Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c11.13

c11.13

I have tried to state, as far as possible in his own words, the somewhat complex and comprehensive theory which Mr. Wales has fully developed in his latest work *The Making of Greater India*. In spite of the wealth of details and the ingenuity displayed in their elaboration, one is forced to the conclusion that not only are his laborus lost, but that they were undertaken for a hopeless task. That communities differ in their reaction upon outside stimulus needs only to be stated to be accepted as historical truths. That such a difference is partly, or even largely, due to some inherent characteristics or particular environments, will not also be seriously disputed. But the moment we go further and try to fix upon some particular elements as the cause of this difference, we are carried beyond our depths. Mr. Wales seems to proceed upon the assumption that human society progresses in accordance with certain definite laws, and that it is possible to discover them. One may justly doubt whether there are any such laws, definitely fixed once for all. But even if there be any, it seems to be impossible to discover them, except in a very general way, and least of all with reference exclusively to any particular community. The most serious draw-back in the thesis of Mr. Wales is that he ignores the fact that the phenomena which he seeks to probe are universal in character, and cannot be solved by reference to any particular or concrete case. We should also remember that the problem with which Wales started cannot claim any striking novelty or special importance. The differentiation in the development or evolution of culture in the different Hindu colonies has an exact parallel in India itself. Specially in the domain of art, on which Wales lays so much stress, there are even more striking differences in different periods and between different regions of India, than are noticeable in the different Hindu colonies in South-east Asia. Taking a broad view of the culture as a whole, it would be difficult to maintain that its evolution in Hindu colonies of South-east Asia showed far greater changes during the first millennium than what we notice, for example, in South India. The influence of pre-Hindu element in one case and pre-Aryan element in the other is undeniable. But to regard these elements alone as essential and the Hindu or Aryan contribution as of minor importance, is equally open to objection.