Socio-Religious Reform (Ram Mohan to Renaissance Synthesis), Islamic Revivalism, Aligarh–Muslim League, Press, Western Education, Orientalism, Colonial Science & Christian Missions
High-Yield Fact Sheet
📊 High-Yield Data & Statistical Fact Sheet
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| List chronological anchors, named actors, institutions, Acts and quantitative markers for Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Brahmo evolution; Western India and South India reform; Vidyasagar and widow remarriage; Young Bengal; Dayanand and Arya Samaj; Theosophical Society; Ramakrishna–Vivekananda; Sikh and Parsi reform; Islamic revivalism (Faraizi, Wahabi, Titu Mir, Deoband, Ahmadiyya); Aligarh Movement and All India Muslim League; Renaissance contribution, limitations and historiographical debates; indigenous education decay through Sergeant Plan 1944; Orientalism; colonial science; Christian missionary chronology. | Raja Ram Mohan Roy & Brahmo Anchors:
Western India, Prarthana Samaj & South India Anchors:
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Widow Remarriage Anchors:
Indigenous Decay & Early Oriental Institutions:
Charter Act
Orientalist–Anglicist Controversy & Macaulay Settlement:
Thomason, Wood’s Despatch, Hunter:
Curzon,
Young Bengal Movement Anchors:
Dayanand Saraswati & Arya Samaj Anchors:
Theosophical Society Anchors:
Ramakrishna Movement & Vivekananda Anchors:
Sikh Reform Movement Anchors:
Parsi Reform Movement Anchors:
Other Reform Movements & Press:
Orientalism Thesis:
Progress of Science & Imperial Surveys:
Indian Scientific Response & Swadeshi Science:
Christian Missionary Activities:
Islamic Revivalism — Faraizi Anchors:
Wahabi / Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya & Titu Mir Anchors:
Deoband & Ahmadiyya Anchors:
Aligarh Movement & Muslim League Anchors:
Renaissance Synthesis & Historiography Anchors:
|
Overview
Overview
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What is the central historical arc of socio-religious reform (Ram Mohan–Brahmo–Prarthana–Vidyasagar–Young Bengal–Arya Samaj–Theosophy–Ramakrishna–Sikh–Parsi–Islamic revivalism–Aligarh–Muslim League–Renaissance synthesis), press, Western education, Orientalism, colonial science and Christian missions for UPSC Mains? | Socio-religious reform in nineteenth-century India opened with Raja Ram Mohan Roy (`1774`–`1833`), an upper-caste gentry product of Permanent Settlement and colonial opportunity, whom Rabindranath Tagore credited with inaugurating the modern age and Dr. Macnicol called the “herald of new age.” From Perso-Arabic rationalism, Vedantic monism and Christian Unitarianism he built a monotheistic, anti-idolatrous, anti-Sati, pro-women’s-rights and pro-English-education programme: Atmiya Sabha (`1815`–`1819`), Brahmo Sabha (20 August `1828`; Trust Deed `1830`), Sambad Kaumudi against the orthodox Dharma Sabha’s Samachar Chandrika, cooperation with Bentinck’s Sati ban (`1829` / Regulation XVII), Hindu College (`1817`) and Vedanta College (`1825`), and pioneering political agitation (press freedom against `1823` regulations; Indianisation of services; separation of executive and judiciary; fixed cultivator rents; evidence before a British Commons select committee) plus internationalism (Naples `1821`, Spanish America `1823`, Ireland, Reform Bill). After his early death (`1833`) decline was arrested by Debendranath Tagore (Tattvabodhini Sabha `1839`, Tattvabodhini Patrika, Adi Brahmo Samaj), while Keshub Chandra Sen and Bijoy Krishna Goswami took the movement into east Bengal and other provinces (`1860s`; 54 Bengal branches by `1865`), radicalised caste and marriage reform, then split twice — Brahmo Samaj of India vs Adi (`1866`), and Sadharan Brahmo Samaj after the Cooch-Behar child marriage scandal (`1878`) with Sen’s Naba Bidhan (`1881`) — until successive rifts confined Brahmoism to a small elite facing neo-Hindu revivalism. Western India developed a more gradualist twin: secret Paramahansa Mandali (`1849`, Dadoba Pandurang) and, after Keshub’s Bombay visits (`1864`, `1867`), Prarthana Samaj under Atmaram Pandurang, M.G. Ranade, Bhandarkar and Chandavarkar — monotheism within Hindu society, four social objects (caste, marriage age, widow remarriage, women education), Social Service League (N.M. Joshi), Deccan Education Society and Subodh Patrika — while Vishnu Shastri Pandit’s Vidhawa Vivah Uttejaka Mandal (`1865`) and Veeresalingam’s Rajahmundry Social Reform Association (`1878`) and reorganised Ved Samaj carried widow-remarriage campaigns south; Dayal Singh College Lahore (`1910`) and Gokhale’s Servants of India Society (`1905`) extended institutional reform. Parallel to Brahmo work, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (`1820`–`1891`) reconstructed Bengali prose (Bornoporichoy), opened Sanskrit College and lower-caste access, co-founded Bethune’s Hindu Female School (`1849`), won the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act XV (`1856`) on Smriti authority after tracts and petitions, and campaigned against Kulin polygamy — yet the widow-remarriage movement is classically judged an “unavoidable defeat” because law could not manufacture social consent and the Act disinherited the remarrying widow. The press became a primary weapon of national awakening even as Metcalfe’s liberalisation (`1835`) and Lytton’s Vernacular Press Act (`1878`) defined print’s political space. Western education was introduced not as philanthropy but as an instrument of colonial rule — from indigenous endowment decay and half-hearted oriental foundations (Calcutta Madrasa `1781`, Benares Sanskrit College `1791`, Fort William `1800`) through the Charter Act `1813` one-lakh grant, Macaulay’s Minute (2 February `1835`) and Bentinck’s Resolution (7 March `1835`), Wood’s Despatch `1854`, Hunter, Curzon’s `1904` Universities Act, Sadler, Dyarchy, Hartog, Wardha Basic Education and the Sergeant Plan `1944`. Beneath education chronology lies Orientalism (`1773`–`1832`) — Gauri Viswanathan’s “reverse acculturation,” Jones’s Indo-European philology, Max Muller’s Aryan Migration Theory — and selective colonial science (GSI `1851`, survey amalgamation `1878`) answered by Indian societies (Aligarh `1864`, IACS `1876`, IISc `1909`) and Swadeshi science through ISCA (`1914`), NPC (`1938`), CSIR (`1942`) and A.V. Hill (`1944`). Christian missionary activity moved from pre-`1813` Company neutrality through Grant–Wilberforce, the Charters of `1813` and `1833`, and Evangelical iconoclasm whose institutional legacy was offset by cultural wounding and tribal conversion geography (`1911` Census). Beyond the Brahmo–Prarthana–Vidyasagar axis, radical free-thought at Hindu College produced the Young Bengal / Derozian storm under Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (`1826`–`1831`) — Academic Association (`1828`), Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge (`1838`) — brilliant yet bookish, limited and short-lived; while Dayanand Saraswati organised Arya Samaj at Bombay (`1875`; HQ Lahore), proclaimed “Go Back to the Vedas,” published Satyartha Prakash, built DAV education and after the `1892` split the Gurukul Kangri path under Swami Shraddhanand (`1902`), and later militant Shuddhi and cow-protection currents under “India for Indians.” Western admirers of Indian thought founded the Theosophical Society (Blavatsky–Olcott `1875`; Adyar `1882`), which under Annie Besant (President from `1907`) became a Hindu-revival and patriotic force (Central Hindu College Benares `1898` → BHU `1916`; Home Rule League). After Brahmo weakening in the `1870s`, the Ramakrishna–Vivekananda movement offered emotional bhakti and Practical Vedanta: Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar; Vivekananda at Chicago (`1893`); Ramakrishna Mission (`1897`) for service as worship — appropriated by revivalists even as his universalism and social critique were often forgotten. Parallel community reform reshaped Sikh life — Singh Sabha (`1873`), Akali gurdwara liberation culminating in the Gurdwara Reform Act (`1925`), Nirankari (`1851`) Anand Karaj, and Namdhari/Kuka under Baba Ram Singh — and Parsi modernisation through the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (`1851`) and Rast Goftar. This note holds detailed socio-religious reform, press, education, Orientalism, colonial science and missions as one Mains package under Modern Indian History and society under colonial rule. Parallel Islamic revivalism forms a second major strand of the same nineteenth-century reform field: the Faraizi Movement under Haji Shariatullah (return `1818`) and Dudu Mian (*halkas*/Caliphs; *Dar-ul-Harb*; Alipore detention `1857`) among East Bengal peasants; the Wahabi / Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya of Syed Ahmad Barelvi (Patna `1822`; Sithana base; Balakot `1831`; Ambala `1864` and Patna `1865` trials; General Bakht Khan in `1857`) and its Bengal offshoot under Titu Mir (Barasat `1827`; bamboo fortress destroyed 16 November `1831`); the orthodox Deoband School (`1866`; Nanotavi and Gangohi; `1888` anti-Syed fatwa; Mahmud-ul-Hasan and Jamiat-ul-Ulema); and the Ahmadiyya of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (Qadian; `1914` Quadiyani–Lahori split). Loyalist modernism under Sir Syed Ahmed Khan produced the Aligarh Movement (MAO College `1875`; *Tahdhib-ul-Akhlaq*; *qaum* philosophy; Theodore Beck’s Patriotic Association `1888`; Nagri Resolution `1900`), the Simla Deputation (1 October `1906`; Mohsin-ul-Mulk) and the All India Muslim League (30 December `1906`, Dacca; Salimullah and Aga Khan), crowned by Morley-Minto separate electorates (`1909`). Closing the package, Mains synthesis frames the contribution and limits of “Indian Renaissance,” the Sushobhan Sarkar vs Sumit Sarkar/Panikkar debate on whether reform was a true Renaissance, Lata Mani’s thesis that women were the “ground of discourse” in scripture-based reform, and the project of recasting Hinduism to meet the needs of a new society (Christophe Jaffrelot). |
1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1774–1833) — Forerunner of Modern India
1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1774–1833) — Forerunner of Modern India
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who was Raja Ram Mohan Roy socially, and how is he placed in modern Indian history? | Social Location and Historical Place:Raja Ram Mohan Roy (`1774`–`1833`) belonged to that upper-caste gentry whose power and position had been enhanced by the Permanent Settlement and other opportunities opened by colonial rule. He is recognised as the forerunner of Modern India for embodying the new spirit of enquiry, thirst for knowledge and broad humanitarianism, and is credited with starting religious and social reformation in modern India. Rabindranath Tagore said that Raja Ram Mohan Roy inaugurated the modern age in India. In the words of Dr. Macnicol: “Rammohan Roy was the herald of new age” and the fire he kindled in India has burnt ever since. He was a link between ancient caste and modern humanity, between superstition and science, between despotism and democracy, between immobile custom and a conservative progress, between a bewildering polytheism and a pure, if vague, theism. He rejected the barriers of caste-divisions, worship of idols and sacrificial rituals, and stood forth as the high-priest of Universalism and Love. |
→ Religious Reformer
→ Religious Reformer
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What intellectual influences shaped Roy’s religious reform programme? | Context and Intellectual Formation: He was born at a time when blind faiths, sacrificial rituals, caste division and idol worship had greatly overshadowed Hindu religion. Rammohun imbibed rationalism from early training in eighteenth-century Perso-Arabic literature. He studied Vedantic monism and, after migrating to Calcutta in `1815` on retiring from East India Company service, was exposed to Christian Unitarianism. He tried to revive in the Hindu world the doctrine of the Unity of Godhead. A man of liberal religious views, he believed in the fundamental truth and unity of all religions. According to Monier Williams, the Raja was a great investigator of the science of comparative religions; basically all religions preach a common message and their followers are brothers. |
| How did Roy contest missionary superiority claims while reforming Hinduism? | Reform of Hinduism and Defence against Missionaries: Such intellectual influences motivated him to contest the missionary claim of superiority of Christianity; his answer was to reform Hinduism in the light of reason by going back to its purist form as enshrined in the Vedanta texts. He condemned idolatry, priestcraft and polytheism and translated the Upanishads into Bangla to demonstrate that ancient Hindu scriptures themselves propagated monotheism. He was influenced by monotheism of Islam and the moral principles of Christianity. While he defended Hinduism against hostile missionary criticism, he sought to purge Hinduism of abuses that had crept into it. He criticised idolatry with quotations from the Vedas, reinterpreted Hindu doctrines, and found ample spiritual basis for his humanitarianism in the Upanishads. He rejected Christianity, denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, but accepted the humanism of Europe — seeking a cultural synthesis between East and West. He admired the moral and philosophic message of Jesus and wanted it incorporated in Hinduism; at one stage missionary friends hoped he might embrace Christianity. As a rationalist he was equally critical of the Trinity and miracle stories, and vigorously defended Hindu religion and philosophy from ignorant missionary attacks. |
| What organisations did Roy found for religious discussion and theistic worship? | Atmiya Sabha and Brahmo Sabha: His earliest attempt was the foundation of the Atmiya Sabha (`1815`–`1819`) for free dissemination of religious truth and free discussion of theological subjects. The next important step was foundation of another organisation that later became famous as the Brahma Samaj, on 20 August `1828`, with Tarachand Chakravarty as secretary. Its new theistic service soon excited the hostility of the orthodox Dharma Sabha, with Bhavani Charan Banerjee as Secretary and organ Samachar Chandrika, which opposed Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s Bengali Weekly, Samvada Kaumudi / Sambad Kaumudi. |
→ Social Reformer — Sati, Women and Polygamy
→ Social Reformer — Sati, Women and Polygamy
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Roy campaign against Sati and secure its legal prohibition? | Campaign against Sati: Raja Ram Mohan Roy raised his voice against all sorts of social evils and oppression and worked very hard to stop Sati. He wrote articles in the papers and delivered speeches in public meetings; went to cremation grounds in Calcutta and tried to stop Sati by talking to the relatives of the woman; and wrote many letters to Lord William Bentinck (Governor General) urging legal proceedings against those who encouraged Sati. By quoting ancient scriptures he declared that even Hindu religion was against the practice. When the conservative section among Hindus petitioned Parliament to continue the practice, he presented a counter-petition arguing that Sati was inhuman and unjust. Because of his co-operation, Governor General Bentinck prohibited Sati in `1829` by a government regulation that could not be overturned by a Hindu petition from the anti-abolitionist Dharma Sabha to the Privy Council in `1830`. |
| What other women’s reforms did Roy link to the end of Sati? | Widow Remarriage, Inheritance and Polygamy: Along with suppression of Sati he preached widow remarriage, without which suppression of Sati would otherwise remain meaningless. He quoted extensively from Vedic literature to raise the status of Hindu women and demanded for them the right of inheritance to property. He condemned polygamy as it would not be possible to ensure a place of respect for women unless polygamy was suppressed. Indians were backward in education and prey to superstitions and useless rituals; it was necessary to introduce western education and literature to fight these evils, and he therefore helped Lord William Bentinck in spreading English literature and Sciences in India. |
→ Propagator of Modern Education
→ Propagator of Modern Education
| Cue Words | Notes |
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| What educational institutions and linguistic work did Roy promote? | Hindu College, English School, Vedanta College and Bengali Prose: Ram Mohan Roy was one of the earliest propagators of modern education, which he looked upon as a major instrument for the spread of modern ideas. In `1817`, David Hare — who had come out to India in `1800` as a watchmaker but spent his entire life promoting modern education — founded the famous Hindu College; Raja Ram Mohan Roy gave most enthusiastic assistance to Hare in this and his other educational projects. In addition, Roy maintained at his own cost an English school in Calcutta from `1817` in which, among other subjects, mechanics and the philosophy of Voltaire were taught. In `1825` he established a Vedanta College offering courses both in Indian learning and in Western social and physical sciences. He was equally keen on making Bengali the vehicle of intellectual intercourse in Bengal; he compiled a Bengali grammar and, through translations, pamphlets and journals, helped evolve a modern and elegant prose style for that language. He also sponsored the opening of the Hindu College in `1819` to educate Indians on modern lines and helped Alexander Duff and John Wilson to start an English School. |
→ Pioneer of Political Agitation
→ Pioneer of Political Agitation
| Cue Words | Notes |
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| What was Roy’s theory of British rule and political rights for Indians? | Divine Dispensation and Steady Political Reform: Politically he fought for the advancement of the country. He believed the British were in India by a divine dispensation with a mission to perform, and therefore must continue till that mission was fulfilled. He favoured Indians getting political rights, but only such rights as they were competent to enjoy — that is, steady political reform. He was anxious that essential conditions for political awakening be created early, and therefore supported English education, which he believed would throw open the floodgates of English liberal and democratic thought to India. |
| What concrete political and administrative demands did Roy raise? | Constitutional Demands, Press Freedom and Agrarian Protest: He demanded Indianisation of the superior services; separation of executive and the judiciary; trial by jury; and judicial equality between Indians and Europeans. He stood and fought for freedom of speech and expression, condemned the Press Regulations of `1823`, carried on vigorous agitation against them, and submitted a memorial to the Supreme Court. He was the initiator of public agitation on political questions in the country. He condemned oppressive practices of Bengal zamindars which reduced peasants to a miserable condition, demanded that maximum rents paid by actual cultivators be permanently fixed so that they too would enjoy the benefits of the Permanent Settlement of `1793`, protested against attempts to impose taxes on tax-free lands, and demanded abolition of the Company’s trading rights. He was influenced by English philosophers such as Bacon and Bentham, was anxious to bring reforms in the administrative system, and was the first Indian to be consulted by the British parliament on Indian affairs — giving evidence before a select committee of the British House of Commons. The Brahma Samaj also participated in building national sentiment among Indians; it glorified ancient culture, helped develop confidence in their own religion, and thus participated indirectly in the resurgence of Indian nationalism. |
→ Journalism
→ Journalism
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Roy pioneer Indian journalism and multi-lingual public opinion? | Languages, Press and Sambad Kaumudi: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a pioneer of Indian journalism and a very well-read man. He studied Oriental languages like Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit and attained proficiency in European languages like English, French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew; extensive studies freed his mind from the bigotry that characterised Bengali society of the day. He brought out journals in Bengali, Persian, Hindi and English to spread scientific, literary and political knowledge, educate public opinion on topics of current interest, and represent popular demands and grievances before the Government. In `1821` he set up the first press in this country (as source states) and started the first vernacular paper in India, Sambad Kaumudi. |
→ Internationalism
→ Internationalism
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Roy’s internationalism express solidarity with liberty movements abroad? | Liberty Abroad and Patriotic Statesmanship: Ram Mohan Roy was a firm believer in internationalism and in co-operation between nations. He took keen interest in international events and supported liberty, democracy and nationalism while opposing injustice, oppression and tyranny in every form. News of the failure of the Revolution in Naples in `1821` made him so sad that he cancelled all social engagements; on the other hand, he celebrated the success of the Revolution in Spanish America in `1823` by giving a public dinner. He condemned the miserable condition of Ireland under the oppressive regime of absentee landlordism. He publicly declared that he would emigrate from the British Empire if Parliament failed to pass the Reform Bill. In joining hands, individually and collectively, with those who demanded freedom of the country and stood for the greatness of India, he demonstrated his greatness as a patriotic statesman. |
2. Brahmo Samaj — Foundation, Principles and Trust Deed
2. Brahmo Samaj — Foundation, Principles and Trust Deed
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Brahmo Samaj emerge from Atmiya Sabha and what theism did it preach? | Earliest Modern Reform Movement and Monotheism: The Brahmo Samaj was the earliest reform movement of the modern type greatly influenced by modern Western ideas. Rammohan founded Brahmo Sabha in `1828`, later renamed Brahmo Samaj; Roy’s first organisation, Atmiya Sabha (Calcutta, `1815`), eventually took the shape of Brahmo Sabha in `1828`. Brahma Samaj emerged as a major religious movement of middle-class educated Bengalis based on the essential principle of monotheism. Rammohan Roy accepted the concept of one God as propounded by the Upanishads — shapeless, invisible, omnipresent and omnipotent, yet the guiding spirit of the universe and omniscient. The Trust Deed executed in `1830` explained the object of the Brahmo Samaj as “the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable, Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe.” |
| What did Brahmo Samaj stand for in worship and social ethics? | Principles of Worship and Ethics: The Brahma Samaj stood for conception of one God; for love of mankind and service of humanity as the highest goal of love; opposition to idol worship; no place for priesthood nor sacrifices of any kind. Worship was performed through prayers, meditation and readings from the Upanishads. Great emphasis was laid on “promotion of charity, morality, piety, benevolence, virtue and strengthening of the bonds of union between men of all religious persuasions and creeds.” Rammohan Roy never intended to establish a new religion; he only wanted to purge Hinduism of evil practices that had crept into it, remained a devout Hindu till the end of his life, and always wore the sacred thread. |
→ Limitations and Orthodox Opposition (Dharma Sabha)
→ Limitations and Orthodox Opposition (Dharma Sabha)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did early Brahmo appeal remain limited and how did orthodoxy organise against it? | Limited Appeal, Radhakant Deb and Decline after `1833`: From the beginning the appeal of the Brahmo Samaj remained limited to intellectuals and educationally enlightened Bengalis living in the towns. The orthodox Hindus led by Raja Radhakant Deb organised the Dharma Sabha with the object of countering the propaganda of Brahmo Samaj. The early death of Rammohan in `1833` left the Brahmo Samaj without its guiding soul and a steady decline set in. |
3. Devendranath Tagore and Tattvabodhini Sabha
3. Devendranath Tagore and Tattvabodhini Sabha
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Debendranath Tagore reorganise the Brahmo movement after Roy’s death? | Leadership, Structure and Adi Identity: After Raja Ram Mohan Roy the Samaj came under the leadership of Devendra Nath Tagore (`1817`–`1905`), who provided better organisational structure and ideological consistency. Debendranath Tagore infused new life into the Brahmo Samaj and gave the theist movement a definite form and shape. Tagore joined the Samaj in `1842`. Later the movement split and there emerged Brahma Samaj of India under Keshav Chandra Sen with more radical social reform views; Debendranath’s Samaj retained identity as Adi (original) Brahmo Samaj after `1866`. |
| What was Tattvabodhini Sabha and how did it strengthen Brahmoism? | Tattvabodhini Sabha, Press and Patrika: Earlier, Tagore headed the Tattvabodhini Sabha (founded `1839`) engaged in search of spiritual truth. It was established by Devendranath Tagore in `1839` to carry on Rammohan’s ideals independent of the Brahmo Samaj; aimed at counteracting the rapid progress of Christianity in India and advocated development of Vedantism; emphasis on indigenous language and culture became much more pronounced. A Tattvabodhini Press was established in `1843`; Tattvabodhini Patrika, a journal of the organisation, was started for propagation of ideas. The informal association of the two Sabhas gave new strength in membership and purpose to the Brahmo Samaj. |
| On what two fronts did Tagore work, and what did he oppose? | Reform within Hinduism and Anti-Missionary Stance: Tagore worked on two fronts: within Hinduism the Brahmo Samaj was a reformist movement; outside he resolutely opposed Christian missionaries for their criticism of Hinduism and their attempts at ceremonials and penances among the Brahmos. Under his leadership branches of the Samaj were established in various places in Bengal. Tagore condemned idol worship and discouraged pilgrimages. |
4. Keshub Chandra Sen — Expansion, Radicalism and First Split (1866)
4. Keshub Chandra Sen — Expansion, Radicalism and First Split (1866)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Keshub and Goswami take Brahmoism beyond elite Calcutta? | Missionary Expansion beyond Calcutta Literati: The movement was actually taken out of the limited elite circles of Calcutta literati into the district towns of east Bengal by Bijoy Krishna Goswami and Keshub Chandra Sen in the `1860s`. Goswami bridged the gap between Brahmoism and the popular religious tradition of Vaishnavism, while Sen’s specific focus was to reach larger numbers of non-Westernised Bengalis in the eastern Gangetic plains and to take the movement outside Bengal to other provinces of India. Keshab Chandra Sen joined the Brahmo Samaj in `1858`; soon after, Tagore appointed him the Acharya of the Brahmo Samaj. The energy, vigour and persuasive eloquence of Keshab popularised the movement and branches opened outside Bengal — in the U.P., the Punjab, Bombay, Madras and other towns. In Bengal itself there were 54 branches in `1865`. |
| What radical social programme did Keshub bring into the Samaj? | Social Radicalism: If missionary activities had been one major contribution of Keshub Sen to the Brahmo movement, the other was renewed attention to social reforms. He brought radicalism by attacking the caste system; focusing on women’s rights; promoting widow remarriage and inter-caste marriages; and raising the issue of caste status of Brahmo preachers, a position hitherto reserved for Brahmans alone. |
| Why did Debendranath dismiss Keshub and what did the `1866` split signify? | Schism of `1865`–`1866` — Progress vs Hindu Identification: This radicalism also brought the first rift. Under Keshab’s influence the Samaj began to cut itself from Hindu moorings; henceforth religious scriptures of every sect and every people including Christians, Muslims and Parsis began to be read in Brahmo Samaj meetings. To Debendranath these developments looked too radical and he dismissed Keshab from the office of Acharya in `1865`. Basically, as Meredith Borthwick has shown, it was a schism between Keshub’s followers, for whom social progress and reform were more important than anything else, and followers of Debendranath, who preferred to maintain their identification with Hindu society. Keshab and his followers left the parent body in `1866` and formed the Brahmo Samaj of India; Debendranath’s Samaj sought to retain identity under the rubric of Adi Brahmo Samaj. These developments signified the perennial dilemmas of Indian modernisation, which continuously sought to be rooted in Indian traditions. The rift was, as became clear soon, more about identity crisis than fundamental difference of ideology: while some Brahmos wanted to define themselves as separate from the Hindus, others began to seek a position within the great tradition of Hinduism. |
→ Brahmo Marriage Act 1872 and Second Split (1878)
→ Brahmo Marriage Act 1872 and Second Split (1878)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did the Brahmo Marriage Act of `1872` deepen the identity crisis? | Non-Hindu Declaration and “Godless Marriages”: The crisis deepened and the chasm expanded when the Brahmo Marriage Act was passed in `1872`; it legalised Brahmo marriages allowing inter-caste and widow marriage, but only if the contracting parties declared themselves to be non-Hindus. As a result, the Act never became very popular. Sen himself later retreated from his radical position, condemned the Act for promoting “Godless marriages,” and later came closer to the Hindu ascetic Ramakrishna Paramahansa. |
| What caused the second split of `1878` and the formation of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj? | Cooch-Behar Marriage Scandal and Sadharan Brahmo Samaj: Some close disciples of Keshab began to regard Keshab as an incarnation, which progressive followers disliked; further, Keshab began to be accused of authoritarianism. This gradually led to another rift in Keshab’s Brahmo Samaj in `1878`. All along Keshab Chandra had advocated a minimum age for marriage of Brahmos, but did not follow his own precepts. In `1878` Keshab married his thirteen-year-old daughter with the minor Hindu Maharaja of Cooch-Behar with all the orthodox Hindu ceremonials. He justified his action on the plea that such was the will of God and that he had acted on intuition. Most of Keshab’s followers felt disgusted at the negation of basic tenets of the Samaj and set up a new organisation called the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. |
→ Naba Bidhan (1881) and Decline of the Movement
→ Naba Bidhan (1881) and Decline of the Movement
