Several years ago the Indo-Iranian Journal celebrated 60 years of continuous publication, the last ten or so of which took place in the congenial and happy home of Brill Academic Publishers, based, as are both editors, in Leiden, the original home of the journal. Taking the opportunity of the anniversary, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of his Chair in the study of Buddhism at Leiden University, one of the editors [JAS] organized a conference in Leiden in May 2017 which jointly celebrated the Indo-Iranian Journal, the Chair, and the Numata Visiting Professorship in Buddhist Studies, funded by the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai, who also contributed generously to the conference. It was originally foreseen that we would publish a selection of the papers presented at the conference in a sort of commemorative issue of this journal, but in the event that did not quite materialize, although four individual papers presented at the conference were published in IIJ 61.4 (2018). Now, however, in celebration of the journal’s history, and looking forward, we announce that nine representative articles from the IIJ’s last decade, and one new one, published in this issue, have been made accessible through Open Access. A list of these articles is found below. We are pleased that Brill has agreed to publish these ten articles in Open Access as part of our continuing joint efforts to move the IIJ towards a new model of journal publishing.
The editors share, we know, with many colleagues a profound concern that scholarship be made as freely available as possible. It is our goal that the entire contents of the IIJ be made freely available through (so-called Gold) Open Access. Toward this end we have been and continue to be involved in lengthy and frank discussions with the top management of our publisher, Brill, who, we are convinced, share our concerns. Without attempting to speak for them, however, we have come to understand better the situation of a small publisher primarily engaged in the Humanities, on the one hand, and on the other hand we have gained a new appreciation of the broader climate, dominated of course by much larger consortia and by the Natural Sciences. Finally, we understand that at least in a broader European context, if not globally, the situation is changing rapidly. We therefore fully expect that the present situation and model will not remain the case for much longer.
The purpose of this short note from the editors, therefore, is to alert our readers to the concern which, we believe, we share with you, our readers, about the future of this journal, and the necessity to make full provision for Open Access publishing of our scholarly results. We ask you, loyal readers, to be patient with us too as we negotiate for the best circumstances possible in which we may present the results of your research.
Jonathan Silk and Peter Bisschop
Open Access Articles in Order of Publication
Stephanie W. Jamison, “Sociolinguistic Remarks on the Indo-Iranian *-ka-Suffix: A Marker of Colloquial Register.” IIJ 52.2–3: 311–329.
Richard Salomon, “Like Father, Like Son: Poetic Strategies in “The Middle Brother” (Madhyama-vyāyoga) Attributed to Bhāsa.” IIJ 53.1: 1–22.
Paul Dundas, “A Digambara Jain Samskāra in the Early Seventeenth Century: Lay Funerary Ritual according to Somasenabhaṭṭāraka’s Traivarṇikācāra.” IIJ 54.2: 99–147.
Martin Gansten, “Some Early Authorities Cited by Tājika Authors.” IIJ 55.4: 307–319.
Diwakar Acharya, “How to Behave like a Bull? New Insight into the Origin and Religious Practices of Pāśupatas.” IIJ 56.2: 101–131.
Alexis Sanderson, “The Impact of Inscriptions on the Interpretation of Early Śaiva Literature.” IIJ 56.3–4: 211–244.
Vincent Tournier, “Mahākāśyapa, His Lineage, and the Wish for Buddhahood: Reading Anew the Bodhgayā Inscriptions of Mahānāman.” IIJ 57.1–2: 1–60.
Csaba Dezső, “Inspired Poetry: Śāntākaragupta’s Play on the Legend of Prince Sudhana and the Kinnarī.” IIJ 57.1–2: 73–104.
Hans T. Bakker & Peter C. Bisschop, “The Quest for the Pāśupata Weapon: The Gateway of the Mahādeva Temple at Madhyamikā (Nagarī).” IIJ 59.3: 217–258.
Amir Ahmadi, “Cosmogonic Sacrifice: A Ghost Zoroastrian Doctrine.” IIJ 60.1: 1–16.
Ruixuan Chen and Diego Loukota Sanclemente, “Mahāyāna Sūtras in Khotan: Quotations in Chapter 6 of the Book of Zambasta (I).” IIJ 61.2: 131–175.
Jonathan Silk, “Trans-Sectual Identity: Materials for the Study of the Praśnottararatnamālikā, a Hindu/Jaina/Buddhist Catechism (I).” IIJ 62.2 [this issue].
