The construction of knowledge is a process imbued with politics, power and production as well. Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis describes learning as a component that goes hand in hand with power. Throughout humanity, knowledge construction was fundamentally governed by those who held the grip of power.
The essence of knowledge conceived in the 19th century resonated with the imperial project of Europe and their curiosity partly filled with ambition to exploit further led to the construction of a new discipline called Oriental studies. The intellectual curiosity towards the Orient or Asia first emanated from the colonial bureaucrats and those who went to serve in the colonies. In the British Empire, Warren Hasting and William Jones pioneered the early generation of Orientalists who explored the places they conquered.
Royal Asiatic Society of Ceylon first Sri Lankan President Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam
The first Asiatic Society was founded in 1784 under the patronage of William Jones, who took a paternal interest in uncovering the inhabitants, their histories, culture and religion in India. At the inception of the Asiatic Society, the endeavours promoted by its patrons with the fullest backing from the East India Company paved the way for uncovering the languages, laws, and religions that prevailed in late Mughal India.
The founding of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta paved the way for the establishment of similar societies throughout the British colonies in South Asia. One such offshoot was the formation of the Royal Asiatic Society in Ceylon in 1845. Like many social organisations during the British era, the Royal Asiatic Society in Ceylon was predominantly composed of British members, including English administrators, jurists, and planters, who gathered to discuss their discoveries on the island. The society’s constitution included a provision designating the governor as its patron. Following Victorian traditions, the early membership was restricted to European gentlemen seeking intellectual engagement. The talks given to members were eventually published in the society’s distinguished journal, which began in 1847.
This year marks the 180th anniversary of the Royal Asiatic Society and the constitution made by the society to the various fields in Sri Lanka remains ignored by the public. Despite its colonial ethos practised by its earlier pioneers, the growth of the Royal Asiatic Society on the Island ran parallel to the intellectual development of Sri Lanka before the advent of the university system.
The monthly talks organised by the society since its inception covered many areas unfolding the histories, religion and languages of the people of Sri Lanka. Thanks to the early efforts made by the pioneers of the Royal Asiatic Society, the scholars in the West had their exposure to Buddhism and Sri Lankan history. For example, Max Weber relied on the journal articles published by the Royal Asiatic Society in carving his famous “Protestant Ethics” thesis.
The knowledge emanated from the society’s activities went across the nations leading to a greater interest in Sri Lankan studies among scholars. Scholars who came to Ceylon in the late 19th century such as Russian Orientalist Ivan Paulavich Minayev mentioned the name of the Royal Asiatic Society in his memoirs as a cultural oasis in an oppressed society under colonial yoke.
In the era of Colonialism
The Royal Asiatic Society is well connected with the world establishment of the National Museum and also the Department of Archaeology as the key members of the society took an ardent interest in forming those institutions. However, their interest in local culture was a stark contrast to their actual attitude towards the island. This duplicity was well evident in the remarks made by the pioneers of the Royal Asiatic Society who had condescending views on Sri Lanka’s rich cultural tapestry.
Rev. Boake, the famous principal of the then Colombo Academy used the Royal Asiatic Society as a platform to critique the Governor’s lenient attitude to Buddhism, which he thought to be a heresy. The Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society in its early years, Rev. Gogerly was a prominent figure who unveiled the Buddhist texts to the West. Gogerly began to study the local languages and was one of the first missionaries to preach extemporaneously in Sinhalese. He moved to Negombo in 1822 and began to study Pali.
This language had been brought to the attention of Western language scholars by Eugène Burnouf and Christian Lassen.
Gogerly employed native pandits to make copies of all the sacred books, parts of which were found in the temples and he thus succeeded in collecting a complete set of the Pitakattayam, which he left as a legacy to the Wesleyan Mission. Apparently, Gogerly was urged to publish work on the Southern branch of Buddhism but, it seems, he was reluctant or lacked the confidence to do so. However, he did contribute to the Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the RAS. Although Rys Davis described Gogerly as the greatest Pali scholar of all time, his endeavours were not driven by respect for Buddhism. Rather they were akin to legitimising the superiority of Christianity.
Despite the flaws which are the reflections of an era of the empire where the sun never set, the yeoman service of the Royal Asiatic Society remains unique.
For the past 180 years, the quest for unfolding the many unknown facets of Sri Lanka’s history was carried out by the Royal Asiatic Society. After a period of European domination, its authority was open for the local scholars by paving the way for an intellectual resurgence on the island.
For instance, Sri Lanka’s icon in the field of archaeology, Prof. Senerath Paranavithana brushed up his scholarly level at the August audience of the Society, where he had been a member since 1927 before ascending to the presidency in 1955. In his first year as a member, Prof. Paranavithana presented a paper on Gajabahu the first. The paper that Prof. Paranavithana presented when then Governor Sir Hubert Stanley presided over the meeting on Pre-Buddhist rituals in Ceylon assured Prof. Paranavithana’s position as a reputed scholar. Sir Paul E. Peris, Sir D. B. Jayathilake, and Justice CH Tambiah were a few notable persons whose galaxy of erudition earned high fame for the Royal Asiatic Society.
Reflecting on the growth of the Royal Asiatic Society, it is important to acknowledge the significant challenges that threatened its very existence.
Notably, the society’s activities began to decline in the 1970s due to various socio-political issues. The invaluable collection of books, including original manuscripts from 16th-century Portuguese records on Ceylon, was stored on the ground floor of the Race Course building in Colombo 7.
Turbulent period
During the turbulent period following the 1971 youth insurrection, only the President of the society was permitted to access the bookshelf, and this required prior permission from the Ceylon Light Infantry Regiment. Despite these difficulties, the council members exhibited remarkable stoicism, and their determination ultimately paid off when the society relocated to its permanent home at the Mahaweli Building in 1985 under the presidency of Prof. Ariyapala.
At a time when the world embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the generation born after the year 2000 strives for radical changes, the intellectual equanimity of the Royal Asiatic Society remains unchanged.
Even to this day, its monthly talks continue to display the same scholarly standards and its peer-reviewed journals still provide a plethora of insights on Sri Lanka’s history, culture and religions to the world. While inquiring about the histories of the island, the society equally pays attention to nuanced topics which are pertinent to the island.
For example, under Dr. Susantha Goonetilake’s presidency, the Royal Asiatic Society organised a crucial study group on the Portuguese encounters in the 16th century Ceylon as a counter-narrative to the conference organised by a pro-Portuguese think tank to whitewash the Portuguese atrocities by celebrating the 500th anniversary of Portuguese arrival to the country.
Also, Dr. Goonatilake took another initiative to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the history of science and technology in Sri Lanka based on literary sources, which finally resulted in the production of a corpus of literature by Dr. Chandana Jayawardene in 2019.
When the Asiatic societies were conceived by their patrons in the British Raj, their motives focused on mere curiosity. But, the task that looms before the Royal Asiatic Society today reflects the national need for knowledge construction and preservation for future generations.
The writer is the Joint Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka