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was Naba Bidhan and why did Brahmoism weaken by the late nineteenth century? | New Dispensation and Neo-Hindu Challenge: In `1881` Sen formed his Naba Bidhan (New Dispensation) and started moving towards a new universalist religion. But by this time successive ideological rifts and organisational divisions had weakened the Brahmo movement, confining it to a small elite group. And then it succumbed to a neo-Hindu aggressive campaign for “revivalism,” rather than “reformism,” as a bold assertion of Hindu identity vis-à-vis the West. |
5. Contribution of Brahmo Samaj
5. Contribution of Brahmo Samaj
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How has Brahmo Samaj been assessed as the starting point of modern Indian reform? | Renaissance Role and Zacharias Assessment: The Brahmo Samaj has played a notable role in the Indian Renaissance. H.C.E. Zacharias writes: “Rammohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj form the starting point for all the various Reform Movements—whether in Hindu religion, society or politics—which have agitated Modern India.” The intellectual mind which had been cut off from its moorings by Christian propaganda found a way out in the Brahmo Samaj. In the field of religious reform the main significance of Brahmo Samaj lay not in what it retained of traditional Hinduism but what it discarded of the old beliefs of Hinduism. |
| What religious doctrines did Brahmo Samaj discard or leave open? | Overall Religious Contribution: It discarded faith in divine Avatars; denied that any scripture could enjoy the status of ultimate authority transcending human reason and conscience; denounced polytheism and idol-worship; criticised the caste system; took no definite stand on the doctrine of Karma and transmigration of soul and left it to individual Brahmos to believe either way. |
| What social reforms did Brahmo Samaj influence in Hindu society? | Social Reform Influence: In matters of social reform, Brahmo Samaj has influenced Hindu society. It attacked many dogmas and superstitions; condemned the prevailing Hindu prejudice against going abroad; worked for a respectable status for woman in society — condemned sati, worked for abolition of purdah system, discouraged child marriages and polygamy, persuaded for widow remarriage, provision of educational facilities etc.; also attacked casteism and untouchability though in these matters it attained limited success. Towards the close of the 19th century, such Brahmo brand of reform initiatives were very systematically and powerfully challenged by different kinds of religious movements. Some of these were equally forward looking. The Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement, for example, had the same emphasis on personal god and social reform. |
6. Western India Reform — Orientalist Scholarship and Paramahansa Mandali
6. Western India Reform — Orientalist Scholarship and Paramahansa Mandali
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| In what two ways did reformism begin in early nineteenth-century western India? | Two Trends — Orientalist Scholarship and Direct Social Attack: In western India, reformism began in the early nineteenth century in two different ways. One was the Orientalist method of exploring and translating ancient Sanskrit texts and rediscovering in them the glories of Indian civilisation. The most notable scholar-reformers involved in this project were T. Telang, V.N. Mandalik and above all Professor R.G. Bhandarkar. The other trend was represented by the more direct method of social reform attacking such institutions as caste system or prohibition of widow remarriage. This was undertaken by a number of individuals like Mehtaji Durgaram Mancharam, Karsondas Mulji, or Dadoba Pandurang, who were involved in organisations like Manav Dharma Sabha, founded in `1844`, or the Paramhansa Mandali, founded in `1849`. |
| What were the principles, methods and fate of Paramahansa Mandali? | Paramahansa Mandali (`1849`) — Secret Radicalism: The first socio-religious organization of Maharashtra was the Paramahansa Mandali, founded in `1849` by Dadoba Pandurang and Durgaram Mehtaji. It was a secret organisation; believed in one God; broke caste rules and advocated demolition of all caste distinctions; organized an initiation ceremony in which a new recruit had to eat a slice of bread baked by a Christian and drink water at the hands of a Muslim; advocated women education and widow remarriage. It followed the iconoclastic radical tradition of the Derozians in Bengal; but in order to avoid frontal confrontation with the wider community, they operated like a secret society. Revelation of its membership in `1860` therefore quickly led to its demise, leaving very little achievement to its credit. One passage also notes re-organisation under the name of Prathana Samaj in `1867` under guidance of K.C. Sen with leader Atmaram Pandurang. |
7. Prarthana Samaj (1867) — Aims, Leaders and Social Work
7. Prarthana Samaj (1867) — Aims, Leaders and Social Work
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Keshub’s Bombay visits and Western education create Prarthana Samaj? | Foundation after Keshub’s Visits: In the meanwhile, Western education had made headway in Maharashtra and the Gujarat region, creating a critical core group looking for reform. In such a context, the two visits of the Bengali Brahmo missionary Keshub Chandra Sen to Bombay in `1864` and `1867` had a profound impact. Indeed, as a direct consequence, the Prarthana Samaj (Prayer Society) was founded in Bombay in `1867`. In Maharashtra during the `1860s` there emerged a reformist group who were followers of Keshub Chandra Sen. Some of Sen’s followers in Bombay formed the Prarthana Samaj in `1867`. Their efforts started with a kind of secret meeting called Paramhamsa Mandali by Atmaram Pandurang (brother of Dadoba Pandurang) who wanted a full-length discussion of the evil effects of casteism and idolatry. The Prarthana Samaj maintained its connections with the Brahmo Samaj. Hence in `1867`, under the guidance of Keshab, a theistic society named Prarthana Samaj was established in Bombay under the leadership of Dr. Atmaram Pandurang. |
| Who led Prarthana Samaj and how did it relate to Hindu society? | Leaders and Intra-Hindu Stance: Although its founder president was Atmaram Pandurang, the real spirit behind it was Mahadev Gobind Ranade (joined the Samaj in `1870`), ably assisted by Bhandarkar and N.G. Chandavarkar. K.T. Telang, who attended the Samaj services regularly, never became a member. All the leading personalities in this new organisation were Western educated Marathi Brahmans. In Bombay the followers of Prarthana Samaj never “looked upon themselves as adherents of a new religion or of a new sect, outside and alongside of the general Hindu body, but simply as a movement within it.” Their approach was not confrontation with Hindu orthodoxy, but reliance on education and persuasion. Like the Brahmo movement, the Prarthana Samaj also preached monotheism, denounced idolatry, priestly domination and caste distinctions. Later it developed a syncretism and connected itself to the Maharashtrian bhakti tradition. Even though the Prarthana Samaj unlike the Brahmos did not acquire a distinct sectarian religious identity, it nonetheless became the breeding ground for the liberal nationalist movement in western India. It was primarily a social reform and social work movement. It believed that true love of God lay in the service of His children without any social or religious distinction. The only religious component of the Samaj was faith in a single, all-powerful and loving God (monotheism). It did not reject Vedas or Upanishads; however, it paid more emphasis on Bhakti (devotion). |
| What were the two principal aims and four social objects of Prarthana Samaj? | Aims and Four Social Objects: Hence there were two principal aims of the society: rational worship and social reforms. In the field of social reform the focus was on four objects: disapproval of caste system; raising the age of marriage for both males and females; widow remarriage; women education. |
| What social-work institutions and publications did the Samaj maintain? | Institutions, Subodh Patrika and Named Leaders: The Samaj maintained night-schools and reading rooms for working people; a Depressed Classes Mission for elevating the social as well as spiritual condition of the depressed classes; a Ladies’ Association for education of girls; an Orphanage and Foundling Asylum at Pandharpur; and the Social Service League, founded by Narayan Malhar Joshi in Bombay, which secured for the masses better and reasonable conditions of life and work. The Deccan Education Society is also associated in the source listing. A paper named Subodh Patrika was started in order to spread the teaching of the society. It saved itself from the influence of “Western Rationalism and Secularism” under the guidance of two leaders, Sir R.G. Bhandarkar, one of the greatest Sanskrit scholars of Modern India, and Justice M.G. Ranade, who was the central figure of the Renaissance in western India. The prominent leaders of the Samaj were: Justice Mahadev Govinda Ranade (`1842`–`1901`); R.G. Bhandarkar (`1837`–`1925`); N.G. Chandavarkar (`1855`–`1923`); Ramkrishna Gopal; Narayan Ganesh; Gopal Ganesh Agarkar; K.T. Telang etc. |
→ Gradualism, Branches and Dayanand Challenge
→ Gradualism, Branches and Dayanand Challenge
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Prarthana gradualism differ from Bengali Brahmo confrontation? | Cautious Approach within Tradition: The Prarthana Samaj maintained its distinction from the Brahmo movement of Bengal. The most notable distinction was its cautious approach in contrast to the relatively more confrontational attitudes of the Bengali Brahmos. “The peculiar feature of the movement in Bombay Presidency,” Ranade pointed out, was that its goal was “not to break with the past and cease all connection with our society.” The reforms it sought were to come gradually, not cataclysmically, wrecking the structure of the society. Modernisation, in other words, was to be accommodated within the cultural space of tradition, without signalling a sharp break. It was this gradualist approach which made Prarthana Samaj relatively more acceptable to the larger society. |
| Where did Prarthana branches spread and how did Dayanand’s `1875` visit create a crisis? | Geographic Spread and Kelkar Split: Branches were opened in Poona, Surat, Ahmedabad, Karachi, Kirkee, Kolhapur and Satara / Sarara (as given). Its activities also spread to south India where the movement was led by the Telugu reformer Veerasalingam Pantulu. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were eighteen branches in the Madras Presidency. But on the other hand, this cautious approach also brought the Prarthana Samaj face to face with its first crisis. In `1875` Swami Dayanand Saraswati visited Gujarat and Maharashtra and offered the possibilities of a more radical and self-assertive religious movement. A group of Samaj members, under the leadership of P. Kelkar, felt attracted to the Swami’s Aryan ideology, and broke away. Although the dissident group later came back to the fold of Prarthana Samaj, this marked the beginning of a different kind of religious politics in western India, marked more by cultural chauvinism than reformism. |
8. Vidhawa Vivah Uttejaka Mandal and Related Institutions
8. Vidhawa Vivah Uttejaka Mandal and Related Institutions
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What other western and all-India reform institutions does the source record? | Widow Remarriage Mandal, Servants of India Society and Dayal Singh Trust:Vidhawa Vivah Uttejaka Mandal was started by Vishnu Parshuram Shastri Pandit in `1865` and advocated widow remarriage; he set an example by marrying a widow in `1875`. Servants of India Society was founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in `1905`; it started many welfare programmes and aimed at training the national missionaries for the free service of India. In the Punjab the Dayal Singh Trust sought to implant Brahmo ideas by the opening of Dayal Singh College at Lahore in `1910`. |
9. Brahmo Ideas in South India — Ved Samaj and Veeresalingam
9. Brahmo Ideas in South India — Ved Samaj and Veeresalingam
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Brahmo ideas reach Madras Presidency and what role did Naidu and Pantulu play? | Ved Samaj, Sridharalu Naidu and Rajahmundry Association: A number of Brahmo Samaj centres were opened in the Madras State. During his visit to Madras, Keshub Sen had converted a few south Indian intellectuals who had then formed the Ved Samaj into Brahmoism. Intellectuals like Sridharalu Naidu wrote extensively against caste system, polygamy and child marriage; he reorganized the Ved Samaj into an active organization. The Brahmos also had similar influence on reformers like Pantulu. From the autobiographies of Sivanath Shastri and Bipin Pal we know of his connections with the Brahmos. Pantulu set up an organization at Rajahmundry, a city which both Shastri and Pal visited during the `1870s`, to campaign for widow remarriage. The Rajahmundry Social Reform Association was founded by Virsalingam / Veeresalingam Pantulu in `1878` and emphasized promotion of widow remarriage. |
10. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar — Life, Education and Bengali Prose
10. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar — Life, Education and Bengali Prose
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How is Vidyasagar placed in the Bengal Renaissance and what was his early career? | Pillar of Bengal Renaissance and Career Arc:Ishwar Chandra is considered one of the pillars of Bengal renaissance. Born on 26 September `1820` in the Paschim Midnapore District of West Bengal to impoverished Brahmin parents, he managed to continue the reforms movement started by Raja Rammohan Roy. He was a far-sighted social reformer, philosopher, philanthropist and educationalist with a modern vision. Michael Madhusudan Dutt, the 19th-century pioneer of Bengali drama, described him as having “the genius and wisdom of an ancient sage, the energy of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother.” One of Bengal’s towering cultural icons and among the greatest personalities of the Bengal Renaissance, Vidyasagar was a polymath who reconstructed the modern Bengali alphabet and initiated pathbreaking reform in traditional upper-caste Hindu society. During `1829`–`1841` he studied Vedanta, Vyakaran, Literature, Rhetoric, Smriti and Ethics in Sanskrit College; in `1839` the title ‘Vidyasagar’ was conferred for unusual talent. In `1841`, at age twenty-one, he joined Fort William College as head of the Sanskrit department. After five years, in `1846` (also given as `1946` in one passage), he left Fort William College and joined Sanskrit College as ‘Assistant Secretary’. In the first year of service he recommended a number of changes to the existing education system; this report resulted in serious altercation with College Secretary Rasomoy Dutta; following this he resigned from Sanskrit College and rejoined Fort William College. In `1851` Vidyasagar became a professor and later Principal of the Sanskrit College. He passed away on 29 July `1891` at the age of 70; after his death Rabindranath Tagore said, “One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!” |
| What books and prose reforms made Vidyasagar central to modern Bengali? | Bornoporichoy and Invention of Bengali Prose: He authored several books such as Bornoporichoy, Betal Panchabinsati, Upakramanika, kotha mala, Banglar Itihas, Sitar Bonobas, etc. His first book Betal Panchabingsati saw the light of day in `1847`. In Barno-Porichoy (Introduction to the letter) Vidyasagar refined the Bengali language and made it accessible to the common strata of society. Vidyasagar invented Bengali prose through translation as well as own writings; Sakuntala is a facile prose translation of Kalidas. Vidyasagar’s Bengali primer, Borno Porichoy, remains, more than 125 years after his death in `1891`, the introduction to the alphabet for nearly all Bengali children. |
→ Educational Reform and Female Education
→ Educational Reform and Female Education
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What educational philosophy and institutional reforms did Vidyasagar pursue? | Vernacular Instruction, Western Science and Lower-Caste Access: He studied Sanskrit grammar, literature, Vedanta philosophy, logic, astronomy and Hindu law for more than 12 years at Sanskrit College in Calcutta, and received the title of Vidyasagar — Ocean of Learning — at age just 21. Privately he studied English literature and philosophy and was appointed principal of Sanskrit College on 22 January `1851` at age 31. He firmly believed that the regeneration of India was possible only through education. In matters of education he aimed at extending the benefits of learning to common people; stressed instruction through vernacular language; put emphasis on writing textbooks in vernacular language. Further, to liberate the minds of young learners from ‘unsophisticated scholarship’ he urged upon them the study of Western science and philosophy. He also opened the doors of the colleges and other educational institutions to lower caste students, earlier reserved only for Brahmins. For his immense generosity and kind-heartedness, people started addressing him as “Daya Sagar” (ocean of kindness). |
| How did Vidyasagar promote female education including Bethune School? | Female Education and Bethune Collaboration: Having spent his early life in a village he could realize the sorrowful condition of the womenfolk. He rightly believed that emancipation of women was not possible as long as they remained ignorant, and therefore took upon himself the task of promoting the cause of female education. Noticing the British Government’s indifference towards female education, he himself started a few model schools for girls. He also collaborated with Drinkwater Bethune in establishing the Hindu Female School (at present known as Bethune School and College) in `1849`. |
→ Widow Remarriage Campaign and Act XV of 1856
→ Widow Remarriage Campaign and Act XV of 1856
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Vidyasagar use reason and Smriti to argue for widow remarriage? | Tracts of `1855` and Shastric Strategy: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar initiated the concept of widow remarriage and raised concern for the abolition of child-marriage and polygamy. He demonstrated that the system of polygamy without restriction was not sanctioned by the ancient Hindu Shastras. His earliest effort at social reform came in the second half of `1850` when, in a paper on the evils of child marriage, he launched a powerful attack on marrying off girls aged 10 or even younger, pointing to social, ethical and hygiene issues, and rejecting the validity of the Dharma Shastras that advocated it. In January and October `1855`, Vidyasagar wrote his two famous tracts on the Marriage of Hindu Widows, basing his argument entirely on reason and logic, and showing that there was no prohibition on widows remarrying in the entire body of ‘Smriti’ literature (the Sutras and the Shastras). In the second tract he gave a crushing reply to critics who had sought to counter him after the first tract. |
| What did Vidyasagar write about the necessity of Sastra sanction for reform? | Key Quotes on Method and Moral Appeal: Underlining the rationalism of his thought and the difficulties of his reformist project, Vidyasagar wrote: “But how is this to be done? By reasoning alone? No. For it will not be admitted by our countrymen that mere reasoning is applicable to such subjects. The custom must have the sanction of the Sastras; for in matters like this, the Sastras are the paramount authority among Hindus, and such acts only as are conformable to them are deemed proper.” While stating that he did feel compassion for “our miserable widows,” Vidyasagar stressed “that I did not take up my pen before I was fully convinced that the Sastras explicitly sanction their remarriage. This conviction I have come to after a diligent, dispassionate and careful examination of the subject and I can now safely affirm that in the whole range of our original Smritis there is not one single text which can establish anything to the contrary.” From a high moral pedestal he implored the people of India: “Countrymen! How long will you suffer yourselves to be led away by illusions? Open your eyes for once and see that India, once the land of virtue, is being overflooded with the stream of adultery and foeticide… Dip into the spirit of your Sastras, follow its dictates, and you shall be able to remove the foul blot from the face of your country…Habit has so darkened your intellect and blunted your feelings, that it is impossible for you to have compassion for your helpless widows.” |
| How was Act XV of `1856` secured and what did it provide? | Petition, Act XV and Legal Provisions: Vidyasagar championed uplift of the status of women with a lifelong crusade against polygamy and a campaign for widow-remarriage. He sought to transform orthodox Hindu society from within. With support from people like Akshay Kumar Dutta, he introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. He took the initiative in proposing and pushing The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act XV of `1856` in India during Governor-General Lord Canning. The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of `1856`, enacted in response to the campaign of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, legalized the remarriage of Hindu widows in all jurisdictions of India under East India Company rule. It provided legal safeguards against loss of certain forms of inheritance for a remarrying Hindu widow, though under the Act the widow forsook any inheritance due her from her deceased husband. Especially targeted in the Act were Hindu child widows whose husbands had died before consummation of marriage. Vidyasagar, however, was not successful in getting child-marriage legally prohibited. |
| What was the public impact of his pamphlets and who carried the idea beyond Bengal? | Pamphlet Sales and All-India Ripple: Vidyasagar’s first pamphlets in Bengali on widow remarriage created a tremendous stir in Hindu society. Two thousand copies were sold out in a week, and a reprint of another 3,000 copies also did not last — unprecedented sales figures for a book at that time. On 14 October `1855`, Vidyasagar presented a petition to the Government of India praying that “your Honourable Council will take into early consideration the propriety of passing a law (as annexed) to remove all obstacles to the marriage of Hindu widows and to declare the issue of all such marriages to be legitimate.” On 16 July `1856`, The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, known as Act XV, was passed. Inspired by Vidyasagar, a number of literary men produced dramas advocating remarriage of widows, both in Bengal and elsewhere. In `1864`, Jyotiba Phule succeeded in persuading a Saraswat Brahmin widow to remarry. In `1866` Vishnu Shastri Pandit translated Vidyasagar’s book on widow remarriage into Marathi. |
→ Campaign against Polygamy
→ Campaign against Polygamy
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Vidyasagar campaign against Kulin polygamy through petitions and critiques? | Petitions of `1857` and `1866` and 1870s Critiques: Alongside the campaign for widow remarriage, Vidyasagar campaigned against polygamy. In `1857`, a petition for the prohibition of polygamy among Kulin Brahmins was presented to the government with 25,000 signatures, led by the Maharaja of Burdwan. The mutiny of the sepoys resulted in the postponement of action on this petition, but in `1866` Vidyasagar inspired another petition, this time with 21,000 signatures. In the `1870s`, Vidyasagar, the great rationalist, wrote two brilliant critiques of polygamy, arguing to the government that since polygamy was not sanctioned by the sacred texts, there could be no objection to suppressing it by legislation. |
→ Sati Abolition and Widow Remarriage as Logical Sequel
→ Sati Abolition and Widow Remarriage as Logical Sequel
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why is the Widow Remarriage Act treated as a logical sequel to Sati abolition? | Regulation XVII `1829` and Compulsion after Abolition: The Widow Remarriage Act was, in many ways, a logical sequel to the abolition of Sati. The Bengal Sati Regulation, `1829` or Regulation XVII, under East India Company rule by Governor-General Lord William Bentinck, made the practice of sati illegal in all jurisdictions of British India and subject to prosecution. If a widow was to be prevented from throwing herself into the flames, it was only natural that she should be given the opportunity of remarrying and leading a normal life. Sati emerged as the first practice sought to be ended by reformers as it was most inhuman. Apart from shastric authority to bolster up this obnoxious custom, a general romanticism was generated around it as a great act of self-immolation. |
| What made a widow’s life so forbidding that Sati could appear preferable? | Widow’s Servility and Romanticisation of Sati: The forbidding picture before women was the widow’s life of servility, almost of an outcast — shunned, abused, disfigured. Shaving of the head was made compulsory for the widow. Being synonymous with an evil omen, she had to hide her face especially early morning or on auspicious occasions. In short, a widow was submitted to every conceivable humiliation. To a woman who once ruled over the household, this would have been intolerable. Sati offered to the young a romantic end of a martyr; to the matron it was an act of highest merit. If sati was abolished the widow would be subjected to humiliation; to live with this humiliation was worse than to subject herself to sati. If real improvement in the life of the widow could be done it was only through widow remarriage. |
| How did Dayabhaga property law and polygamy intensify the Sati problem in Bengal? | Dayabhaga Property Motive and Scale of Widowhood: Sati attained wider support and larger adherents in Bengal because under the Dayabhaga system of law, a son had a right to separate or dispose of his property before partition, and therefore a widow could succeed to the property on his death if there was no male issue, even if the family was undivided. The elimination of the widow thus enabled some unscrupulous family member or members to appropriate the property. If Sati was abolished, women would be subjected to very inhumane conditions because of fear of property rights, or even murdered if not through sati. To save her from this, it was necessary to give her life again through remarriage. When Sati was abolished and law was passed it became a starting point for social reformers to demand more social reforms, and widow remarriage was the most required one. Because of polygamy, after the death of one person a number of women had to perform sati; some of them would be so young as to understand nothing. To give life to them, women remarriage act was a compulsion. A survey of Kolkata and around alone in `1891` found 10,000 widows below the age of 4 in a population of 4 lakhs. After abolition of sati, there were around 21 million widows in the country with no future before them. The fate of these became even worse, as in their old age they were often driven away by the brothel keepers and forced into begging. |
| What responses followed Sati abolition and why was the Act still insufficient? | Reformers’ Response and Limits of Permissive Law: Various social reformers realized the gravity of the situation. Madhusudan Dutt rescued prostitutes by offering them openings as theatre artists, introducing women to play women’s roles; some rose to be favourite stars, best known being Binodini. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar initiated the demand for widow remarriage, which finally led to Widow Remarriage Act `1856`, after 27 years of long efforts. The British Raj agreed to it as it was only a permissive measure. This law though a forward step was nevertheless hedged in by so many constraints. For instance, when a widow remarried, all her rights and interests in the property of the deceased person would no longer exist. She could not be the guardian of her children. Thus widow remarriage reform moved very slowly. There was interest in keeping widows as free labour in the household. In `1881`, even after the Act, widows’ numbers thus stood so large. Thus the heads of the family would never agree to remarry her. The condition of widows continued to be pitiable, for without education their lot could not be improved nor could they get social or economic independence. It was not easy to easily accept the reform in the society to marry a widow. Setting up of special institutions for their education and appropriate training could enable them to stand on their own feet. Widow remarriage societies were started all over the country. Widow remarriage association was started in `1893` in Wardha. Maharishi Karve started a hostel for poor widows’ children. Further abolition of child marriage helped in reduction of young widows. These steps could at least in some manner help widows to live better life. Widow remarriage act though a logical step after abolition of sati could not help in upliftment of widows; real empowerment was to happen with time only and it still continues. |
→ “Unavoidable Defeat” of the Widow Remarriage Movement
→ “Unavoidable Defeat” of the Widow Remarriage Movement
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why is Vidyasagar’s widow remarriage movement described as an “unavoidable defeat”? | Law without Social Consent and Conservative Disinheritance: The main protagonist of widow remarriage was Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, who like his predecessor Ram Mohan Roy also looked to the colonial state for a piece of legislation. This led to the passing of The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of `1856`, which legalised such marriages. The movement ended in what has been described as an “unavoidable defeat.” Vidyasagar failed to see many widows being remarried, as in this case the Act of `1856` had only legalised their marriage, in the sense that children born of such marriages would inherit ancestral property. But the legislation could not make widow remarriage socially acceptable; nor was it possible to enforce it with the help of a police force. So Vidyasagar had to depend ultimately on social consent, not on the power of the state, and it was here that his ‘defeat’ was quite manifest. On the contrary, the legislation was intrinsically conservative in character, as on remarriage it disinherited the widow of her deceased husband’s property, and thus endorsed the Brahmanical norm of rewarding only “the chaste, prayerful widow.” As a result, not only the practice of widow remarriage remained rare and exceptional among the educated classes in Bengal, but in the next few decades the taboo came to be further universalised and it became a forbidden practice even among the lower orders. It may also be argued that in retrospect the movement does not appear to have totally failed after all. That widow remarriage has gained in social legitimacy today is partly due to this nineteenth-century reform endeavour. |
