Indian Writings on Early History and Archaeology of Southeast Asia: A Historiographical Analysis

Abstract

“The recognition as well as interpretation of archaeological evidence will always be biased and incomplete. There can be no archaeologically achieved final truths or wholly objective interpretations. But to recognize such limitation is not to reduce the subject to a set of mere perceptual constructs. Archaeology is a societal activity that embodies both the residues of its past and its changing attitudes towards the past. We call the residues evidence and the attitudes interpretation. The continuing dialogue between the two enables archaeology, always open to new questions, to reveal new knowledge.”

Mapping Indo-Khmer Historical and Cultural Connections: Peaceful Coexistence and Convergence of Culture

“…In an early tendency, the pre-independence India's nationalist scholars viewed India's cultural and civilisational expansion in ancient Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, in terms of colonisation, Greater India, Farther India or Further India, to project their cultural supremacy over the region. Under the 1926established Greater India Society, "[they] wanted to arouse Indian intellectuals to rise against the British oppression and subjugation" by tracing the vitality, roots, and influence of Indic civilisation in Southeast Asia (Jha, 1986: 35-36; see also Basa, 1998). For instance, Majumdar (1944a: 66) claimed that the appearance of the dominance of Indian influence in the development of Cambodian culture and civilisation in epigraphic evidence and chronicles could suggest that Cambodia was "colonised by the Indians".…”

Untitled

“…The leading Indian scholars who published on South East Asian archaeology during that period were R. C. Majumdar, Nilakanta Sastri KA, Chhabra BC, Sarkar HB, Chatterji BC, Ray NR, Gangoly BC etc. [7]. A term persistently used was 'colony' although none defined it.…”

Even the Western States Have Rights to Act Culturally During Refugee Crisis

“…Today, Turkey hosts 3,567,130 Syrian nationals [5,6], whereas the number of Syrians reaches 991,917 in Lebanon and 659,063 Jordan [6]. When the population of each country taken into consideration, Jordan with 10 million citizens and Lebanon with 6 million citizens considerably experiences more difficulties than Turkey [7].…”