Text and Interpretation The Indian Tradition

by Kapil Kapoor

Linguistic communities are interpretative they have shared frameworks and strategies ot fix the meaning of what is experienced through senses or communicated through language. Indian presents one such interpretative community in which the three major contending schools of thought the Brahmins the Buddhsits and the Jains flourished and fought. The presence of a strong interpretative tradition suggests the existence of texts and issues that are perennially important and also a certain freedom of mind that the community has enjoyed and guaranteed. Kapil Kapoor is professor of english centre for linguistics and english and concurrent Professor special centre for sanskrit studies Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. He was Dean of the school of language literature and culture studies JNU form 1997-1999 and rector of the university from 1999-2002.