11. Young Bengal Movement — Henry Derozio and the Derozians
11. Young Bengal Movement — Henry Derozio and the Derozians
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who launched the Young Bengal movement and what was Henry Derozio’s social and intellectual profile? | Launch, Hindu College and Derozio’s Profile: The Young Bengal movement was launched in Calcutta by a group of radical Bengali free thinkers, called Derozians, emerging from Hindu College. They were known as Derozians after Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, a poet and teacher of Hindu College, Calcutta, a radical thinker and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning and science among the young men of Bengal. He was Anglo-Indian (born to an Indian father and an English mother). In `1826`, at the age of 17, Derozio was appointed teacher in English literature and history at the Hindu College. Through reportedly brilliant teaching he developed among his pupils a spirit of free thinking, won their loyalty, and organised debates where ideas and social norms were freely debated. He constantly encouraged students to think freely, to question and not to accept anything blindly. His teachings inspired the spirit of liberty, equality and freedom and brought about an intellectual revolution in Bengal. |
| How did Derozian radicalism attack orthodoxy, and how did Derozio’s career end? | Attack on Orthodoxy, Social Rebellion and Derozio’s End: In the spirit of English rationalism and the French Revolution, Derozio criticised the social practices and religious beliefs of orthodox Hinduism. Around him rallied college boys who ridiculed old traditions, defied social and religious rites, demanded education for women, and flaunted independence through wine-drinking and beef-eating — individual social rebellion that made the Young Bengal notorious in their own times. Accused of irreverence by his students’ orthodox Hindu parents, he was forced to resign by the directors of Hindu College in `1831` due to his radical teachings, and died of cholera soon after at the young age of 22 in `1831`. Long after his death, his influence lived on among former students known as Young Bengal, many of whom became prominent in social reform, law and journalism. In economy, Young Bengal followed classical economics and was composed of free traders inspired by Jeremy Bentham, Adam Smith and David Ricardo. They were passionate advocates of women’s rights and demanded education for them. Derozio was an atheist; he is also described as perhaps the first nationalist poet of Modern India, his famous poem being To India – My Native Land. |
→ Academic Association (1828) and Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge (1838)
→ Academic Association (1828) and Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge (1838)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did the Academic Association discuss and who attended its sessions? | Academic Association (`1828`): Derozio and/or the Young Bengal group set many establishments and published journals which played a role in the Bengal Renaissance. Derozio joined Hindu College in `1828` (source also notes appointment `1826`) and within a short period attracted students. The Academic Association, established in `1828` under Derozio’s guidance, arranged discussions on free will, free ordination, fate, faith, the sacredness of truth, the high duty of cultivating virtue and the meanness of vice, the nobility of patriotism, and the arguments for and against the existence of the deity, the hollowness of idolatry and the shames of priesthood. It drew both Britons and Indians to discussions of religion and philosophy. After moving around for a place for its meetings, it settled down in Mainktala. Derozio was its president; one of his students, Uma Charan Basu, was its secretary. Sessions attracted attention such that fairly regular attendees included David Hare and Col. Benson, private secretary of Lord William Bentinck. Derozians kept up Derozio’s Academic Association up to about `1839`. |
| What was the Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge and how did it connect to later organisations? | Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge (`1838`) and Forerunner Role: Radical activities in England seem to have exercised an influence over Derozians, who set up a Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge in `1838`, followed by a Mechanical Institute in `1839`. The Society was established on 20 February `1838` by the Young Bengal group, where they discussed various aspects of Western science and stood for social reforms such as prohibition of caste taboos, child marriage, kulin polygamy or the ban on widow remarriage. Trachand Chakrabarti (also Tarachand Chakraborti) was its president, Ramgopal Ghosh its vice president. The society elected David Hare as honorary visitor. Prominent papers it published included Nature of Historical Studies and Civil and Social Reform by Krishna Mohan Banerjee, and Interests of the Female Sex and the State of Hindustan by Peary Chand Mitra. These associations of the Young Bengal group were forerunners of later organisations such as the Landholders’ Society, British India Society, and British Indian Association, with all of which the Young Bengal group had links. |
→ Impact of Young Bengal — Bengal Renaissance, Public Agitation and Conversions
→ Impact of Young Bengal — Bengal Renaissance, Public Agitation and Conversions
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Derozian ideas shape the Bengal Renaissance and public politics? | Bengal Renaissance and Public Questions: Derozian ideas had a profound influence on the social movement known as the Bengal Renaissance in early nineteenth-century Bengal. Despite being viewed as something of an iconoclast by Alexander Duff and other (largely evangelical) Christian missionaries, Derozio’s ideas on acceptance of the rational spirit were accepted partly as long as they were not in conflict with basic tenets of Christianity and as long as they critiqued orthodox Hinduism. Derozians carried forward Raja Rammohan’s tradition of educating the people in social, economic and political questions through newspapers, pamphlets and public associations. They carried on public agitation on revision of the Company’s Charter, freedom of the Press, better treatment for Indian labour in British colonies abroad, trial by jury, protection of the riots (ryots) from oppressive zamindars, and employment of Indians in the higher grades of government services. |
| What unintended social and religious consequences followed Derozian free thought? | Christian Conversions and Spread of Drinking: Derozio was an atheist but his ideas are generally believed to be partly responsible for the conversion of upper-caste Hindus like Krishna Mohan Banerjee and Lal Behari Dey to Christianity. Christianity claimed many other converts like Madhusudan Datta (another promising student of the College who left his ancestral faith in `1843`) and Jnanendra Mohan Tagore (the only son of Prasanna Kumar Tagore). Drinking which the Derozians had introduced as a symbol of emancipation began to spread in an alarming manner amongst people who were untouched by the nobler marks of Derozian free thought. |
→ Why Young Bengal Did Not Last — Limits, Ideology and Legacy
→ Why Young Bengal Did Not Last — Limits, Ideology and Legacy
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why could Young Bengal not usher in a lasting age of reform? | Bookish Radicalism, Isolation from Masses and Shaky Ideology: They could not usher in the desired age of reform. Their total faith in the British and in English education, their rationalism and scientism derived from the West set them apart from the masses of Indians and they never succeeded in organising any social movement in support of their proposed reforms. Their professed “atheism”, so avowed at the initial phase, declined soon, and their social radicalism showed signs of backsliding as they grew older and became established in society. The movement was unsuccessful because the group failed to gather support from other Bengali literati or academics. Raja Rammohan himself was out of sympathy with them; arising out of the tradition of the French Revolution and English radicalism, this movement had a distinct element of free thought which offended Rammohan’s sense of decency and theistic idealism. Because of their limited and shaky ideology, the movement was never able to fully capture the public’s attention. Social conditions were not yet ripe for their ideas to flourish. Their stand lacked much positive content and they failed to develop a definite progressing ideology. The concept of the people and their rights which had flowered in the great Western bourgeois democratic revolution that had awakened them did not take much concrete shape in their mind. They were brilliant individuals faithful to the last to the memory of their master and close-knit by bonds of affection and friendship, yet they did not prove to be a growing school of thought attracting new adherents from a wider circle. They made some mark in their day but faded out like “a generation without fathers and children.” |
| How did common people, peasant question and later life of Derozians limit the movement? | Public Perception, Peasant Neglect and Later Brahmo Drift: The common people, unacquainted with those ideologies, indicated those young as arrogant, revolutionists of customary thinking and belief, and extremist as they had declared one kind of war against religion and prevalent customs. Radical politics of a Western type were hardly possible in Bengal at that time and the rich promise seen in the Derozians never matured into anything solid. Derozians did not take up the peasant’s cause and there was no other class or group in Indian society at the time which could support their advanced ideas. They forgot to maintain their links with the people. In fact, their radicalism was bookish; they failed to come to grips with the Indian reality. A number of Derozians were attracted to the Brahmo Samaj movement much later in life when they had lost their youthful fire and excitement. |
| How should one critically evaluate the claim that Young Bengal left little permanent impression on religion and philosophy? | Sumit Sarkar Thesis, Temporary Impressions and Surendranath Banerjee’s Verdict: Historian Sumit Sarkar concludes: “the Young Bengal, the followers of Derozio, left little distinctive or permanent impression on the plane of religion and philosophy.” Reasons include total faith in British and English education with rationalism and values derived from the West setting them apart from the masses; professed atheism too radical for masses; lack of positive content and failure to develop a definite progressing ideology; limited and shaky ideology that never fully captured public attention; failure to organise any social reform movement because social conditions were not ripe; common people’s perception of arrogance and extremism; impossibility of Western-type radical politics in Bengal then; neglect of the peasant’s cause and absence of a supporting class; bookish radicalism disconnected from Indian reality; failure to gather support from other Bengali literati or academics; and Rammohan’s lack of sympathy given the absence of his sense of decency and theistic idealism. Temporary and indirect impressions nonetheless existed: Young Bengal was one of the earliest reform movements and produced reformers like Tarachand Chakraborti; a number of Derozians later attracted to the Brahmo Samaj contributed to many social reforms; Derozio’s ideas are generally believed partly responsible for conversion of many upper-caste Hindus to Christianity. Surendranath Banerjee, the famous leader of the nationalist movement, described the Derozians as “the pioneers of the modern civilization of Bengal, the conscript fathers of our race whose virtues will excite veneration and whose failings will be treated with gentlest consideration.” The Young Bengal movement was like a mighty storm that tried to sweep away everything before it — a storm that lashed society with violence causing some good and, perhaps naturally, some discomfort and distress — but hardly left any permanent impact on the plane of religion and philosophy. |
12. Dayanand Saraswati and Arya Samaj (1875)
12. Dayanand Saraswati and Arya Samaj (1875)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was Dayanand’s early life and how did he found the Arya Samaj? | Mulshanker to Dayanand; Bombay `1875` and Lahore Headquarters:Mulshanker (`1824`–`83`), popularly known as Dayanand, was born in a Brahmin family living in the old Morvi state in Gujarat. His father, a great Vedic scholar, also assumed the role of the teacher and helped young Mulshanker acquire good insight into Vedic literature, logic, philosophy, ethics etc. Dayanand’s quest for the truth goaded him to yogabhyas and to learn yoga it was necessary to leave home. For fifteen years (`1845`–`60`), Dayanand wandered as an ascetic in the whole of India studying Yoga. In `1875` he formally organised the first Arya Samaj unit at Bombay. A few years later the headquarters of the Arya Samaj were established at Lahore. For the rest of his life, Dayanand extensively toured India for the propagation of his ideas. Dayanand’s ideal was to unite India religiously, socially and nationally — Aryan religion as the common religion of all, a classless and casteless society, and an India free from foreign rule. He looked on the Vedas as India’s ‘Rock of Ages’, the true original seed of Hinduism. His motto was ‘Go Back to the Vedas’. |
| How did Dayanand interpret the Vedas and attack post-Vedic Hinduism? | Vedic Authority, Satyartha Prakash and Attack on Abuses: Dayanand invoked the authority of the Vedas as the most authentic Indian religious texts and sought to purge Hinduism of all its post-Vedic accretions. He gave his own interpretation of the Vedas. He disregarded the authority of later Hindu scriptures like the Puranas and described them as the work of lesser men and responsible for the evil practices of idol worship and other superstitious beliefs in Hindu religion. Dayanand condemned idol worship and preached unity of Godhead. His views were published in his famous work Satyartha Prakash (The True Exposition). Dayanand launched a frontal attack on numerous abuses that had crept into Hindu religion in the nineteenth century — idolatry, polytheism, belief in magic, charms, animal sacrifices, feeding the dead through sraddhas etc. |
→ Dayanand’s Philosophy — God, Soul, Matter, Karma and Social Equality
→ Dayanand’s Philosophy — God, Soul, Matter, Karma and Social Equality
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Dayanand reject popular monism, maya and predetermination? | Three Eternal Entities; Karma without Niyati: He rejected the popular Hindu philosophy which held that the physical world is an illusion (maya), that man’s soul is merely a part of God temporarily separated from God by its embodiment in the illusory mask of the body, and that man’s object therefore was to escape the world where evil existed and to seek union with God. Against this belief, Dayanand held that God, soul and matter (prakriti) were distinct and eternal entities and every individual had to work out his own salvation in the light of the eternal principles governing human conduct. In rejecting monism, Dayanand also dealt a severe blow at the popular belief in predetermination. He contended that human beings were not playthings of fate and as such no one could avoid responsibility for his actions on the plea that human deeds were predetermined. Dayanand accepted the doctrine of karma, but rejected the theory of niyati (destiny). He explained that the world is a battlefield where every individual has to work out his salvation by right deeds. |
| How did Dayanand challenge Brahmin monopoly, caste-by-birth and gender inequality? | Priestly Monopoly, Varna by Occupation, Women: Dayanand challenged the dominant position of the Brahmin priestly class in the spiritual and social life of the Hindus. He ridiculed the claim of the priests that they could act as intermediaries between man and God. He asserted every Hindu’s right to read and interpret the Vedas. He strongly condemned the caste system based on birth, though he subscribed to the Vedic notion of the four varna system in which a person was not born in any varna (caste), but was identified as a Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra according to the occupation he followed. He was also a strong advocate of equal status between man and woman; he pleaded for widow remarriage and condemned child marriages. |
| What did ‘Back to the Vedas’ mean, and how did Dayanand use Western reason and science? | Revival of Vedic Learning not Vedic Times; Science Claim and Reform Overlap: Dayanand’s slogan of ‘Back to the Vedas’ was a call for revival of Vedic learning and Vedic purity of religion and not revival of Vedic times. He accepted modernity and displayed patriotic attitude to national problems. It is difficult to ignore the Western Orientalist touch in his discourse that tried to project Hinduism as a “religion of the book”, like Christianity and Islam. But what is more important, in his aggressive response to the West, he fully appropriated the Western intellectual discourse of reason and science and deployed them against his adversaries. He claimed that the Vedas alone contained “scientific truths”, and therefore the religion based on these texts was superior to Christianity and Islam. On the authority of the Vedas, he attacked idolatry, polytheism, ritualistic religion dominated by the Brahman priests, condemned child marriage and stood for widow remarriage, inter-caste marriages and female education. Interestingly, these were the reforms that the Western reformers were advocating. He also denounced untouchability and repudiated caste system; but at the same time he upheld the fourfold varna division, thus retaining the core of the Indian social organisation. |
→ Arya Samaj Creed — Ten Principles and Social Ideals
→ Arya Samaj Creed — Ten Principles and Social Ideals
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How was Arya Samaj characterised and what are the Ten Principles? | Revivalist in Form, Reformist Content; Ten Principles (`1875` / `1877`): The creed and principles of the Arya Samaj first defined by Swami Dayananda Saraswati at Bombay in `1875` were revised at Lahore in `1877`. The Arya Samaj movement was an outcome of reaction to Western influences. It was revivalist in form though not in content. The founder, Swami Dayanand, rejected Western ideas and sought to revive the ancient religion of the Aryans. The Ten Principles were approved by Dayanand: |
| List the Ten Principles of Arya Samaj. | The Ten Principles:
|
→ DAV Institutions vs Gurukul Kangri (1902) — Split of 1892
→ DAV Institutions vs Gurukul Kangri (1902) — Split of 1892
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Arya Samaj education develop and how did the movement split in 1892? | Anglo Vedic School, DAV and the Two Factions: The D.A.V. institutions spread over the length and breadth of the country are a standing proof of the educational achievements of the Samaj. The nucleus for this movement was provided by the Anglo Vedic School established at Lahore in `1886`. The education imparted in D.A.V. Institutions combines the best of the modern and classical Indian studies. In `1892`, Arya Samaj was split into two factions: one led by Lala Hansraj, which controlled the Dayananda Anglo-Vedic College, advocated meat diet, and worked for liberal education and programs; while the other faction under Munshi Ram (later famous as Swami Sraddhananda / Shraddhanand) advocated to be not modern but Vedic, and harkened back to the traditional Brahmin ideal of ascetic sannyasis. The latter founded in `1902` a remarkable educational institution, the Gurukul Pathsala, near Haridwar. The students there were taken from their parents at the age of seven or eight for a residence of 16 years, under the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and placed under control of their gurus. |
→ Patriotism, Shuddhi, Cow Protection and “India for Indians”
→ Patriotism, Shuddhi, Cow Protection and “India for Indians”
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Arya Samaj build Hindu self-confidence and enter politics? | Mass Appeal, Regional Roots and Political Slogan: The Arya Samaj movement gave “proud” self confidence and self reliance to the Hindus and undermined the belief in the superiority of the White Race and Western culture. While the Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society appealed to English educated elite only, Dayanand’s message was for the masses of India also. The Arya Samaj movement has taken deep roots in the Punjab, Haryana, the Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. Arya Samaj infused a spirit of intense patriotism. The Samaj always remained in the forefront of political movement and produced leaders of the eminence of Lela Hans Raj / Lala Hans Raj, Pandit Guru Dutt and Lala Lajpat Rai. Dayanand’s political slogan was ‘India for the Indians’. His aggressive reformism failed to convince the orthodox Hindus, or even the Brahmos, and remained marginal in eastern and western India; but it received warm acceptance in Punjab and the North-Western Provinces. At the time of his death in `1883` there were Arya Samaj branches all over this region and it was from this time on that the movement became more and more popular and also more aggressive. |
| How did moderates give way to militant Shuddhi and cow-protection revivalism? | After `1893`: Suddhi, Anti-Muslim Campaign and Cow Protection: The moderates among his disciples, who chose to focus on education and community work, were gradually marginalised after `1893`, while a militant group under Pandit Guru Dutt and Pandit Lekh Ram launched a militant campaign for preaching the religion of the Vedas, attacking the Muslims and retrieving lost ground by initiating suddhi or reconversion of those who were lost to the three proselytising religions of Christianity, Sikhism and Islam. In the `1890s`, the Arya Samaj became intensely involved in the cow-protection movement, thus moving decisively from reformism to revivalism. “The Arya Samaj may quite logically be pronounced as the outcomes of conditions imported into India by the west.” Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanand Saraswati in `1875` as a socio-religious movement which aimed at reforming Hinduism through propagation of the infallibility of Vedas as the source of all truths. The opposition of idolatry, polytheism, rituals, caste system and child marriage and support for widow remarriage, inter-caste marriage and female education were reform policies of Arya Samaj. |
→ Was Arya Samaj an Outcome of Western Influence? — Lajpat Rai / Nehru vs Har Bilas Sarda
→ Was Arya Samaj an Outcome of Western Influence? — Lajpat Rai / Nehru vs Har Bilas Sarda
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What is the first viewpoint that Arya Samaj was an outcome of Western influence? | First Viewpoint — Outcomes of Conditions Imported by the West: Authors are divided on the question of the extent to which western influence shaped the policy of reformers like Dayanand Saraswati. Lala Lajpat Rai said, “the Arya Samaj may quite logically be pronounced as the outcomes of conditions imported into India by the west.” And Jawaharlal Nehru writes that Arya Samaj was a reaction to the influence of Islam and Christianity. Some argue that British occupation of India with its allegiance to Protestant Christianity inspired the modern iconoclasm like Arya Samaj which eventually led to the development of an esoteric form of Hinduism that advocated philosophical monism and denounced religious imagery as idolatrous. The reform policies of the Arya Samaj do show western influence as oppositions to idolatry, polytheism etc. were the same as in Christianity and the socio-religious reforms propagated by Arya Samaj were those which the western reformers were already advocating. Also the British, due to their developed scientific and modern outlook, presented India as a backward culture with stagnant society. Arya Samaj tried to revive the self-confidence in Indians through reforms and giving the call for Swarajya as “India for Indians”. Hence, Arya Samaj was the outcome of the reaction to the British. |
| What is the second viewpoint that Arya Samaj was not influenced by the West? | Second Viewpoint — Indigenous Vedic Inspiration (Har Bilas Sarda):Har Bilas Sarda remarks that there was no influence of western civilisation on Dayanand Saraswati as he did not know English and was in no way influenced by European culture and European thought. The inspiration of Dayanand Saraswati was derived entirely from the indigenous sources. Dayanand claimed that idol worship, polytheism, rituals etc. are later additions to Hinduism and not as per Vedas. For him, Vedas were the final authority in Hindu religion. He used Vedas to oppose social evils like caste system, child marriage etc. The argument that he borrowed ideas of women empowerment, widow remarriage, etc. from western tradition is not well founded as he did not know English. Also he started the shuddi movement to reconvert non-Hindus which in no way had influence of the west. |
| What synthetic conclusion does the source offer on Western exposure and latent Hindu elements? | Conclusion — Exposure Brought Out Latent Indigenous Elements: Better explanation could be that it is not that ideas migrated from West to India, but that exposure to West brought out the latent elements already present in Hinduism. Hence the condition brought by the West to India led to the reformers like Dayanand Saraswati to found Arya Samaj to propagate the reform ideas rooted in ancient Indian sources like Vedas. It was also a better idea to connect the reform to indigenous sources as it would attract the masses and face lesser opposition from conservative elements. |
13. Theosophical Society — Blavatsky, Olcott, Adyar and Annie Besant
13. Theosophical Society — Blavatsky, Olcott, Adyar and Annie Besant
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who founded the Theosophical Society and what did its members believe? | Foundation (`1875`), Adyar (`1882`) and Core Beliefs: The Theosophical Society was founded by Westerners who drew inspiration from Indian thought and culture. Madame H.P. Blavatsky (`1831`–`1891`) of Russo-German birth laid the foundation of the movement in the United States in `1875`. Later Colonel M.S. Olcott (`1832`–`1907`) of the U.S. Army joined her. In `1882` they shifted their headquarters to India at Adyar, an outskirt of Madras. The members of this society believe that a special relationship can be established between a person’s soul and God by contemplation, prayer, revelation etc. The Society accepts the Hindu beliefs in reincarnation, karma and draws inspiration from the philosophy of the Upanishads and Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta school of thought. The Indian work, first of all, took up the revival, strengthening and uplifting of the ancient religions — Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and in Ceylon and Burma, Buddhism. It aims to work for universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour. The Society also seeks to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man. The Theosophical Movement came to be allied with Hindu Renaissance. |
| How did Annie Besant transform Theosophy into a force of Hindu revival and nationalism? | Annie Besant (`1847`–`1933`): Presidency, Hindu Turn and National Spirit: The growth of the Theosophist Movement as a force in Indian history has been to a great extent with the election of Mrs. Annie Besant as its President after the death of Olcott in `1907`. Early in her life Mrs. Besant lost all faith in Christianity, divorced her husband, an Anglican clergyman, and came in contact with theosophy (`1882`). In `1889` she formally joined the Theosophical Society. After the death of Madame Blavatsky in `1891`, Mrs. Besant felt lonely and decided to come to India. Mrs. Besant was well acquainted with Indian thought and culture and her approach was Vedantic as is very evident from her translation of the Bhagvat Gita. Madame Blavatsky’s main emphasis had been on the occult than spiritualism; Mrs. Besant found a bridge between matter and mind. Gradually Mrs. Besant turned a Hindu, not only in her views but also in her dress, food, company and social manners. In India, under her guidance, Theosophy became a movement of Hindu Revival. Talking of the Indian problem, Annie Besant once said: “The Indian work is, first of all, the revival, strengthening and uplifting of the ancient religions. This has brought with it a new self respect, a pride in the past, a belief in the future, and as an inevitable result, a great wave of patriotic life, the beginning of the rebuilding of a nation.” |
| What institutions and political work did Besant create, and what limited Theosophy’s impact? | Central Hindu College, Home Rule and Limited Reach: Besant laid the foundation of the Central Hindu College in Benares in `1898` where both the Hindu religion and Western scientific subjects were taught. The College became the nucleus for the formation of Benares Hindu University in `1916`. Mrs. Besant also did much for the cause of female education. She also formed the Home Rule League on the pattern of the Irish Home Rule movement. The Theosophical Society provided a common denominator for the various sects and fulfilled the urge of educated Hindus. It stood for the development of a national spirit among the Indians. This brought with it a new self-respect, a pride in the past, a belief in the future, and, as an inevitable result, a great wave of patriotic life, the beginning of a nation. However to the average Indian the philosophy of Theosophical Movement seemed rather vague and deficient in positive programme and as such its impact was limited to a small segment of the westernised class. |
14. Ramakrishna Movement and Swami Vivekananda
14. Ramakrishna Movement and Swami Vivekananda
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did the Ramakrishna–Vivekananda movement emerge after the 1870s? | After Brahmo Weakening — Emotion over Didactic Rationalism: The reformist organisations like the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal, which was more modernist in its approach, was weakened after the `1870s` by internal dissent and divisions. This was followed by the emergence of the Ramakrishna–Vivekananda movement in the `1880s`. While Brahmo Samaj’s appeal was to intellect and its didactic rationalism appealed more to the intellectual elite, appeal of Ramakrishna Paramahansa was to the mind and emotions. |
→ Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1834–86) — Dakshineswar and Religious Eclecticism
→ Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1834–86) — Dakshineswar and Religious Eclecticism
