Indomania

Philia for India, Indian people and Indian culture

Indomania or Indophilia refer to the special interest that India, Indians and their cultures and traditions have generated across the world, more specifically among the cultures and civilisations of the Indian subcontinent, as well those of the Arab and Western world (particularly in Germany). The initial British interest in governing their newly absorbed territories awoke the interest in India, in particular its culture and ancient history. Later the people with interests in Indian aspects came to be known as Indologists and their subject as Indology. Its opposite is Indophobia.

With expansion of Indosphere cultural influence of Greater India, through transmission of Hinduism in Southeast Asia and the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism leading to Indianization of Southeast Asia through formation of non Indian southeast Asian native Indianized kingdoms which adopted sanskritized language and other Indian elements such as the honorific titles, naming of people, naming of places, mottos of organisations and educational institutes as well as adoption of Indian architecture, martial arts, Indian music and dance, traditional Indian clothing, and Indian cuisine, a process which has also been aided by the ongoing historic expansion of Indian diaspora.

The perception of Indian history and culture by Europeans was fluctuating between two extremes in the 18th and 19th centuries. Though the 19th century European writers had seen India as a cradle of civilization, their romantic vision of India was gradually replaced by "Indophobia", which marginalized Indian history and culture. Friedrich Schlegel wrote in a letter to Tieck that India was the source of all languages, thoughts and poems, and that "everything" came from India. In the 18th century, Voltaire wrote:
I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges, – astronomy, astrology, metempsychosis, etc It is very important to note that some 2,500 years ago at the least Pythagoras went from Samos to the Ganges to learn geometry But he would certainly not have undertaken such a strange journey had the reputation of the Indians' science not been long established in Europe. Much of the early enthusiasm for Indian culture can be traced to the influence of Sir William Jones. Jones was only the second known Englishman to master Sanskrit, after Charles Wilkins. His insight that the grammar and vocabulary of Sanskrit bore a resemblance to Greek and Latin was a key point in the development of the concept of the Indo European family of languages. In February 1786 Jones declared Sanskrit to be 'more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either.' Jones translated into English the drama The Recognition of Sakuntala of Kalidasa and published it in 1789. The Calcutta edition was an immediate success and two London editions followed within three years. Jones also discovered that chess and algebra were of Indian origin. Every branch of Indian studies owed something to his inspiration. An important development during the British Raj period was the influence Hindu traditions began to take on western thought and new religious movements. Goethe borrowed from Kalidasa for the "Vorspiel auf dem Theater" in Faust. An early champion of Indian inspired thought in the west was Arthur Schopenhauer, who in the 1850s advocated ethics based on an "Aryan Vedic theme of spiritual self conquest" as opposed to the ignorant drive toward earthly utopianism of the superficially this worldly "Jewish" spirit. At the end of the introduction to the World as Will and Representation, Arthur Schopenhauer claimed that the rediscovery of the ancient Indian tradition would be one of the great events in the history of the West. Goethe and Schopenhauer were riding a crest of scholarly discovery, most notably the work done by Sir William Jones. (Goethe likely read Kalidasa's The Recognition of Sakuntala in Jones' translation.) However, the discovery of the world of Sanskrit literature moved beyond German and British scholars and intellectuals—Henry David Thoreau was a sympathetic reader of the Bhagavad Gita—and even beyond the humanities. In the early days of the Periodic Table, scientists referred to as yet undiscovered elements with the use of Sanskrit prefixes (see Mendeleev's predicted elements). Scholars like Schlegel also influenced some historians like Friedrich Creuzer, Joseph Görres and Carl Ritter, who wrote history books that laid more emphasis on India than usual. Commenting on the sacred texts of the Hindus, the Vedas, Voltaire observed: The Veda was the most precious gift for which the West had ever been indebted to the East He regarded Hindus as "a peaceful and innocent people, equally incapable of hurting others or of defending themselves." Voltaire was himself a supporter of animal rights and was a vegetarian. He used the antiquity of Hinduism to land what he saw as a devastating blow to the Bible's claims and acknowledged that the Hindus' treatment of animals showed a shaming alternative to the immorality of European imperialists. Max Muller delivered a series of lectures regarding the religion and literature of India. In his fourth lecture, he said:

Helena Blavatsky moved to India in 1879, and her Theosophical Society, founded in New York in 1875, evolved into a peculiar mixture of western occultism and Hindu mysticism over the last years of her life. Hinduism inspired elements in Theosophy were also inherited by the spin off movements of Ariosophy and Anthroposophy and ultimately contributed to the renewed New Age boom of the 1960s to 1980s, the term New Age itself deriving from Blavatsky's 1888 The Secret Doctrine.

