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'''Indology''' refers to the academic study of the ], languages, and ]s of the ], and as such a subset of ]. {{short description|Academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2013}}
'''Indology''', also known as '''South Asian studies''', is the academic study of the ] and ], ], and ] of the ], and as such is a subset of ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/indology|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830095220/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/indology|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 August 2019|title=Indology &#124; Definition of Indology by Lexico|website=Lexico Dictionaries &#124; English}}</ref>


The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is often associated with German scholarship, and is used more commonly in departmental titles in German and continental European universities than in the anglophone academy. In the ], the term ''Indologie'' was used to designate the study of Indian history and culture in preparation for colonial service in the ].
Indology may also be known as '''Indic studies''' or '''Indian studies''', or '''South Asian studies''', although scholars and university administrators sometimes have only partially overlapping interpretations of these terms.


Classical Indology majorly includes the linguistic studies of ], ] and ], as well as study of ] (like ], ], ], etc.). Some of the regional specializations under South Asian studies include:
Indology would not typically include the study of the contemporary economy, government, or politics of South Asia, except insofar as these sometimes express issues that are deeply embedded in South Asian history, and may be illuminated by indological methods and insights.
* ] – study of culture and languages of ]
* ] – study of ] of ]
** ]
* ]
* ] – the study of the ]


Some scholars distinguish ''Classical Indology'' from ''Modern Indology'', the former more focussed on Sanskrit, Tamil and other ancient language sources, the latter on contemporary India, its ] and ].
== Overview ==


== History ==
Indology overlaps to some extent with many other areas of study, applying their techniques
to the ]n case. These include
] or
],
], ],
],
],
],
],
] and the
study of the
]s of ], such as ],
], ], ], ], ] (both of which are versions of what those outside of India call "Hinduism"), ], etc., besides the indigenous forms of ], ] and ] in South Asia.


=== Precursors ===
Finally it may include the study of South Asian ]s, ]s and ].


The beginnings of the study of India by travellers from outside the subcontinent date back at least to ] ({{circa|350}}–290 BC), a ] ambassador of the ] to the court of ] (ruled 322-298 BC), founder of the ].<ref name="Bosworth"/> Based on his life in India Megasthenes composed a four-volume ''Indica'', fragments of which still exist, and which influenced the classical geographers ], ] and ].<ref name="Bosworth">{{cite journal | last1 = Bosworth | first1 = A. B. | date = April 1996 | title = The Historical Setting of Megasthenes' Indica |journal = ] |publisher = The University of Chicago Press | volume = 91 | issue = 2| pages = 113–127 | doi=10.1086/367502 |jstor=270500| s2cid = 162475029 }}</ref>
Scholars who call themselves indologists often place special value on a thorough
knowledge of the languages of ], especially the classical languages such as ], ], ], or classical ], or ], and they consider a knowledge of one or more
of these languages, coupled with a knowledge of the methods of ], to be a prerequisite for contributing meaningfully to the indological research and a characteristic feature of indology
as a field.


] scholar ] (973–1048) in Tarikh Al-Hind (''Researches on India'') recorded the ] and ] and covered India's ], ], social and ] history in detail.<ref name=Khan>{{cite journal | last1 = Khan | first1 = M. S. | year = 1976 | title = al-Biruni and the Political History of India | journal = Oriens | publisher = Brill | volume = 25/26 | pages = 86–115 | doi=10.2307/1580658 |jstor=1580658}}</ref>
Thus, Indology is the intellectual pursuit of all things Indic, with a focus on the interpretation of the past. Some scholars distinguish ''classical indology'' from
He studied the ] of India, engaging in extensive ] with various Indian groups, learning their languages and studying their primary texts, and presenting his findings with ] and ] using ].<ref name=Ahmed>{{cite journal | last1 = Ahmed | first1 = Akbar S. | date = February 1984 | title = Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist | journal = RAIN | publisher = Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | volume = 60 | issue = 60| pages = 9–10 | doi=10.2307/3033407 |jstor=3033407}}</ref>
''modern indology'', the former more focussed on Sanskrit and other ancient language sources, the
latter making more use of contemporary language sources and sociological approaches.