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who was Ramakrishna and how did his teaching address the colonial middle class? | Dakshineswar Priest, Multi-Name God and Escape from Chakri:Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a poor priest at the Kali temple in Dakshineswar near Calcutta. His thinking was rooted deeply in Indian thought and culture, although he recognised the Truth in all religions. He considered and emphasised that Krishna, Hari, Rama, Christ, Allah are different names for the same God. He was completely untouched by Western rationalist education. He stood for selfless devotion to God with a view to the ultimate absorption in Him. This spirituality and compassion for suffering humanity inspired those who listened to him. He offered simple interpretations of Hinduism, which became immensely popular among the Western-educated Bengalees, tormented by their subjection to the drudgery of clerical jobs in foreign mercantile or government offices. He offered the possibility of an escape into an inner world of bhakti, despite the binding disciplines of alien jobs. Thus, although in his teachings there is hardly any direct reference to colonial rule, there is however an open rejection of the values imposed by Western education and the routine life of a time-bound job or chakri. |
| How did Ramakrishna’s catholicity become national religious discourse without open syncretism? | Appropriation of Popular Traditions; Stick to One’s Own Path: The educated middle class in the nineteenth century often found the domain of reason to be oppressive, as it implied the historical necessity of the “civilising” colonial rule. Therefore, in the teachings of this uneducated saint at Dakshineswar, this subordinated middle class found the formulation of a new religion, which “appropriated”, “sanitized” and “classicized” the popular traditions into a national religious discourse. Ramakrishna was not a revivalist per se, for he inculcated a form of religious eclecticism, which did not however involve the preaching of an open and fluid syncretism. There are various ways to achieve god, he argued; but one must stick to one’s own path in a world of fairly rigid divisions. Ramakrishna’s catholicity therefore soon came to be projected as an essence of Hinduism and became for his disciple, Vivekananda, a ground for claiming the superiority of Hinduism over all other religions. |
→ Swami Vivekananda — Chicago 1893, Ramakrishna Mission 1897 and Practical Vedanta
→ Swami Vivekananda — Chicago 1893, Ramakrishna Mission 1897 and Practical Vedanta
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Vivekananda interpret Ramakrishna and found the Mission? | Narendranath Datta; Mission Aims and Image Worship: It was left to Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Datta, `1862`–`1902`) to give an interpretation to the teachings of Ramakrishna and render them in an easily understandable language to the modern man. It was Vivekananda who infused into this discourse a missionary zeal. He condemned the other reform movements as elitist. He invoked the ideal of social service. The best way to serve god, he emphasised, was to serve the poor people. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission in `1897` (eleven years after the death of Ramakrishna) as a philanthropic organisation, getting inspiration from Ramakrishna Paramhans. It aimed at protecting India from the materialistic influences of western culture. It idealized Hinduism and the spiritual genius of India. It strove for the spiritual conquest of the world through resurrected Hinduism. To the founder, the Vedanta was the grand, universal and super-religion of the world. It actively worked for social reforms, humanitarian service and imparting education through a network of Ramkrishna schools. Besides it emphasized self-help and building-up of man strength. Unlike the Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission recognizes the utility and value of image worship in developing spiritual fervour and worship of the Eternal Omnipotent God. Ever since its inception the Ramakrishna Mission has been in the forefront of social reform in the country. It runs a number of charitable dispensaries and hospitals, offers help to the afflicted in times of natural calamities like famines, floods, epidemics. |
| What did Vivekananda preach at Chicago and on caste, poverty and service? | Chicago `1893`, Balance of Spiritualism and Materialism, Social Critique: Vivekanand emerged as the preacher of neo-Hinduism. He attended the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in `1893` and made a great impression by his learned interpretations. The keynote of his opening address was the need for a healthy balance between spiritualism and materialism. He envisaged a new culture for the whole world where the materialism of the West and the spiritualism of the East would be blended into a new harmony to produce happiness for mankind. The swami decried untouchability and the caste system. He strongly condemned the touch-me-not attitude of Hindus in religious matters. He regretted that Hinduism had been confined to the kitchen. He frowned at religion’s tacit approval to the oppression of the poor by the rich. He believed that it was an insult to God and humanity to teach religion to a starving man. Once he said, “Him I call a Mahatma whose heart bleeds for the poor, otherwise he is a Duratma. So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance I hold every man a traitor who while educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to man.” Thus, Vivekanand emphasised the fundamental postulate of his Master that the best worship of God is through service of humanity. In this way he gave a new social purpose to Hinduism. |
→ “Alternative Manliness,” Nationalism and the Revivalist Debate
→ “Alternative Manliness,” Nationalism and the Revivalist Debate
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was Vivekananda’s idea of alternative manliness and how did he shape nationalism without a political message? | Alternative Manliness; Pride in Past; Subhas Bose’s Assessment: Vivekananda introduced the idea of an “alternative manliness”, which combined Western concepts of masculinity with the Brahmanic tradition of spiritual celibate asceticism. A physical culture movement started with great enthusiasm with gymnasiums coming up in various parts of Bengal to reclaim physical prowess; but the emphasis remained on spiritual power and self-discipline that claimed superiority over body that was privileged in the Western idea of masculinity. Vivekanand never gave any political message. All the same, through his speeches and writings he infused into the new generation a sense of pride in India’s past, a new faith in India’s culture and a rare sense of self confidence in India’s future. He was a patriot and worked for the uplift of the people. “So far as Bengal is concerned,” writes Subhas Bose, “Vivekanand may be regarded as the spiritual father of the modern nationalist movement.” |
| Was Vivekananda a revivalist — how was he appropriated and what was forgotten? | Universalism vs Appropriation; Patron Prophet of Extremists: To describe him as a revivalist is to ignore the “universalistic” aspects of his teachings. Nevertheless, the fact that he drew inspiration from the Vedantic tradition, followed some of the orthodox Hindu rituals, exhibited an intrinsic faith in the glories of Hindu civilisation and nurtured a belief that it had degenerated in recent times, made it possible for the revivalists to appropriate him. His evocation of Hindu glory mixed with patriotism, which sought to restore the masculinity of the Indian nation denied to them by their colonial masters, had a tremendous impact on the popular mind. His message was therefore misused and misinterpreted to give a revivalist slant to nationalism in Bengal. His evocation of the glories of a Hindu past was popularised, while his trenchant condemnation of the evils of Hinduism was conveniently forgotten. His philanthropic activities were hardly ever emulated; his criticism of the Brahmanical and gender oppression was scarcely ever taken seriously. But he became the “patron prophet” for a whole generation of extremist leaders and militant revolutionaries, dreaming the resurrection of a glorious Hindu India. |
15. Sikh Reform Movements — Singh Sabha, Akali, Nirankari and Namdhari
15. Sikh Reform Movements — Singh Sabha, Akali, Nirankari and Namdhari
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did nineteenth-century rationalist ideas influence the Sikh community through Singh Sabha? | Singh Sabha (`1873`) — Education and Counter-Proselytisation: The rationalist and progressive ideas of the nineteenth century also influenced the Sikh community. In `1873` the Singh Sabha movement was founded at Amritsar. Its objective was twofold: it planned to bring to the Sikh community the benefits of Western enlightenment through modern education; and it also countered the proselytizing activities of the Christian missionaries as well as Hindu revivalists. The promoters of the Singh Sabha Movement were mostly from the educated middle class, connected with other socio-religious movements in Punjab as well. Major contribution of the Singh Sabha leadership lay in the creation of learning through the Sikh Educational Conference. They believed that social evils among the Sikhs were due to lack of education and aimed at social and religious reform through the spread of education. Khalsa College was founded at Amritsar in `1892`. The Sabha opened a network of Khalsa schools and colleges throughout the Punjab. |
→ Akali Movement (1920) and Gurdwara Reform Act (1925)
→ Akali Movement (1920) and Gurdwara Reform Act (1925)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did the Akali movement emerge from Singh Sabha and what abuses of mahants did it target? | SGPC, Mahants and Origins of the Campaign: Tracing its origins from the wider reformist Singh Sabha movement of the late nineteenth century, this particular campaign started in October `1920` when a Siromoni Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) was formed. Started by Sikh reformers to purify their religious places by removal of the evil social practices, the Akali movement aimed to liberate the Sikh gurdwaras from the control of corrupt mahants who enjoyed the support of the government (government manipulated loyalist committees that included non-Sikhs). The property and privileges attached to the religious places led to the introduction of complicated rites and ritual and emergence of rich, powerful and corrupt Mahants and misuse of temple premises by them. They also had the ban on the entry of backward caste people in the holy shrines. All the well-known Gurudwaras were endowed with rich tax-free jagirs by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and other Sikh Chiefs. Followers of Sikhism tried to check the evil practices of these Mahants by social protest and organised a movement of liberation of Sikh shrines from the control of the hereditary Mahants. In December `1920`, as an auxiliary of the SGPC, the Akali Dal was formed to coordinate jathas to wrest control of the shrines, the name Akali (“servants of the Eternal God”) being derived from the small band of martyr-warriors formed to defend the faith during the time of Ranjit Singh. |
| How did the Golden Temple keys crisis and satyagraha unfold with Congress support? | Golden Temple Keys, Satyagraha and Amritsar Victory: Already irritated by the administration of martial law and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Akalis came to a head-on collision with the government when in early `1921` it took the keys of the Golden Temple at Amritsar and appointed a new manager. When the Akalis protested, the government once more unleashed a repressive regime, and the latter responded with satyagraha. Akalis launched a non-violent, non-cooperation satyagraha movement against the mahants. It became closely related to Non-cooperation movement. Gandhi and the Congress supported the campaign, which ultimately forced the government to surrender the keys and administration of the temple to the Akalis. Akali movement has been described as representing “the largest and longest application of the Gandhian programme of satyagraha, or non-violent resistance.” |
| How did the rural phase, Jaito campaign and Gurdwara Reform Act conclude the movement? | Guru-ka-bagh, Nabha–Jaito, Compromises and Act of `1925`: In Punjab after the Amritsar victory the Akali campaign moved to the countryside, wresting control of the Guru-ka-bagh shrine in November `1922`, i.e., long after the non-cooperation movement had been formally withdrawn. By January `1923` they had taken control of about one hundred shrines, and then in September, when the government deposed the ruler of the princely state of Nabha for his alleged support to the Akalis, the latter launched a militant anti-colonial campaign in Jaito for his restoration. During its rural phase the Akali movement at various places crossed the boundary of non-violent movement, and the peasants openly defied the authority of the Raj. Gandhi withdrew his support at this point as he disapproved of the campaign for the deposed Nabha ruler. The government now came down heavily on the Akalis, but ultimately patched up a compromise for fear of affecting the loyalty of the Sikh soldiers. The Gurdwara Reform Act of `1925` restored the control of the shrines to Sikh management which was later amended in `1925`. The Akali movement was a sectarian or a regional movement but not a communal movement. The Akali leaders played a notable role in the national liberation struggle though some dissenting voices were heard occasionally. |
→ Nirankari Movement (1851) — Formless God and Anand Karaj
→ Nirankari Movement (1851) — Formless God and Anand Karaj
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did the Nirankari movement reform in Sikh ritual and authority? | Baba Dyal Das, Nirankar and Standardised Rituals:Nirankari (Punjabi: “Followers of the Formless One”—i.e., God) was a religious reform movement within Sikhism. It was founded by Baba Dyal Das (died `1855`) in northwest Punjab in `1851`. Baba Dayal Das was the first among the reformers in Sikh religion. He disapproved of the worship of tombs and graves. He believed that God is formless, or nirankar (hence the name Nirankari). Baba Dayal preached against idol worship of human gurus. He also stressed the importance of meditation. The chief contribution of the Nirankari movement is its standardization of rituals connected with birth, marriage, and death based on the Sikh scriptures. It introduced a simplified version of marriage named Anand Karaj. Under this system, marriage was performed in the presence of the Guru Granth, with the priest singing four relevant hymns from the holy book of the Sikhs. It disapproved dowry, marriage procession, drinking, dancing and rituals. Succeeded by his son Baba Darbara Singh, who continued to propagate his father’s teachings; Rattan Chand, popularly known as Baba Rathaji, continued the work after the death of Darbara Singh. Unlike mainstream Sikhs, but like Namdharis, Nirankaris accept the authority of a living guru (spiritual guide) and recognized Dayal Das and his successors as gurus. Its members differ from other Sikhs in their disapproval of the militant brotherhood of the Khalsa. Its following is drawn primarily from among the urban trading communities. |
→ Namdhari / Kuka Movement — Baba Ram Singh and Anti-Colonial Turn
→ Namdhari / Kuka Movement — Baba Ram Singh and Anti-Colonial Turn
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What were Namdhari origins, tenets and distinctive practices under Ram Singh? | Name-Repetition, Founders, Tenets and Distinctive Dress: The Namdhari did not believe in any religious ritual other than the repetition of God’s name (or nam, for which reason members of the sect are called Namdharis). Aim — establishment of purity of Sikh religion. Popularly known as Kuka Movement because of the followers resorting to shrieks (Kuks) while in ecstasy. It drifted to a political movement with the object of driving out the British. Founded in western Punjab in the `1840s` — shortly before British conquest of Punjab. Founder — Bhagat Jawahar Mal also known as Sian Sahib; HQ — Hazro in NWFP. Proclaimed Gobind Singh as the only true Guru. Tenets — abolition of caste; abolition of restrictions on inter-marriages; abstinence from meat, liquor, drugs. Tied turbans in a peculiar fashion. Balak Singh succeeded Sian Sahib as leader. Baba Ram Singh became leader after Balak Singh’s death (`1831` — source date as given). He militarized the movement — declared himself incarnation of Guru Gobind Singh. He introduced the sect’s distinctive style of wearing the turban, of dressing only in clothing made from white handwoven cloth, and of frenzied chanting of hymns culminating in shrieks (kuks; hence the name Kuka). Under Ram Singh’s leadership, the Namdharis sought a resurgence of Sikh rule in the Punjab. |
| How did the British crush the Kuka movement and how do Namdharis differ from mainstream Sikhs? | Executions of `1872`, Exile of Ram Singh and Distinctive Identity: In January `1872`, British police apprehended and executed by cannon about 65 Namdharis. Ram Singh was exiled to Rangoon and died there in `1885`, thus ending the Kuka Movement. Namdharis stress their identity as members of the Khalsa but differ from the mainstream Sikh community in their equal regard for the Adi Granth (“First Volume”) and the Dasam Granth (“Tenth Book”), a work compiled by the followers of the 10th Guru, Gobind Singh. They are also distinguished by their belief that the lineage of the living Gurus continued after Gobind Singh. The Namdharis maintain their own gurdwaras (houses of worship) and practice strict vegetarianism. |
16. Parsi Reform Movement — Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (1851)
16. Parsi Reform Movement — Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (1851)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did English-educated Parsis reform religion and women’s status through the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha? | Association, Leaders, Rast Goftar and Social Modernisation: The Parsi community could not remain unaffected by the wind of change that swept India. In `1851` a group of English-educated Parsis set up the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha or Religious Reform Association for the object of “the regeneration of the social condition of the Parsis and the restoration of the Zoroastrian religion to its pristine purity”. It stood for the modernisation of Parsi religion and social customs. Naroaj Furdonji (Naoroji Furdonji), Dadabhai Naoroji, K.R. Came and S.S. Bengalee were in the forefront of the movement. The newspaper Rast-Gofter / Rast Goftar (Truth-Teller) propagated the message of the Association. Parsi religious rituals and practices were reformed and Parsi creed redefined. In the field of social reform, attention was focused on improvement of the lot of Parsi women in society like removal of purdah system, raising the age of marriage and education of women. Also struggled for uniform laws of inheritance and marriage for the Parsi community. Gradually the Parsis emerged as the most Westernised section of Indian society. |
17. Reform Movements: Reformist vs Revivalist Typology
17. Reform Movements: Reformist vs Revivalist Typology
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What defined reformist socio-religious movements in colonial India? | Reformist Movements — Reason, Humanism, Rational Critique: Reformist movements advocated changes in social customs based on reason, humanism, and rational critique. Brahmo Samaj (`1828` — Raja Rammohan Roy), often called the Father of Modern Indian Renaissance, attacked Sati (abolished `1829`), idol worship, polygamy, and the caste system, and preached monotheism via the Upanishads; the movement was continued by Debendranath Tagore and Keshub Chandra Sen. The Young Bengal Movement under Henry Vivian Derozio was a radical intellectual revolt inspired by the French Revolution. Prarthana Samaj (`1867` — Atmaram Pandurang, M.G. Ranade) pursued social reform, widow remarriage, and inter-caste dining in Maharashtra. The Aligarh Movement (Sir Syed Ahmed Khan) promoted modern scientific education for Muslims, founded MAO College Aligarh (`1875`), and opposed religious dogma. |
| What defined revivalist movements and how did they differ in method? | Revivalist Movements — Scripture and Golden Past: Revivalist movements sought regeneration of society by appealing to ancient scriptures and a golden past. Arya Samaj (`1875` — Swami Dayanand Saraswati) took the slogan “Go Back to Vedas”, rejected Puranas, idol worship and untouchability, and initiated the Shuddhi movement and DAV schools. The Ramakrishna Mission (`1897` — Swami Vivekananda) preached Practical Vedanta (service to humanity = service to God / Jiva is Shiva) and represented Indian spiritual humanism at the Chicago Parliament of Religions (`1893`). The Deoband School (`1866`) was an orthodox Islamic revivalist movement aiming to preserve Quranic teachings and supported the INC against the British. |
| How did lower-caste and women-centred movements challenge social hierarchy? | Lower Caste & Women Movements:Satyashodhak Samaj (`1873` — Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule) was an anti-Brahmin movement associated with the book Gulamgiri and with education for lower castes and women. The Self-Respect Movement (`1925` — E.V. Ramasamy Periyar) was an anti-caste, atheist, anti-Brahmin movement in Tamil Nadu. The SNDP Movement (Sri Narayana Guru) advanced the slogan “One Caste, One Religion, One God for Man” in Kerala. |
18. Development of Press
18. Development of Press
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did the press act as a weapon of national awakening and what major restrictive/liberal laws shaped it? | Press Development & Restrictive Laws: The press acted as a primary weapon of national awakening — from Hickey’s Bengal Gazette (`1780`) and Mirat-ul-Akbar by Rammohan Roy to Kesari and Mahratta by Tilak. The Metcalfe Act `1835` earned the label “Liberator of Indian Press” by repealing the `1823` licensing ordinance. The Vernacular Press Act `1878` (Lord Lytton), known as the “Gagging Act,” targeted local-language papers (Amrita Bazar Patrika converted to English overnight) and was repealed by Ripon (`1882`). |
19. State of Indigenous Education and Its Dislocation
19. State of Indigenous Education and Its Dislocation
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did Hindu and Muslim seats of learning languish in the eighteenth century? | Political Convulsions and Intellectual Decline: During the eighteenth century the Hindu and Muslim seats of learning languished. The numerous political convulsions in the country created abnormal conditions hardly conducive to intellectual pursuits both in teachers and pupils. |
| How did Company rule after 1765 deepen the decay of native schools? | Loss of Endowments; Hastings on Decayed Schools; Private Effort Doctrine: The East India Company became a ruling power in Bengal in `1765`. After arrival of the British, the loss of political power deprived the native schools of learning of their public endowments. In a letter to the Court of Directors dated 21 February `1784`, Warren Hastings referred to the decayed remains of schools in every capital town and city of Northern India and the Deccan. Following the example of contemporary English Government, the Court of Directors refused to take on itself the responsibility for the education of the people of India and decided to leave education to private effort. However, the Indian officers of the East India Company urged the Court of Directors to do something for the promotion of learning. Some half-hearted efforts were made by the Company’s Government to foster oriental learning. |
20. Early Oriental Institutions (1781–1802)
20. Early Oriental Institutions (1781–1802)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What were Calcutta Madrasa, Benares Sanskrit College and Fort William College, and what were their limits? | Hastings, Duncan, Wellesley — Half-Hearted Oriental Foundations:Warren Hastings, himself an intellectual, set up the Calcutta Madrasa in `1781` for the study and learning of Persian and Arabic. In `1791` the efforts of Jonathan Duncan, the British Resident at Benares, bore fruit and a Sanskrit College was opened at Benares for “the cultivation of the laws, literature and religion of the Hindus.” Fort William College was set up by Lord Wellesley in `1800` for the training of the civil servants of the Company in the languages and customs of India. The College published an English–Hindustani Dictionary, a Hindustani grammar and some other books. The Court of Directors ordered the closure of the college in `1802`. These early attempts for the education of the people in oriental languages met with little success. It was found that there were more teachers than students. |
| What did Christian missionaries, especially at Serampore, advocate against oriental revival? | Missionary Advocacy of Western Literature and Christian Religion through English: The Christian missionaries opposed the attempts to revive an out-of-date system of education and advocated the teaching of Western literature and Christian religion through the medium of English. The Serampore missionaries, in particular, were very enthusiastic for the spread of education. |
| Year | Institution | Founder / Agent | Purpose / Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
1781 | Calcutta Madrasa | Warren Hastings | Persian and Arabic learning |
1791 | Sanskrit College, Benares | Jonathan Duncan (Resident) | Laws, literature and religion of the Hindus |
1800–1802 | Fort William College | Lord Wellesley | Train civil servants in languages and customs; dictionary/grammar publications; closed by Court of Directors 1802 |
21. Charter Act of 1813 — One Lakh Grant
21. Charter Act of 1813 — One Lakh Grant
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What educational provision did the Charter Act of 1813 make? | Humble Beginning — Rs 1 Lakh for Literature and Sciences: The Court of Directors made a humble beginning towards the development of education in India in `1813` when the Charter Act (`1813`) provided for an annual expenditure of one lakh of rupees “for the revival and promotion of literature and the encouragement of the learned natives of India, and for the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories.” |
22. Four Motives of British Education Policy
22. Four Motives of British Education Policy
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Was British education policy philanthropic, and what general purposes did it serve? | Tool to Buttress Colonial Rule — Not Philanthropy: Education policy introduced by the British in India was used as a tool to buttress and perpetuate colonial rule. The British imperial authorities favoured the Western system of education through the English medium. They were not inspired by any philanthropic motives and whatever limited efforts they made were in the larger interests of the colonial rule. The British did not harbour any bona fide intention to educate the people and bring about enlightenment — the basic goal of education. The introduction of the new system of education was primarily motivated by the politico-administrative, commercial and moral considerations of the British in India which would buttress and perpetuate colonial rule. |
→ Administrative Motive
→ Administrative Motive
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did administrative needs drive Western education and language requirements? | Lower-Cadre Economy; Classical, Vernacular and English Staffing Needs: The principal motive behind the introduction of Western education was to make administration at the lower rung economical. As the British Empire in India expanded its territories, administrative structure too grew elaborate and extensive which necessitated staffing of low-cadre posts. And as it was too expensive an affair and politically not advisable to import a huge number of people from England, it became politically expedient to recruit people from Indian strata after providing them a little bit of education and general working knowledge. Administrative needs of the Company required Indians well versed in the classical and vernacular languages. In the revenue and judicial department, the clerical and middle level of staff was required to have English language knowledge. In the Judicial Department Indians conversant with Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian were required to sit as assessors with English judges and expound Hindu or Muslim law from Sanskrit or Persian or Arabic books. Besides, the knowledge of Persian and vernaculars was valued in the Political Department for correspondence with rulers of Indian states. The clerical staff in the revenue and commercial departments had contacts with uneducated masses and for them knowledge of vernaculars was a must. However, for higher grade of staff in the Company’s services, knowledge of English as well as vernaculars was essential. |
→ Political Motive
→ Political Motive
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How was Western education expected to create a political buffer class loyal to British rule? | Reconciliatory Attitude; Buffer Class; Brown Englishmen: British education policy was also shaped by their notion that Indians imbued with Western knowledge would prove to be help in manifold ways. Western education would dispel reactionary attitude and develop in Indians a reconciliatory attitude. This would create a sense of belonging. It would give birth to a class of people who would be English in attitude, approach and spirit and would act as a buffer, a powerful link between the vast population of the subject people and those who governed them. The newly educated western-educated class, unconsciously or consciously, became supporters of British rule in India. Thus, Macaulay’s dream of creating a class of persons who would be “Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and intellect” did materialise. |
→ Commercial Motive
→ Commercial Motive
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did the British commercial community support anglicization of education? | English-Educated Middle Class as Consumers of British Goods: The British commercial community became strong supporters of the cause of anglicization of education in India. The English-educated Indian middle class became the great consumers of British goods and would help expand markets in India for British goods. |
→ Moral / Evangelical Motive
→ Moral / Evangelical Motive
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How were moral considerations linked with Christianity and conversion? | Alexander Duff; Education as Evangelical Weapon: The moral considerations were linked with the spread of Christianity. Alexander Duff considered education as the soundest weapon for attracting heathens to Christianity. Macaulay’s hope that the spread of Western knowledge would win converts to Christianity did not materialise though some converts from upper classes were made. |
| Motive | Core logic (source) |
|---|---|
| Administrative | Economical lower-cadre staffing; English for clerical/middle posts; Sanskrit/Arabic/Persian for judicial assessors; Persian/vernaculars for Political Dept and mass contact |
