INDOLOGY is the study of India. Currently, in many universities, it is called South Asian studies, as there is confusion between political India and the Indian sub-continent. Today, we can identify four different schools of Indology: European, American, Diasporic and Indian.

The European school pioneered Indology in the 18th century, and comprised mostly of German and British scholars. They translated Sanskrit texts and tried to construct the doctrine, as well as the history of Hinduism, along the lines of Christian doctrine and history. Initially, many saw Hindus as the ‘noble savage’, yet to evolve scientifically. Later, influenced by racial theory, many spoke of the Aryan invasion of India, equating privileged Hindu communities with invaders, no different from Muslims and Europeans, and so stripping them of all moral high ground. Thus, was caste explained and colonisation justified.