An Ocean of Gems

An Ocean of Gems is dedicated to Dr Dhanesh Jain (1939–2019), distinguished scholar of Indian sociolinguistics and founder of Ratna Sagar, parent company of Primus Books. He was also a dedicated academic and co-editor, with George Cardona, of The Indo-Aryan Languages, a seminal reference work on the subject. As a publisher, Dhanesh Jain was an inspiration to authors and readers, tirelessly advocating and pragmatically supporting the Indian academic publishing industry with highcalibre academic reference books and Indological scholarship. As a scholar and reviewer for major presses, he recognized the urgent need for such a publishing enterprise in the humanities and social sciences, particularly in the discipline of South Asian languages. To this day, Primus Books provides a viable alternative publishing platform to academics globally.

This memorial volume of essays by prominent scholars of Indian languages and linguistics aims not only to honour Dhanesh Jain but also hopes to encourage those who pursue his footsteps in scholarship, editing, or publishing to maintain the purity of purpose and ceaseless efforts necessary to ensure that the best of humanistic knowledge about South Asia is preserved for posterity in India and across the world.