=== Academic discipline ===
The term ''Indology'' or (in German) ''Indologie '' is often associated with German scholarship, and is used more commonly in departmental titles in German and continental European universities than in the anglophone academy.


Indology as generally understood by its practitioners<ref>{{Cite book|title=Einführung in die Indologie: Stand, Methoden, Aufgaben|last1=Bechert|first1=Heinz|author1-link=Heinz Bechert|last2=Simson|first2=Georg von|last3=Bachmann|first3=Peter|date=1993|publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft|isbn=3534054660|location=Darmstadt|language=de|oclc = 33429713}}</ref> began in the later ] and incorporates essential features of ], including critical self-reflexivity, disembedding mechanisms and globalization, and the reflexive appropriation of knowledge.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The consequences of modernity|last=Giddens|first=Anthony|date=1991|publisher=Polity Press|location=Cambridge, U.K.|language=en|oclc = 874200328}}</ref> An important feature of Indology since its beginnings in the late eighteenth century has been the development of networks of academic communication and trust<ref>{{Cite book|title=Personal knowledge: towards a post-critical philosophy|last1=Polanyi|first1=Michael|last2=Nye|first2=Mary Jo|date=2015|publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226232621|language=en|oclc = 880960082}}</ref> through the creation of learned societies like the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and the creation of learned journals like the ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' and ''Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute''.
== History ==


One of the defining features of Indology is the application of scholarly methodologies developed in European ] or "Classics" to the languages, literatures and cultures of South Asia.
In the wake of 18th century pioneers like ] or ], Indology as an academic subject emerges in the 19th century, in the context of ], together with ] in general affected by the romantic ] of the time. The ] is founded in ], and the ] in 1842.
Systematic study and editorial activity of ] becomes possible with the St. Petersburg ''Sanskrit-Wörterbuch'' during the 1850s to 1870s. Publication of major Hindu texts in the ] begins in 1879. ]'s edition of ]'s grammar appears in 1887. ]'s edition of the ] appears in 1890-92.


In the wake of eighteenth century pioneers like ], ], ] or ], Indology as an academic subject emerged in the nineteenth century, in the context of ], together with ] in general affected by the romantic ] of the time. ] was founded in Calcutta in 1784, ] founded in 1822, the ] in 1824, the ] in 1842, and the German Oriental Society (]) in 1845, the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.jaibs.jp/English/english.html |title=The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915194020/http://www.jaibs.jp/English/english.html |archive-date=15 September 2009 |website=Jaibs.jp |access-date=20 November 2011}}</ref> in 1949.
== Professional literature and associations ==


Sanskrit literature included many pre-modern dictionaries, especially the '']'' of ], but a milestone in the Indological study of ] was publication of the St. Petersburg ''Sanskrit-Wörterbuch'' during the 1850s to 1870s. Translations of major Hindu texts in the ] began in 1879. ]'s edition of ] grammar appeared in 1887. ]'s edition of the ] appeared in 1849–1875. ] commenced publishing his pathbreaking journal ''Indologische Studien'' in 1849, and in 1897 ] launched a systematic edition of key Sanskrit texts, "Bibliotheca Buddhica".
Indologists typically attend conferences such as the American Association of Asian Studies, the American Oriental Society annual conference, the World Sanskrit Conference, and national-level meetings in the UK, Germany, India, France and elsewhere.


==Professional literature and associations==
They may routinely read and write in journals such as ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' ,
{{further|Indomania}}
''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' ,
Indologists typically attend conferences such as the American Association of Asian Studies, the American Oriental Society annual conference, the ], and national-level meetings in the UK, Germany, India, Japan, France and elsewhere.
''Journal asiatique'' , ''Bulletin de l'Ecole Français d'Extrême Orient'' ,
''Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens'' ,
''Indo-Iranian Journal'' , ''Journal of Indian Philosophy'' ,
''Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute'' and others.


