Sanskrit and the British Empire

Rajesh Kochhar

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781032234267
• eBook ISBN: 9781000435535
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Indian & South Asian History
• Index: History

This book focuses on the career of Sanskrit in British India. Europe's discovery of Sanskrit was a development of far-reaching historical significance in terms of intellectual curiosity, evangelical considerations, colonial administrative requirements, and political compulsions. The volume critically analyses this interplay between Sanskrit texts and the imperial and colonial presence in India. It goes beyond the question of what the discovery of Sanskrit meant for the West and examines what this collocation meant for India.

The author looks at how the British needed Sanskrit for dispensation of Hindu civil law; how learned Pandits were cultivated; and how scholarship was developed transcending utilitarianism. He also studies the extent to which Sanskrit in pre- and non-British India had a bearing on Europe and explores themes such as Jesuit Sanskrit, Hinduism in practice, scripturism, Aryan Race Theory, seductive orientalism, and the introduction of archivalism in India.

Rich in archival sources, this unique book will be useful for scholars and researchers of colonial history, modern Indian history, Indology, linguistics, history of education, Sanskrit studies, post-colonial studies, and cultural studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Transliteration
• Major landmarks in Sanskrit studies, 1544–1951
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Jesuit Sanskrit
• 3 Colonial Sanskrit
• 4 European Sanskrit
• 5 Sanskrit Institutions in British India
• 6 Hinduism in Practice, Scripturism, and Aryan Race Theory
• References
• Index