Everything about Indologist totally explained
Indology refers to the academic study of the languages, texts,
history and
cultures of the
Indian subcontinent, and as such a subset of
Asian studies.
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.
Indology wouldn't typically include the study of contemporary economy, government, or politics of South Asia, except insofar as these express issues that are deeply embedded in South Asian history, and may be illuminated by indological methods and insights.
Overview
Indology overlaps to some extent with many other areas of study, applying their techniques
to the
South Asian case. These include
cultural or
social anthropology,
cultural studies,
historical linguistics,
philology,
textual criticism,
literary history,
history,
philosophies and the
study of the
religions of
South Asia, such as the
Vedic religion,
Hinduism, including
Shaivism and
Vaishnavism (both of which are versions of what is commonly called "Hinduism"),
Jainism,
Buddhism,
Sikhism, folk and tribal religions, etc., besides the indigenous forms of
Judaism,
Zoroastrianism,
Christianity and
Islam in South Asia.
Finally it may include the study of South Asian
sciences,
arts,
architecture, agriculture (vṛksāyurveda), martial arts, etc.
Scholars who call themselves Indologists often place special value on a thorough
knowledge of the languages of
India, especially the classical languages such as
Sanskrit,
Pāli,
Prakrit, or classical
Tamil, or
Persian, and they consider a knowledge of one or more
of these languages, coupled with a knowledge of the methods of
philology, to be a prerequisite for contributing meaningfully to the indological research and a characteristic feature of Indology
as a field.
Thus, Indology is the intellectual pursuit of all things Indic, with a focus on the interpretation of the past and its outcomes in the present. Some scholars distinguish
Classical Indology from
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.
The term
Indology or (in German)
Indologie (External Link
) 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.
History
The beginnings of Indology date back to the Iranian (Khwarezmia, N. Uzbekistan) historian and anthropologist
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048). In his
Kitab fi Tahqiq ma l'il-Hind (
Researches on India), he not only recorded the political
history of India and
military history of India, but also covered India's
cultural,
scientific, social and
religious history in detail.
In the wake of 18th century pioneers like
Henry Thomas Colebrooke or
August Wilhelm Schlegel, Indology as an academic subject emerges in the 19th century, in the context of
British India, together with
Asian studies in general affected by the romantic
Orientalism of the time. The
Société Asiatique was 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.
Systematic study and editorial activity of
Sanskrit literature became possible with 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 Bohtlingk's edition of
Panini's grammar appeared in 1887.
Max Müller's edition of the
Rigveda appeared in 1849-75. In 1897,
Sergey Oldenburg launched a systematic edition of key Sanskrit texts, "Bibliotheca Buddhica".
Professional literature and associations
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
(External Link),
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (External Link),
Journal of the American Oriental Society (External Link),
Journal asiatique (External Link),
the Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG),
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens (External Link),
Journal of Indian Philosophy (External Link),
Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,
"Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies" (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu),
Bulletin de l'Ecole Français d'Extrême Orient (External Link),
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:
Deceased
Living
Ahmad Hasan Dani (b.1920)
George L. Hart, University of California, Berkeley
Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (b. 1928), Osmania University
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson(b.1941)
Iravatham Mahadevan, Indian Council of Historical Research
Axel Michaels (b.1949), University of Heidelberg
Asko Parpola (b. 1941), University of Helsinki (emeritus)
Ram Sharan Sharma (b. 1919), Founding Chairperson of Indian Council of Historical Research; Professor Emeritus, Patna University
Romila Thapar (b. 1931), Jawaharlal Nehru University (emerita)
Michael Witzel (b. 1943), Harvard University
Stanley Wolpert
Kamil Zvelebil (b. 1927), University of Utrecht (emeritus)Further Information
Get more info on 'Indologist'.
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