They may routinely read and write in journals such as '']'',<ref>. Springer. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> '']'',<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022194622/http://www.royalasiaticsociety.org/journal.html |date=22 October 2007 }}. Royalasiaticsociety.org. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> '']'',<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207232151/http://www.umich.edu/~aos/frntmtr.htm |date=7 February 2007 }}. Umich.edu. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> '']'',<ref>{{in lang|nl}} . Poj.peeters-leuven.be. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> the '']'' (ZDMG),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dmg-web.de/?page=6 |title=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZDMG) |website=Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG)}}</ref> '']'',<ref>. Epub.oeaw.ac.at. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> '']'',<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025011729/http://www.springer.com/uk/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=3-40109-70-35501059-0 |date=25 October 2007 }}. Springer.com. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> '']'', '']'' (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu), '']'',<ref>. Maisonneuve-adrien.com. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.</ref> and others.
They may be members of such professional bodies as the American Oriental Society, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the Société asiatique, the Deutsche Morgenlaendische Gesellschaft and others.


They may be members of such professional bodies as the American Oriental Society, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the Société Asiatique, the Deutsche Morgenlāndische Gesellschaft and others.
==Prominent Indologists==
Famous Indologists include:
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==List of indologists==
== Criticisms of Indology and South Asian Studies ==
The following is a list of prominent academically qualified Indologists.


===Historical scholars===
Claims of Bias in South Asian Studies have been forwarded, in recent times by the ] and the ] which include some academics .
{{div col|colwidth=27em}}
* ] (350–290 BC)
* ] (973–1050)
* ] (1691–1779)
* ] (1731–1805)
* ] (1746–1794)
* ] (1749–1836)
* ] (1753–1821)
* ] (1760–1833)
* ] (1765–1837)
* ] (1765–1848)
* ] (1767–1845)
* ] (1773–1836)
* ] (1786–1860)
* ] (1791–1867)
* ] (1798–1868)
* ] (1799–1840)
* ] (1809–1877)
* ] (1810–1882)
* ] (1813–1889)
* ] (1814–1891)
* ] (1814–1893)
* ] (1814–1893)
* ] (1815–1904)
* ] (1819–1899)
* ] (1820–1889)
* ] (1821–1893)
* ] (1822–1907)
* ] (1823–1900)
* ] (1825–1901)
* ] (1826–1906)
* ] (1827–1894)
* ] (1832–1903)
* ] (1832–1904)
* ] (1833–1917)
* ] (1836–1908)
* ] (1837–1898)
* ] (1861–1938)
* ] (1837–1925)
* ] (1840–1882)
* ] (1842–1918)
* ] (1845–1919)
* ] (1848–1920)
* ] (1849–1894)
* ] (1850–1937)
* ] (1850–1893)
* ] (1853–1930)
* ] (1853–1938)
* ] (1854–1930)
* ] (1854–1920)
* ] (1855–1928)
* ] (1857–1927)
* ] (1862–1943)
* ](1863–1931)
* ] (1863–1937)
* ] (1866–1942)
* ] (1867–1956)
* ] (1870–1958)
* ] (1871–1947)
* ] (1872–1955)
* ] (1876–1958)
* ] (1879–1944)
* ] (1880–1972)
* ] (1882–1955)
* ] (1885–1927)
* ] (1885–1964)
* ] (1887–1960)
* ] (1888–1961)
* ] (1889–1981)
* ] (1890–1943)
* ] (1890–1963)
* ] (1890–1976)
* ] (1891–1956)
* ] (1892–1975)
* ] (1893–1963)
* ] (1893–1985)
* ] (1896–1953)
* ] (1903–1976)
* ] (1904–1974)
* ] (1904–1987)
* ] (1904–2005)
* ] (1905–1991)
* ] (1905–2001)
* ] (1906–1982)
* ] (1907–1994)
* ] (1907–2003)
* ] (1909–1986)
* ] (1909–1993)
* ] (1909–2001)
* ] (1914–1986)
* ] (1916–1997)
* ] (1920–2009)
* ] (1920–1973)
* ] (1922–2010)
* ] (1926–2003)
* ] (1927–2009)
* ] (1928–1979)
* ] (1929–2007)
* ] (1940–)
* ] (1941–1977)
* ] (1965–present)
* ] (1940–present)
* ] (1856–1896)
* ] (1920–1998)
* ] (1911–1992)
* ] (1916–1999), Wales Professor of Sanskrit, ]
* ] (1921–2003)
* ] (1914–2010)
* ] (1919–2011), Founding Chairperson of ]; ], ]
* ] (1928–2012), ]
* ] (1924–2016) ]
* ] (1933–2018), ], Germany
* ] (1930–2018)- ]
* ] (1927–2019)- ] (emeritus)
* ] (1925–2019)
* ] (1933–2020), Professor of the history of South Asia at the ] in ]
* ] (1936–2020), scholar in Tatva-vada school of philosophy and Vedic tradition
* ] (1937–2019), Edward E. Salisbury Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology, Yale University
* ] (1940–2022) ]


