Alois Anton Führer
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Alois Anton Führer (26 November 1853 – 5 November 1930) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is o ...
who worked for the
Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
(ASI). He is known for his archaeological excavations, which he believed proved that
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
was born in
Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...
,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. Führer's archaeological career ended in disgrace as "a forger and dealer in fake antiquities", and he had to resign from his position in 1898.


Early life

Alois Anton Führer was born on 26 November 1853 in
Limburg an der Lahn Limburg an der Lahn (officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Limburg lies in western Hessen between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn. The t ...
, Germany, into a German Catholic family. He studied Roman Catholic theology and Oriental studies at the
University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...
, was ordained in 1878 and received his PhD in 1879. His Sanskrit lecturer, Julius Jolly, was associated with the Bombay School of Indology. Probably due to him, he was appointed as a teacher of Sanskrit at St Xavier's Institute in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(now
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
). In 1882, Führer was able to publish two lectures about Hindu Law in the ''Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society''. Retrospectively, the lectures have been shown to be almost entirely plagiarized from earlier works: only about one tenth of the content has been shown to be his own. Führer left the Catholic Church around 1884 and converted to
Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
which cost him his job; he returned to Germany, from where he applied for a new job in the museum in
Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
in India.


Appointment in India and archaeological activities


Curator of Lucknow Provincial Museum

Führer came back to India in 1885 and on his arrival
Alfred Comyn Lyall Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall (4 January 1835 – 10 April 1911) was a British civil servant, literary historian and poet. Early life He was born at Coulsdon in Surrey, the second son of Alfred Lyall and Mary Drummond Broadwood, daughter of James S ...
appointed him Curator of the
Lucknow Provincial Museum State Museum, Lucknow is a prominent museum located in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, India. The museum is currently located in the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens, Banarasi Bagh, Lucknow. The museum was established in 1863 from t ...
. Führer started work in March and immediately set about improving the museum. Impressed by the changes, Lyall, the Chair of the Museum's Management Committee, wrote to Calcutta asking whether a part-time job for Führer could be found with the
Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
., see note 18 citing India Office Records, Archaeology and Epigraphy, Proceedings 4-18, File no. 6 of 1898, but however add Part B. . The same events with some further details in Charles Allen, ''The Buddha and Dr Führer'' (London: Haus, 2008), p. 33 but without supporting references. He thus came to hold a double appointment, one as Curator at the museum and the other as Archaeological Surveyor to the North-Western Provinces. As his Progress Reports show, he was part of the N-W.P. and Oudh Circle of the Archaeological Survey.


Nepal (1886)

In 1886, Führer was instructed by the government of the
North-Western Provinces and Oudh The North-Western Provinces was an Presidencies and provinces of British India, administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquere ...
and the Government of India to carry out an expedition to Nepal.


Mathura glory (1889–1891)

Later, Führer carried out very successful excavations at the
Kankali Tila ''Kankali Tila'' (also Kankali mound or Jaini mound) is a mound located at Mathura in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The name of the mound is derived from a modern temple of Hindu goddess Kankali. The famous Jain stupa was excavated here ...
site of
Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...
between 1889 and 1891 which improved understanding of the
history of Jainism Jainism is a religion founded in ancient India. Jains trace their history through twenty-four ''tirthankara'' and revere Rishabhanatha as the first ''tirthankara'' (in the present time-cycle). Some artifacts found in the Indus Valley civilizatio ...
and gained him a reputation "as the most successful of the professional excavators". Still, Führer's reports continued to be the result of extensive plagiarization, taking especially from the work of his superior
Georg Bühler Professor Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law. Early life and education Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, attended grammar school in Hanover, whe ...
at that time, although this is not clear-cut and may only be the result of intensive cooperation between the two. Führer's reports are also noted for being particularly vague and lacking details. From 1888 started severe lobbying aimed at reducing Government expenses, and at curtailing the budget of the Archaeological Survey of India, a period of about ten years known as the "Buck crisis", after the Liberal Edward Buck. In effect, this severely threatened the employment of the employees of the ASI, including Führer, who had just started a family and become a father. These existential threats to his livelihood may have become "a motive for misbehaviour" on the part of Führer.


