The Acceptance and Proliferation of the Aryan Invasion Theory in India a Study Into 19Th Century Social Construction of Theory
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The Acceptance and Proliferation of the Aryan Invasion Theory in India A Study into 19th Century Social Construction of Theory Von der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinisch-Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Doktorin/eines Doktors der Philosophie genehmigte Dissertation vorgelegt von Subrata Chattopadhyay Banerjee aus Sodepur, Indien Berichter: Universitätsprofessor Dr. Phil. Armin Heinen Universitätsprofessor Dr. theol. Bernward Schmidt Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 31.07.2017 „Diese Dissertation ist auf den Internetseiten der Universitätsbibliothek online verfügbar.“ 1 2 Acknowledgement A PhD thesis is not an effort of a single person. There are several minds that come together to produce a work of intellect. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Prof. Dr. phil. Drs. h.c. Armin Heinen, Chair of Modern and Contemporary History, RWTH Aachen University, Germany, for providing me with the opportunity to complete my PhD thesis. His support and guidance made my thesis work possible. He took very active interest in my work and has always been available to advise me. He always gave me freedom in my research work and motivated me by his encouraging words. Even when I had to relocate to Singapore from Germany, Prof. Heinen was always responding to my queries by e-mail. I am very grateful for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. He always carefully read my text, asked inspiring questions and assisted me with his great skills in structuring thesis. I appreciate all of his contributions of time and ideas to make my PhD experience productive and stimulating. My regards to my parents, especially my mother Ruma Banerjee who continues to learn, grow and develop and who has been a source of encouragement and inspiration throughout my life. You both Maa and Baba (Dhiraj Banerjee), throughout my life, have actively supported me in my determination to find and realise my potential from my childhood and to make a meaningful contribution to the world. To my loving son Debargho Chattopadhyay I would like to express my thanks for being such a good son, who always cheered me up. I would like to thank my little sister Suchismita Banerjee for her encouragements throughout the journey of my research. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Gita Dharampal-Frick, Head, Department of History, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University for letting me know in first place about the book of “Aryans and British India” by Thomas R. Trautmann and other important works being done in the area close to my research. These inputs certainly shaped my perspective on the topic of my research. 3 I would like to thank Mr. Ananda Bhattacharya, librarian of Writers Building Kolkata, India, for suggesting me some key studies on Brahmo Samaj India, which helped immensely to develop the thesis chapter “Brahmo Samaj as an Actor in the Dissemination of Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) in India”. I would like to thank Prof. Amal Sankar Bandyopadhyay, faculty from my undergraduate college in India, for suggesting helpful references relevant to my research and also encouraging me during our occasional, but fruitful conversations. I also like to thank the staff of Uttarpara Joykrishna Library, India. I often went there for my archival work during my visit in India. They were very helpful and efficient. I would like to thank the reviewers of my manuscript, which got published in the International Journal of Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press, for extremely detailed and enlightening review. This acknowledgement would not be complete without mentioning the name of Prof. Anupam Chattopadhyay, my beloved husband. Professionally he is attached to the School of Computer Science and Engineering department at Nanyang Technological University. Words are often inadequate to express his contributions during my PhD. He is passionate about History and a great thinker. His immense interest in my topic of research led him to uncover materials and links that I could not possibly have discovered on my own. He was always aware of my research; he went through all of my research text diligently and helped me to improve my writing. Anupam has continued to inspire me during my research period. I have experienced his guidance day by day. Anupam was also the person, who spent sleepless nights with me and was always my support in the moments when it was hard to make progress. Finally, there are numerous people, whom I missed inadvertently to name explicitly in this acknowledgement, who have enriched my life with positive contributions, improved my outlook towards research and infused me with energy to continue this work despite setbacks. You are the ones who let me develop my research. I will keep trusting you for my future. I will forever be thankful to you. 4 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Background and Motivation ............................................................................... 10 1.2 A Survey of the Prior Research ........................................................................ 13 1.3 The Questions Asked .......................................................................................... 17 1.4 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................ 20 1.5 Structure and Organization ................................................................................ 21 1.6 Central Thesis ........................................................................................................ 24 2 MAX MÜLLER’S BEGINNING OF MODERN RELIGIOUS STUDY AND THE SILENT FORMULATION OF ARYAN INVASION THEORY (AIT) ............................... 26 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 27 2.2 Curiosity to Common Past: The Study of Ancient Indian Literature in Europe ................................................................................................................................ 34 2.3 Emergence of Max Müller in European Scientific Scene ........................... 38 2.4 Max Müller’s First Synthesis: Science of Language ................................... 46 2.5 Max Müller’s Second Synthesis: Science or Religion ................................ 52 2.6 Max Müller’s Silent Formulation of AIT ........................................................... 60 2.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 67 3 BRAHMO SAMAJ AS AN ACTOR IN THE DISSEMINATION OF ARYAN INVASION THEORY (AIT) IN INDIA ................................................................................. 69 5 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 70 3.2 A Short Overview of Brahmo Samaj ................................................................ 85 3.3 The Coagulation of Brahmo Samaj: From Conflict to Collaboration with Christian Missionaries ................................................................................................... 91 3.4 Keshub’s new Synthesis: making Brahmo Samaj really Universal ...... 100 3.5 AIT and its contradiction with Christianity .................................................. 104 3.6 Using the Tools of British Empire: The Politicization of Brahmo Samaj 114 3.7 Summary ............................................................................................................... 120 4 THE ROLE OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES TOWARDS FORMULATION AND SPREADING OF ARYAN INVASION THEORY (AIT) IN INDIA ................................. 125 4.1 Christianity in 19th Century Europe ............................................................... 126 4.2 Oxford Movement ............................................................................................... 129 4.3 Colonial Missions ............................................................................................... 131 4.4 History of Christian Missions in India ........................................................... 134 4.5 Missionary Interest in India: Methods and Outcome ................................ 137 4.6 Initial Setback of Missions: Insurmountable Obstacles ........................... 139 4.7 Interaction with Indian Social Reformers ..................................................... 144 4.8 Intellectual Conflict between Missionaries and Social Reformers ........ 148 4.9 Educational Reform Movement: A New Strategy ....................................... 151 4.10 Christianity and Colonialism in India ............................................................ 156 4.11 Discovery of AIT .................................................................................................. 160 4.12 Müller’s Role in Linguistic Studies: Colonial Ties ..................................... 162 4.13 Reactions of Christian Missionary Groups to Aryan Myth ...................... 165 4.14 AIT and the Role of Christian Missions in India ......................................... 169 4.15 Vedantist Movement in Calcutta after Rammohun .................................... 170 4.16 Reactions of Social Reformers: Dayanand Saraswati, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jyotirao ................................................................................................................. 175 4.17 Divide and Rule ..................................................................................................