Charlotte Krause her Life and Literature

Author(s): Shreeprakash Pandey
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 32

Dr. Charlotte Krause
Biography* Dr. ( Miss ) Charlotte Krause's name has not been entirely unfamiliar to the academic world. She is known to both Western and Indian scholar of Indology, and especially to the Jainas. However, it will be a striking feature of human transience in all walks and endeavours, when one ventures to find out reliable data about this remarkable woman, who, apart from making a mark in Indological studies both in Germany and in India, stirs our interest in and respect for her authentic and sincere way of life. . Dr. Luitgard Soni
After giving up a very promising career in German academia she spent more than half of her long life in India, doing research and working in the field of education. European and Indian scholars knew her personally, appreciated her scholarship, gained a lot from her proficiency in languages and her vast insider knowledge regarding various aspects of Jainism. Yet the memory of her fell into oblivion already during her the last years of her old age, so much so that no one took notice of her death and the usual obituary for scholars was not done. Thus, her name is missing even in such elaborate accounts as German scholars in India and the standard reference for German scholars ( Kürschners Gelehrtenkalender ) contains only her date of birth and her first academic works, which were published in the twenties.
Why was she so easily forgotten ? Is it because she was a person, who did not thread the usual path of academicians by * A short biography by Luitgard Soni, University of Marburg,
Germany.