Indianization

The transplantation by peaceful means of the Indian civilization in Europe and other parts of Asia; the process of making Indian in character or composition, as by the replacement of foreigners by native-born Indians in positions of authority. The expansion of the Indian culture was founded upon their concept of royalty, and characterized by Hindu or Buddhist cults, mythology and cosmology, and use of the Sanskrit language. The process began around the beginning of the Christian era, lasted for several centuries and created so-called Indianized kingdoms or civilizations which declined in the 13th or 14th century.

Formerly referred to as Hindu-ization, denotes the transplantation by peaceful means of Indian civilization into Southeast Asia, or ‘Farther India’. This must be understood as the expansion of an organized culture that was founded upon the Indian concept of royalty, was characterized by Hindu or Buddhist cults, mythology and cosmology, and expressed itself in the Sanskrit language; hence it is sometimes called ‘Sanskritization’ or ‘Brahmanization’, as Brahmans were its main agents. The process began around the beginning of the Christian Era, lasted for several centuries and created so-called Indianized kingdoms or civilizations which declined in the 13th or 14th century. Recent research has shown that Indianization was limited to a very small proportion of the population and that the indigenous element played a more decisive role in the formation of Southeast Asian civilization than was formerly believed.