Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c10.26

c10.26

Next to Sanskrit language the great gift of the Hindu colonists was the art of writing. Indian scripts of different varieties were used in the early records; presumably the colonists introduced the particular type with which they were familiar at home. These scripts, of course, underwent modifications, in course of ages, in different colonies in different ways till they have developed into current scripts of the different regions. Thus, all the different systems of writing that we find in use to-day in the different parts of South-east Asia from Burma to Java originated from the Brāhmī scripts of India. The local modifications followed more or less in the same way as we find in different parts of India, though of course on different lines in different regions. Unlike local language, we find no trace of any local script before the advent of the Aryans. It may, therefore, be regarded as almost certain that the indigenous peoples possessed no script of their own and were taught the use of writing by the Hindu Colonists. Judging from effect upon mental development, the knowledge of the art of writing may be regarded as a dividing line between a distinctly higher and a lower form of culture, and no other single factor has probably contributed so much to the all-round development of a culture. The Hindu colonists, by introducing the art of writing and a highly developed literature like Sanskrit, ushered in a new era in the cultural development of South-east Asia.