Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c8.2

c8.2

In the preceding lecture we have traced the beginnings of Hindu Colonization in South-east Asia, and given a brief account of the country and the peoples with whom it came into contact. As we have seen, these peoples had not yet emerged from the neolithic culture, and there is no evidence that they had developed the idea of state beyond the stage of primitive tribal organization. All these were changed by the Hindu colonists. The essential elements of Hindu culture were absorbed by the peoples, and kingdoms, both big and small, were established throughout the region. It is beyond the scope of the present lecture to deal separately with the history of these kingdoms, and I propose to confine myself to a general review of the first five hundred years of Hindu Colonization.