Eminent Orientalists

This is the first attempt to present under one cover a succinct account of the lives and achievements of well known Orientalists, like Sir William Jones, Buhler, Fleet, Fergusson, Rajendra Lal Mitra, Max Muller, Whitney, Vincent Smith, Macdonell, Tilak, Dr. Bhandarkar, and Sylvain Levi who have done pioneer work in the field of Indology. The activities of this group of Savants- English, Scotch, French, German, American and Indian, have been many-sided. They have explored the regions of archaeology, epigraphy and paleography, not to speak of their valuable researches in regard to the religion of the Vedic Aryans and have thus opened out vistas of knowledge in directions never before thought of. Inspired by a noble desire to understand and interpret the genius of India and her civilization, they have left us a legacy of inestimable value. It is hoped that this modest collection of critical sketches will serve to remind us of their achievements and inspire us to continue their work with becoming devotion.