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  PULSES OF INDIA

Dr. Gautam Chatterjee  

 
 
 



 

 

 
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HERITAGE INSTITUTE OF INDIA

by Dr. Gautam Chatterjee

ASIATIC SOCIETY OF INDIA

‘Some institutes reflect history and some contribute to it’. Asiatic Society not only reflected the by gone era but contributed initiated a multi-facet academic endeavour. Alongside it contributed by retrieving, restoring, preserving and studying the ancient remains and thus revealing the country’s past.

It was a dream of Sir William Jones who arrived in Calcutta on 25 September 1783 as a Poison Judge of the old Supreme Court. While sailing to India on the frigate Crocodile he planned his dream study. This included ‘the laws of the Hindus and Mohammedans; illustrations of scriptures; traditions concerning the deluge; modern politics and geography of Hindustan; Arithmetic and Geometry and mixed sciences of Asiaticks; Medicines; Chemistry; Surgery and Astronomy of the Indians; natural products of India; poetry; etc’

This heritage institution, with the process of time kept on changing its name. It was Asiatick Society (1784-1825); The Asciatic Society (1825-1835);The Asiatic Society of Bengal(1836-1951) and the Asiatic Society again since 1951.

The Asiatick Society grew with European patronage and until 1829. No Indians were admitted until 1829 when Dr Horace Hayman Wilson mooted to include Indian members. The earliest Indian members of the Society were Prasanna Kumar Tagore, Dwarkanath Tagore, Russamay Dutt and Ram Camul Sen.

Asiatic Society after Jones death got institutionalized and accelerated the Indian renaissance. The first publication of the Society Asiatick Researchers in 1788 and its subsequent four volumes created an awe in the European world. This publication Asiatick Researchers was so much in demand in the literary and scholarly field that a ‘pirated edition’ of the first volume came into circulation in England in 1798.German and French scholars also got copies in their languages.

Asiatic society marched ahead by collecting rare items from Mss. Rock Edicts to coints etc. Let us see the collection of the Asiatic Society which will unveil the contribution of this heritage society.

Aciatic society’s biggest asset is its Manuscripts collections which was augmented by Raja Rajendralal Mitra. There are some 45000 Mss which have been catalogued and total holding scales more than 60,000. The earliest is Asokan rock edict of 3rd century B.C.

The collection of Mss encompasses forty-one languages and dialects. Those are Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Hindi, Meithili, Sarda, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese, Oriya, Bengali, Rajasthan, Tamil Telegu etc. Beyond the Geo-political borders there are Persian, Turkish, Pushto, Armenian Mss which are kept under excellent arrangement. Apart from these there are thousands of Sino-Tibetan and Southeast Asian languages Mss kept in the society. Prof Kajol Sen said that society has been microfilm those rare Mss. so that socholars can have access to those records easily without disturbing the original documents. Dr Federico Mayor, Director General UNESCO was so impressed about the Mss. and other collections that he identified the society as ‘Memory of the World’.

Asiatic Society’s another important collection is the Book and Journalists. There are about 200,000 books and Journals, monograph and pamphlets in European and Indian languages on various streams of huministic knowledge enveloping oriental studies. There is a good collection of books and Journals on life science and earth science. The earliest possession of Asiatic Society is a rare book : Julii Firmici Astronomicorum libri octo integri printed in Venice in 1499).Other rare possessions are Kitablal Qarum (Asiatic/Rome 1595); S Purchas’s Purchas; His Pilgrimage (London 1614) etc.

Heritage institution, Asiatic Society is incidentally mother of Indian Museum. The collection started in 1814 under two broad categories Archeological, ethnological, technical and Geological and Zoological materials. The society procured its items from private collection like Col. Stuart, Major R. Taylor, General Colin Mackenzie etc.

The Society built up its Museum as a socially useful centre by concentrating on its educational role to all people. The society, while advocating the foundation of National Museum at Calcutta wrote to the Govt. ‘Those who would derive most benifit’ from the Museum, would be person, who, having acquired the first elements of knowledge elsewhere, would are the Museum and its adjuncts as an aids in their further pursuit of their enquires.... The majority of its visitors would not be the pupils of any scholastic institution be the common people, and a Museum like that contemplated ought not to be viewed as a portion of any merely scholastic arrangement.’ The most of its collection were transferred to the Indian Museum however there are many unique items are still in the possession of the society.

Today the Society has a small but very valuable collection of oil Painting and some busts,the latter memorials of the many great men such as Sir William Jones, H. Colebrooke,J Prinsep, H.H. Wilson, Asutosh Mukherjee, U N Brahmachari etc.

There are some rare original painting of Peter Paul Rubens, Reni Guido, Robert  Home, Domenichinr,Sir Joshua Reynolds, Tilli Kettle, Nicholas Roerich George Chinnery, Thomas and William Daniell etc. Through this paintings one can peep through the world of renaissance through the touch of varying colour temperatures.

Society has an unique philatelic collection numbering 5,599 stamps which provides a glimpses of a pan world culture and colours. Moreover, one can have a rare glimpse of the Society’s numismatic collection which remain an enviable heritage collection of the world.

Asiatic Society has original archival materials like papers relating to Chitagong Armoury Raid Care and Prof. Nirmal Kumar Bose’s collection of Gandhiji’s letters and papers. Letters and Mss. Nathanilal Brassy Hallhead,Jomes Prinsep, Buchanam Hamilton,Alexender and many others. There are also letters and request letters for many Mss and coins which are in the possession of Society’s Archives.

Asiatic Society is the oldest Academic publisher of India and over 150 years has been publishing a series of learned books known as the Bibliotheca Indica. It is a collection of works on oriental literatures grammars, dictionaries. There are about 2000 facsimile representing approximately 400 different titles.

After Asiatic Researcher, the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal remain a historical endeavour of the Society. Nirbed Ray, Publication officers said ‘We have published all works from 1786 to 1865 and indicies are available’ and said that in future many of the information will be available in Web pages. One can write to the Society to buy those rare publication published by the Society. Those are not any of importance from information content but have great historical value.

There are century old engravings, stones and copper plate inscriptions which makes this society truly asiatic in context and pan universal in content. Multi level of arts punctuated with mile stone of different era be it through rock edicts, Mss. coins, publications remains a matter of Indian pride and creates an avenue to celebrate next millennium with the touch of heritage.


Asiatic society marched ahead by collecting rare items from Mss. Rock Edicts to coints etc. Let us see the collection of the Asiatic Society which will unveil the contribution of this heritage society.

Aciatic society’s biggest asset is its Manuscripts collections which was augmented by Raja Rajendralal Mitra. There are some 45000 Mss which have been catalogued and total holding scales more than 60,000. The earliest is Asokan rock edict of 3rd century B.C.

 

 
Copyright © Dr Gautam Chatterjee