{{div col end}}
== References ==
<references/>


===Contemporary scholars with university posts===
== Further reading ==
{{div col|colwidth=27em}}
* ] (1931–present), Professor of Ancient History, emerita, at the Jawaharlal Nehru University
* ] (1938–present), Professor of South and Southeast Asian history at the Department of History, ]
* ] (1941–present), professor emeritus of Indology and South Asian Studies at the ]
* ] (1942–present) Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies at the ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Patrick Olivelle|url=https://www.britannica.com/contributor/Patrick-Olivelle/5695|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>
* ] (1943–present)- ] at ]
* ]- Professor Emeritus of History, South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ronald Inden|url=https://history.uchicago.edu/directory/ronald-inden|website=Department of History: University of Chicago}}</ref>
* ] (1945–present)- Professor Emeritus of Tamil at the ]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Karnam|first=Mayukha|date=2016|title=Redefining the Classics at Harvard|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/1/28/karnam-sanskrit-classical-language/|website=The Harvard Crimson}}</ref>
* ] (1948–present), Distinguished Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures and of Indo-European Studies at the ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Professor Stephanie Jamison FBA|url=https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/fellows/stephanie-jamison-FBA/|website=British Academy}}</ref>
* ] (1948–present) Emeritus Fellow and former Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Professor Alexis Sanderson|url=https://www.asc.ox.ac.uk/person/professor-alexis-sanderson|website=All Souls College, University of Oxford}}</ref>
* ] (])
* ] (1940–present) ], as Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions
* ] (1940–present), former Head of the Center for South Asian Studies, University of Michigan
* ] (1940–present), scholar of English Literature, Linguistics, Paninan Grammar, Sanskrit Arts and Aesthetics, Director of ], Shimla
* ] (1950–present), Indian scholar of Hindu philosophy and art at (]), as well as ] religious leader.<ref name="Hawley406">{{cite book |editor-surname1=Hawley |editor-given1=John Stratton |editor-surname2=Wulff |editor-given2=Donna Marie |title=The Divine Consort: Rādhā and the Goddesses of India |series=Berkeley religious studies series, 3 |url={{Google books|j3R1z0sE340C|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1982 |place=Berkeley, Ca |publisher=Graduate Theological Union |isbn=0-89581-102-2 |page=406}}</ref>
* ] (1957–present) ], ]
{{div col end}}


