On Wednesday, 10 November 2004, the Faculty of Philosophy at the
University of Cologne decided that the Cologne Institute of Indology
and Tamil Studies will be closed down when the current director,
Prof.Dr. D.B. Kapp, retires in February 2006. The director was
informed not earlier than the night before by the dean and vice-
dean about the imminent closure. Neither members of the institute
nor students had been given the opportunity to present their
position prior to the decision. In other words, all people concerned
have been totally overrun.
The decision was reached against the background of cuts announced by
the Ministry of Science and Research of North Rhine Westphalia,
according to which the University of Cologne will have to reduce its
number of faculty by 24 until the year 2008. 6 of these positions
will have to be taken from the Faculty of Philosophy. By closing
down the chair of Indology and Tamil Studies in Cologne one
single position would be reduced. The consequences, however, would
be the closure of an entire institution and the demise of the
discipline `Tamil Studies' in Germany. If only from an economic
point of view, it seems entirely unjustified to close down a public
institution which functions with a minimum of costs, but which has a
major impact on contemporary German society:
- IITS Cologne offers unique opportunities for academic
studies in Germany: With its clear focus on South India in both
teaching and research, the IITS in Cologne occupies a unique
position among the centres of South Asian Studies in Germany.
Our activities address a geographical and cultural space
which has for a long time been overlooked. As the name of the
institute suggests, we particularly specialise in research and
teaching of Tamil language and culture. In Germany, Tamil
culture has gained special momentum due to the immigration of
Sri Lankan Tamils during the 1980s. Tamil is the most important
member of the so-called Dravidian family of languages with over
70 million speakers in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and
with further speakers in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia,
Singapore, as well as Canada, USA, Great Britain, France and
Switzerland.
With its broad spectrum of currently 9 South Asian languages,
the IITS offers important opportunities for students to
specialise and to enhance their knowledge. We teach the
well-known, trans-regional languages Hindi (spoken by more than
480 million speakers), Bengali (200 million) and Tamil, as well
as Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi and Sinhalese. For their
own, individualised profile, students at the University of
Cologne often combine the subject 'Indology/Tamil Studies' with
other subjects, e.g. Anthropology, Musicology, Political
Sciences,Sociology, Philosophy, Linguistics, Media Studies,Art
History, or English Studies. It is because of these combinations
that the subject 'Indology/Tamil Studies'forms an integrated
part of the variety of disciplines at the University of Cologne.
Together with the Institute of Indology in Bonn, the IITS
participates in a specific network: While the institute in Bonn
focuses on Classical Indology and regionally on North India, the
IITS concentrates on modern South Asia and on the culturally
different South of the subcontinent.
- The IITS Cologne is a national and international leader in
research: Due to its unique position within the landscape of
the institutions of Higher Education in Germany, the IITS forms
part of a large number of national and international research
networks and cooperations. We have research partners in Europe
(France, Sweden, Austria, UK, Czech Republic), in the U.S.
(Chicago,Berkeley, Rhode Island) and in Asia (India, Sri Lanka,
Singapore). As may be expected, we furthermore entertain links
to other institutions of South Asian Studies in Germany.
The many research projects carried out at the IITS have led
to considerable donations and endowments: 400,000 Euros in the
years 2003 and 2004 alone. Not only the institute, but the
entire university has benefited from this.
Moreover, special mention should be made of the Tamil section
of the IITS library which was founded during the 1950s and 60s
and which has been systematically enlarged since 1992. It
currently contains more than 60,000 volumes. It is therefore the
largest Tamil library outside India. An important part of the
collection contains books published during the 19th and early
20th centuries. Many of these volumes are found today only in
Cologne. The IITS library is a unique instrument of research
which continues to receive considerable international acclaim.
It not only serves current research and teaching at the IITS
itself, but also frequently attracts researchers from all over
the world.
- The IITS Cologne facilitates cultural integration of South
Asians in Germany: The IITS is the only institution in Germany
which offers the subject 'Tamil Studies'. Here, native speakers
of German find the opportunity to study an important modern
South Asian language, while on the other hand the Tamil
population in Germany finds a place to study their mother
tongue. During the past decade, the IITS has become increasingly
popular among the more than 70,000 Tamils who have come to
Germany from Sri Lanka or India. The IITS offers support to the
Tamil population in Germany by providing dictionaries and
through its library services.
Also for other South Asian communities the IITS provides a
centre. This is reflected in the increasing interest of students
to study the South Indian language Malayalam at the IITS, or in
a project which aims at the digitisation of one of the most
prestigious Telugu libraries in the South Indian state Andhra
Pradesh.
- The political and economic importance of South Asia: South
Asia is a region with an increasing importance in the economy
and in global politics. The IITS responds to this impact by
introducing a new BA course in Indian Economics. During the past
few months, the IITS has been developing this highly innovative
course in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics and Social
Sciences at the University of Cologne (Department of Prof.Dr.
Donges). Students will be able to acquire far-reaching
linguistic and cultural skills, while following courses on
economics and participating in work practice periods in
South Asia. This new BA course does not only follow the
proclamation by the Ministry of Science and Research of North
Rhine Westphalia to reform and innovate Higher Education in the
region. It will also contribute to make North Rhine Westphalia,
and the University of Cologne in particular, a more attractive
region to study in.
- Further economic aspects: The minimal reduction of costs
with a single position leads to the death of an entire
institution and discipline. The number of students in a
particular subject or academic discipline has become one of the
most important criteria for decisions concerning Higher
Education policies in Germany. As a matter of course, the IITS
caters for a smaller number of students than other subjects,
such as German or English Studies or History. Unlike in the case
of these subjects,however, the number of degrees awarded in
'Indology/Tamil Studies' does correspond to the actual
demand on the job market. Even the Ministry of Science and
Research of North Rhine Westphalia has recognised that with
regard to the so- called 'smaller' disciplines, student
capacities and numbers of awarded degrees are less important to
the question of overall relevance (See the "Abschlußbericht des
Expertenrats im Rahmen des Qualitätspakts für das Ministerium
für Wissenschaft und Forschung des Landes NRW vom 20.02.2001" at
http://www.mwf.nrw.de/Ministerium/Wissenschafts_Forschungspolitik/Qualitaetspakt/Abschlussbericht/index.html
The IITS in Cologne does not only occupy a unique position within
the landscape of the institutions of Higher Education in Germany.
Beyond the academic sphere, the IITS has an important social
function due to its contribution towards the understanding and
integration of cultural minorities in Germany. The decision taken by
the Faculty of Philosophy to abolish Tamil Studies in Germany
is overly hasty and short-sighted. Whether the procedure itself was
legal is currently being investigated. In any case, the decision is
a slap in the face not only of the students but of the entire South
Asian population in Germany. While this year Tamil has been declared
a 'classical' language, the international Tamil community is about
to face the demise of a prestigious cultural institution in Germany
with international links in both teaching and research. Given the
current political climate in Germany and its concomitant educational
policies, further far-reaching cuts and the demise of other
disciplines are to be expected not only at the University of Cologne
but everywhere else. Thus, what is happening here to the IITS in
Cologne concerns not a few 'unimportant' and underprivileged
students; it concerns German society as a whole.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information:
Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies (IITS
University of Cologne
Pohligstrasse 1
D-50969 Cologne
Germany
