The Coming of Age of Imperialism (1772-1813), Part II

This is not an unquestioned view as there is some scholarly debate as to whether Hastings truly had a deep understanding of Indian culture. [5] Nevertheless, at least one thing is clear: he had a real love for Indian languages, a love that permeated to many of his subordinates, as well as numerous Oriental scholars.

Yet this was not a love of Indian languages for their own sake, but rather a love based fundamentally on a pragmatic need to administer India in the most effective way possible. Hastings may have appreciated these languages as a namateur scholar, but he appreciated them all the more for facilitating British rule. He believed "...to rule [India] effectively; one must love India; to love India, one must communicate with her people; and to communicate with her people, one must learn her languages." [6] Thus, it follwed for Hastings that there was "a direct correlation between an accultured civil servant and an efficient one..." [7] According to Hastings, this process of acculturation would have to be

...conducted thenceforth not only on a level of social discourse but also on that of intellectual exchange. Inasmuch as the British servant was expected to work alongside his Asian counterpart in the administrative hierarchy, the Englishman would have to think and act like an Asian. Otherwise, the British would be treated as aliens, rapport between ruler and ruled would break down, and the empire would ultimately collapse. [8]

To this end Hastings did or tried to do several things. Immediately upon taking office in 1772, he appointed those who knew Urdu and Persian to his first committee of revenue, bypassing officers who had more seniority but who were not conversant in these languages. [9] To assist future officers in the acquisition of these languages, Jones offered lavish financial support for the hiring of munshis (language tutors) as well as for scholarly translations of Sanskrit and other languages. Officers who could pass comprehensive exams in any of the several Indian languages as well as Hindu and Moslem law were given significant financial awards. [10] Finally, in 1784, Hastings helped to form the Asiatic Society of Bengal; an organization dedicated to Oriental research and scholarship. This group greatly helped to transform Orientalism from being merely an administrative policy into being a major scholarly movement. [11]

The same year, Sir William Jones arrived in India. During the ten years that he was in India, from 1784 to his

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