===Other indologists===
*Heinz Bechert, Georg von Simson - ''Einführung in die Indologie. Stand, Methoden, Aufgaben'' - ISBN 3-534-05466-0.
* ], French-Indian author and ]<ref name="rediff">{{cite web|last=Pande Daniel|first=Vaihayasi|title=The Sarasvati was more sacred than Ganga|url=http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/may/22/interview-with-michel-danino.htm|access-date=8 August 2011|work=]|quote=Technically, I am not a 'foreigner': I adopted Indian citizenship some years ago.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Guha|first=Sudeshna|date=2005|title=Negotiating Evidence: History, Archaeology and the Indus Civilisation|journal=Modern Asian Studies|volume=39|issue=2|pages=399–426|doi=10.1017/S0026749X04001611|issn=0026-749X|jstor=3876625|s2cid=145463239}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chadha|first=Ashish|date=2011-02-01|title=Conjuring a river, imagining civilisation: Saraswati, archaeology and science in India|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|language=en|volume=45|issue=1|pages=55–83|doi=10.1177/006996671004500103|s2cid=144701033|issn=0069-9667}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bhatt|first=Chetan|date=2000-01-01|title=Dharmo rakshati rakshitah : Hindutva movements in the UK|journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies|volume=23|issue=3|pages=559–593|doi=10.1080/014198700328999|s2cid=144085595|issn=0141-9870}}</ref>
*Bryant, Edwin. The Quest for the origins of Vedic culture. (2001) Oxford University Press
* ]
*Chakrabarti, Dilip: Colonial Indology, 1997, Munshiram Manoharlal: New Delhi.
* ]
*Edmund Leach. ``Aryan Invasions Over Four Millennia''. In``Culture Through Time'' (edited by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Stanford University Press, 1990)
*Jean Filliozat and Louis Renou - ''L'inde classique'' - ISBN B0000DLB66.
*Gauri Viswanathan, 1989, Masks of Conquest
*Pollock, Sheldon. Deep Orientalism?: Notes on Sanskrit and Power Beyond the Raj. In: Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament: Perspectives on South Asia, eds. Carol A. Breckenridge and Peter van der Veer. Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.
*Trautmann, Thomas. 1997. Aryans and British India, University of California Press, Berkeley.


==Indology organisations==
== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ]
* ]
* ] and Research Centre, Chennai
* ], Pune * ], Pune
* ]
* ], Thiruvananthapuram
* ] along with ] which is adjacent to the institute, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
* ]
* ]
*
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=27em}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
{{div col end}}


==References==
== External links ==
{{Reflist}}
*http://www.indology.net/
*http://indology.info/
*
* (Gifford Lectures Online)


==Further reading==
;Institutes
{{refbegin}}
*
*Balagangadhara, S. N. (1994). "The Heathen in his Blindness..." Asia, the West, and the Dynamic of Religion. Leiden, New York: E. J. Brill.
*
* Balagangadhara, S. N. (2012). Reconceptualizing India studies. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
*
* Vishwa Adluri, Joydeep Bagchee: ''The Nay Science: A History of German Indology''. Oxford University Press, New York 2014, {{ISBN|978-0199931361}} ( p.&nbsp;1–29).
*
* Joydeep Bagchee, Vishwa Adluri: "." In: Joanne Miyang Cho, Eric Kurlander, Douglas T McGetchin (Eds.), ''Transcultural Encounters Between Germany and India: Kindred Spirits in the Nineteenth Century''. Routledge, New York 2013, p.&nbsp;215–229.
*
* Joydeep Bagchee: "." In: Alf Hiltebeitel (Ed.), ''Oxford Bibliographies Online: Hinduism''. Oxford University Press, New York 2014.
*
*Chakrabarti, Dilip K.: Colonial Indology, 1997, Munshiram Manoharlal: New Delhi.
* Jean Filliozat and Louis Renou – ''L'inde classique'' – ISBN B0000DLB66.
* Halbfass, W. India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding. SUNY Press, Albany: 1988
* Inden, R. B. (2010). Imagining India. Bloomington, Ind: Indiana University Press.
* Vishwa Adluri, Joydeep Bagchee: The Nay Science: A History of German Indology. Oxford University Press, New York 2014, {{ISBN|978-0199931361}}
* ], 1989, Masks of Conquest
* Rajiv Malhotra (2016), '']'' (Publisher: HarperCollins India; {{ISBN|978-9351775386}})
* Rajiv Malhotra (2016), ] (Publisher: Voice of India; {{ISBN|978-9385485015}})
* Antonio de Nicolas, Krishnan Ramaswamy, and Aditi Banerjee (eds.) (2007), '']'' (Publisher: Rupa & Co.)
* Shourie, Arun. 2014. Eminent historians: their technology, their line, their fraud. HarperCollins. {{ISBN|9789351365921}}
* ]. 1997. Aryans and British India, University of California Press, Berkeley.
* Windisch, Ernst. Geschichte der Sanskrit-Philologie und Indischen Altertumskunde. 2 vols. Strasbourg. Trübner, K.J., 1917–1920
* Zachariae, Theodor. Opera minora zur indischen Wortforschung, zur Geschichte der indischen Literatur und Kultur, zur Geschichte der Sanskritphilologie. Ed. Claus Vogel. Wiesbaden 1977, {{ISBN|3-515-02216-3}}.
{{refend}}


