The Acceptance and Proliferation of the Aryan Invasion Theory in India

215 Pages·2017·1.51 MB·English

The Acceptance and Proliferation of the
Aryan Invasion Theory in India
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A Study into 19 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.“

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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.
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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.

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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
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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 ................................................................................................... 178
4.18 Adoption by Christian Missionaries: A New Method ................................ 179
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4.19 Müller’s Communications with Social Reformers in India and the
Propagation of AIT ........................................................................................................ 184
4.20 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 189

5 THESIS SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 193
5.1 Extending the Research on Max Müller ........................................................ 195
5.2 Future Directions ................................................................................................ 197

6 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 199

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Foreword

This thesis was submitted first with the title “The Origin of the Aryan Invasion Theory:
A Study into 19th Century Scientific World”. The following content has been
significantly altered to include the valuable feedback of the examiners of this thesis,
Prof. Dr. phil. Drs. h.c. Armin Heinen, Prof. Dr. Bernward Schmidt and Prof. Stella
Neumann. The changes also reflected into a modified title of this work, which

captures the essence of this contribution in a more coherent way.

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1 INTRODUCTION

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1.1 Background and Motivation

Friedrich Max Müller (1823-1900) was one of the leading intellectuals of 19th century
Europe. He was a prolific author and was blessed with a long life and sturdy health.
His particular specializations were on comparative linguistics, a subject, where he did
pioneering work, as well as Indology, where he undertook the monumental task of
editing a 50-volume set of English translations of Eastern religious texts. His lectures,
Gifford lectures being the most notable ones, were heavily attended and followed
across contemporary academia. Having done pioneering work in several blossoming
academic disciplines, Müller rightfully received a lot of attention during and after his
life. His celebrity spread across much of the European colonial states, particularly in
India, where he gained many friends. Several people went on to author his
biography, with deep praise, the most notable one being from Nirad C. Chaudhuri.1

Contemporary intellectuals, however, also remember Müller for his alleged
contribution to the development of a racial migration theory. It is claimed by many
authors, notably by Brahm Dutt Bharti, in his book titled - Max Muller, a lifelong
masquerade - that, Müller masterminded a theory combining race, religion and
linguistics. It is argued that this migration theory has acted as the precursor and most
significant theoretical force behind Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT). Such linear
interpretation of history were popularized rather quickly in the second half of the 19th
century, which puts forward the claims that AIT was a grand scheme, where Müller
was an accomplice to the British colonial powers. Such stark claims get fanciful
support even more, while sometimes overshadowing the central argumentative
piece, that whether Aryan migration happened or not.

This critical view on Max Müller and AIT also received a major support when Edward
Said questioned the cultural impact of modern empires in his landmark books on

1 (Chaudhuri, 1974) This book covered the life of Müller with a social backdrop and analysis of his actions as a
reigning scholar of his days. The book won the highest literary award, Sahitya Academy award, in India.
Chaudhuri, himself an eminent scholar, took this book to pay the homage of many Indians to Müller, who
resurrected the ancient texts through his tireless zeal. Chaudhuri traced the journey of Germanic renaissance and
how it helped India to connect with European intellect. He described about how Müller, even at Oxford, lived
like a hermit studying the earliest civilization traces from India. Indeed, many of his admirers believed that he
was previously born in India and made this superhuman effort to finish his incomplete works from previous
births !
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