Introduction












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            * Czech Indian Studies - retrospect & prospect
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            In Bohemia, the study of Indian languages, which in Europe has a tradition of more than tw
            gradually grew from a purely philological specialisation (Sanskrit) as a part of comparati
            studies into a broadly conceived specialisation oriented on culture, history, cultural his

            and linguistics. Though the knowledge of tradition, of the sources of modern culture, mode
            literatures continues to be an integral part of Indological studies and research, our Indo
            way as Indology abroad, gradually turns its attention more and more to the present.

            This change in the contents and methods of Czech Indology was especially brought about by 
            Lesný (1882-1953) and his contemporary Professor Otakar Pertold (1884-1965), who in the fi

            20th century prepared the ground for the rise of modern Czech Indology. It was thanks to t
            World War II, their pupils were able to develop the study of modern Indian languages (Hind
            also Dravidian languages, particularly Tamil), and of modern literatures, religions and hi

            Paradoxically, the period of the so-called normalisation after 1968, brought the teaching 
            languages with the exception of Hindi to a halt. Two eminent representatives of Czech Indi
            Kamil V. Zvelebil and Ivo Fišer, left the country, and other scholars and teachers, Dušan 

            Vladimír Miltner a Hana Preinhaelterová were prevented to work in their respective fields.
            significant break in educating new generations of Indologists at least for twenty years. I
            the normalisation regime did not wish to develop professional studies of languages and cul

            subcontinent, whose population was nearing one billion.
            After 1989, there was a significant change.
            It was possible that in spite of a radical reduction of the number of posts in the Orienta

            the Academy of Sciences, some former workers could return to the Institute.
            At Charles University the Institute of Indian Studies was re-established. In the last deca
            has been offering also Romani and Indonesian, besides Indian languages. Thanks to the new 

            was possible to resume the older traditions. The University strives to create good conditi
            our Indology can develop in the international context and that our students may combine th
            philological studies with the studies of modern humanities.