==External links==
;Political criticism
{{Wikiquote}}
* by Abhijit Bagal (indiacause.com, on alleged bias in the US American education system)
{{commons category|Indology}}
* by ] (omilosmeleton.gr)
*
* by ]
* – since 1995, with associated discussion forum since 1990
* (hinduwisdom.info)
*
* by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami (iskcon.com)
* (commercial publisher's website)
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009192307/http://www.giffordlectures.org/Browse.asp?PubID=TPPHYR&Volume=0&Issue=0&ArticleID=5 |date=9 October 2008 }} (Gifford Lectures Online)


'''Institutes'''
]
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
]
*
]
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514160241/http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/abt/IND/ |date=14 May 2013 }}
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{div col end}}


===Library guides===
]
* {{cite web |url=https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/south-asia |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |author=South/Southeast Asia Library |title=South Asia Studies |location=US}}
]
* {{cite web |url=http://guides.library.ucla.edu/south-asia |publisher=University of California |work=Research Guides |title=South Asian Studies |location=Los Angeles }}
]
* {{cite web |url=http://library.columbia.edu/subject-guides/southasia.html |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |title=South & Southeast Asian Studies Research Guides |location=New York, US |access-date=22 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812212634/http://library.columbia.edu/subject-guides/southasia.html |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}
]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collections/topicGuides/india/home.aspx |publisher=] |author=Library |title=India Studies |work=Topic Guides |location=UK |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826131203/http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collections/topicGuides/india/home.aspx |archive-date=26 August 2014 }}
]
* {{cite web |url=https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/southasia |publisher=University of Oxford, Bodleian Libraries |title=South Asia |work=Oxford LibGuides |location=Oxford, UK}}
]
* {{cite web |url=http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/cat.php?cid=3004 |publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries |work=Research Guides |title=South/Southeast Asia |location=US}}
]

]
{{South Asian topics}}
]
{{Regional cultural studies}}
]
{{Authority control}}

]
]

Latest revision as of 16:10, 30 December 2024

Academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent

Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies.

The term Indology (in German, Indologie) is often associated with German scholarship, and is used more commonly in departmental titles in German and continental European universities than in the anglophone academy. In the Netherlands, the term Indologie was used to designate the study of Indian history and culture in preparation for colonial service in the Dutch East Indies.

Classical Indology majorly includes the linguistic studies of Sanskrit literature, Pāli and Tamil literature, as well as study of Dharmic religions (like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, etc.). Some of the regional specializations under South Asian studies include:

Some scholars distinguish Classical Indology from Modern Indology, the former more focussed on Sanskrit, Tamil and other ancient language sources, the latter on contemporary India, its politics and sociology.

History

Precursors

The beginnings of the study of India by travellers from outside the subcontinent date back at least to Megasthenes (c. 350–290 BC), a Greek ambassador of the Seleucids to the court of Chandragupta (ruled 322-298 BC), founder of the Mauryan Empire. Based on his life in India Megasthenes composed a four-volume Indica, fragments of which still exist, and which influenced the classical geographers Arrian, Diodor and Strabo.

Islamic Golden Age scholar Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Biruni (973–1048) in Tarikh Al-Hind (Researches on India) recorded the political and military history of India and covered India's cultural, scientific, social and religious history in detail. He studied the anthropology of India, engaging in extensive participant observation with various Indian groups, learning their languages and studying their primary texts, and presenting his findings with objectivity and neutrality using cross-cultural comparisons.

Academic discipline

Indology as generally understood by its practitioners began in the later Early Modern period and incorporates essential features of modernity, including critical self-reflexivity, disembedding mechanisms and globalization, and the reflexive appropriation of knowledge. An important feature of Indology since its beginnings in the late eighteenth century has been the development of networks of academic communication and trust through the creation of learned societies like the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and the creation of learned journals like the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society and Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

One of the defining features of Indology is the application of scholarly methodologies developed in European Classical Studies or "Classics" to the languages, literatures and cultures of South Asia.

