what were the contribution of Jones and colebrooke
Answers
Sir William Jones FRS FRSE (28 September 1746 – 27 April 1794) was an Anglo-Welsh philologist, a puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and a scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among European and Indian languages, which would later be known as Indo-European
Henry Thomas Colebrooke (June 15, 1765 - March 10, 1837) was an Englishorientalist, a co-founder of the Royal Astronomical Society, serving as its second President and of the Royal Asiatic Society, serving as founder Director. He was a civil servant in Indiafrom 1783 until 1814, working his way up through the ranks to serve as a member of the Supreme Council. Previously, he presided over the court of appeals and held an honorary chair in Sanskrit at Fort William College, Calcutta. Almost entirely self-taught, he followed in the footsteps of William Jones as a pioneer of the serious study of India's history, philosophy, religionand languages. Colebrooke is widely regarded as the father of Sanskrit studies, of Indology and of Comparative Philology in Europe. His published work contributed significantly to knowledge in a variety of fields. One of his protégés became Oxford's first professor of Sanskrit, while his donations to the India Office Library provided subsequent generations with essential material to pursue their academic researches.
Colebrooke played an important role in establishing the study of India's culturaland intellectual heritage in the Western academy. Later in the nineteenth century, the attitude of racial superiority that accompanied European colonialismtended to impact negatively on the study of non-European cultures by Europeans, since these were thought to contain nothing useful or beneficial. Colebrooke represents an early challenge to this biased view. His legacy helped to ensure the future of the serious, systematic and scientific study of another cultural sphere. This enabled others to challenge racist assumptions by demonstrating that no single civilization can claim a monopoly of what is of value, interest and benefit to the flourishing of life. The fact that Colebrooke was out of sympathy with those who saw their task in India as making a profit at any cost may explain why he did not receive the usual honors and awards for a man of his rank. In helping to inspire Western interest in the study of India, Colebrooke significantly advanced understanding of important contributions to the cultural patrimony of the whole human family