.
The scholars who organized the protest pressed the publisher to make a public commitment to keeping Ramanujan's work in print and available. The protest was organized by Sheldon Pollock, a professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies at Columbia University; Vinay Dharwadker, a professor of languages and cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin at Madison; and Paula Richman, a professor of South Asian religions at Oberlin College.
Mr. Dharwadker is the general editor of The Collected Essays, and Ms. Richman edited Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia, in which Ramanujan's essay also appears. Oxford said it will reprint those two books along with Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition, also edited by Ms. Richman.
The books will be available from the OUP India Web site and from "bookshops across India," the press said. "OUP has an important role to play in ensuring that the best scholarship is disseminated freely, and we hope the reprinting of these three important works will demonstrate our commitment in this regard."
It added that it "does not and never has apologized for publishing any work by Ramanujan," despite reports that it had issued an apology in court. "Any previous communications from OUP India that have given the impression of such an apology have been misinterpreted," the press said in its statement. "We recognize that it is not in the best interests of the scholarly community of which we are a part for such a misinterpretation to remain, which is why we are clarifying our position once again."
In a written statement sent to The Chronicle, the protest organizers said they received the press's announcement "with deep satisfaction." The decision to reprint the Collected Essays and Many Ramayanas "boldly reasserts the scholarly and cultural value of these works," the scholars said. "We wholeheartedly support this affirmation of OUP's longstanding commitment to excellence in scholarship, to the broadest possible dissemination of knowledge, and to the right of scholars, writers, and artists to freedom of thought and expression everywhere."
In a separate e-mail, Mr. Pollock said that he and his fellow signers "are pleased with OUP's statement and believe it has addressed all our concerns."