In the wake of eighteenth century pioneers like William Jones, Henry Thomas Colebrooke, Gerasim Lebedev or August Wilhelm Schlegel, Indology as an academic subject emerged in the nineteenth century, in the context of British India, together with Asian studies in general affected by the romantic Orientalism of the time. The Asiatic Society was founded in Calcutta in 1784, Société Asiatique founded in 1822, the Royal Asiatic Society in 1824, the American Oriental Society in 1842, and the German Oriental Society (Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft) in 1845, the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies in 1949.

Sanskrit literature included many pre-modern dictionaries, especially the Nāmaliṅgānuśāsana of Amarasiṃha, but a milestone in the Indological study of Sanskrit literature was publication of the St. Petersburg Sanskrit-Wörterbuch during the 1850s to 1870s. Translations of major Hindu texts in the Sacred Books of the East began in 1879. Otto von Böhtlingk's edition of Pāṇini's grammar appeared in 1887. Max Müller's edition of the Rigveda appeared in 1849–1875. Albrecht Weber commenced publishing his pathbreaking journal Indologische Studien in 1849, and in 1897 Sergey Oldenburg launched a systematic edition of key Sanskrit texts, "Bibliotheca Buddhica".

Professional literature and associations

Further information: Indomania

Indologists typically attend conferences such as the American Association of Asian Studies, the American Oriental Society annual conference, the World Sanskrit Conference, and national-level meetings in the UK, Germany, India, Japan, France and elsewhere.

They may routinely read and write in journals such as Indo-Iranian Journal, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Journal asiatique, the Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG), Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu), Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême Orient, and others.

They may be members of such professional bodies as the American Oriental Society, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the Société Asiatique, the Deutsche Morgenlāndische Gesellschaft and others.

List of indologists

The following is a list of prominent academically qualified Indologists.

Historical scholars

Contemporary scholars with university posts

Other indologists

Indology organisations

See also

References

  1. "Indology | Definition of Indology by Lexico". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019.
  2. ^ Bosworth, A. B. (April 1996). "The Historical Setting of Megasthenes' Indica". Classical Philology. 91 (2). The University of Chicago Press: 113–127. doi:10.1086/367502. JSTOR 270500. S2CID 162475029.
  3. Khan, M. S. (1976). "al-Biruni and the Political History of India". Oriens. 25/26. Brill: 86–115. doi:10.2307/1580658. JSTOR 1580658.
  4. Ahmed, Akbar S. (February 1984). "Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist". RAIN. 60 (60). Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 9–10. doi:10.2307/3033407. JSTOR 3033407.
  5. Bechert, Heinz; Simson, Georg von; Bachmann, Peter (1993). Einführung in die Indologie: Stand, Methoden, Aufgaben (in German). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. ISBN 3534054660. OCLC 33429713.
  6. Giddens, Anthony (1991). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press. OCLC 874200328.
  7. Polanyi, Michael; Nye, Mary Jo (2015). Personal knowledge: towards a post-critical philosophy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226232621. OCLC 880960082.
  8. "The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies". Jaibs.jp. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  9. description&changeHeader=true&SHORTCUT=www.springer.com/journal/10783/about International Publisher Science, Technology, Medicine. Springer. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  10. R A S – Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Archived 22 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Royalasiaticsociety.org. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  11. JAOS Front Matter Archived 7 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Umich.edu. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  12. (in Dutch) Journal Asiatique. Poj.peeters-leuven.be. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  13. "Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZDMG)". Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG).
  14. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens (WZKS) Vienna Journal for Indian Studies. Epub.oeaw.ac.at. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  15. Journal of Indian Philosophy Archived 25 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Springer.com. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  16. Bulletin de l'EFEO. Maisonneuve-adrien.com. Retrieved on 20 November 2011.
  17. "Patrick Olivelle". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  18. "Ronald Inden". Department of History: University of Chicago.
  19. Karnam, Mayukha (2016). "Redefining the Classics at Harvard". The Harvard Crimson.
  20. "Professor Stephanie Jamison FBA". British Academy.
  21. "Professor Alexis Sanderson". All Souls College, University of Oxford.
  22. Hawley, John Stratton; Wulff, Donna Marie, eds. (1982). The Divine Consort: Rādhā and the Goddesses of India. Berkeley religious studies series, 3. Berkeley, Ca: Graduate Theological Union. p. 406. ISBN 0-89581-102-2.
  23. Pande Daniel, Vaihayasi. "The Sarasvati was more sacred than Ganga". Rediff.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011. Technically, I am not a 'foreigner': I adopted Indian citizenship some years ago.
  24. Guha, Sudeshna (2005). "Negotiating Evidence: History, Archaeology and the Indus Civilisation". Modern Asian Studies. 39 (2): 399–426. doi:10.1017/S0026749X04001611. ISSN 0026-749X. JSTOR 3876625. S2CID 145463239.
  25. Chadha, Ashish (1 February 2011). "Conjuring a river, imagining civilisation: Saraswati, archaeology and science in India". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 45 (1): 55–83. doi:10.1177/006996671004500103. ISSN 0069-9667. S2CID 144701033.
  26. Bhatt, Chetan (1 January 2000). "Dharmo rakshati rakshitah : Hindutva movements in the UK". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 23 (3): 559–593. doi:10.1080/014198700328999. ISSN 0141-9870. S2CID 144085595.

