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Indianisation

Spread of Indian religions, culture, diaspora, soft power, economic reach and impact

Indianisation (also spelt as Indianization) may refer to the spread of Indian languages, culture, diaspora, cuisines, economic reach and impact beyond the Indian subcontinent.

01History

Ancient era

Indianisation took place in Southeast Asia mainly from the first millennium onwards through trade and religion.

Colonial era

The term Indianisation was used in British India to describe the inclusion of native people in running India. For example, the Indian Armed Force began to Indianise in 1917. In the early 20th century, discourse around Indianisation also revolved around the emerging scholarship on an ancient Greater India and the possibility to re-assert India's value and independence. Initially, the theory considered it likely that Indians had colonised Southeast Asia in developing it, though later it became clear that influence occurred mainly through trade and peaceful contact.

Presence and spread of Sanskrit
Presence and spread of Sanskrit

02Indian cultural influence

Historical spread of Indian culture beyond India proper:

  • Indomania or Indophilia refers to the special interest that Indian culture has generated in the world, more specifically the western world where though the 19th century European writers had seen India as a cradle of civilization, their romantic vision of India was gradually replaced by "Indophobia". Indology has evolved as the academic study of Indian history and culture, which is sometimes replaced by the term "South Asian studies".
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

03Indian inventions

04Indian soft power

Historic Indosphere cultural influence zone of Greater India for transmission of elements of Indian arts, architecture, culture, religion, martial arts, etc.
Historic Indosphere cultural influence zone of Greater India for transmission of elements of Indian arts, architecture, culture, religion, martial arts, etc.

05Indian diaspora

Global Indian diaspora is world's largest diaspora, which includes NRIs, OCI, PIO, and mixed races:

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Indianisation, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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