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BRAHMO SAMAJ AS AN ACTOR IN THE DISSEMINATION OF ARYAN INVASION THEORY (AIT) IN INDIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2016

Subrata Chattopadhyay Banerjee
Subrata Chattopadhyay Banerjee*
Affiliation:
RWTH Aachen University [email protected]
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Abstract

Dissemination of a scientific theory often follows a circuitous route. It is a widespread notion supported by eminent scholars that the noted linguist and religious scholar F. Max Müller is responsible for the dissemination of the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT), and thus played into the hands of imperial interests. In this article, we argue that there were other stakeholders in the process of the widespread acceptance of AIT. In particular, Brahmo Samaj, a prominent socio-religious reform association in nineteenth-century India, also played a major role in the spreading of AIT. Prominent leaders of Brahmo Samaj, actively or passively, collaborated with Müller in that process. We closely examine the development of affairs during that time and attempt to establish that the development of a scientific theory is not a unilateral process, but rather strongly influenced by the socio-political environments of the time.

Keywords

Aryan Invasion TheoryFriedrich Max MüllerBrahmo SamajcolonialismChristianityHinduismcaste systemKeshub Chandra Sen
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 19 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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