| Political | Reconciliatory, English-in-attitude buffer class; “brown Englishmen” linking rulers and subjects |
| Commercial | English-educated middle class as consumers expanding British goods markets |
| Moral / Evangelical | Christianity — Duff’s education-as-weapon; limited upper-class converts |
23. Growing Popularity of Western Learning and Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1823)
23. Growing Popularity of Western Learning and Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1823)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What economic and progressive factors tipped the scale toward English and Western learning? | Livelihood Demand and Progressive Indian Support: The main factor which tipped the scale in favour of English language and Western literature was the economic factor. Indians wanted a system of education which could help them to earn their livelihood. Progressive Indian elements also favoured the spread of English education and Western learning. |
| What did Raja Ram Mohan Roy argue in his 1823 letter to Lord Amherst? | Protest against Oriental Strengthening; Case for Modern Scientific Learning:Raja Ram Mohan Roy protested against the Government’s proposal to strengthen the Calcutta Madrasa, the Benares Sanskrit College and establishment of more oriental colleges in Bengal. He wrote to Lord Amherst in `1823` that Sanskrit education could only be expected to load the minds of youth with grammatical niceties and metaphysical distinctions of life which are of little or no practical use to their possessors or to society. He added: “Youths will not be fitted to be better members of society by the Vedantic doctrines which teach them to believe that all visible things have no real existence, that as father, brother, etc… have no real entity, they consequently deserve no real affection and therefore the sooner they escape from them and leave the world the better.” Advocating the importance of modern scientific learning, he wrote, “The Sanskrit system of education would be the best calculated to keep the country in darkness, if such had been the policy of British Government. But as the improvement of the native population is the object of the Government, it will consequently promote a more liberal and enlightened system of instruction, embracing Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Anatomy with other useful sciences.” |
| What Government responses followed Roy’s protests? | English Encouraged; Hindu College Grant; Sanskrit Colleges; Scientific Translation: The protests of Raja Ram Mohan Roy did not go unheeded. The Government agreed to encourage the study of English as well as Oriental languages. A grant was sanctioned for the Calcutta Hindu College set up in `1817` by enlightened Bengalis, which imparted instruction mainly in English language and emphasised the study of Western humanities and sciences. The Government also set up three Sanskrit Colleges — one each at Calcutta, Delhi and Agra. In addition, funds were set apart for the translation of European scientific works into Oriental languages. |
24. Orientalist–Anglicist Controversy
24. Orientalist–Anglicist Controversy
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How was the General Committee of Public Instruction divided and how did the dispute reach Macaulay? | GCPI Structure; Prinsep vs Anglicists; Trevelyan; Reference to GG-in-Council: Prior to the `1830s` the Orientalists dominated the General Committee of Public Instruction (CGPI / GCPI) which had been created in `1823` to administer the Government’s education programme in Bengal. The General Committee of Public Instruction consisted of ten members. Within the Committee there were two groups: the Orientalists led by H. T. Prinsep, who advocated the policy of giving encouragement to Oriental literature, and the Anglicists or the English Party which favoured the adoption of English as a medium of instruction. The equal division of parties in the Committee made it extremely difficult for it to function effectively. With the appointment of Charles Trevelyan in CGPI, resistance against the Orientalist policies grew and reached an impasse regarding allocation of the one lakh of rupees mentioned in the `1813` Act. Stalemates in the meetings of the Committee were frequent. Ultimately both the parties in the committee submitted their dispute to the Governor-General in Council for orders. Macaulay, the future brother-in-law of Trevelyan, was then appointed to break the stalemate. |
| Along what axes can Orientalist and Anglicist arguments be compared? | Intellectual Improvement; Patriarchal Progress; Economic Printing; Liberty: To engage in the debate, one might compare the viewpoints from which the individual arguments were placed. On the idea of ‘Intellectual improvement’ of the natives, the solution lay in exposing them to Western knowledge via English or their own traditional knowledge in Sanskrit and Arabic. On patriarchal notions of doing what was ‘best for the progress of the natives’, Macaulay’s idea of exposure to European sciences stood against Wilson’s idea of reviving native culture and knowledge to make the natives more receptive to British culture and ethics. On economic considerations, the choice was printing English books which were in demand or printing Western Knowledge in Oriental languages which had a better chance of being more easily accepted and understood. On the perspective of liberty, Macaulay’s liberal ideas allowed him to argue that enabling access of superior knowledge to the Indians would free them from the shackles of irrationality, backward ideas and superstitions; Wilson, on the other hand, argued that introduction of European sciences at the cost of withdrawing scholarships for native knowledge did not uphold the principles of justice and liberty so dear to the British. |
| Axis | Anglicist / Macaulay frame | Orientalist / Wilson frame |
|---|---|---|
| Intellectual improvement | Western knowledge via English | Traditional knowledge in Sanskrit and Arabic |
| ‘Best for natives’ | Exposure to European sciences | Revive native culture/knowledge to make natives receptive to British culture and ethics |
| Economic | Print English books in demand | Print Western knowledge in Oriental languages for easier acceptance |
| Liberty | Free Indians from irrationality, backward ideas, superstitions | Withdrawing native scholarships violates justice and liberty |
25. Macaulay’s Minute (2 February 1835) and Downward Filtration Theory
25. Macaulay’s Minute (2 February 1835) and Downward Filtration Theory
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did Macaulay’s Minute argue about Indian literature, English, and the desired class of educated Indians? | Anglicist Victory; Contempt for Native Literature; Brown Englishmen Ideal: As a member of the Executive Council, Macaulay wrote his famous Minute on educational policy dated 2 February `1835` and placed it before the Council. Macaulay favoured the viewpoint of the Anglicist Party. He showed great contempt for Indian customs and literature when he said that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.” Regarding the utility, importance and claims of English language he wrote: “Whoever knows that language has ready access to all the vast intellectual wealth which all the wisest nations of the earth have created and handed in the course of ninety generations. In India, English is the language spoken by the ruling class. It is spoken by the higher class of natives at the seats of Government. It is likely to become the language of commerce throughout the seas of the East.” Macaulay cited the examples of European Renaissance and the case of Russia and dilated upon “the great impulse given to the mind of a whole society—of prejudice overthrown, of knowledge diffused, of task purified, of arts and sciences planted in countries which had recently been ignorant and barbarous.” Possibly, Macaulay aimed to create a class of persons who should be “Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.” In other words, he sought the production of “brown Englishmen” to fill the lower cadres in the Company’s administration. |
| What was the Macaulayian system and the infiltration/filtration theory? | Upper-Class English Education; Interpreters Class; Vernaculars as Ancillary: The ‘Macaulayian system’ was a systematic effort on the part of the British Government to educate the upper classes of India through the medium of English language. Education of the masses was not the aim of Macaulay. He wrote in `1835`: “It is impossible for us with our limited means to attempt to educate the body of the people.” He rather put implicit faith in the ‘infiltration theory’ (Downward Filtration Theory). He believed that the English-educated persons would act as a ‘class of interpreters’ and in turn enrich vernacular languages and literature and thus the knowledge of Western sciences and literature would reach the masses. Thus a natural corollary of Macaulay’s theory was the development of vernacular languages as ancillary to the teaching of English. |
26. Macaulay vs H. H. Wilson
26. Macaulay vs H. H. Wilson
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What were Macaulay’s main arguments (as extension of Trevelyan’s thoughts)? | Macaulay’s Arguments — Sciences Priority; English as Natural Choice; Demand; Employment; Intermediaries: There is evidence to suggest that Macaulay’s arguments were mainly an extension of Trevelyan’s thoughts and constructed as follows. The lakhs of rupees were supposed to be used not only for ‘reviving literature in India’ but also for ‘introduction and promotion of a knowledge of sciences among inhabitants of the British Territories’. The latter initiative was suffering due to excessive importance to the former. The Government’s main aim of ‘intellectual improvement’ of the natives who were ‘barbarous, superstitious and irrational’ could not be attained by vernacular languages which according to him had little intrinsic value, and translation of the works from English into so many dialects was next to impossible. The same argument was put forth for Sanskrit and Arabic, thus making English a supposedly natural choice which had ‘ready access to vast intellectual wealth’. The next argument attacked the Orientalist ideology of seeking co-operation of native public by teaching Sanskrit and Arabic. Macaulay held the view that this was hardly a reason since the natives themselves were keen on learning English. He substantiated his argument by citing the fact that while the natives were ready to pay to learn English, they had to be provided scholarships to engage in traditional learning. He further appealed to the economic value of western learning which was sure to provide employment to the natives while Sanskrit and Arabic did not have the power to remunerate individuals who took the trouble of acquiring proficiency in it. In this light, he accused the orientalist policy of misleading students by encouraging them to study subjects which were of no practical value and cited the case of a petition presented by students of Sanskrit college — their grievance was about the futility of the education they received in terms of job prospects. Finally, he concluded that English should be made the language of knowledge dissemination. Scholarship for traditional languages was to be removed. The best the government could aim was to create a class of intermediaries between the rest of the population and British who would become the flag bearers of English knowledge, virtue and ideals. |
| How did H. H. Wilson rebut Macaulay on trust, petitions, stipends, language and empire-of-opinion? | Wilson’s Rebuttal — Breach of Trust; 8,000 Muslim Petition; Stipends as Livelihood; Familiar Forms:H. H. Wilson, an influential Orientalist, strongly rebutted Macaulay’s minute, the essence of it being based on the ideology of ‘empire-of-opinion’. More specifically, he countered Macaulay’s arguments along the following points of view. Withdrawal of funding of scholarships from colleges teaching native knowledge was paramount of breach of trust that the British had carefully developed with the Indians. It would in Wilson’s terms “defeat the very purpose in view… the intellectual, moral and religious improvement of people of India” by “impressing upon the minds of the natives that they and their rulers had conflicting feelings and interest.” It was an Anglicist assumption that the natives had no interest in their own language. According to Wilson, this was proven wrong when Macaulay’s minute provoked a petition signed by 8,000 Mohammedans stating their plea for continuance of the Madrassa. Wilson argued that they were aware that withdrawing scholarship amounted to closing an institution because the students were heavily dependent on it. Stipends were a common norm even in Britain and Wilson saw even greater need to provide scholarships in India where these were often the only means of livelihood for the students. His next point was regarding the language of instruction. English, according to him, was too foreign a language to engage the natives in the knowledge of the west and the same had to be done in forms familiar to them. His belief was that the learned natives would gradually come to see the error in their practices and look up to western culture and learning. From a more practical aspect, he argued that the natives had a right to demand funding for the studies they deemed fit when they were the ones providing revenue to the British. His main argument was that the Indians would voluntarily and willingly accept the soundness of English culture via the “able pundits and maulvis, who should add English to Sanskrit and Arabic, who should expose the absurdities of their own systems and advocate adoption of European knowledge.” This would lead to a more fundamental change rather than a rudimentary grasp of English language which would not lead to inculcation of any values that they intended to spread. |
| Point of clash | Macaulay / Anglicist | H. H. Wilson / Orientalist |
|---|---|---|
| Use of 1813 funds | Sciences neglected under oriental revival priority | — |
| Medium | Vernaculars/Sanskrit/Arabic low value; English = vast intellectual wealth | English too foreign; use familiar forms |
| Native demand | Natives pay for English; need stipends for traditional learning | 8,000 Mohammedans petition for Madrassa; interest in own language |
| Scholarships | Remove traditional scholarships | Withdrawal = breach of trust; stipends often only livelihood; common even in Britain |
| Employment | Western learning remunerates; Sanskrit/Arabic do not; Sanskrit College job petition | Natives as revenue-providers have right to fund preferred studies |
| Desired agent of change | Class of English intermediaries / flag-bearers | Able pundits and maulvis adding English to Sanskrit and Arabic |
27. Bentinck Resolution (7 March 1835) and Immediate Aftermath
27. Bentinck Resolution (7 March 1835) and Immediate Aftermath
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did Bentinck’s Resolution of 7 March 1835 declare as official policy? | European Literature and Sciences through English; All Funds Redirected: A month after its circulation, Macaulay’s Minute became policy, when William Bentinck, the Governor-General of India, signed the resolution. Resolution of 7 March `1835` accepted the viewpoint of Macaulay that, in future, the object of the Company’s Government should be the promotion of European literature and sciences, through the medium of English language and in future all funds were to be spent for that purpose. For Macaulay, this was a victory. He had won against his detractors, especially the Orientalists — East India Company officials, scholars, translators and collectors — who supported study and instruction in India in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian languages. |
| What enactments after Bentinck accelerated English education and how was Persian displaced? | Freedom of Press Measure; Abolition of Court Persian; Half-Hearted Vernacular Effort: Bentinck’s resolution was followed by other enactments accelerating the growth of English education in India. The first was the Freedom of Press Act (`1825` in source dating) which encouraged the printing and publication of books and made English books available at low costs. Two years later, to the dismay of the Muslims, Persian was abolished as the language of record and the courts, which was replaced by English and Indian languages in the higher and the lower courts respectively. Hereafter the Government made half-hearted efforts to develop vernacular languages and the development of literature in these languages was left to the genius and needs of the people who spoke these languages. |
28. James Thomason’s Vernacular Plan in NWP (1843–53)
28. James Thomason’s Vernacular Plan in NWP (1843–53)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was Thomason’s comprehensive village education scheme and its administrative motive? | Vernacular Village Schools; Mensuration and Agricultural Science; Dept of Education: In the North West Provinces (modern U.P.) Mr. James Thomason, Lieutenant Governor during `1843–53`, made efforts to develop a comprehensive scheme of village education through the medium of vernacular languages. The smaller English schools were abolished and English education confined to colleges. In this village school useful subjects like mensuration, agricultural science etc., were taught through the medium of vernaculars. Above all, a Department of Education was organized for the inspection and improvement of indigenous schools. The motivating force behind Thomason’s plan was to train personnel for employment in the newly set up Revenue and Public Works Departments of the province. |
29. Sir Charles Wood’s Despatch on Education (1854) — Magna Carta
29. Sir Charles Wood’s Despatch on Education (1854) — Magna Carta
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who was Wood and why is the 1854 Despatch called the Magna Carta of English education in India? | Board of Control President; Coordinated All-India System; Western Education Aim:Sir Charles Wood was the President of the Board of Control in Britain. He was a firm believer in the superiority of English race and institutions and sincerely believed that these institutions could serve as a useful model for the world. In `1854` Wood prepared his comprehensive despatch on the scheme of future education in India. The despatch came to be considered as the Magna Carta (source also “Megna Catra”) of English education in India. The scheme envisaged a coordinated system of education on an all-India basis. It declared that the aim of Government’s educational policy was the teaching of Western education: “The education which we desire to see extended in India is that which has for its object the diffusion of the improved arts, science, philosophy and literature of Europe.” |
| What did Wood recommend on medium, school–college pyramid, grants-in-aid and DPI? | English Higher Education; Vernacular Filtration; Pyramid Structure; Conditional Grants; Directors of Public Instruction: For higher education English language was the most perfect medium of education. The Despatch emphasised the importance of the vernacular languages, for it was through the medium of the vernacular languages that European knowledge could infiltrate to the masses. It proposed the setting up of vernacular primary schools in the villages at the lowest stage, followed by Anglo-Vernacular high schools and an affiliated college at the district level. It recommended a system of grants-in-aid to encourage and foster private enterprise in the field of education. This grants-in-aid was conditional on the institutions employing qualified teachers and maintaining proper standards of teaching. A Department of Public Instruction under the charge of a Director in each of the five provinces of the Company’s territories was to review the progress of education in the province and submit an annual report to the Government. |
| What did Wood recommend on universities, vocation, teacher training and women’s education? | London-Model Universities; Technical Schools; Teachers’ Training; Women’s Education: Universities on the model of the London University were proposed for Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The universities were to hold examinations and confer degrees. The despatch emphasised the importance of vocational instruction and the need for establishing technical schools and colleges. Teachers’ Training Institutions on the model then prevalent in England were recommended. The despatch gave frank and cordial support for fostering the education of women. The new scheme of education was imitation of English models. |
→ Implementation and Impact of Wood’s Despatch
→ Implementation and Impact of Wood’s Despatch
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How far was Wood’s Despatch implemented and what institutional changes followed to 1857 and beyond? | DPI 1855; Universities 1857; Bethune’s Girls’ Schools; Five Decades of Domination: Almost all the proposals in the Wood’s Despatch were implemented. The Department of Public Instruction was organised in `1855` and it replaced the earlier Committee of Public Instruction and Council of Education. The three universities of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay came into existence in `1857`. Mostly due to Bethune’s efforts girls’ schools were set up on modern footing and brought under the Government’s grant-in-aid and inspection system. The ideals and methods advocated in Wood’s Despatch dominated the field for about five decades. The same period also witnessed a rapid Westernization of the educational system in India. The indigenous system gradually gave place to the Western system of education. Most of the educational institutions during this period were run by European headmasters and principals under the Education Department. The missionary enterprise played its own part and managed a number of institutions. Gradually private Indian effort appeared in the field. |
| Level / Instrument | Wood’s Despatch recommendation |
|---|---|
| Aim | Diffusion of improved arts, science, philosophy and literature of Europe |
| Higher medium | English (most perfect medium) |
| Mass filtration | Vernacular languages |
| Structure | Vernacular primary (villages) → Anglo-Vernacular high schools → affiliated district college |
| Private enterprise | Grants-in-aid (qualified teachers + standards) |
| Provincial machinery | DPI under Director in each of 5 provinces; annual report |
| Universities | London model — Calcutta, Bombay, Madras (exams + degrees) |
| Other | Vocational/technical schools; Teachers’ Training; women’s education |
30. Hunter Education Commission (1882–83)
30. Hunter Education Commission (1882–83)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why was the Hunter Commission appointed and what was its principal object? | Review since 1854; Missionary Propaganda; Elementary Focus; Universities Outside Scope: In `1882` the Government appointed a Commission under the chairmanship of W. W. Hunter to review the progress of education in the country since the Despatch of `1854`. Another reason for the appointment of the Commission was the propaganda carried on by the missionaries in England that the education system of India was not carried on in accordance with the policy laid down in Wood’s Despatch. The resolution appointing the Commission instructed the Chairman to reorganise education in India so that “the different branches of public instruction should, if possible, move forward together and with more equal step.” The principal object of the Commission should be the enquiry of the present state of elementary education throughout the Indian Empire and the means by which this can be extended and improved. The Commission was not to enquire into the general working of the Indian universities. Thus the Commission mostly confined its remarks to secondary and primary education. |
→ Hunter Recommendations: Primary, Secondary, Private Enterprise, Female Education
→ Hunter Recommendations: Primary, Secondary, Private Enterprise, Female Education
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did Hunter recommend for primary education and local board control? | State’s Special Care; Vernacular Masses; District and Municipal Boards; Educational Cess: On primary education, the Commission emphasised the State’s special care for the extension and improvement of primary education. “Primary instruction should be regarded as the instruction of the masses through the vernacular, in such subjects as will best fit them.” While private enterprise was to be welcomed at all stages of education, primary education was to be provided without reference to local cooperation. The Commission recommended the transference of the control of primary education to the newly set up District and Municipal Boards. The local boards were empowered to levy cess for educational purposes. |
| What dual track did Hunter prescribe for secondary education? | Literary Entrance Track and Practical Commercial–Vocational Track: For Secondary education, the principle was laid down that there should be two divisions: a literary education leading up to the Entrance Examination of the University; and a practical character preparing students for commercial and vocational careers. |
| How did Hunter seek to encourage private enterprise and redefine the State’s role? | Liberal Grants-in-Aid; Equality of Aided Schools; State Withdrawal from Direct Management: The Commission recommended that an all-out effort should be made to encourage private enterprise in the field of education. To achieve that objective, it recommended the extension and liberalization of the grants-in-aid system, recognition of aided schools as equal to Government institutions in matters of status and privileges etc. The Government should withdraw, it was recommended, as early as possible from the direct management of secondary and collegiate education. |
| What did Hunter say about female education? | Inadequate Facilities outside Presidency Towns: On female education, the Commission drew attention to the inadequate facilities for female education outside the Presidency towns and made recommendations for its spread. |
→ Impact of Hunter Commission
→ Impact of Hunter Commission
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What expansion and university developments followed Hunter’s report? | Secondary–Collegiate Boom; Indian Philanthropy; Punjab 1882; Allahabad 1887: The twenty years following the report of the Commission saw an unprecedented growth and expansion of secondary and collegiate education. The marked feature of this expansion was the participation of Indian philanthropic activity. A number of denominational institutions sprang up in all parts of the country. Interest was kindled in Indian and Oriental studies apart from the pursuit of Western knowledge. Another development of the period was the setting up of the teaching-cum-examining universities. The Punjab University was founded in `1882` as “the supreme literary, supreme teaching and supreme examining body.” The Allahabad University was set up in `1887`. |
31. Curzon’s Policies, Simla Conference (1901) and Indian Universities Act (1904)
31. Curzon’s Policies, Simla Conference (1901) and Indian Universities Act (1904)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What official and nationalist diagnoses of education framed Curzon’s intervention? | Political Unrest; Quality vs Illiteracy; Official Control vs Nationalist Suspicion: The early years of the nineteenth century (source phrasing for the period of growing unrest around Curzon’s viceroyalty) was a period of growing political unrest and controversies in educational policies. Political developments acted and reacted on educational developments. The official view was that educational expansion had not proceeded on the right lines, that quality had deteriorated under private management, there was lot of indiscipline in schools and colleges and that educational institutions had become factories for the production of political revolutionaries. All these unhealthy developments were attributed to unregulated rapid expansion under irresponsible private enterprise. Nationalist opinion admitted the lowering of standards but emphasised that the Government was not doing its duty to liquidate illiteracy. In his characteristic zeal for improvement of all branches of administration, Curzon sought to reconstruct education in India. He deprecated the ‘too slavish imitation of English models’ and Macaulay’s colossal blunder in erecting an ‘inverted pyramid’ and prejudice against Indian vernaculars. He referred to the poor quality of teachers and found fault with the examination-ridden system of education. His motives were mainly political and only partly educational. Curzon justified the increase of official control over education in the name of quality and efficiency, but actually sought to restrict education and discipline educated mind towards loyalty to the Government. The nationalist mind saw in Curzon’s policies an attempt to strengthen imperialism and sabotage development of nationalist feelings. |
| What was the Simla Conference of September 1901? | Round Table of Officers and Universities; 150 Resolutions; Curzon’s Denial of Imposed Plan: In September `1901`, Curzon summoned the high educational officers of the Government throughout India and representatives of universities at a round table conference at Simla. The Conference opened with a speech by the Viceroy in which he surveyed the whole field of education in India. He said: “We have not met here to devise a brand new plan of educational reform which is to spring fully armed from the head of the Home Department and to be imposed nolens volens upon the Indian public.” Later developments were to prove the hypocrisy behind this assertion. The Conference adopted 150 resolutions which touched almost every conceivable branch of education. |
→ Raleigh Commission (1902) and Provisions of the Indian Universities Act (1904)
→ Raleigh Commission (1902) and Provisions of the Indian Universities Act (1904)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was the Raleigh Commission’s mandate and how did it lead to the 1904 Act? | Universities Only; 27 January 1902; Path to Legislation: The Simla Conference was followed by the appointment of a Commission under the presidency of Sir Thomas Raleigh on 27 January `1902` to enquire into the condition and prospects of universities in India and to recommend proposals for improving their constitution and working. Evidently, the Commission was precluded from reporting on primary or secondary education. As a result of the report of the recommendations of the Commission the Indian Universities Act was passed in `1904`. |
