Modern Historians of Ancient India (Colonialist, Nationalist and Marxist Approaches)
Ancient History › Sources, Geography and Historiography · Topic 1.2
Modern study of ancient India began in the late eighteenth century to serve British administration, with William Jones's Asiatic Society (1784), Max Mueller's Sacred Books of the East and V.A. Smith's Early History of India. Nationalist scholars such as Bhandarkar, Jayaswal and Raychaudhuri answered the colonial claims, Basham and Kosambi shifted to cultural and materialist history, and later work stresses social and economic processes.
6 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Sources, Geography and Historiography
At a Glance
- Colonial phase Asiatic Society 1784; V.A. Smith 1904
- Nationalist phase Bhandarkar, Raychaudhuri, Jayaswal, Altekar
- Cultural turn Basham, The Wonder That Was India
- Materialist turn D.D. Kosambi
- Today Social, economic and cultural processes
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Sources, Geography and Historiography
Where Does It Fit?
This is the second topic of the Ancient History subject. The previous topic explained why ancient history matters, and this one describes how it has been written. The next topic describes the archaeological sources used by historians. Previous topic: Significance of Ancient Indian History and Unity in Diversity. The same debates in the modern period are in Colonial, Nationalist and Marxist Approaches to Modern Indian History.
What Was the Colonialist Contribution?
In short: European scholars began serious study of ancient India to meet the needs of British rule, and left both valuable editions and a one-sided picture.
Modern research began in the second half of the eighteenth century. When Bengal and Bihar came under the East India Company in 1765, the Company found it hard to administer Hindu inheritance law, so in 1776 the Manu Smriti was translated into English as A Code of Gentoo Laws. Sir William Jones (1746 to 1794) set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta in 1784 and was the first to suggest that Sanskrit, Latin and Greek belonged to one language family. He translated the Abhijnanashakuntalam in 1789, and Wilkins translated the Bhagavadgita in 1785. The Bombay Asiatic Society followed in 1804 and the Asiatic Society of Great Britain in 1823. The German-born F. Max Mueller (1823 to 1902) gave the greatest impetus; he edited the fifty-volume Sacred Books of the East. After 1857 Britain wanted deeper knowledge of its subjects, and missionaries also studied scriptures.
| Colonialist claim | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Indians lacked a sense of history and chronology | Partly valid in comparison with the Chinese, though early events were dated from the Buddha’s death |
| Indians were used to despotism | False or grossly exaggerated; later work on republics disproved it |
| Indians were absorbed in the next world and had no nationhood or self-government | Used to justify colonial rule |
Vincent Arthur Smith (1843 to 1920), in Early History of India (1904), wrote the first systematic history, centred on political events, and gave nearly a third of the space to Alexander’s invasion. He called autocracy substantially the only form of government in India, and his book served as a textbook for nearly fifty years.
How Did Nationalist Historians Respond?
| Scholar | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Rajendra Lal Mitra (1822 to 1891) | Published Vedic texts, wrote Indo-Aryans, and took a rational view, showing people ate beef in ancient times |
| R.G. Bhandarkar (1837 to 1925) | Reconstructed the political history of the Satavahanas and the history of Vaishnavism; social reformer |
| V.K. Rajwade (1869 to 1926) | Collected Sanskrit manuscripts and sources of Maratha history; history of marriage in Marathi (1926) |
| P.V. Kane (1880 to 1972) | History of Dharmasastra in five volumes, an encyclopaedia of ancient laws and customs |
| D.R. Bhandarkar (1875 to 1950) | Epigraphist; books on Ashoka and ancient political institutions |
| H.C. Raychaudhuri (1892 to 1957) | Political history from the Bharata war to the end of the Gupta empire; criticised Smith |
| R.C. Majumdar (1888 to 1980) | General editor of History and Culture of the Indian People |
| K.A. Nilakanta Sastri (1892 to 1975) | A History of Ancient India and A History of South India |
| K.P. Jayaswal (1881 to 1937) | Exploded the myth of despotism with Hindu Polity (1924), showing republics with self-government |
| A.S. Altekar (1898 to 1959) | Wrote on the role of indigenous dynasties and on polity and society |
Until 1960 political history drew most Indian scholars, who often glorified regions and dynasties. Nationalist writers gave Alexander’s invasion less space and stressed Chandragupta Maurya’s liberation of the north-west from Seleucus.
