Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 276

SOME REMARKS ON THE LANGUAGE OF THE ORIGINAL
BUDDHIST CANON
By
M. A. MEHENDALE
At the very outset let me express my gratitude to the Executive Committee of the All-India Oriental conference for having elected me to preside over the Indian Linguistics Section of this year. It is a great honour no doubt, but I do feel that it would have been better if my election had waited for some more years. With my limited knowledge and experience I feel some embarrassment in executing the duties of this office which was in previous years held by great digniataries whose names are too well-known to Indologists. Perhaps in electing me as sectional President, the Executive Committee has sought to honour my Pūrvācāryas through me. Any way it is with this feeling that I shall proceed with the work and discharge my duties as best as I can.
But before I proceed I have a sad thing to do. It is with a heavy heart that I refer to the sad demise of Prof. Jules BLOCH who passed away soon after the previous session of the Conference held at Ahmedabad. In his death India has lost a good friend and a great scholar. He not only himself contributed a number of valuable articles and volumes on Indo-Aryan and Dravidian Linguistics, but also trained many a young scholar from this country to do important research in this field.
In such Presidential Addresses it is customary to take a review of the work done in the field during the last two years. As this was not done at the previous session I am extending the period of review roughly to four years. With the limitations on time I cannot do any more than just refer to some of the important publications, linking these up wherever necessary, with the previous work done in those particular branches. I earnestly beg to be excused for any omission and request the scholars to bring up these to my notice. (I have to point out that while preparing the review I had to omit references to articles published in
• Sectional President's Address delivered at the Indian Linguistics Section of the
18th Session of the All-India Oriental Conference held on 26th-28th December, 1955,
at Annamalainagar. Bull. DCRI. xvii-6
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