Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 1

Author(s): Nathmal Tatia
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 180

PROGRESS OF PRAKRIT AND JAINA STUDIES1
NATHMAL TATIA
Friends,
I am deeply indebted to the authorities of the All-India Oriental Conference for inviting me to preside over the Prakrit and Jainism Section of this, the twentyfourth Session of the Conference, being held in Varanasi, the eternal city of Lord Visvanath. I turn, on this occassion, to my illustrious predecessors for inspiration, and if I fall short of your expectations in discharging adequately the onerous duties of a Sectional President, I know that my learned audience will be indulgent to me and their benevolence will assist me in tiding over my failings.
1. At the outset, I have on your behalf to place on record our deep sense of grief at the premature and sudden death, December 23, 1967, of the great patron of Jaina learning, Narendra Singh Singhi of Calcutta. A master of Science with a First in the First class in Geology from Calcutta University, celebrated indusrialist, and a lover of art, Shri Singhi enchanced the lustre of a family already reputed for its extraordinary collection of rare antiquities, and as the founder of the Singhi Faina Series published from the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, under the General Editorship of Muni Shri Jinavijayaji. He had a passion for beautiful things and his desire for knowledge was insatiable. His death is an irreparable loss to the patronage of culture and learning.
We have also to record our grief at the passing away on May 12, 1968, of Hirakumariji, Vyakarana-Samkhya-Vedantatirtha, who dedicated her whole life to the study of Prakrit and Jaina philosophy.
The death of Acharya Vijaya-Prema-Surisvaraji Maharaj, on May 22, 1968, is a sad news to the world of Jaina scholars.
May these departed souls rest in peace.
on
2. We felicitate Pandit Dalsukh Malvaniya, Director, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, on his appointment as Visiting Professor to the Department of East Asian Studies at Toronto University, Canada. Pandit Malvaniya, who belongs to the class of scholars headed by
1.
Presidential Address of the Prakrit and Jainism section at the 24th AllIndia Oriental Conference, Varanasi, October 12-14, 1668.