Further reading

  • Balagangadhara, S. N. (1994). "The Heathen in his Blindness..." Asia, the West, and the Dynamic of Religion. Leiden, New York: E. J. Brill.
  • Balagangadhara, S. N. (2012). Reconceptualizing India studies. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Vishwa Adluri, Joydeep Bagchee: The Nay Science: A History of German Indology. Oxford University Press, New York 2014, ISBN 978-0199931361 (Introduction, p. 1–29).
  • Joydeep Bagchee, Vishwa Adluri: "The passion of Paul Hacker: Indology, orientalism, and evangelism." In: Joanne Miyang Cho, Eric Kurlander, Douglas T McGetchin (Eds.), Transcultural Encounters Between Germany and India: Kindred Spirits in the Nineteenth Century. Routledge, New York 2013, p. 215–229.
  • Joydeep Bagchee: "German Indology." In: Alf Hiltebeitel (Ed.), Oxford Bibliographies Online: Hinduism. Oxford University Press, New York 2014.
  • Chakrabarti, Dilip K.: Colonial Indology, 1997, Munshiram Manoharlal: New Delhi.
  • Jean Filliozat and Louis Renou – L'inde classique – ISBN B0000DLB66.
  • Halbfass, W. India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding. SUNY Press, Albany: 1988
  • Inden, R. B. (2010). Imagining India. Bloomington, Ind: Indiana University Press.
  • Vishwa Adluri, Joydeep Bagchee: The Nay Science: A History of German Indology. Oxford University Press, New York 2014, ISBN 978-0199931361
  • Gauri Viswanathan, 1989, Masks of Conquest
  • Rajiv Malhotra (2016), Battle for Sanskrit: Dead or Alive, Oppressive or Liberating, Political or Sacred? (Publisher: HarperCollins India; ISBN 978-9351775386)
  • Rajiv Malhotra (2016), Academic Hinduphobia: A Critique of Wendy Doniger's Erotic School of Indology (Publisher: Voice of India; ISBN 978-9385485015)
  • Antonio de Nicolas, Krishnan Ramaswamy, and Aditi Banerjee (eds.) (2007), Invading the Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America (Publisher: Rupa & Co.)
  • Shourie, Arun. 2014. Eminent historians: their technology, their line, their fraud. HarperCollins. ISBN 9789351365921
  • Trautmann, Thomas. 1997. Aryans and British India, University of California Press, Berkeley.
  • Windisch, Ernst. Geschichte der Sanskrit-Philologie und Indischen Altertumskunde. 2 vols. Strasbourg. Trübner, K.J., 1917–1920
  • Zachariae, Theodor. Opera minora zur indischen Wortforschung, zur Geschichte der indischen Literatur und Kultur, zur Geschichte der Sanskritphilologie. Ed. Claus Vogel. Wiesbaden 1977, ISBN 3-515-02216-3.

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