William James, Henry Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed had which of the following common among them ?

William Jones, Henry Colebrooke, and Nathaniel Halhed were prominent British Orientalists who served the East India Company. They were primarily linguists and scholars who studied, translated, and interpreted South Asian languages and culture to facilitate colonial administration [5]. William Jones founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal to explore India's glorious past and translated Sanskrit texts [1]. Nathaniel Halhed is renowned for writing the first Bengali grammar in 1778 and translating the 'Code of Gentoo Laws' to help the Company understand local legal traditions. Henry Colebrooke was a leading Sanskrit scholar and Indologist who, along with Jones, focused on discovering and translating ancient texts to make their findings known to the British administration [5]. Unlike Anglicists like Macaulay, these Orientalists admired Indian traditions and believed that studying indigenous languages was essential for effective governance [3].

Sources

1. [1] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 1: Rise of Nationalism in India > e) Invoking India's glorious Past > p. 7
2. [3] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science, Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 4: The Colonial Era in India > LET'S EXPLORE > p. 113
3. [5] https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess206.pdf
4. [2] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science, Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 4: The Colonial Era in India > THINK ABOUT IT > p. 102