Ramnagar failure (1891)

In 1891, Führer started excavations at the
Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places: Bangladesh * Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division * Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar India Jammu and Kashmir * Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir ** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
site of
Ahichchhatra Ahichchhatra ( sa, अहिच्छत्र, translit=Ahicchatra) or Ahikshetra ( sa, अहिक्षेत्र, translit=Ahikṣetra), near the modern Ramnagar village in Aonla tehsil, Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh, India, was the ...
. The excavations were quite disappointing. Pressured by the need to get results, Führer started to report invented discoveries, such as ancient dated inscriptions that never existed, and non existent Jain inscriptions.
Heinrich Lüders Heinrich Lüders (25 June 1869 in Lübeck – 7 May 1943 in Badenweiler) was a German Orientalist and Indologist known for his epigraphical analysis of the Sanskrit Turfan fragmentary manuscripts. Biography From 1888 to 1894, he studied a ...
would later be able to show that the supposed Jain inscriptions were fakes compiled from earlier real inscriptions found in
Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...
. In 1912 Lüders summarized "As all statements about epigraphical finds that admit of verification have proved to be false, it is very likely that no inscriptions at all have turned up". In 1912, the German Indologist
Heinrich Lüders Heinrich Lüders (25 June 1869 in Lübeck – 7 May 1943 in Badenweiler) was a German Orientalist and Indologist known for his epigraphical analysis of the Sanskrit Turfan fragmentary manuscripts. Biography From 1888 to 1894, he studied a ...
identified in the Lucknow Provincial Museum forged inscriptions in Brahmi on artifacts belonging to Führer's excavations at Mathura and Ramnagar, forgeries which he attributed to Führer himself. Some of the forged inscriptions were direct copies of inscriptions on other objects, previously published in '' Epigraphia Indica''.


Sanchi inscriptions (1891–1892)

Führer went to
Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...
during the 1891–1892 season and recovered tens of unpublished donative inscriptions, but these could not have the impact he hoped for. Only a new inscription by King
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
, for example, could achieve sufficient impact with public opinion. Meanwhile,
Edward Buck Edward Buck may refer to: * Edward Buck (rower) (1859–?), English schoolmaster and rower * Edward Buck (lawyer) (1814–1876), American lawyer * Edward Charles Buck (1838–1916), British civil servant in the Indian Civil Service * Ed Buck E ...
announced in 1892 that the
Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
would be shut down and all ASI staff would be dismissed by 1895, in order to generate savings for the Government's budget. The prospect of being fired anyway may have prompted Führer to act recklessly with his discoveries in a desperate attempt to avoid that fate. A great discovery within the next three years for example might be able to turn public opinion and save the funding of the ASI.


Burma invented inscriptions (1893–1894)

In 1893–1894, Führer was on a survey tour to
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. In 1894, he published in his ''Progress Reports of the Epigraphical Section in the Working Season of 1893–94'' the revolutionary discovery of three ancient
Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...
inscriptions he said he found at
Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
and
Tagaung Tagaung is a town in Mandalay Region of Myanmar (Burma). It is situated on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River, 127 miles north of Mandalay. Etymology "Tagaung" derives from the Shan language term "Takawng" ( shn, တႃႈၵွင်; ), wh ...
in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, which pushed back the epigraphical knowledge of interactions with India by close to six centuries, generating huge acclaim. He elaborated a detailed description of the inscriptions he had supposedly found, without ever producing a drawing or a photographic proof, although he had a draftsman and a photographer with him on the expedition. Large extracts of his report were reproduced in ''The Indian Antiquary'' Vol-xxiv (1895). His "discovery" was taken at face value, and its conclusions repeated by many scholarly works such as the ''Gazeteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States'' in 1900, before being adopted by popular works as well: "by the early 1900s, anyone with an interest in the archeology of Burma had ample opportunity to read about the Gupta inscriptions in Fuhrer's own words". It was only uncovered many years later that the inscriptions were actually inexistent, a fact which was revealed openly by
Charles Duroiselle Charles Duroiselle (1871 - 1951) was a French-born Burmese historian and archaeologist. He was a noted Pali scholar and epigrapher, and published monographs on Mandalay Palace and other related Burmese subjects. Throughout his career, excavated o ...
in 1921: "This Sanskrit inscription never existed, but was invented ''in toto'' by Dr Fuhrer while on a tour in Burma". Source analysis shows that he imagined the content of these inscriptions by basing himself on older publications and a list of kings from the Indian ''Hatthipala Jataka''. These events marked "a scandalous career of forgery which would, some years later, come to an end in Kapilavastu".


