Asiatic Society of Bombay was founded as the Literary Society of Bombay by Sir James Mackintosh in 1804 on 26th November. Sir James Mackintosh an eminent lawyer who had become the British monarch's judge for Bombay, was motivated by Sir William Jones who had established the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta in 1784.
Asiatic Society of Bombay History
The Bombay Asiatic Society was established with the objective of encouraging and investing the Sciences, Literature and Arts of the Orient. The Literary Society of Bombay in 1826 merged with the RAS (Royal Society of Great Britain and Ireland) to establish itself as an arm of Royal Asiatic Society in Bombay (BBRAS). The Mumbai Asiatic Society shifted to the city Town Hall in 1830. Thereafter the Geographical Society of Bombay, and the Anthropological Society merged with BBRAS in 1873 and 1896 respectively.
In 1954 the Society broke itself from the Royal Asiatic Society to form an autonomous body named Asiatic Society of Bombay.
The Mumbai Town Hall
The Mumbai Asiatic Society in now housed in the Town Hall in Bombay Green in the Fort area. The Doric columns, supporting the pedimented portico, and the stairway of thirty steps, makes the Town Hall an architectural marvel. Standing on top of the flight of steps one can have a panoramic view of the St. Paul's Cathedral, Flora Fountain, Elphinstone Garden, the Mumbai Samachar Building, and the buildings of the Fort area.
Asiatic Society of Bombay Activities
The activities of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai can be classified broadly into the following categories:
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Presentation of Medals - The Asiatic Society in Mumbai presents the Dr. P.V. Kane gold medal for outstanding research in Vedic studies. The Casmpbell Memorial Gold Medal is awarded to research scholars in archeology, architecture,
epigraphy, and iconography of Asia. The Asiatic Society's Silver medal is awarded for outstanding research work or publication on Asian studies.
Endowment Lectures - Dr. Mani Kamerkar Endowment Lecture, the Rustom and Gulistan Billimoria Memorial Lecture, Justice K. T. Telang Endowment lecture, Smt. Bansari Sheth Memorial Lecture, Smt. Nabadurga Banerjee Endowment Lecture are held annually.
Kitaab Literary Festival - This festival is held to give a global platform for budding and established writers.
Exhibition of Rare Books - Exhibition of rare books are held occasionally. The last such exhibition was held in 2007 between 12th April to 6th June. It was inaugurated by Italian Conular General of Mumbai, Dr.Giuseppe Zaccagnino.
Sandhi Workshop - A workshop on Sanskrit Grammar was held on 21st and 22nd March, 2007 for the benefit of post-graduate and undergraduate Indology students.
Asiatic Society of Bombay Publications
The following are some of the publications of Mumbai Asiatic Society:
Some Jain Canonical Sutras by Dr. B. C. Law
An Illustrated Aranyaka Parvan in the Asiatic Society of Bombay by Dr. Moti Chandra and Shri Karl Khandalavala
Buddhaghosa by Dr. B. C. Law
James Darmesteter Remembered edited by Dr. D. R. Sardesai and Prof. G. Lazard
Kavindra Kalpadruma of Kavindracharya Saraswati edited by Prof. R.B. Athavale
On the Meaning of Mahabharata by V.S. Sukhathankar
In addition to the above books, the Society also publishes journals and reviews regularly.
Asiatic Society of Bombay is currently in the process of preserving the Parsi Community heritage. This project titled 'The Parsiana Project 2006-07' is being undertaken as a mark of reverence to Dr. Mani Kamerkar.
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