Colonial historiography developed as an intellectual instrument of British imperialism and played a decisive role in shaping official perceptions of India's past. It emerged during the late eighteenth century with the expansion of the East India Company's political authority and continued throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although colonial historians contributed significantly to the collection of historical sources, archaeological exploration, epigraphy, and administrative documentation, their interpretations were often influenced by imperial interests. The major trends in colonial historiography therefore reveal a combination of scholarly achievement and ideological bias. One of the earliest trends was Orientalist historiography, associated with scholars such as Sir William Jones, H. T. Colebrooke, Charles Wilkins, and Jonathan Duncan. The Orientalists admired India's ancient civilization, considering Sanskrit literature, Hindu philosophy, and classical texts as evidence of a highly developed culture. William Jones founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784, which became a major institution for the study of Indian languages, law, religion, and history. Orientalists translated important texts such as the Manusmriti, Mahabharata, and Ramayana, making them accessible to European scholars. They emphasized the antiquity and richness of Indian civilization and argued that British administration should respect indigenous traditions. However, Orientalist scholarship also romanticized ancient India while largely ignoring the social inequalities embedded in caste and gender relations. Moreover, its dependence on Brahmanical texts resulted in a limited understanding of India's diverse historical experiences. The Utilitarian trend represented a sharp departure from Orientalist admiration. Influenced by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill, Utilitarian historians viewed Indian society as backward, irrational, and incapable of self-government. James Mill's *History of British India* (1817) became the most influential expression of this approach. Mill divided Indian history into Hindu, Muslim, and British periods, a periodization that deeply influenced later historical writing despite its artificial nature. He regarded both Hindu and Muslim civilizations as despotic and