Indian Palaeography c11.30

c11.30

This similarity hardly leaves any doubt that Indian Brāhmī was created on the basis of the North Semitic letters. But Brāhmī is not a slavish adoption of the North Semitic signs. There is considerable local genius visible in its formation. The most fundamental change introduced by the Indians is in giving a definite direction to the letters. The way in which *'aleph* is changed into *a*, *lamed* into *la*, &c., suggests that Indian Brāhmī was written from left to right from the very beginning.