The Asiatic Society: A Place for Studying Asia
The Asiatic Society began in Calcutta in 1784. It studied Asian languages, history and nature. Its records changed scholarship, but its early membership excluded Indians.
Who founded the Society?
15 January 1784: About thirty European men met in the Supreme Court’s Grand Jury Room in Calcutta.
William Jones, a British judge, proposed the group. Chief Justice Robert Chambers chaired that first meeting.
Jones became its first president. Warren Hastings, the Governor-General, was its patron.
The group aimed to study Asia’s history, languages, arts, sciences and natural world.
Its first name was the Asiatick Society. The old spelling used a final “k.”
At first, Indians could help its research but could not join as members. Indian membership began in 1829.
This gap matters. The Society studied Indian knowledge while many Indian scholars lacked formal power within it.
Source: Asiatic Society, background and its founding account.
Pause and decide · 1 of 8
Did William Jones chair the first meeting in January 1784? True or false?
False. Robert Chambers chaired the meeting. Jones proposed the Society and became its first president.
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What did Jones say about languages?
2 February 1786: Jones gave his third yearly talk to the Society.
He compared Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. He noticed similarities in verb roots and grammar, not just a few matching words.
He argued that chance could not explain all those patterns. He suggested that the languages came from a common source.
He also saw possible links with Gothic, Celtic and Old Persian. His talk did not produce a complete family tree.
Comparative linguistics studies languages side by side to trace their history. Later scholars developed methods and the Indo-European family model.
Jones built on Indian language learning and help from Sanskrit scholars. Indian Sanskrit teachers helped him learn.
Do not say one speech invented an entire field. Nor did Jones prove one exact lost language on his own.
Sources: Jones’s 1786 text; Society history.
Pause and decide · 2 of 8
Did Jones suggest a common source for Sanskrit, Greek and Latin in 1786? True or false?
True. He based the idea on strong links in grammar and verb roots.
How did the Society share research?
1788: The first volume of Asiatick Researches appeared.
1832: James Prinsep began the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
1837: Prinsep’s work on Brahmi appeared in the Society’s journal.
A journal is a regular collection of research articles. These publications carried work on languages, inscriptions, plants and more.
The 1832 journal did not simply begin after the earlier series ended. The two publications overlapped for years.
The Society also built a library and collections. This helped preserve manuscripts, objects and research records.
Sources: Society publications; Smithsonian catalogue.
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Did the 1832 journal begin while Asiatick Researches still existed? True or false?
True. The publications overlapped for years.
How were Ashoka’s edicts read?
Brahmi is an ancient writing system. Many early Indian inscriptions used it.
James Prinsep compared letters on coins and stone inscriptions. In 1837, he worked out key parts of the script.
That opened many edicts for reading. Some carried the royal title Devanampiya Piyadasi.
Other evidence helped link this title with Ashoka. Do not credit one repeated word or one scholar with every step.
The Society holds an Ashokan inscription. It also published work that let others test and build on Prinsep’s reading.
Rajendralala Mitra later became its first Indian president in 1885. His rise followed decades after Indians gained membership.
Sources: Society inscription collection; British Museum, Prinsep; Society background.
Pause and decide · 4 of 8
Did Prinsep’s 1837 work help people read Brahmi inscriptions? True or false?
True. His work opened many inscriptions, including Ashokan edicts, for reading.
How did the institution change?
The name changed with the times. The first was Asiatick Society in 1784.
It later used Asiatic Society of Bengal. In 1936 it took the name Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.
After independence it returned to The Asiatic Society. Official accounts differ on whether to date that final change to 1951 or 1952.
Early members were Europeans. Indians joined from 1829 and gained leadership over time.
The Society helped preserve texts and objects. Yet colonial officials also used research to classify and govern people.
Orientalism is a name for European study and portrayal of Asian societies. It could value Indian learning while placing European voices above Indian scholars.
Indian teachers, translators and writers shaped this work. Their roles should be visible beside the famous European names.
Sources: Society background; presidents and secretaries.
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Has the institution kept one name without a break since 1784? True or false?
False. Its name changed several times.
Pause and decide · 6 of 8
Did Rajendralala Mitra become its first Indian president after Indians gained membership? True or false?
True. Indians gained membership in 1829. Mitra became president in 1885.
Exam angle: keep people and dates apart
- Jones: Founded the Society in 1784 and spoke about language links in 1786.
- Prinsep: Helped read Brahmi inscriptions in 1837.
- Rajendralala Mitra: First Indian president in 1885.
- Calcutta and Bombay: Their Asiatic societies were separate institutions.
A useful answer links Prinsep to Ashokan edicts. It also gives credit to other scholars and evidence.
For language history, say Jones proposed a common source. Later research built the Indo-European model.
Pause and decide · 7 of 8
Are Jones and Prinsep linked to different breakthroughs? True or false?
True. Jones spoke about language links. Prinsep worked on Brahmi.
Pause and decide · 8 of 8
Were the Calcutta and Bombay Asiatic societies the same institution? True or false?
False. They were separate societies.
Check your understanding
Answer the eight checks above. You will see each explanation after choosing.
Sources and records
Practice what you learned
Question 1 of 1
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