Via Wiki:
In another letter:
PS: And the Hindu has become so stupid that he is so honored to be studied by the white-skinned European and holds Max Mueller in high regard.
In a letter to his wife, he said:CIP thinks that Max Mueller studied Sanskrit and translated the Vedas out of scientific curiosity or as a student of culture. As PT Barnum said, in America, a sucker is born every minute.
The translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India and on the growth of millions of souls in that country. It is the root of their religion, and to show them what the root is, I feel sure, is the only way of uprooting all that has sprung from it during the last 3000 years.
In another letter:
As to religion, that will take care of itself. The missionaries have done far more than they themselves seem to be aware of, nay, much of the work which is theirs they would probably disclaim. The Christianity of our nineteenth century will hardly be the Christianity of India. But the ancient religion of India is doomed — and if Christianity does not step in, whose fault will it be?"It is clear Max Mueller studied India to destroy it.
PS: And the Hindu has become so stupid that he is so honored to be studied by the white-skinned European and holds Max Mueller in high regard.
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CIP · 637 weeks ago
Arun · 637 weeks ago
2. European historians knew by then the millennium-long effort by Islam to extirpate Hinduism in the Spanish way had failed. In fact the British used that history to argue to Hindus that Britsh rule was to be preferred.
CIP · 637 weeks ago
For good and for ill, the world has become more European in everything from economics to cultural attitudes. Europe has hardly stood still either, but as of now, the flow of change over the last few hundred years has mostly reversed the previous flow of ideas and technology from the East to the West.
Civilizations are not static. Mueller saw that part clearly. Since you accuse me of being the "sucker born every minute," I will accuse you of being a hopeless romantic. India, like the rest of the world, has been evolving very rapidly, under forces that are both external and internal.
Arun · 637 weeks ago
And yes, like Europeans of his time, Muller was an imperialist. Imperialists ALWAYS claim they are out to improve their subjects, whether it is by delivering Islam, or Christianity, or Democracy or Human Rights. And most of the practioners of the various humanities were likewise imperialists. Which is something you disagreed with just a while ago on your blog. As I wrote, the study of culture has been the handmaiden of empire.
CIP · 637 weeks ago
I also think you are quite wrong about a lot of imperial impulses. Many or most start with simple greed. That was certainly true of the European conquests of the past half-millennium. Improving the conquered was a rather delayed after thought.