| What were the main provisions of the Indian Universities Act, 1904? | Research Role; Fellows Cap and Nomination; Government Veto; Stricter Affiliation: The main provisions of the Indian Universities Act, `1904`, were as follows. The universities were desired to make provision for promotion of study and research, to appoint university professors and lecturers, set up university laboratories and libraries and undertake direct instruction of students. It laid down that the number of Fellows of a university shall not be less than fifty nor more than a hundred and a Fellow should normally hold office for a period of six years instead of for life. Most of the Fellows of a university were to be nominated by the Government. The elective element at University of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay was to be twenty each and in case of other universities fifteen only. The Government control over the universities was further increased by vesting the Government with powers to veto the regulations passed by the Senate of a university. The Government could also make additions or alterations in the regulations framed by the Senate and even frame regulations itself. The Act increased university control over private colleges by laying down stricter conditions of affiliation and periodical inspection by the Syndicate. The private colleges were required to keep a proper standard of efficiency. The Government approval was necessary for grant of affiliation or disaffiliation of colleges. The Governor-General in Council was empowered to define the territorial limits of a university or decide the affiliation of colleges to universities. |
→ Gokhale’s Critique and Assessment of the 1904 Act
→ Gokhale’s Critique and Assessment of the 1904 Act
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did nationalist opinion and later the Sadler Commission assess the 1904 Act? | Retrograde Measure; Most Completely Governmental Universities; Permanent Grants: The Nationalist opinion both inside and outside the Legislative Council opposed the measure. Mr. G. K. Gokhale described the bill as “a retrograde measure” which cast unmerited aspersion on the educated classes of the country and was designed to perpetuate “the narrow, bigoted and inexpensive rule of experts.” The Sadler Commission of `1917` commented that the Act of `1904` made “the Indian universities among the most completely governmental universities in the world.” Indian opinion believed that Curzon sought to reduce the universities to the position of departments of the State and sabotage development of private enterprise in the field of education. However, a good outcome of Curzon’s policy was the sanction in `1902` of a grant of Rs. 5 lakhs per annum for five years for improvement of higher education and universities. The Government grants have become a permanent feature ever since then. |
Feature of Universities Act 1904 | Content |
|---|---|
| Functions | Study & research; professors/lecturers; labs/libraries; direct instruction |
| Fellows | 50–100; normally 6-year term (not life); most nominated by Government |
| Elective element | 20 each (Calcutta, Madras, Bombay); 15 (other universities) |
| Government power | Veto, alter, or frame Senate regulations |
| Colleges | Stricter affiliation; Syndicate inspection; Government approval of affiliation/disaffiliation |
| Territory | GG-in-Council defines territorial limits / college affiliation |
32. Government Resolution on Education Policy (21 February 1913) and Gokhale’s Campaign
32. Government Resolution on Education Policy (21 February 1913) and Gokhale’s Campaign
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did Baroda and Gokhale push for, and how did the 1913 Resolution respond? | Compulsory Primary Refused; Illiteracy Removal Accepted; Provincial Free Elementary; University per Province: In `1906` the progressive State of Baroda introduced compulsory primary education throughout its territories. Nationalist opinion could see no reason why the Government of India could not introduce compulsory primary education in British India. During `1910–13`, G. K. Gokhale made heroic efforts in the Legislative Council urging the Government to accept the responsibility for compulsory primary education. In its Resolution of 21 February `1913`, the Government of India refused to recognise the principle of compulsory education, but accepted the policy of the removal of illiteracy. It urged the provincial governments to take early steps to provide free elementary instruction to the poorer and more backward sections of the population. Private effort in this direction was also to be encouraged. Regarding secondary education, the Resolution stressed the need for improvement of quality of schools. As far as university education was concerned, the Resolution declared that a university should be established for each province and teaching activities of the universities should be encouraged. |
33. Sadler University Commission (1917–19)
33. Sadler University Commission (1917–19)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why was the Sadler Commission appointed and how did its scope differ from Hunter and the 1902 University Commission? | Calcutta Focus; Sadler–Mukherji–Ahmad; School-to-University Review: In `1917` the Government of India appointed a Commission to study and report on the problems of Calcutta University. Dr. M. E. Sadler, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, was appointed its Chairman. The Commission included two Indian members, namely Sir Asutosh Mukherji and Dr. Zia ud din Ahmad. While the Hunter Commission had reported on problems of secondary education and the University Commission of `1902` mainly on the different aspects of University education, the Sadler Commission reviewed the entire field from school education to university education. The Sadler Commission held the view that the improvement of secondary education was a necessary condition for the improvement of University education. Although the Commission reported on the conditions of Calcutta University, its recommendations and remarks were more or less applicable to other Indian universities also. |
→ Sadler Recommendations — Intermediate Colleges and 10+2+3 Logic
→ Sadler Recommendations — Intermediate Colleges and 10+2+3 Logic
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What structural changes in secondary and intermediate education did Sadler recommend for university improvement? | Dividing Line at Intermediate; Intermediate Colleges; Three-Year Degree; Honours vs Pass: In the opinion of the Sadler University Commission, it was not possible to bring about revolutionary changes in the field of higher education without making changes in secondary education. Therefore, some fundamental changes were suggested in the secondary education for the sake of improving the university education. The Sadler University Commission hence recommended that the dividing line between the university and the secondary courses should be drawn at the Intermediate examination rather than at the Matriculation and the Government should create a new type of institution called Intermediate Colleges. The curriculum of these Intermediate colleges should constitute courses related to Arts, Science, Engineering, Industrial education etc. After clearing the intermediate examination rather than the Matriculation Examination, the students would be entitled to enter the university. The duration of the degree course after the intermediate stage should be limited to three years. For the needs of abler students provision was to be made for Honours courses as distinct from the Pass courses. A Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education, consisting of the representatives of Government, University, High Schools and Intermediate Colleges, was to be established and entrusted with the administration and control of Secondary Education. |
| What did Sadler recommend on university autonomy, coordination, women’s education and teacher training? | Inter-University Board; Residential-Teaching Universities; Women; Education Departments: The Commission also recommended less rigidity in the framing of the rules and regulations of the universities. It also recommended the establishment of an Inter-University Board for coordinating the activities of different Indian universities. Autonomous institutions were to be given more encouragement. Centralised residential-teaching universities were to be encouraged. These institutions were also to be given autonomy to facilitate their day-to-day working. Women education was to be encouraged in a big way — the establishment of a special Board of Women Education in the Calcutta University besides many other facilities that would help more and more women take up courses in school, colleges and Universities. Provision of facilities was to be made for training teachers and setting up the Department of Education at the Universities of Calcutta and Dacca. The Sadler Commission recommended for the centralised unitary teaching autonomous bodies. A unitary teaching university was recommended for Dacca so that the burden of students can be reduced from the Calcutta University. Further the Sadler Commission also emphasised the growth of colleges in the towns. It encouraged the growth of new university centres so that the higher education could be propagated properly. |
→ Impact of the Sadler Commission
→ Impact of the Sadler Commission
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What institutional and academic changes followed Sadler’s recommendations? | New Universities to ~30 by 1930; Teaching Work; Honours; IUB 1925; Student Welfare: The impact of the Commission included an increase in the number of universities. Due to the suggestions of the Sadler University Commission, a number of new universities were opened in the country like the universities at Patna, Osmania, Aligarh, Dacca, Lucknow, Delhi, Agra, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Annamalai. The number increased up to 30 within `1930`. It led to starting of teaching work by the universities. The functions of the first three universities established in India, namely, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, were confined to affiliation, examination and conferring degrees. Teaching was the function of degree colleges and there was no provision for post-graduate education. But after the recommendation of the commission the number of teaching universities and residential universities increased. Most of the newly established universities were teaching universities. Academic activities increased in the universities and colleges with the introduction of Honours courses. The studies of different Indian languages started and facilities for higher studies and research were also created. The post of professor was created in the universities and the process of inviting learned faculties from abroad to broaden the academic outlook was also started. The department of Education was opened in Calcutta and Dacca universities. Internal administration of the universities improved due to the formation of university court and Executive Council in lieu of previous Senate and Syndicate. Beside these, the creation of the Academic Council to deal with academic matters such as curriculum construction, examination, research etc. greatly helped in improving the academic standard of the universities. As suggested by the commission an Inter-University Board was also set up in `1925` for connection and coordination among the different Indian universities. Also the Sadler University Commission had a provision for Students welfare. For the first time attention of the universities was directed towards students welfare. A Board of Students Welfare was formed in each university. In `1920`, the Government of India recommended the Sadler Report to provincial governments. |
34. Education under Dyarchy (1921–37)
34. Education under Dyarchy (1921–37)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms change the centre–province balance in education? | Transferred Subject; End of Central Grants; Philanthropic Expansion despite Fiscal Strain: As a result of the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms of `1919`, the Department of Education was transferred to the control of popular ministers in the various provinces. The Central Government ceased to take direct interest in educational matters and the Department of Education in the Government of India was amalgamated with other departments. The Central special grants for education liberally sanctioned since `1902` were discontinued. Financial difficulties prevented the provincial governments from taking up ambitious schemes of educational expansion or improvement. Despite all these handicaps there was considerable expansion of education, mostly by philanthropic effort. |
35. Hartog Committee (1929)
35. Hartog Committee (1929)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What were the main findings of the Hartog Committee on primary, secondary and university education? | Consolidation over Compulsion; Selective Secondary; Confine University to the Fit: The quantitative increase of education inevitably led to deterioration of quality and lowering of standards. There was considerable dissatisfaction with the educational system. The Indian Statutory Commission appointed a report on the development of education. The main findings of the Hartog Committee were as follows. It emphasised the national importance of primary education, but condemned the policy of hasty expansion or attempt to introduce compulsion in education. The Commission recommended the policy of consolidation and improvements. For secondary education, the Commission reported that the system was dominated by the Matriculation Examination and many undeserving students considered it the path to university education. It recommended a selective system for admission and urged the retention of most of the boys intended for rural pursuits at the Middle Vernacular School stage. After the Middle Stage students should be diverted to diversified courses leading to industrial and commercial careers. The Commission pointed out the weaknesses of university education and criticised the policy of indiscriminate admission which led to lowering of standards. It recommended that “all efforts should be concentrated in improving university work, in confining the university to its proper function of giving good advanced education to students who are fit to receive it.” |
36. Wardha Scheme of Basic Education (1937)
36. Wardha Scheme of Basic Education (1937)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was Gandhi’s Wardha Scheme, what role did the Zakir Husain Committee play, and why was it postponed? | Learning through Activity; Manual Productive Work; Seven-Year Mother-Tongue Course; War Postponement: The Government of India Act `1935` introduced provincial autonomy and popular ministries started functioning from `1937`. The Congress party came into power in seven provinces. The Congress party set at work to evolve a national scheme of education for the country. In `1937` Mahatma Gandhi published a series of articles in his paper, The Harijan, and proposed a scheme of education called Basic Education, better known as the Wardha Scheme. The main principle of Basic Education is ‘learning through activity’. The Zakir Husain Committee worked out the details of the scheme and prepared detailed syllabi for a number of crafts and made suggestions concerning training of teachers, supervision, examination and administration. The scheme centred around ‘manual productive work’ which might cover the remuneration of the teachers. It envisaged a seven-year course through the mother tongue of the students. The outbreak of the war in `1939` and the resignation of Congress Ministries led to the postponement of the scheme. |
37. Sergeant Plan of Education (1944)
37. Sergeant Plan of Education (1944)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did the Central Advisory Board’s Sergeant Plan propose for national educational reconstruction? | Free Compulsory 6–11; Dual High Schools; Abolish Intermediate; 40-Year Plan: In `1944` the Central Advisory Board of Education drew up a national scheme of education, generally known as the Sargeant / Sergeant Plan (Sir John Sergeant / Sargeant was the Educational Advisor to the Government of India). Recommendations included: the establishment of elementary schools and high schools (junior and senior basic schools); introduction of universal free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 11; a school course of six years to be provided for children between the ages of 11 and 17; the high schools were to be of two types — (a) academic and (b) technical and vocational school with different curricula; abolition of the Intermediate course and the addition of an extra year each at the high school and the college stage. The Sargeant Scheme envisaged a 40-year educational reconstruction plan for the country. |
| Plan / Committee | Year | Core thrust (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Wood’s Despatch | 1854 | Magna Carta; vernacular primary → AV high school → district college; London-model universities |
| Hunter Commission | 1882–83 | Primary to local boards; dual secondary tracks; liberalise private enterprise |
| Raleigh / Universities Act | 1902 / 1904 | Official control of universities; research + affiliation tightening |
| GoI Resolution | 1913 | Illiteracy removal; refuse compulsory primary |
| Sadler Commission | 1917–19 | Intermediate colleges; 3-year degree; IUB; unitary teaching universities |
| Hartog Committee | 1929 | Consolidation; selective secondary; fit students only at university |
| Wardha / Zakir Husain | 1937 | Basic Education; learning through activity; 7-year mother-tongue course |
| Sergeant Plan | 1944 | Free compulsory 6–11; dual high schools; abolish Intermediate; 40-year plan |
38. Orientalism Thesis — Knowledge of the Past for the Present
38. Orientalism Thesis — Knowledge of the Past for the Present
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was British Orientalism in India and how did the Company function like an ‘Indian ruler’? | Administrative Policy; Double Government; Period `1773`–`1832`: British Orientalism in India was the eighteenth-century administrative policy of the East India Company favouring the preservation of Indian languages, laws and customs. Orientalism was aimed at producing a knowledge of the past to meet the requirements of the present. For several years the government of the East India Company functioned like an “Indian ruler,” in the sense that it recognised the authority of the Mughal emperor, struck coins in his name, used Persian as the official language and administered Hindu and Muslim laws in the courts. Lord Clive himself had recommended a system of “double government” as a matter of expediency, under which the criminal justice system would be left in the hands of Nawabi officials, while civil and fiscal matters would be controlled by the Company. This is called the period of Orientalism. The period of Orientalism can be said to begin from `1773` with Warren Hastings being appointed the Governor-General of the East India Company and extends up to `1832`, when the East India Company government made English education compulsory in India and brought the Orientalist phase to a close. |
| What was the fundamental principle of Orientalism and what did Gauri Viswanathan mean by reverse acculturation? | Indian Idiom; Reverse Acculturation; Assimilation for Efficient Administration: The fundamental principle of this tradition was that the conquered people were to be ruled by their own laws — British rule had to “legitimize itself in an Indian idiom.” It therefore needed to produce knowledge about Indian society, a process which Gauri Viswanathan would call “reverse acculturation,” whereby the dominant society (i.e. the British) acculturated themselves to the colonised society (i.e. Indian society). It informed the European rulers of the customs and laws of the land for the purposes of assimilating them into the subject society for more efficient administration. |
→ William Jones, Indo-European Philology and Oriental Institutions
→ William Jones, Indo-European Philology and Oriental Institutions
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What did Sir William Jones contribute and which institutions embodied the Orientalist tradition? | Restoring Forgotten Culture; Sanskrit–Greek–Latin Link; Madrassa, Asiatic Society, Banaras Sanskrit College: There was an urge to know Indian culture and tradition, as reflected in the endeavours of scholars like Sir William Jones, who studied the Indian languages to restore to the Indians their own forgotten culture and legal system — monopolised hitherto only by the learned pundits and maulvis. By establishing a linguistic connection between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin — all supposedly belonging to the same Indo-European family of languages — Jones privileged India with an antiquity equal to that of the classical West. This was the beginning of the Orientalist tradition that led to the founding of institutions like the Calcutta Madrassa (`1781`), the Asiatic Society of Bengal (`1784`) and the Sanskrit College in Banaras (`1794`), all of which were meant to promote the study of Indian languages and scriptures. |
→ Orientalism as Knowledge Serving the Colonial State
→ Orientalism as Knowledge Serving the Colonial State
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why was Orientalism not sympathetic knowledge of the East but knowledge for the colonial state? | Efficiency, Placation and Moral Justification — Three Colonial Reasons: Orientalism was not knowledge of the Orient produced by Englishmen sympathetic to the cultures of the East but knowledge meant to serve the need of the colonial state. For efficiency of administration, Warren Hastings, who found himself in charge of a corrupt and degenerate government, saw the Indianisation of the civil servants as a means to improve the administration of the newly acquired territories. Thus, for Hastings the quickest way to increase the efficiency and honesty of the civil servant was to develop in them a love and affection for India; to love India one must communicate with her people and to communicate with her people it was necessary to learn her languages and her culture and history. It was with this political aim that Fort William College at Calcutta was established in `1800` to train civil servants in Indian languages and tradition. To placate Indian sentiments, there was fear amongst the East India Company officials in the late eighteenth century that the Indians might reject British rule as being alien, and they thus ventured to study Indian culture and history to placate such sentiments. For moral justification of colonialism, William Jones established linguistics between Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, all supposedly belonging to the same Indo-European family of languages. This, along with Max Muller’s Aryan Migration Theory, gave the idea of kinship between the British and the Indians dating back to the classical period. It was said that once-golden Indian civilisation got degenerated and the British, with superior civilisation, were morally bound to advance Indian culture due to blood relation. This was used as moral justification of colonialism through rhetoric of kinship love. |
| How did Max Muller’s racial theory both include and degrade Indians? | Aryan Migration Theory; Pseudo-Scientific Racism; Inclusive Blood and Inherent Backwardness: Max Mueller synthesised this philological discovery into the Aryan Migration theory, whereby the Aryans migrated to India from Central Asia and subjugated the natives. This racial theory provided a pseudo-scientific basis for racism in the late nineteenth century. In this view, Indians were seen as inherently backward and inferior compared to the superior Western civilisation, while at the same time it created an inclusive space whereby Indians and Europeans were related by blood. Both facts were used to justify colonialism. |
→ Exceptions to Imperial Orientalism — Colebrooke and German Scholars
→ Exceptions to Imperial Orientalism — Colebrooke and German Scholars
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Which Orientalists did not fit the pure legitimisation-of-colonisation pattern? | H. T. Colebrooke on Museum and Sati; German Max Mueller Outside Imperial Projects: While in most cases Orientalism was an attempt to legitimise colonisation, there were few exceptions. H. T. Colebrooke, an Orientalist, pushed for the establishment of a museum on the premises of the Asiatic Society to preserve and display the vestiges of India’s past while also criticising the practice of Sati as having no validation in the shastras, calling for its abolition and thus demanding a change in ancient traditions. The special enthusiasm of the Germans (such as Max Mueller) in studying the Orient was not to serve imperialism as Germany was not involved in any imperial projects in India. |
| Element | Content (source) |
|---|---|
| Period | 1773 (Hastings GG) → 1832 (English education compulsory; Orientalist phase closed) |
| Core principle | Rule by own laws; legitimise British rule “in an Indian idiom” |
| Viswanathan | “Reverse acculturation” — British acculturate to Indian society |
| Jones | Sanskrit–Greek–Latin (Indo-European); restore culture/law from pundits/maulvis |
| Institutions | Calcutta Madrassa 1781; Asiatic Society of Bengal 1784; Sanskrit College Banaras 1794; Fort William College 1800 |
| Colonial uses | Administrative efficiency; placate alien-rule fear; moral/racial kinship justification |
| Max Muller | Aryan Migration Theory — blood kinship + late-19th-c. pseudo-scientific racism |
| Exceptions | Colebrooke (museum; Sati no shastric validation); German Orientalists (no Indian imperial project) |
39. Progress of Science in Colonial India — Empire-Building Knowledge
39. Progress of Science in Colonial India — Empire-Building Knowledge
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did modern European science relate to colonial domination and what did British rulers seek to know about India? | European Scientific Lead; Maximum Information; Science in Empire-Building: From the sixteenth century onwards, Europe began to outdistance India in scientific and material advancement. The rise of modern science in Europe strengthened European economic domination over the colonies where education, science and research were kept backward. After the establishment of British supremacy over the Indian sub-continent, this was a very exciting time for the British rulers; a new empire was in the making and in the process of consolidation. The colonisers were out to collect the maximum possible information about India, its people and resources. They faithfully reported what was best in India’s technological traditions, what was best in India’s natural resources, and what could be the most advantageous for their employers. The rulers were also quick to realise that knowledge of the geography, geology and botany of the areas being conquered was essential. They fully recognised the role and importance of science in empire-building. |
| What characterised the early phase of colonial science and which fields were prioritised or neglected? | Multi-Field Colonial Scientists; Britain as Analytical Hub; Selective Investment: A feature in the early phase of this period was that colonial scientists would try their hand at several fields simultaneously and each scientist was, in fact, a botanist, geologist, geographer and educator — all rolled into one. As data-gatherers, the individual scientists were efficient. However, for analysis and drawing conclusions, they had to depend upon the scientific institutions in Britain, which received such data from many colonies. The British made investment in botanical, geological and geographical surveys from which they hoped to get direct and substantial economic and military advantages. Medical and zoological sciences did not hold such promise and, thus, they were neglected. Research in physics or chemistry was simply out of question because these subjects were related to industrial development which the British did not want to encourage. India was considered to be only a source of raw materials and a wonderful market for all sorts of articles manufactured in Britain, from needles, nibs and pencils to shoes, textiles and medicines. |
→ Scientific Societies and Journals (1784–1829)
→ Scientific Societies and Journals (1784–1829)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Which scientific bodies and museums marked a positive step and what role did the Asiatic Society play? | Asiatic Society Focal Point; Successor Societies and Comparable Journals: The setting up of some scientific bodies and museums was a positive step. Pre-British India had a weak scientific base and, therefore, neither scientific institutions existed nor were there any journals to spread scientific information. William Jones, a judge of the Supreme Court of Calcutta, and some other European intellectuals in the city realised this and founded the Asiatic Society in Calcutta in `1784`. This society soon became the focal point of all scientific activity in India. It was followed by the Agricultural-Horticultural Society of India (`1817`), Calcutta Medical & Physical Society (`1823`), Madras Literary and Scientific Society (`1818`), and the Bombay Branch of the Asiatic Society (`1829`). These societies rendered invaluable service, particularly through their journals which compared very favourably with the European ones. |
→ Imperial Survey Bodies after 1858 — GSI, Amalgamation and Cadres
→ Imperial Survey Bodies after 1858 — GSI, Amalgamation and Cadres
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did the Crown period consolidate surveys, and what happened to geological, botanical and agricultural organisation? | GSI `1851`; Survey Amalgamation `1878`; No Botanical Survey; IMS and IAS `1906`: When the Crown formally took over the Indian administration in `1858`, activities for exploring the natural resources in the country had already passed their formative stage. The problem was more of consolidating the gains which individual efforts had made possible. For this, many institutions were set up and the government expanded the survey organisations. In `1878`, the three survey branches — the trigonometrical, topographical and the revenue — which had up to that time been separate departments, were amalgamated. Naturally, Revenue Survey got the upper hand. Similarly, geological explorations were patronised because of their direct economic benefit. The Geological Survey of India was created in `1851`. Unlike the Geological Survey or Survey of India, an organisation for carrying out botanical explorations did not come up. The establishment and development of various scientific departments and institutions called for a different cadre. The biggest and the oldest was the Indian Medical Service which was raised and maintained basically to serve the army. The most disorganised sector was that of agriculture. Though the maximum revenue came from agriculture, the problems of its improvement were too complex and the government left it in the hands of private agricultural societies. Much later, in `1906`, an Indian Agricultural Service was organised. However, it did not grow into a well-knit and integrated scientific department because of financial and administrative constraints. A few branches which were of military or instant economic significance could manage to develop. But, on the whole, the efforts remained ad hoc, sporadic and local in nature. The government wanted practical results rather than research papers. An excessive administrative control, exercised at different levels, ensured that the colonial scientists would always dance to the official tune. |