Nigali-Sagar pillar of Ashoka (1895)

The
Nigali Sagar Nigali Sagar (also called Nigliva, Nigali Sagar pillar, Nighihawa pillar, Nigliva pillar, or Araurakot pillar) is an archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka. The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers ...
pillar (also called "Nigliva" pillar) was initially discovered by a Nepalese officer on a hunting expedition in 1893. In March 1895, Führer inspected the Nigali Sagar pillar, one of the
pillars of Ashoka The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c.  268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expre ...
, and identified a Brahmi inscription said to be also from the time of
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
. Besides his description of the pillar, Führer made a detailed description of the remains of a monumental " Konagamana stupa" near the Nigali Sagar pillar, which was later discovered to be an imaginative construct. Furher wrote that "On all sides around this interesting monument are ruined monasteries, fallen columns, and broken sculptures", when actually nothing can be found around the pillar. In the following years, inspections of the site showed that there were no such archaeological remains, and that, in respect to Führer's description "every word of it is false". It was finally understood in 1901 that Führer had copied almost word-for-word this description from a report by Alexander Cunningham about the stupas in
Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...
. For the time being, the announcement of these great "discoveries" succeeded in bringing the "Buck Crisis" to an end, and the ASI was finally allowed in June 1895 to continue operations, subject to yearly approval based on successful digs every year.
Georg Bühler Professor Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law. Early life and education Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, attended grammar school in Hanover, whe ...
, writing in July 1895 in the ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', continued to advocate for the preservation of the Archaeological Survey of India, and expressed that what was needed were "new authentic documents" from the pre-Ashokan period, and they would "only be found underground".


Lumbini Ashoka inscription (1896)

In 1896, accompanied by the regional Nepalese governor, former
Commander-In-Chief of the Nepalese Army The Chief of the Nepalese Army (or Gorkhali Army) ( ne, नेपाली सेनाको प्रधानसेनापति) is the military position of army head of the Nepalese Army, initially known as ''Gorkhali Army''. The Chief of th ...
General
Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana ''Commanding-General His Highness Raja'' Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana ( ne, खड्ग शमशेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा) or Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana previously known as Khadga Shamsher Kunwar Rana ...
, Führer discovered a major inscription on a
pillar of Ashoka The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c.  268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expressi ...
, an inscription which, together with other evidence, confirmed
Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...
as the birthplace of the Buddha. The pillar itself had been known for sometime already, as it had already been reported by Khadga Shamsher to
Vincent Arthur Smith Vincent Arthur Smith, , (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he ...
a few year earlier. Führer made his great discovery when he dug the earth around the pillar and reported the discovery of the inscription in a pristine state about one meter under the surface. Führer claimed that the locals called the site "Rummindei", which he identified with the legendary "Lumbini", whereas it was found that the site was only called "Rupa-devi". The authenticity of the discovery has long been doubted, and was openly disputed in a 2008 book by British writer Charles Allen. Following the discovery of the pillar, Führer relied on the accounts of ancient Chinese pilgrims to search for Kapilavastu, which he thought had to be in
Tilaurakot Tilaurakot is a neighborhood in Kapilvastu Municipality in Kapilvastu District, in the Lumbini Province of southern Nepal. Previously it was a Village development committee. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 5684 people ...
. Unable to find anything, he started excavating some structures he said were stupas, and was in the process of faking pre-Mauryan inscriptions on bricks, when he was caught in the act by
Vincent Arthur Smith Vincent Arthur Smith, , (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he ...
. The inscriptions were bluntly characterized by Smith as "impudent forgeries".