What Was the Shift to Non-Political History?
The British scholar A.L. Basham (1914 to 1986) questioned looking at ancient India from a modern standpoint, and his The Wonder That Was India (1951) is a sympathetic survey of ancient culture free of the prejudices of Smith and others. D.D. Kosambi (1907 to 1966) in An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (1957), popularised in The Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline (1965), applied a materialist interpretation derived from Marx, tracing stages of social and economic development through tribal and class processes. Over the last decades historians have laid greater stress on social, economic and cultural processes and relate them to political developments, and they compare texts with archaeological and anthropological evidence. As an analytical point, each phase reflected its own concerns: colonial writing served rule, nationalist writing answered it, and later writing asked new questions about society and the economy. Debates over interpretation continue, and historians insist that conclusions rest on a rational reading of the sources described in Archaeological Sources – Material Remains and Coins.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Names and works Authors and books are asked often
- Interpretation Colonial and nationalist viewpoints
- Method Basis for source criticism
What Came Next?
The next topic describes the archaeological sources of ancient Indian history. Next topic: Archaeological Sources – Material Remains and Coins.
Key People and Terms
- William Jones Founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal
- Max Mueller Editor of Sacred Books of the East
- V.A. Smith Author of Early History of India
- K.P. Jayaswal Author of Hindu Polity
- D.D. Kosambi Marxist historian
- A.L. Basham Author of The Wonder That Was India
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Asiatic Society of Bengal: 1784.
- Code of Gentoo Laws: 1776.
- V.A. Smith: 1904.
- Jayaswal’s Hindu Polity: 1924.
- Kosambi: 1957.
Do Not Confuse With
- Colonialist and nationalist historians Served empire versus answered it
- Kosambi and Basham Materialist interpretation versus sympathetic cultural survey
- R.G. Bhandarkar and D.R. Bhandarkar Satavahana and sect historian versus epigraphist
Memory Hook
Jones founds, Mueller edits, Smith writes; Bhandarkar and Jayaswal reply; Basham and Kosambi turn to society.
Mains Angle
Questions on historiography ask for phases and their biases. These points add depth.
- Colonial Serving British rule
- Nationalist Reply and regional history
- Later Social and economic history
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Discuss the colonialist and nationalist approaches to the study of ancient Indian history.”
How to Answer
- Colonial Jones, Mueller, Smith.
- Claims Despotism and no chronology.
- Nationalists Bhandarkars, Jayaswal.
- Later Basham, Kosambi.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal?
The Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in Calcutta in 1784 by Sir William Jones, a servant of the East India Company, who was also the first to suggest that Sanskrit, Latin and Greek belonged to one family of languages.
What was the colonialist view of ancient India?
Colonialist writers held that ancient Indians lacked a sense of history, were used to despotic rule, were absorbed in the next world and had no nationhood or self-government. These claims were used to justify British rule.
What was K.P. Jayaswal's contribution?
K.P. Jayaswal showed in his Hindu Polity (1924) that republics existed in ancient India with a measure of self-government. This exploded the colonial myth that India knew only despotism, and his basic thesis is widely accepted.
Who was D.D. Kosambi?
D.D. Kosambi was a historian who gave a materialist interpretation of Indian history in his Introduction to the Study of Indian History (1957), showing stages of social and economic development through tribal and class processes.
What is the present trend in studying ancient India?
Recent work stresses social, economic and cultural processes and relates them to political developments. Historians also compare the conventions of texts with archaeological and anthropological evidence, instead of relying only on dynastic narratives and royal lists.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 The Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in 1784.
Sir William Jones set it up.
2 V.A. Smith's Early History of India was published in 1904.
It was the first systematic history.
3 K.P. Jayaswal argued that ancient India knew only despotism.
He showed republics existed in Hindu Polity.
4 Max Mueller edited the Sacred Books of the East.
It ran to fifty volumes.
Related Topics
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