tMAOE OF INDIA 73 own history, their own development, their own views". For such scholars, the lagging behind of the East was a temporary phenomenon. "When the world becomes unified... the East will not only be a repository of education, but also its motive force, (p. 81) The third feature is the historical approach. Minayev wrote: In portraying the destiny of a religion we must discover the laws determining its development", (p.83) and again : "the essence of any spiritual development reveals itself to us in the entirety of its historical development and can be understood only when this process is traced back to the beginning. And this way its sources are revealed." He was one of the first scholars to give an impartial assessment of British colonial policy and its disastrous consequences for India. A study of monuments, manuscripts, excavated materials was combined with the views of guides, local pundits and scholars. Minayev wrote in his Indian diary. "Engrossed in Jain manuscript, chose one and wanted a copy of it, on which grounds I had a curious conversation with the Principal, who insisted that I approach Dr. Buhler for information about the Jains and when I pointed out that the native scholars could give me the same information (he) categorically denied this. Dastur who was present at this conversation was extremely displeased at this remark and... (said) these English do not understand anything." (p. 89) Evident too was the desire not only to study the relics of Ancient Indian culture but also to preserve them, because the ancient and the modern were two sides of single object of research—the spiritual and material culture of a nation.(p.85) The importance of placing the independence of Indian scholarship on a firm foundation lies behind Minayev's distinction between the scientific western scholars and those serving the interests of the British administration in India.(p.90) In Russian Universities of the last century, there were usually departments of comparative linguistics and Sanskrit, probably as a result of the interest of the Tsarist government to expand trade directly with India, but when such an enterprise did not succeed, Indology was not given any encouragement. For the Russian scholar the East could not be a dead, bookish object of scientific inquisitiveness, just as the study of Ancient India was not meant to push into the background the scientific and practical importance of vital phenomena in contemporary India, (p.103) There was a strong realisation that the East was no longer a slumbering giant. It was also significant that many parts of Central Asia were incorporated into Russia, which had been in direct contact with countries that bordered India (at some time they had even formed one state). However, these progressive principles did not recieve Tsarist support, as Oriental studies was thought of as a part of the study of classical languages ; an armchair science, which was also the general position of Indology in Europe at the time.