Dealings in forged relics of the Buddha and false inscriptions

Around the same time, Führer was selling fake relics "authentified" by a nonexistent inscription of
Upagupta Upagupta (c. 3rd Century BC) was a Buddhist monk. According to some stories in the Sanskrit text Ashokavadana, he was the spiritual teacher of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. In the Sarvāstivādin tradition he is the fifth patriarch after Mahāka ...
, the preceptor of Ashoka, to Shin U Ma, an important monk in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. He wrote to the Burmese monk: "Perhaps you have seen from the papers that I succeeded in discovering the Lumbini grove where Lord Buddha was born", noting that "you have unpacked the sacred relics of our Blessed Lord Buddha which are undoubtedly authentic, and which will prove a blessing to those which worship them faithfully". An "authentic tooth relics of the Buddha" sent by Führer in 1896 turned out to have been carved from a piece of ivory, and another sent in 1897 was that of a horse. The forgery was reported in 1898 to the British
North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdo ...
Government in India by Burmologist and member of the Burma commission Bernard Houghton, and started an enquiry which would lead to Führer's resignation on 16 September 1898.


Piprahwa (1898)

In January 1898, Führer was again involved in a major discovery, that of the reliquaries at
Piprahwa Piprahwa is a village near Siddharthnagar city in Siddharthnagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kalanamak rice, a scented and spicy variety of rice is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homelan ...
, but apparently arrived only after the discovery was made, and apparently did not have time to tamper with the evidence.


Acclaim

These discoveries, at the time they were made, generated fantastic praise for the work of Führer. According to the ''New York Post'' (3 May 1896) the Nigliva discovery "seems to carry the origin of Buddhism much further back". The ''Liverpool Mercury'' (29 December 1896) reports that the discovery that Lumbini (also called Paderia) was "the actual birthplace of the Buddha ought to bring devout joy to about 627,000,000 people". The ''Pall Mall Gazette'' (18 April 1898) related that the Piprahwa discovery "contains no less a relic than the bones of the Buddha himself".


Dismissal from government service in India

Führer's archaeological career ended in disgrace. Führer came under suspicion from March 1898 following the reported forgeries of the Buddha's relics.


Inquiry

A formal inquiry was launched into his activities, but officials struggled to find a "printable" reason for Führer's dismissal. Führer was officially confronted by
Vincent Arthur Smith Vincent Arthur Smith, , (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he ...
, who reported the forgeries of the Buddha's relics. Führer was exposed as "a forger and dealer in fake antiquities". Smith also blamed Führer for administrative failures in filing his reports to the Government, and for a false report about his preparations for future publications on his archaeological research: Führer was obliged to admit "that every statement in it
he report He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
was absolutely false." The false inscriptions supposed to authentify the Buddha relics were not mentioned in the investigations, apparently out of fear of casting doubt on the other epigraphical discoveries made by Führer. Similarly, the false publication of the ancient Burmese inscriptions, were the object of an institutional cover-up, which would not come to light before 1921, with the revelation of their inexistence made by
Charles Duroiselle Charles Duroiselle (1871 - 1951) was a French-born Burmese historian and archaeologist. He was a noted Pali scholar and epigrapher, and published monographs on Mandalay Palace and other related Burmese subjects. Throughout his career, excavated o ...
. In 1901, Vincent Arthur Smith, after retirement, chose to reveal the blunt truth about the Nepalese discoveries and published a stark analysis of Führer's activities, apparently worried that "the reserved language used in previous official documents has been sometimes misinterpreted". In particular, Smith said of Führer's description of the archaeological remains at
Nigali Sagar Nigali Sagar (also called Nigliva, Nigali Sagar pillar, Nighihawa pillar, Nigliva pillar, or Araurakot pillar) is an archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka. The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers ...
that "every word of it is false", and characterized several of Führer's epigraphic discoveries as "impudent forgeries". However Smith never challenged the authenticity of the
Lumbini pillar inscription The Lumbini pillar inscription, also called the Paderia inscription, is an inscription in the ancient Brahmi script, discovered in December 1896 on a pillar of Ashoka in Lumbini, Nepal by former Chief of the Nepalese Army General Khadga Shamsher J ...
and the Nigali Sagar inscription discovered by Führer.


