The proposed project – Violence: Aggression and Domination in Indian Culture– stems out from the research interests and the already existing cooperation of some of the group's initiators and proposed collaborators, who in the frameworks of the project supervised by Prof. T. Pontillo investigated the phenomenon of aggressive wandering members of famous brotherhoods outside the Brahmanical order called Vrātyas.
This time, however, besides continuing the research on the Vrātyas in Vedic and epic sources with a particular focus on their brutal behavior, both in reference to material violent attacks and various expressions of superiority triggered by their leader’s will (Falk 1986: 29-30), such as a sort of exam of wisdom made up of ritual questions or sacrifices recalling early forms of cannibalism (Falk 1986: 37), we aim to broaden the scope of research on various shades of aggressiveness in India through engaging with such issues as violent aspects of royal power and the institution of kingship, or the man-nature relations. In addition to discussions on various contexts of depictions of violence in Sanskrit and vernacular traditions, we seek to refer to visual representations of violence-related motifs (temple art, etc.). Another line of inquiry is contemporary literature, where members of marginalized/minority groups (Dalits, women, Adivasis, etc.) voice their fears, also in the broad group of texts called life writing (personal documentary literature, intimacy, etc.).
The project assumes calling to life a group of researchers who would exchange their thoughts on the above-mentioned issues during an international conference, followed by working meetings and publication of selected papers in a thematic volume of a highly ranked open-access journal.
Members of the research group
Initiators:
1. Lidia Sudyka, coordinator
2. Ewa Dębicka-Borek
2. Elena Mucciarelli
4. David Pierdominici Leão
5. Tiziana Pontillo
Other members:
6. Monika Browarczyk
7. Hermina Cielas
8. Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdzowicz
9. Edeltraud Harzer
10. Martin Hříbek
11. Frank Köhler
12. Cinzia Pieruccini
13. Weronika Rokicka
14. Paola M. Rossi
15. Aleksandra Turek
Cooperation of five indological centres
The conference is a rotating event and the result of the long-term cooperation of indologists from the Department of Languages and Cultures of India & South Asia of the Jagiellonian University with four other indological centres at: the University of Milan, the Charles University in Prague, the University of Cagliari and the University of Warsaw. In 2008 four of these centres signed a letter of intent which outlined the nature of the cooperation and the provisions for its continuation. The University of Calicut joined the group in 2010 and organised a seminar in India, while in 2015, the University of Cagliari in Italy became a member. One of the key features of the cooperation is the organisation of annual, international seminars on subjects which are established months in advance. In addition to researchers from the member centres, scholars from all over the world are invited to participate.
The topics presented and discussed during the seminars form the basis of later publications in the Pandanus series (Charles University), Cracow Indological Studies (Jagiellonian University), Indologica Taurinensia (International Association of Sanskrit Studies) and Consonanze (University of Milan), etc.