In the 21st century, a notable amount of Indomania has been recorded due to India's improvement related to economic conditions, political changes, activism, etc.

India is the world's largest democracy. The democratic nature of its politics has led many world leaders to praise Indian politics. George W. Bush commented: "India is a great example of democracy. It is very devout, has diverse religious heads, but everyone is comfortable about their religion. The world needs India." During the Namaste Trump rally in February 2020, US President Donald Trump declared "America loves India. America respects India. And America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people." Fareed Zakaria, in his book The Post American World, described George W. Bush as "being the most pro Indian president in American history." In November 2012, Israel's President Shimon Peres remarked, "I think India is the greatest show of how so many differences in language, in sects can coexist facing great suffering and keeping full freedom."

Indian languages have been taught in multiple nations, including the United States. In 2012, then prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard talked about Hindi and other prominent Asian languages to be taught in Australia. A BBC report in 2012 showed how schools in the United Kingdom work together with online Indian mathematics tutors to teach students in the classroom.

Despite anti Indian sentiment in Pakistan, the Pakistani newspaper The Nation published a report on 7 November 2013, heading "Don't hate, appreciate", in which they praised India's Mars Mission; the report further noted, "Wars were fought, and martyrs were born. But, it's over. We are not in the race anymore. One of us has been to the moon, and now has their eyes set on Mars to become the first Asian country to reach the milestone." In response to the mission, the South China Morning Post regarded India as "full of vigour and vitality, boasts obvious advantages and development potential."

In 2007, a poll conducted by GlobeScan for BBC World Service reported that the strongest pro India sentiments were found in Indonesia, with 72% expressing a favourable view. India shares strong cultural, linguistic and historic bonds with Bangladesh. India supported Bangladesh's independence struggle in 1971, and Bangladeshi opinion is generally favourable to India. In 2014, a Pew Research Center survey found that Israelis and Russians are the most pro Indian sentiments worldwide, with 90% and 85% respectively expressing a favourable view of India.

As per Gallup's survey for Americans' favorite countries, India was polled as the sixth most favorable nation, with 75% having a positive view and 18% negative.

Results of the BBC World Service polls. Summary views of India's influenceYear Positive % Negative % Pos Neg % 2007 37 26 +11 2008 42 28 +14 2009 39 33 +6 2010 36 30 +6 2011 40 27 +13 2013 34 35 1 2014 37 39 2

Results of 2017 BBC World Service poll. Views of India's influence by countrySorted by Pos NegCountry polled Positive Negative Neutral Pos NegUSA493714Germany 1 33 66 Pakistan 11 62 27 Spain 23 35 42 Mexico 42 33 25 France 39 53 8 China 35 56 9 Canada 41 44 15 Australia 49 34 17 UK 56 38 6 Brazil 23 57 20 Turkey 32 44 24 Indonesia 50 18 32 Kenya 48 26 26 Russia 41 10 49 Nigeria 47 39 14 India56440Greece192754 Global Average (India excluded)373924

Results of 2014 BBC World Service poll. Views of India's influence by countrySorted by Pos NegCountry polled Positive Negative Neutral Pos Neg Germany 16 32 52 16 Pakistan 21 58 21 37 Spain 20 50 30 30 Israel 9 34 57 25 Mexico 26 37 37 11 South Korea 36 47 17 11 France 40 49 11 9 China 27 35 38 8 Canada 38 46 16 8 Peru 26 31 43 5 Australia 44 46 10 2 UK 45 46 9 1 Brazil 41 36 23 5 Turkey 35 29 36 6 Chile 35 21 44 14 Indonesia 47 24 29 23 Japan 34 9 57 25 Kenya 53 23 24 30 Ghana 53 22 25 31 Russia 45 9 46 36 Nigeria 64 22 14 42

The international polling firm GlobeScan, which was commissioned by the BBC World Service to conduct the survey. Results of 2007 BBC World Service poll. Views of India's influence by countrySorted by Pos NegCountry polled Positive Negative Neutral Pos Neg Indonesia 61 39 +22 Canada 59 30 11 +29 France 40 30 11 +10 Germany 39 30 11 +9 UK 47 50 30 3 Russia 26 37 37 11 Nigeria 36 47 17 11 Brazil 40 49 11 9 Portugal 27 35 38 8 Hungary 38 46 16 8