→ Science in the Educational Scheme
→ Science in the Educational Scheme
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How was science treated in colonial education from the Charter of 1813 through the universities? | Charter `1813` Pious Wish; Macaulay’s Literary Curriculum; Universities from `1857`/`1870`: In the educational scheme, science was never given a high priority. The charter of `1813` called for “the introduction and promotion of knowledge of science among the inhabitants of British India.” But it remained a pious wish, at least partly because the indigenous educational system was also not sympathetic to the idea. In `1835`, Macaulay succeeded in making a foreign language — English — the medium of instruction. Also, his personal distaste for science led to a curriculum which was purely literary. The entry of science in schools was, thus, delayed. A few medical and engineering institutions were opened but they were meant largely to supply assistants to British-trained doctors and engineers. Ancient universities in India were leading centres of learning in their time and attracted scholars from other countries. So were the famous centres of Islamic learning in the medieval period in India. But these traditions did not survive. It was in `1857` that the Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were set up more or less on the pattern of London University. However, it was only in `1870` that the Indian universities began to show some interest in science education. In `1875`, Madras University decided to examine its matriculation candidates in geography and elementary physics in place of British history. Bombay was the first to grant degrees in science. Calcutta University divided its B.A. into two branches — ‘A’ course, i.e. literary, ‘B’ course, i.e. science. |
| What was the cultural and political direction of colonial education in relation to science and inquiry? | Passive Acceptance; Alienation; Subservience; Selective Scientific Infrastructure: A fact of great significance was that the entire direction of colonial education was not towards opening up the minds of students or developing a questioning attitude. Rather it encouraged passive acceptance of what was taught or written in the books. The books were in English and were mostly written and printed abroad. They depicted the British culture. Education so imparted, by and large, tended to alienate the educated people from their own culture. Further, the educational milieu ensured lack of enterprise, and readiness to take orders from above, which was indeed the intention of the rulers. Institutions and teachers looked at the British educational model as the ideal and, by and large, they tried to copy it even though they were in a very different social and economic situation. Thus, the British were primarily interested in strengthening their political and economic domination over India. They exploited India’s resources to the full and developed a nominal scientific infrastructure for this purpose. However, in all other areas, like physics, chemistry and agriculture, in which scientific development was not imperative, no attention was paid. In this period of colonisation, India’s cultural heritage, scientific tradition and educational system got destroyed. In its place came a tradition of servility and an education that was designed to produce subservience rather than inculcate a spirit of free and creative inquiry. |
→ Status of Scientific Research under Colonial Rule
→ Status of Scientific Research under Colonial Rule
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How was scientific research linked to imperial economic policy and which medical advances occurred? | Governmental Exercise; Plantation and Mineral Research; Health for Colonisers; Bacteriology without Sanitation: In the absence of higher scientific education, scientific research remained an exclusive governmental exercise for a long time. It was, therefore, linked to the economic policies pursued by the imperial power. A scientist serving the colonial power was supposed to not only discover new economic resources, but also to help in their exploitation. In agriculture, it was basically plantation research with emphasis on experimental farms, the introduction of new varieties, and the various problems related to cash crops. These were basically cotton, indigo, tobacco and tea, which were all to be exported to Britain. Next came surveys in geology to exploit mineral resources, again for export as raw material. Another major area of concern was health. The survival of the army, the planters and other colonisers depended on it. In spite of difficult conditions and the government’s lukewarm attitude, quite a few scientific works came out in this period. Ronald Ross did original work on the relation between malaria and the mosquito. Macnamara worked on cholera, Haffkine on plague and Rogers on kala-azar. The famous medical scientist Robert Koch visited Calcutta to work on cholera. Bacteriological laboratories were set up in Bombay, Madras, Coonoor, Kasauli and Mukteswar. This shift towards bacteriological research had one significant result. It led to the growth of clinical treatment, private practice and a booming drug industry. However, preventive measures like sanitary reforms, or even supply of drinking water to villages and towns remained neglected. In other fields too significant developments took place through the effort of foreign and Indian scientists working in institutions here. |
| Body / Marker | Year | Role (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Asiatic Society, Calcutta | 1784 | Focal point of scientific activity (William Jones) |
| Agricultural-Horticultural Society of India | 1817 | Scientific society / journals |
| Madras Literary and Scientific Society | 1818 | Scientific society / journals |
| Calcutta Medical & Physical Society | 1823 | Scientific society / journals |
| Bombay Branch of Asiatic Society | 1829 | Scientific society / journals |
| Geological Survey of India | 1851 | Geological exploration for economic benefit |
| Survey amalgamation | 1878 | Trigonometrical + topographical + revenue; Revenue upper hand |
| Indian Agricultural Service | 1906 | Organised late; not well-knit (financial/admin constraints) |
| Universities (Cal/Bom/Mad) | 1857 | London pattern; science interest ~1870 onwards |
40. Indian Response — Science Popularisation, Societies and IACS / IISc
40. Indian Response — Science Popularisation, Societies and IACS / IISc
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did educated Indians respond to colonial science and who popularised modern science in Indian languages? | Jobs and Distinct Identity; Vernacular Popularisers; Attack on Pauranic Myths: The British activities did evoke some response from the local populace, particularly the educated section, who were looking for jobs in the colonial administration and economy. A few Indians participated in the officially patronised scientific associations or institutions. However, they often searched for a distinct identity and established institutions, scholarships and facilities of their own. Ram Mohun Roy’s petition to Amherst asking for a proper science education became well known. Bal Gangadhar Shastri and Hari Keshavji Pathare in Bombay, Master Ramchander in Delhi, Shubhaji Bapu and Onkar Bhatt Joshi in Central Provinces, and Aukhoy Dutt in Calcutta worked for the popularisation of modern science in Indian languages. Geography and astronomy were the areas chosen first because, in these fields, the Pauranic myths were considered the strongest. Vyas, the author of Srimad Bhagwat, for example, had talked about oceans of milk and nectar. This is part of popular myth even now, and this was attacked by these persons. For instance, Onkar Bhatt explained that Vyas was only a poet, not a scientist, and his interest was merely to recount the glories of God, so he wrote whatever he fancied. Even Urdu poets, devoted mainly to the romances of life, took notice of western science and technology. Hali and Ghalib, for example, talked about the achievements of western civilisation based upon steam and coal power. |
| What organisational shape did Indian yearning for modern science take between 1864 and 1909? | Aligarh `1864`; Bihar `1868`; IACS `1876`; IISc Bangalore `1909`: The next logical step from these individual efforts was to give some organisational shape to the growing yearning for modern science. In `1864`, Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Aligarh Scientific Society and called for introduction of technology in industrial and agricultural production. Four years later, Syed Imdad Ali founded the Bihar Scientific Society. These societies gradually became defunct. In `1876`, M. L. Sarkar (Mahendra Lal Sircar) established the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. This was completely under Indian management and without any government aid or patronage. Sarkar’s scheme was fairly ambitious. It aimed at original investigations as well as science popularisation. It gradually developed into an important centre for research in optics, acoustics, scattering of light, magnetism etc. In Bombay, Jamshedji Tata drew up a similar scheme for higher scientific education and research. This led to the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore in `1909`. There was, thus, greater awareness about science in India by the turn of the century. This was especially so, as a movement to gain freedom from colonial rule emerged. |
41. Swadeshi Science, Imperial Discrimination and National Science Institutions
41. Swadeshi Science, Imperial Discrimination and National Science Institutions
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did the freedom movement and Swadeshi reshape demands around science and industry? | Self-Rule and Swadeshi Goods; National Education in S&T; `1904` Association: By the early twentieth century, the Indian society had started witnessing the first stirrings for freedom from colonial rule. While their political aspirations led to a demand for self-rule, the frustration resulting from economic stranglehold found expression in their insistence on using only goods made in India. The Swadeshi Movement provided further impetus for promotion of education along national lines and under national control with special reference to science and technology, and for industrialisation of the country. In `1904`, an Association for the Advancement of Scientific and Industrial Education of Indians was formed. The objective was to send qualified students to Europe, America and Japan for studying science-based industries. |
| What forms did ‘apartheid’ in science take and how did J.C. Bose, P.C. Ray and P.N. Bose respond? | Subordinate Posts and Salary Discrimination; Crescograph; Provincial Service; `1903` Resignation: As mentioned earlier, in colonial India the environment was not conducive to higher studies, much less to research. Indians were allowed only subordinate posts and even those who had distinguished themselves abroad were given less salary than the Europeans of the same grade and rank. This ‘apartheid’ in science made the Indians react strongly. J.C. Bose, the first noted Indian physicist, refused to accept this reduced salary for three years. Not only this, till the Royal Society recognised Bose, the college authorities refused him any research facility and considered his work as purely private. J.C. Bose was unorthodox in one more sense. He was one of the first among the modern scientists to take to interdisciplinary research. He started as a physicist but his interest in electrical responses took him to plant physiology. He invented the crescograph, a device for measuring the growth in plants. To fight for a place and recognition in the scientific circles in Britain was no less difficult than fighting against the administrative absurdities of a colonial government. Bose persisted and won. Another noted Indian scientist, P.C. Ray, had also suffered similarly. On his return from England in `1888` with a doctorate in chemistry, he had to hang around for a year and was finally offered a temporary assistant professorship. All through he had to remain in Provincial Service. P.N. Bose preferred to resign when in `1903` he was superseded for the directorship of the Geological Survey by T. Holland who was 10 years junior to him. |
→ Congress Platform, Japan Model and Revivalist Tendencies in Science
→ Congress Platform, Japan Model and Revivalist Tendencies in Science
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did the Congress and nationalist scientists frame technical education and cultural recovery through science? | INC from `1887`; Medical Profession Resolution `1893`; Japan `1904–05`; History of Hindu Civilisation: These problems were reflected on the political platform of the country. In its third session (`1887`), the Indian National Congress took up the question of technical education and has since then passed resolutions on it every year. K.T. Telang and B.N. Seal pointed out how, in the name of technical education, the government was merely imparting lower forms of practical training. The Indian Medical Service was also severely criticised. In `1893`, the Congress passed a resolution asking the government “to raise a scientific medical profession in India by throwing open fields for medical and scientific work to the best talent available and indigenous talent in particular.” Whether it be education, agriculture or mining, the Congress touched several problems under its wide sweep. The activities of this era had two important features. One was that almost all the exponents of Swadeshi looked to Japan as a major source of inspiration. Japan’s emergence as a viable Asian industrial power and its subsequent military victory over Russia in `1904–05` caught the imagination of Indians. Another characteristic was that quite often they showed revivalist tendencies. This may have been because the distant past comes in handy for the recovery of a lost self or reassertion of one’s identity. This search for moorings made P.N. Bose, the geologist mentioned above, write A History of Hindu Civilisation in three volumes. J.C. Bose gave Sanskrit names to the instruments he had fabricated, like Kunchanagraph and Shoshangraph. Many science popularisers had a tendency to show that whatever was good in western science existed in ancient India also. For example, Ramendrasundar Trivedi’s discussion on Darwin ends with comparing his theory with what is written in the Gita. Later, B.K. Sarkar wrote on the Hindu Achievements in Exact Science. All these scientists were for the industrial application of modern science but failed to overcome certain cultural constraints, which was necessary for this effort. All they tried to do was to demonstrate that the Indian ethos and the values of modern science were congruent and not poles apart. In such a situation, it was not easy to evolve a correct understanding of our intellectual and cultural heritage. This was all the more difficult because of the total colonial domination both in education and in social life. These efforts had, nonetheless, a galvanising effect. |
→ University College of Science, Eminent Scientists and New Institutes
→ University College of Science, Eminent Scientists and New Institutes
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What teaching–research breakthroughs and institutes put India on the scientific map of the world? | Asutosh Mookherjee’s College; International Recognition; Bose Institute and Others: Taking advantage of the University Act of `1904`, which allowed the existing Indian universities to organise teaching and research instead of merely affiliating colleges, Sir Asutosh Mookherjee took the initiative of establishing a University College of Science in Calcutta. Eminent scientists such as P.C. Ray, C.V. Raman, S.N. Bose and K.S. Krishnan taught there. This very college, although starved financially all through, produced a group of physicists and chemists who received international recognition. By contrast, the contributions of many government scientific organisations staffed by highly paid Europeans were rather poor. Those who put India on the scientific map of the world were many. J.C. Bose showed that animal and plant tissues display electric responses under different kinds of stimuli, like pricking, heat etc. S. Ramanujan, an intuitive mathematical genius, contributed a lot to number theory. P.C. Ray analysed a number of rare Indian minerals and started the Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, a pioneering and pace-setting organisation in the field of indigenous chemical and pharmaceutical industry. C.V. Raman’s research on the scattering of light later won him the Nobel Prize in `1930`. K.S. Krishnan did theoretical work on the electric resistance of metals. S.N. Bose’s collaboration with Einstein on the study of elementary particles led to what is known as the Bose–Einstein Statistics. D.N. Wadia worked in the field of geology, Birbal Sahni in palaeobotany, P.C. Mahalanobis in statistics, and S.S. Bhatnagar in chemistry. Apart from the individual contributions of these scientists, their greatest contribution was in the field of teaching and guiding research. Many institutes were set up. For example, the Bose Institute (`1917`), Sheila Dhar Institute of Soil Science (`1936`), Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany etc. This gave further impetus to scientific activity in India. |
→ ISCA 1914, Industrial Commission 1916 and Planning Debate
→ ISCA 1914, Industrial Commission 1916 and Planning Debate
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why was the Indian Science Congress Association founded and what happened after the First World War? | ISCA Objectives; Indian Industrial Commission; Few Recommendations Implemented: The need for an annual scientific meeting had been felt all along, so that different scientific workers throughout the country might be brought into touch with one another more closely. So far it had been possible only in the purely official and irregular conferences such as the Sanitary Conference or the Agricultural Conference. Thus was born the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) in `1914` with the following objectives: to give a stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific enquiry; to promote the interaction of societies and individuals interested in science in different parts of the country; to obtain a more general attention to the cause of pure and applied sciences. The objectives have not changed much since then and the ISCA has now grown into the largest organisation of Indian scientists and technologists representing all disciplines of science and technology. In the wake of the First World War (`1914–18`), the Government realised that India must become more self-reliant scientifically and industrially. It appointed an Indian Industrial Commission in `1916` to examine steps that might be taken to lessen India’s scientific and industrial dependence on Britain. The scope of the resulting recommendations was broad, covering many aspects of industrial development. But few of the Commission’s recommendations were actually implemented. Similar was the fate of numerous other Conferences and Committees. Whenever requests were made by India for starting new institutions or expanding existing ones, the government pleaded insufficiency of funds or inadequacy of demand. The interests of the colonial administration and those of the nationalists in most instances often clashed. |
| How did Gandhi, P.C. Ray and M.N. Saha debate paths of scientific–industrial development? | Cottage Industries vs Big Industries; Science & Culture Group; Russian Socialist Example: If we look at the events during the first quarter of the twentieth century, we find that this period was characterised by debate about further development. When Gandhiji started his campaign for cottage industries, varying notes were heard at the annual session of the Indian Science Congress. P.C. Ray, for example, held that general progress through elementary education and traditional industries is a necessary precondition for scientific progress. But many differed with him. M.N. Saha and his Science & Culture group opposed the Gandhian path of economic development and supported setting up of big industries. The socialist experiments in Russia had unveiled the immense potentialities of science for man in terms of economy and material progress. The national leadership was veering towards heavy industrialisation and socialism, both of which stood on the foundations of modern science and technology. |
→ National Planning Committee 1938, CSIR 1942 and A.V. Hill Report 1944
→ National Planning Committee 1938, CSIR 1942 and A.V. Hill Report 1944
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did planning, war and official reports reshape the science–industry infrastructure of late colonial India? | NPC under Nehru; Technical Education Subcommittee under Saha; CSIR; Hill Report; Origins of Free-India Science Policy: On M.N. Saha’s persuasion, the then Congress President Subhas Chandra Bose agreed to accept national planning and industrialisation as the top item on the Congress agenda. The result was the formation of the National Planning Committee in `1938` under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru. This Committee appointed 29 subcommittees, many of which dealt with such technical subjects as irrigation, industries, public health and education. The subcommittee on Technical Education worked under the Chairmanship of M.N. Saha. Other members were Birbal Sahni, J.C. Ghose, J.N. Mukherjee, N.R. Dhar, Nazir Ahmed, S.S. Bhatnagar and A.H. Pandya. The subcommittee reviewed the activities of the existing institutions to find out how far the infrastructure of men and apparatus was sufficient in turning out technical personnel. The outbreak of the Second World War (`1939–45`) and the interruption of the direct sea route between India and England made it necessary for the colonial government to allow greater industrial capability to develop in India. It was, therefore, felt necessary to establish a Central Research Organisation and this was eventually followed by the establishment of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in `1942`. As part of the post-war reconstruction plan, the government invited A.V. Hill, President of the Royal Society. In `1944`, he prepared a report that identified various problems confronting research in India. These developments offered greater opportunities to Indian scientists in policy-making and management of scientific affairs. In fact, the origins of the science policy of free India and of the whole national reconstruction can be traced to these activities. |
| Anchor | Year | Significance (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Aligarh Scientific Society | 1864 | Syed Ahmed Khan — technology in industry/agriculture |
| Bihar Scientific Society | 1868 | Syed Imdad Ali — later defunct with Aligarh society |
| IACS | 1876 | M.L. / Mahendra Lal Sircar — Indian management, no govt aid |
| IISc Bangalore | 1909 | Jamshedji Tata scheme |
| Association for Advancement of Scientific & Industrial Education | 1904 | Students to Europe, America, Japan |
| P.N. Bose resignation | 1903 | Superseded by T. Holland (10 yrs junior) for GSI |
| ISCA | 1914 | Annual scientific meeting; pure & applied science |
| Indian Industrial Commission | 1916 | Broad recommendations; few implemented |
| Bose Institute | 1917 | Further impetus to scientific activity |
| National Planning Committee | 1938 | Nehru chair; 29 subcommittees; Saha on Technical Education |
| CSIR | 1942 | Central Research Organisation after WWII pressures |
| A.V. Hill Report | 1944 | Problems confronting research in India |
42. English Education, Scientific Rationalist Mentality and the Language of Reform
42. English Education, Scientific Rationalist Mentality and the Language of Reform
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did English education produce a scientific rationalist mentality that fed the social reform agenda? | Selective Adoption; Reason–Utility–Progress–Justice; Science as Language of Reform: English education was introduced in India by the British to serve their colonial purpose. But the educated Indians selectively adopted the knowledge and deployed it to interrogate colonial rule itself. It is also argued that English education brought the native youth in contact with a body of thought which openly questioned many of the fundamental assumptions upon which the fabric of traditional values rested. They began to look at their own society through a prism ideologically constructed by such concepts as reason, utility, progress and justice. This gave rise of a civil society, though very limited it was, but articulate in defending its rights, while locating its identity in an Indian tradition. But this tradition, it was also felt, needed reform. Existing social practices and religious notions appeared to be signs of a decadent feudal society that had to be remodelled. For this new elite “science” became “a universal sign of modernity and progress” and came to constitute an authoritative “language of reform.” Although the colonial state would not provide scientific education for the Indian masses, intellectuals like Rammohan Roy proposed for his countrymen an education system that would focus on Western sciences. In Calcutta, in `1825`, a Society for Translating European Sciences was set up, followed by the establishment of the Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge in `1838`. This movement, which saw the development of scientific education as the key to national improvement, reached a major milestone when the Bengali intellectual Mahendra Lal Sircar established in `1876` the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. And if this discourse was first started by a small circle of enlightened Calcutta elite, it was soon universalised, as it spread to other provinces through the development of a new print culture. In north India, for example, the Banaras Debating Club founded in `1861`, the Aligarh Scientific Society founded in `1864` by Sayyid Ahmed Khan and the Bihar Scientific Society started in `1868`, contributed to this discourse on the power of science, which then began to pervade the new territories of Hindi literary movements and Hindu revivalist campaigns. Later this scientific rationalist mentality of an elite translated into an effective social reform agenda affecting and involving the larger public. |
| How did rationalist mentality legitimise reform yet also limit its depth? | Reason in Own Civilisation; Bentinck Utilitarian Reforms; Reform from Above Remained on Paper: This new rationalist mentality provided legitimacy of reform agenda: to search reason and science in their own civilisation, and to reposition the modernisation project within a cultural space defined by Indian tradition. These new rationalist mentalities that did not reject Indian tradition, but sought to change certain ‘unreasonable’ aspects of Hindu society, which did not conform to their new ‘rationalist’ image of a glorious Indian past. This provided legitimacy to the reform agenda of the Utilitarian reformers like William Bentinck. But since this mentality was still confined to a small circle of English-educated elite, the reform programme could hardly be expected to succeed. Indeed, in the early nineteenth century a series of social reforms followed, being mainly reform from above through government fiat. And as expected, these reforms remained on paper in most cases, as there was never any attempt to develop a modern social consciousness from below. |
43. Christian Missionary Activities in India
43. Christian Missionary Activities in India
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What is a missionary movement and how did the British combine trader, ruler and Christian propagandist roles? | Religious Duty to Spread Faith; Rule Equated with Christian Domination: Generally, a missionary movement presupposes a group of people who take it as their religious duty to spread their religion to other parts of the World. It is the religious thought and the passion to make more and more people aware of their religious superiority or to make others conform to the same belief that a missionary movement is organised. The British Government had three roles in India — first that of a trader, second that of ruler and then that of a Christian propagandist. British rulers held and professed Christianity. Consequently British rule was equated with Christian domination. |
→ Early Years of British Rule — Neutrality up to 1813
→ Early Years of British Rule — Neutrality up to 1813
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did the Company adopt non-interference on religion and missionary work before 1813? | Neutrality; Fear of Unrest; Business and Diplomatic Calculation: In the early years of its rule the Company had taken a position of neutrality with regard to the religious and social affairs of its subjects. The East India Company decided not to interfere with the traditional cultures of the people by supporting missionary work. The company’s policy was non-interference in Indian education but favouring traditional Hindu or oriental learning. The non-interference was probably based on the fear that missionaries through English education expecting to aid conversions might offend the Hindu subjects of the company and create unrest. They felt that the missionaries would encourage the religious sentiments among the people in India that could affect the business policy and the diplomatic role of the East India Company. This policy of non-interference with the customs and traditions of the natives and lack of support for missionary work were reviewed after the Company Charter was reviewed in `1813`. |
→ Charles Grant, Wilberforce and the Failed Missionary Clause of 1793
→ Charles Grant, Wilberforce and the Failed Missionary Clause of 1793
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Grant’s proposal and Wilberforce’s 1793 Resolution fare against Company opposition? | Grant `1786–87`; Cornwallis Passive; Wesley; Wilberforce Resolution Rejected; Court of Proprietors: It was during the `1770s` and `1780s` that several Englishmen, such as Edmund Burke, argued that the East India Company’s power could not be justified unless it were exercised with morality and subject to Parliament’s control. But their efforts were not paid heed to. Then Charles Grant, a junior officer in the British East India Company, drafted the original proposal for mission in `1786–87`, in their personal capacity, and campaigned for it for decades at their own expense. Grant sought only for an official endorsement of the East India Company for his proposal to start a missionary endeavour. He neither sought for Company’s money nor its manpower. He himself offered support to one of the missionaries from his personal capacity. Yet he was only given a hearing to Lord Cornwallis. However, though Lord Cornwallis assured him that he would not oppose the move for missions, he could not, as the Governor-General, give his active support. Grant was therefore forced to go to the Christian leaders in England, who were big enough to influence the Government or big enough to fight the Company. At that time, the only missionary-minded Christian figure in England who had the status to bypass the East India Company and influence the Government itself was John Wesley. Refusing permission to John Wesley to open mission would thus have been politically incorrect for the British. Besides him, the only Christian politician then who had the stamina to fight for a moral cause was William Wilberforce. In `1793`, Wilberforce studied Grant’s Book, and Wilberforce moved the famous Resolution on Missions, which were drafted by Grant himself. Three days later, ‘the missionary clauses’ were accepted by the Committee, which sought to empower the East India Company to send out schoolmasters, and other approved persons, for the religious and moral improvement of the inhabitants of the British Dominions in India. However, on the third reading of the Bill, the Clauses were rejected and the Court of Proprietors of East India Stock had a special Meeting and passed a resolution against the Missionary Clause. |
