Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c11.s4.13

c11.s4.13

It is true that Orientalism initially served the colonial masters, but it is also true that the Orientalists in Germany, England and other European countries tried to establish contacts with the *paṇḍits* in India and quite often also depended on them for original sources. This also led to a process of dialogue and sometimes debates between the Orientalists and the *paṇḍits*. William Jones appreciated “the superior accuracy of their scholarship” and accuracy and authenticity with which they helped.⁴⁶ The Orientalist scholars from the West to a large extent worked for the empowerment of colonial rule, but their correspondences with Indian scholars and Sanskrit *paṇḍits* gave an opportunity to the *paṇḍits* to develop their own vision to compete with the Orientalist discourse.