Sanctions

Under official instructions from the Government of India, Führer's resignation was accepted and he was relieved of his positions, his papers seized and his offices inspected by
Vincent Arthur Smith Vincent Arthur Smith, , (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he ...
on 22 September 1898. Führer had written in 1897 a monograph on his discoveries in Nigali Sagar and Lumbini
''Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birth-place in the Nepalese tarai''
which was withdrawn from circulation by the Government. Führer was dismissed and returned to Europe with his family. He died on 5 November 1930 in
Binningen, Switzerland Binningen ( Swiss German: ''Binnige'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. It is nestled in a valley, on a plateau, and on two hills overlooking the city of Basel. History ...
. Führer was replaced as Curator of the Lucknow Museum by Edmund Smith, previously the Province's Architectural Surveyor. The excavations in the Nepal Terai were entrusted to Babu Purna Chandra Mukherji, who published the results of his investigations in 1903 in ''A report on a tour of exploration of the antiquities in the Tarai, Nepal the region of Kapilavastu'', in which A. Smith included an introduction entitled "Preparatory note" which details several of the forgeries made by Führer.


Religious life

Führer had an unusual religious career. He served as a
Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, but in 1887 converted to
Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. Following his expulsion from government service in India, Führer made plans to become a Buddhist monk. Quoting the ''Ceylon Standard'', the ''Journal of the Mahabodhi Society'' noted: "Much interest has been excited in Buddhist and other circles at the prospect of Dr Führer coming to Ceylon to join the Buddhist priesthood. The Press notices recently made regarding this gentleman have given rise to grave suspicion. We understand that Dr Führer will have an opportunity given him of refuting the charges made against him before he is accepted by the leading Buddhists here as an exponent of the religion of Buddha." These plans seem to have come to nothing because in 1901 Führer re-converted to the
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is an Old Catholic denomination in Switzerland. This denomination is part of the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic). Recent developments In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a chu ...
and worked as a priest from 1906 to 1930.Arx, Urs von (2005). In Marco Jorio
Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
vol. 4, Basel: Schwabe


Works

* Führer, Alois Anton (1896)
List of Christian tombs and monuments of archaeological or historical interest and their inscriptions in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh
Allahabad: Government Press, N.-W.P. and Oudh * Führer, Alois Anton, ed. (1909)
Śrīharṣacaritamahākāvyam - Bāṇabhaṭṭa's biography of King Harshavardhana of Sthāṇīśvara with Śaṅkara's commentary, Saṅketa
text and commentary with critical notes. Bombay: Government Central Press * Führer, Alois Anton; Hultzsch, E; Burgess, James (1892-1894). Epigraphia Indica : a collection of inscriptions supplementary to the Corpus inscriptionum Indicarum, Calcutta: Government printing *


References


Further reading

* * Lüders, H. (Jan. 1912 )
On Some Brahmi Inscriptions in the Lucknow Provincial Museum
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, pp. 153–179 * Phelps, T.A
'Lumbini On Trial: The Untold Story' (2008)
* Phelps, T.A
'The Piprahwa Deceptions': Setups and Showdown'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuhrer, Alois Anton 1853 births 1930 deaths German scholars of Buddhism 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests German Indologists German male non-fiction writers 20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests