II
immigrants from another who remain in close touch
with their mother-land which looks after their pros-
perity and safety in times of danger. The ancient
Indian immigrants, however, allowed themselves to be
assimilated by the people of the country where they
migrated contributing at the same time to the develop-
ment of their civilisation. India does not seem to
have ever cared for these sons of hers who carried her
culture to different countries and the Indian colonies
of Champa, Kambuja, grivijaya etc. are mentioned, if at
all, in an accidental way in her literature*
The Indians who colonised the Far-East followed
generally the sea-route. This route does not appear
to have been a new one. The non-Aryan people
which spread from Eastern India to Indo-China and
the Indian Archipelago in prehistoric times and which
is called by the modern anthropologists Austro-Asiatics,
have left vestiges of their sea faring lives. It was
most probably the route already in use by these daring
navigators which was followed later on by tne Indian
colonisers, who did not really open a new one, but
only facilitated communication by the technical pro-
gress of navigation under the best conditions of comfort
and efficiency.1
At about the beginning of the Christian Era
groups of Indian settlers seem to have already reached
the Indo-chinese peninsula and settled down in diffe-
1. S. Levls. Pre-Aryen arid Pre-Draridieu daus 1' Inde. J As,
1923.