N 1750, Sir William Jones announced to the world of scholars the great I fact of Sanskrit being a language "more perfect than Greek, more co-pious than Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either", and must be said to have thereby laid the foundation of Indological studies and research in the West. The linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and some European languages had, no doubt, been already pointed out by Filippo Sassetti, who had lived in Goa between 1551 and 1555, as also by the French Jesuit Coerdoux who had presented a paper on the subject before the Academie des Inscriptions in 1767, but the credit for drawing pointed attention of scholars to Sanskrit and for popularising the study of that language certainly be longs to Jones. A few years later, Friedrich Schlegel offered through his book, Uber die Sprache und Weisheit der Indier (1505), a wider outlook in the historical evolution of languages and put forth, for the first time, the scheme of a 'comparative grammar. In the trail so finely blazed by these savants followed Franz Bopp of Germany and Eugene Burnouf of France. Bopp's User das Conjugations system der Sanskrit-sprache (1816) and Ver-gleichende Grammatik des Sanskrit (1833-1849) and Burnouf's De la langue et de la literature sanscrite (1833) must be regarded as the first truly scientific treatises in the field of Sanskrit philology in the West. Since then, the study of Sanskrit and Indo-European Linguistics has registered most impressive progress in Europe and the USA, and the history of the development of Indology in the West through all these years constitutes a very fascinating and inspiring record of magnificent achievement.
Excellent surveys of the work done in the field of Indology in various countries of the West and in some countries of the East have appeared from time to time. E. Windisch for instance, published his monumental Geschi-chte der Sanskrit-Philologie und indischen Altertumskunde between 1917 and 1920. We also have monographs on the work in specific branches of Indology, such as Oldenberg's Vedaforschung (1905), Renou's Les maitres de la philologie vedique (1928), and Wust's Indisch (1929), Even in more recent times, scholars like Aalto (Finland), Barannikov (U.S.S.R.), Bloch (France), Emencau (USA.), Klima (Hungary), and Poucha (Czechoslo vakia) have contributed papers to different journals on the progress of Indological studies in their respective countries. The Indo-Asian Culture, the quarterly journal of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, has also published articles relating to Indian studies in some Western countries.
It is, indeed, a very happy idea of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to publish, on the occasion of the 26th International Congress of Ori. entalists meeting in India, this book entitled Indian Studies Abroad. In this book are included the articles on the subject which have already appeared in The Indo-Asian Culture as also some others which have been specially written for this volume. The Organising Committee of the 26th International Congress of Orientalists is itself publishing a book, entitled Oriental Studies in India, which contains articles embodying objective surveys of the work which has been done or is being done in India in several bran chess of Orientology since Independence (that is, 1947). The present publication of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations should prove a useful companion volume to that book.
The publication of this small volume may further be regarded as India's tribute of gratitude to the many foreign scholars who have devoted their lives to the promotion of the studies and research relating to India. May it also serve as a reminder to Indian scholars of their own obligations in respect of such studies and research relating not only to India but also to other countries!
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