Heinz Werner Wessler

Välkommen till min personliga hemsida! Jag är professor i indologi med inriktning mot det moderna Sydasiens språk och kulturer. Därmed står jag i en gammal tradition av undervisning och forskning i Sydasiens linguistik och filologi i Uppsala - den första Sanskrit undervisningen Egentligen startade 1838 på denna plats. Min bakgrund är i klassisk Indologi, men under många år ligger min personliga fokus på hindi och urdu samt kulturhistoria, religion och samhälle i Indien och Pakistan.

I have studied Indology, Comparative Religion and Musicology in Bonn, Delhi, and Zuerich (Switzerland). My earlier focus was on Sanskrit epic literature, but I have turned towards modern South Asia, its literatures and languages in the course of my career. After my post-doc ("habilitation" at Bonn university, Germany), I came to Uppsala as visiting professor in 2010, and became full professor in 2014.

I have been board member of the European Association for South Asian Studies (EASAS) from 2010-2016 and once again from 2021 till today. I am also board member of "Suedasienbuero e.V.", advisory board member of the "Literaturforum Indien" and the "Aalami Urdu Adab" platform. Besides, I am honorary foreign faculty member of Oriental College, University of the Punjab (Lahore, Pakistan).

I am member of the editorial board of the journals "Orientalia Suecana", "Garbhanal", "Suedasien" and "Signum".

I have received three awards in the world of Hindi that are particularly dear to me: Vishva Hindi Samman (2015), the George Grierson Award for 2018 (2021), the Camil Bulcke Award 2022 (2023).

Watch my "installation lecture" 26.11.2015 on "Unity in Diversity" in Swedish (Installationsförläsning).

Read an interview with me on the occasion of the World Hindi Award in 2015.

Read my article (in Swedish) on the images of Sweden in South Asia (published in Sydasien 5-2013).

Read my article on the history of South Asian studies in the German speaking region (in German).

A discussion with Namita Khare (Moderation: Juergen Becker) on Hindi and its literature in the Literaturhaus Zuerich, February 2018.

Jag började som forskare i klassisk hinduism. Efter avslutning av min doktorsavhandling blev moderna och tidigt moderna litterariska texter min fokus. I de sista åren forskade om Hindi och Urdu litteratur, Sydasiens kultur- och idéhistoria, Sikhism och lexikografi.

Intervju från Sunita Pahuja om hindis framtid i "Akshaydhaara", Mauritius Broadcasting Cooperation (17.1.2023).