The Collège de France, founded in 1530, was the Parisian sanctuary where the major events in the history of Oriental studies in Europe took place. In the 16th and 17th centuries, glimpses of the immense cultures of India began to emerge. The eighteenth century accumulated Indian manuscripts and sent its adventurers of knowledge to approach scholars. By the dawn of the 19th century, intellectual contacts between France and India had been established, and there was sufficient documentation for knowledge of Sanskrit to become a scientific discipline. This was enshrined in a royal decree of November 29 1814, creating two chairs for Chinese and Sanskrit at the Collège de France, in favor of Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat and Antoine-Léonard Chézy. These two founding scholars delivered their opening lecture in January 1815.
To mark the bicentenary of this event, a study day on the discovery in France of literary and philosophical monuments from India, evoking the intellectual world of Indian scholars at the time, will take place on June 25 2015 at the Collège de France.
It is imperative to be present at 9 h 25 precise before the arrival of the Indian ambassador to France.