Social Science Writing in Marathi

A vibrant discourse in the social sciences in Marathi is conspicuous by its absence. The causes are many but primarily it is the professional ineptitude of most academicians writing in Marathi coupled with abysmal institutional support that is responsible for the sorry situation. With the exception of two research and academic bodies, the many organisations established by the Maharashtra government have either become defunct or have ceased to function effectively. Given the increasing number of students of higher education in Marathi, there is a large market waiting to be served.

This article is based on presentations made at the department of sociology, University of Pune, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Centre for Women’s Studies, University of Pune, and the Academic Writing Workshop jointly organised by e-social sciences and ICSSR, western regional centre, Mumbai, at various points of time. I would like to thank the organisers and the participants of these events for providing me the opportunity to interact with them.

Marathi, like any of its Indian counterparts, is a rich language, but a vibrant social science discourse in it¹ is certainly missing at present. The claim of any language to be a source of knowledge requires that the knowledge production happens, ﬁrst and foremost, in that very language. Translations are a valuable source of knowledge transmission to the extent that they widen the horizon of available perspectives and enhance the process of knowledge production in the targeted language. But knowledge sourced from translations, however profound their content, cannot be said to belong to the targeted language. Hence, it is the present status of knowledge production in Marathi that needs to be addressed so as to unlock the causes for the lack mentioned above.

Academic Mode of Writing