Italian indologists and modern India, 1913-1941

While the choice of ancient India as an area of research is in itself legitimate, as a matter of fact it complied with the British Orientalistic assumption that the only significant period of India’s civilization was confined to the remote past. The question then arises as to the opinion some Italian Indologists (Formichi, Tucci, Suali and others) had formed about Indian modernity, and their awareness of the political implications of their professional attitude. The paper, morevoer, illustrates the marked impact of politics on Indian studies in Italy, especially after India had made its tangible appearance in the cultural life of the West.