| What counter-force opposed missions and what agitation followed against the Company? | Fear of Hindu Awakening; Company Interest; Charges of Neglecting Christ and Education: Thus it can be found that while it is often accused that the Missionaries came to spread Christianity and are thus opposed because of it, there was also a counter force, in the form of the Company and few other influential people in England, who made an attempt to stop the promotion of the Missionary movement in India as they feared that it would lead to the awakening of the Indian Hindu, and ultimately it would be the Company’s interest that would suffer. Any rise in character of the natives could be so lamented as to lead to a most serious and fatal disaster. Thus, it created an agitation against the East India Company that the Company was opposed to the teachings of Christ and neglected to provide education for the Indians. |
→ Charter Act 1813 — Missionary Clause and Vellore Mutiny Objection
→ Charter Act 1813 — Missionary Clause and Vellore Mutiny Objection
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did the 1813 Charter battle reopen and how was the Vellore Mutiny used against missions? | Grant in Parliament; Carey and Sati; Vellore 10 July `1806`; Dress Code; Bentinck Recalled: The battle for Missions heated up again in `1813`, when the Company’s Charter came up for renewal. The situation was vastly different this time. Grant had grown in stature and influence, and had won himself a seat in Parliament. William Carey’s work had earned immense respect for missions, in Bengal as well as in England. Also, his struggle against the inhumanity of sati and the Company’s cowardice in not banning such an inhuman practice had become well known. It had therefore become harder to maintain that Indians should not be challenged to critically examine their beliefs and practices and missionaries should not be allowed to teach Indians to distinguish true faith from superstition. There was a great unrest in the British Parliament in the year `1813` when the issue of permission to start missionary movement in India was asked. The chief ammunition for the opponents of mission was provided by the Vellore Mutiny, which began on 10 July `1806`, being instigated by the sons of Tipu Sultan, who were allowed to live at Vellore after being defeated by the British forces. The immediate causes of the mutiny revolved mainly around resentment felt towards changes in the sepoy dress code, introduced in November `1805`. Hindus were prohibited from wearing religious marks on their foreheads and Muslims were required to shave their beards and trim their moustaches. This Mutiny followed a lot of events creating unrest in Britain as well as in India and ended with the Governor-General of Madras Presidency, William Bentinck, being recalled back to London. |
| What arguments won the missionary clause and what did Charter Act 1813 provide? | Darkest Plight vs Civilized Enough; Conversion Consolidates Empire; Rs 100,000 Education: Several officials of the Company argued that the restrictions on the missionaries should continue: the Indians are civilised enough and do not need the missionaries. But the missionaries and their political supporters had prepared a formidable attack. Indians are in the darkest plight, they argued. The conversion of India to Christianity will spell temporal benefits to the heathens. Far from unsettling it, the conversion of the heathens to Christianity will further consolidate the empire. Finally a missionary clause was attached to Charter Act `1813` passed by the Parliament. Charter Act of `1813` permitted made provisions to grant permission to the persons who wished to go to India for promoting moral and religious improvements — that means Christian missionaries to propagate English and preach their religion. It also allotted Rs 100,000 to promote education in Indian masses. |
→ Charter Acts 1833 and 1853 — Permanent Presence and Wood’s Despatch Link
→ Charter Acts 1833 and 1853 — Permanent Presence and Wood’s Despatch Link
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did 1833 and 1853 Charters expand missionary and educational commitment? | Three Bishops; Anglican Hierarchy; Evangelical Light Rhetoric; Wood as ‘Undercover’ Missionary; Queen’s Proclamation `1858`: The charter act of `1833` laid down regulation of permanent presence of missionaries in India and the number of Bishops were made 3. The charter act of `1833` made provision for Anglican hierarchy at Calcutta. Finally in `1833`, the policy of the company was changed under pressure from the Evangelicals in England. This marked the first decisive step of missionary work in India. A spokesman of the Evangelicals declared: “The true cure of darkness is the introduction of light. The Hindus err because they were ignorant and their errors have never fairly been laid before them. The communication of our light and knowledge to them would prove the best remedy for their disorders.” With the expansion of the British Empire missionaries began to arrive and Christianity began to spread by establishing dioceses at Madras and Bombay. Ever since there existed a renewed cooperation between the missionaries and the colonial power in helping one another in their missions. Then came the Charter of `1853`, which declared a renewed commitment of Educational responsibility of the Company. This provision led to the famous Educational Dispatch of `1854`, drafted by the Committee chaired by Sir Charles Wood, a devout Evangelical who was also an ‘undercover’ missionary. This fact was summed up by the `1858` Proclamation of Queen which said that it should breathe feelings of generosity, benevolence and religious feelings, pointing out the privileges which the Indians will receive in being placed on an equality with the subjects of the British Crown. |
→ Missionaries’ Views on Indian Culture — Duff, Buchanan, Trevelyan, Macaulay
→ Missionaries’ Views on Indian Culture — Duff, Buchanan, Trevelyan, Macaulay
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was the characteristic priority of nineteenth-century missions and how did Evangelicals depict India? | Conversion as Sole End; Iconoclastic Protestantism; Grant’s Degeneration Thesis; Buchanan on Warfare upon Abuses: The characteristic feature of nineteenth-century missions was the enthusiasm for the multiplication of missionary efforts. The priority of the colonial missions was conversion. Conversion of individual souls was considered the sole end of mission. The British rule had provided favourable atmosphere and necessary infrastructure for the missions to work even in the remotest mountain villages without confronting much opposition. Julius Richter says that it would be hard to find any land possessing so great an attraction for the missionary societies. After the Charter of `1833` was renewed, missionaries were allowed freely to come to India. Missionary teams became powerful and their style of work changed. By this time a new set of missionaries rooted in “the iconoclastic zeal of extreme Protestantism” began to arrive. These missionaries, soon through letters, reports and stories, created a very distorted image about the people and culture in India. They were imbued with the western “imperial sentiments” and the sense of cultural superiority and agreed with Charles Grant, the spokesman of the Evangelicals in England, that it was not any inborn weakness that made Hindu degenerate but the nature of their religion. For the evangelicals India was in darkness and would need the light present in the western world. Claudius Buchanan, another spokesman of the evangelicals who had been a missionary in India, said: “The missionaries asserted that since God laid upon Britain the solemn duty of evangelizing India, the Government should not hesitate to throw its weight into the struggle. They demanded above all open Government patronage of Christian education and vigorous warfare upon the abuses associated with Hindu religion.” |
| How did Evangelical pressure shape Bentinck’s English-education resolution and what did Alexander Duff argue? | Bentinck March `1835`; Duff on Demolishing Idolatry; Civilising as Path to Conversion: The Evangelicals and other mission societies made a combined attempt to change the policy of the British Government and demanded the introduction of legal and social reforms in India. It was thus that William Bentinck in March `1835` issued his resolution intended mainly to promote European literature and science and utilize funds mainly for English education. The study of Indian literature and oriental works was admitted to be of little intrinsic value and the opinion was that these literatures inculcate the most serious errors on the subjects. Also the customs and traditions and the religious beliefs of the subject people were considered by the missionary educators and their societies in England as a sign of depravity and futility. The remedy was the introduction of English education. Alexander Duff, Scottish missionary and leading educator, thought that though Hindu philosophical discourse contained lofty terms in its religious vocabulary what they conveyed were only vain, foolish and wicked conceptions. According to Duff, Hinduism spread like a dark universe where all life dies and death lives. The Christian task for him was to do everything possible to demolish such a gigantic fabric of idolatry and superstition. Needless to say, such an attitude prevented any positive encounter between Christianity and Indian culture. Duff, Buchanan, Trevelyan, Macaulay and others had great influence on the missionary thinking. The missionaries and civil servants who came to India were so prejudiced that they did not see anything good in Indian society. The missionaries and their societies subscribed to the view that civilising the Indian people would prepare the primitive religious people to embrace Christianity. Missions were unwilling to understand the complexities of Indian cultural variants. Deeply entrenched in them was a sense of superiority of European civilisation and that coloured their approach to people of other cultures and religious faiths. English education was a means towards this goal — that is to facilitate change from exterior to interior, from trade to religion, a cultural revolution for the betterment of the natives by disseminating knowledge of Christianity and make them loyal to the British. |
| How did missionary and Raj interests converge despite different primary aims? | Bible and Baptismal Statistics; Mutual Support; Selfless Service Overlooked: The evangelical supporters of Anglican mission were far more interested in the dissemination of the Bible and baptismal statistics than in any measure for the general enlightenment of India. The primary interest of the Raj was to keep control over India. The dominant interest of missions was to work for the conversion of Indians to Christianity. But in the colonial situation they found themselves in need of one another and so mutual support was but natural. Although the missionaries worked hard and suffered a lot for bringing education and awareness of social justice to the people living in the rural areas of India, as they were associated with the colonial-imperial powers, the significance of their selfless service was either overlooked or misunderstood. |
→ Positive Outcomes of Missionary Activities
→ Positive Outcomes of Missionary Activities
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What positive social, medical and educational outcomes does the source attribute to missionary activity? | Gandhi on Reform Urgency; Leprosy; Schools and CMC Vellore; Tribals; Unifying Educational Spirit:Gandhiji held the view that the work of Missionaries quickened the task of Hindu reformers to set down our own house in order. The missionaries’ zeal to convert Hindus and the realization that they were specially targeting the sections which had been trodden down, lent an urgency to the determination of reformers to work for the uplift and integration of these sections into the rest of the Hindu society. One example to this effect was that Missionaries took up the cause of leprosy elimination. The work they undertook set the example, which was later followed on by others in India. Generations of young men and women received modern education, many of whom were endowed with the ideals of service and uprightness and rectitude because of the educational institutions maintained by these missionary societies. Lakhs of people were saved and restored to normal health by hospitals set up by the Church-affiliated organizations, namely the Missionaries. The Christian Medical College at Vellore stands as a distinct example of which. The standards of living of the tribals was raised and they were able to carve out a living with the aid of the Missionaries. Educational Reforms imbibed in the Missionaries a unifying spirit in the Indians and they came together to fight for the cause as a united nation. |
→ Negative Impact of Missionary Activities
→ Negative Impact of Missionary Activities
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did missionary education wound self-respect and deepen cultural conflict? | Vivekananda’s Mass of Negation; Mass Conversion; Trevelyan’s Madam Kali Anecdote: Where the Missionaries educated the Indians their shortcomings, they completely destroyed the self-confidence and the self-respect of the natives. On such instance of which is reflected when Swami Vivekananda wrote: “The child is taken to school and the first thing he learns is that his father is a fool, the second thing that his grandfather is a lunatic, the third thing that all his teachers are hypocrites, the fourth that all his sacred books are a mass of lies. By the time he reaches sixteen, he is a mass of negation, lifeless and boneless…” The mass conversion led to degradation of Indian Culture and a conflict between the classes themselves originated. The educational inequalities made the so-educated Indians contempt the fellow Indian and the following quote by Charles Trevelyan is an illustration to prove that: “A generation is growing up which repudiates idols. A young Hindu, who had received a liberal English education, was forced by his family to attend the shrine of kali, upon which he took off his cap to ‘Madam Kali’, made her a low bow, and hoped ‘her ladyship was well’…” |
→ Analysis of Christian Missionary Aims and Methods
→ Analysis of Christian Missionary Aims and Methods
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How does the source analyse missionary self-justification, Fort William Bible work, and links to imperialism? | Light of the World; Brahmanism Charge; Brown–Buchanan–Carey at Fort William; 150 Years Away from Nationalism: The missionaries, however, had come to India in obedience to Jesus Christ. Christ claimed that he was “the light to the world.” His plan of bringing light to the world involved sending His disciples into “all the world” as “light.” Therefore, to challenge everything that appeared “darkness” was a necessary part of the true Christian Mission. The claims made by the Christian Missionaries also tend to highlight their actual interests, which are not hidden. They laid that Brahmanism tried hard to retain the monopoly of the religion with itself in India. It neither shared its own rich language with others, nor did it develop the languages of the people. India was still, at the time of advent of the Christian Missionaries, an ‘under-developed’ country because Brahmanism did not develop our languages. It was therefore a task laid for the Christian Missionaries to perform. It is indisputably agreed that Brown, Buchanan and Carey were using a secular College (at Fort William) meant for training secular administrators, for translating the Bible and imparting a missionary spirit to administrators. They had the full backing of the Governor-General and support of some of the directors of the Company, the objective being to give stability to the Government in India and to Christianize the Government. For 150 years, even as they served the interests of British imperialism, the Church tried to orient its Indian adherents away from Indian nationalism. The Collected Works contain several accounts in which Missionaries acknowledge to Mahatma Gandhi that the institutions and services were indeed incidental to the aim of gathering a fuller harvest of converts for the Church. Their activities were also admonished by Swami Vivekananda as taking Spiritual Advantage of famines and Cholera. |
| What do the 1911 Census and Sir Richard Temple’s 1883 speech reveal about conversion focus? | Nine-Tenths Tribal Converts; Temple to Baptist Missionary Society: The 1911 Census Reports on Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Sikkim state that converts from among the four tribes — Oraons, Mundas, Kharis and Santhals — accounted for nearly nine-tenths of Christian Converts. The speech delivered to the Baptist Missionary Society in London in April `1883` by Sir Richard Temple stated that every Christian is duty bound to spread the religion; that the heaviest responsibility in this regard had fallen upon the British; that Buddhism and Hinduism are dying and dead; that the tribals ought to be made the special focus of the exertions of the missionary; and in the moral responsibilities before God and man, India was a country which of all others the Christians in Britain were bound to enlighten with Eternal truth. |
→ “The Christian Missionary Propaganda from 1813 Onward Was Often Insensitive and Wounding”
→ “The Christian Missionary Propaganda from 1813 Onward Was Often Insensitive and Wounding”
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How should one comment on the charge that missionary propaganda from 1813 was often insensitive and wounding? | Charter `1813` Approval; Wilberforce–Grant Modernisation; English as Medium and Barrier; Vivekananda Wound: The Charter Act of `1813` was the first parliamentary approval for propagation of Christianity in India. The policy of modernising Indian society and culture was also encouraged by the Christian missionaries and religious-minded persons such as William Wilberforce and Charles Grant, the Chairman of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, who wanted to spread Christianity in India. They too adopted a critical attitude towards Indian society but on religious grounds. They passionately believed that Christianity alone was the true faith. The English language played an important role in this respect. It became the medium for the spread of modern ideas. It also became the medium of communication and exchange of ideas between educated Indians from different linguistic regions of the country. But soon English also became a barrier to the spread of modern knowledge among the common people. It also acted as a wall separating the educated urban people from the common people, especially in the rural areas. This fact was fully recognised by the Indian political leaders. Where the Missionaries educated the Indians their shortcomings, they completely destroyed the self-confidence and the self-respect of the natives — as reflected when Swami Vivekananda wrote that the English-schooled child becomes “a mass of negation, lifeless and boneless…”. Insensitive comments by missionary leaders (Duff’s demolition of the “gigantic fabric of idolatry,” Grant’s degeneration-through-religion thesis, Buchanan’s call for vigorous warfare upon Hindu religious abuses, Temple’s `1883` claim that Buddhism and Hinduism are “dying and dead,” and Trevelyan’s “Madam Kali” anecdote) and the conversion focus on trodden-down and tribal sections (nearly nine-tenths of converts in the `1911` Census from four tribes) complete the case that propaganda from `1813` onward was often culturally wounding even where educational and medical institutions produced lasting public goods. |
| Phase / Marker | Year | Content (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Company neutrality | to 1813 | Non-interference; fear of conversion unrest and business damage |
| Grant proposal | 1786–87 | Personal capacity; Cornwallis non-opposition only |
| Wilberforce Resolution | 1793 | Missionary clauses rejected on third reading |
| Vellore Mutiny | 10 July 1806 | Dress-code triggers; Bentinck (Madras) recalled |
| Charter Act | 1813 | Missionary clause; Rs 100,000 education |
| Charter Act | 1833 | Permanent presence; 3 Bishops; Anglican hierarchy Calcutta |
| Charter / Wood | 1853 / 1854 | Educational responsibility; Wood Evangelical ‘undercover’ missionary |
| Queen’s Proclamation | 1858 | Generosity, benevolence, religious feelings, equality |
| Temple speech | April 1883 | Baptist Missionary Society — tribals as special focus |
| Census | 1911 | Oraons, Mundas, Kharis, Santhals ≈ 9/10 converts (Bengal–Bihar–Orissa–Sikkim) |
44. Islamic Revivalism — the Faraizi Movement
44. Islamic Revivalism — the Faraizi Movement
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was the Faraizi Movement and what did the term Faraizi signify? | Indigenous Peasant Reform; *Farz*; Quran as Sole Guide; Social Justice: The Faraizi Movement was a nineteenth-century religious reform movement launched by Haji Shariatullah of Faridpur (also given as Faridpar) in East Bengal, mostly among the peasants of eastern Bengal. It was indigenous in origin. The term Faraizi is derived from *farz* meaning obligatory duties enjoined by Allah. The Faraizi Movement became very popular among the Muslim peasantry in various districts of Bengal during British Rule. It sought to purify Islam by purging all un-Islamic beliefs and practices and by signifying the Koran as their sole spiritual guide. The movement was also concerned with the British influence upon Muslims and a call for social justice was raised. |
→ Haji Shariatullah (1781–1837) — Launch and Dar-ul-Harb
→ Haji Shariatullah (1781–1837) — Launch and Dar-ul-Harb
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who was Haji Shariatullah and how did he launch the Faraizi movement after 1818? | Bahadurpur Birth; Twenty Years Abroad; Return `1818`; Hanafi Ideals: The organiser of this movement, Hazi Shariat Ullah / Haji Shariatullah, was born in a peasant family of Bahadurpur village in Faridpur district of modern Bangladesh in `1781`. He travelled to Mecca to learn the Quran and Islamic theology. Here he came across the Hanafi ideals. He spent twenty years abroad to master Islamic scholarship and returned home in `1818`. Returning home he launched a Faraizi movement to make the Bengal Muslims follow the true canons of Islam. For historical reasons the Muslims of Bengal had been following many indigenous customs, rituals and ceremonies which were far from the principles of Islam. He rejected superstitions and corruptions in Islam. Haji Shariatullah announced that Islam was being defiled by various malpractices and suggested reform measures. |
| How did the movement become political and who formed its social base? | *Dar-ul-Harb*; Peasantry and Craftsmen; Zamindars and Indigo Planters: Though started as a religious movement, it soon became political in nature. Haji Shariatullah regarded British rule in Bengal as injurious to the religious life of the Muslims. He termed British-ruled India a “*Dar-ul-Harb*” or a land of the enemy and felt it was not suitable for the habitation of pious Muslims. He gathered disenchanted peasantry and craftsmen and aroused them. The importance of this movement lay in its social roots, as the rural Muslim poor of east Bengal united under this religious sect and revolted against landlords, indigo planters and the British rulers. Although Hindu landlords felt the main brunt of their angst, Muslim landlords did not feel safe either. He garnered public opinion against exploiting zamindars and indigo planters and very soon millions of poor Muslim farmers, artisans and jobless weavers became his disciples in Barisal, Mymensingh, Dhaka and Faridpur. It was an awakening for Bengali Muslims and they were bold enough to protest against the zamindar’s misrule. |
→ Dudu Mian — Halkas, Caliphs and Alternative Law Courts
→ Dudu Mian — Halkas, Caliphs and Alternative Law Courts
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Dudu Mian transform the Faraizi movement after Shariatullah’s death in 1837? | Muhammad Mushin; Egalitarian Ideology; Allah as Owner of Land: In `1837` Shariatullah died, leaving the reins of the rebellion to his son Muhammad Mushin [Dudu Mian (`1819`–`60`)], an able and a politically conscious organiser. He transformed the Faraizi movement from being socio-religious to socio-economic political. Dudu Mian asked his disciples to stay away from anti-Islam activities. He mobilised the peasantry around an egalitarian ideology. He tried to organise peasantry against zamindars. According to him, Allah was the owner of the land hence the zamindar had no right to collect taxes. He called upon his men to abstain from paying taxes to the zamindar, from farming indigo for the planters and from supporting the British. His disciples swelled in numbers. Dudu Mian’s headquarters were at Bahadurpur. He led his followers to raid treasuries and offices of zamindars and indigo planters. Violent clashes with the zamindars and planters occurred throughout the `1840s` and `1850s`. |
| What was unique about Faraizi alternative justice and the *halka*/Caliph organisation? | Munshi Courts; Boycott of Government Courts; Caliphs over *Halkas*: The uniqueness of Dudu Miyan’s Faraizi Movement was that they had established their own law and their own law courts as alternatives to British judicial institutions. The government courts were generally boycotted. A Munshi was appointed who exercised control over every two or three villages, adjudicated and settled civil as well as criminal cases. The courts established by the Faraizi Movement had become very popular among Muslim peasants as peasants found redress against the oppression of the zamindars. He built a network of village organisations in the districts of Faridpur, Bakarganj, Dacca, Pabna, Tippera, Jessore and Noakhali. He used his organisational skills in dividing Bengal into several zones or *halkas*, each led by a Caliph. The Caliph organised the farmers, thwarted zamindars’ and indigo planters’ exploitation and raised funds for the forthcoming resistance. Caliph also promoted the sect. He collected taxes to meet the expenses of his movement. |
| How far did the Faraizi rebellion spread and how was Dudu Mian repressed? | Spread to South 24-Parganas; Four Imprisonments; Alipore Jail `1857`; Death `1862`: Gradually the Faraizi movement spread from Dhaka and Faridpur to Bakarganj, Comilla, Mymensingh, Jessore, Khulna and large parts of South 24-Parganas. For more than a quarter of a century he remained the controversial figure in Eastern Bengal. He had become a household name in these places. The zamindars and indigo planters joined hands with the government to stop Dudu Mian. Between `1838` and `1847` he was imprisoned at least four times but had to be released owing to lack of witness against him. When the Sepoy Mutiny broke out in `1857`, he was imprisoned at Alipore Jail as a precautionary measure. Dudhu Miyan died in Dhaka in `1862`, but the movement continued. His son, Noah Mian, took up his task but his focus shifted from anti-British activities to religious activities. In absence of a strong centre, the movement became sporadic and there were isolated actions against the landlords, particularly in places where the Faraizis had their traditional centres. There was a temporary lull in the movement after Dudu Mian’s death in `1862`, but then it was renewed again at a different scale by his successor Naya Mian in the `1870s`. This movement got merged into the Wahabi Movement later. |
→ Analysis of the Faraizi Movement
→ Analysis of the Faraizi Movement
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How should the Faraizi Movement be analysed as agrarian politics dressed in religion, and why did it fail? | Agrarian Core; Religious Catchwords; Causes of Failure: The Faraizi Movement weakened and eventually became a religious sect only. The Faraizi Movement was essentially an agrarian movement, though the demands were carefully dressed up in religious catchwords. Dudu Mian had invoked a new awareness among peasants by uniting them against zamindars and indigo planters. The movement failed because of lack of political education among its leaders, anti-Hindu attitudes, and religious narrow mindedness, forcible induction of people, extortion and lack of proper leadership. |
45. Islamic Revivalism — the Wahabi Movement (Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya)
45. Islamic Revivalism — the Wahabi Movement (Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What was the Wahabi movement’s character and period, and who founded it in India? | Purification; `1820s`–`1870s`; Most Serious Challenge `1830s`–`1860s`: The Wahabi movement was a revivalist movement which tried to purify Islam by eliminating all the un-Islamic practices which had crept into Muslim society through the ages. Its period of movement is given as the `1820s` to `1870s`. It offered the most serious and well-planned challenge to British supremacy in India from the `1830s` to the `1860s`. Saiyid Ahmad of Rai Bareilly (`1786`–`1831`) was founder of the Wahabi Movement in India. He was influenced by the teaching of Abdul Wahab of Arabia (`1703`–`87`), but even more by the preaching of the Delhi saint Shah Waliullah (`1702`–`62`) and his son Abdul Aziz / Shah Abdul Aziz. |
→ Shah Waliullah, Shah Abdul Aziz and Dar-ul-Harb Fatwa
→ Shah Waliullah, Shah Abdul Aziz and Dar-ul-Harb Fatwa
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What twofold contribution did Shah Waliullah make, and how did Abdul Aziz and Syed Ahmed Barelvi politicise it? | Four Schools Harmony; Individual Conscience; Homeland Aim; Fatwa of *Dar-ul-Harb*: Shah Waliullah’s contribution to the Muslim reform movement was twofold. He urged the desirability of creating a harmony among the four schools of Muslim jurisprudence which had divided the Indian Muslims. He sought to integrate the best elements of the four schools. He emphasised the role of individual conscience in religion. He held that in cases where the Quran and the Hadis could be liable to conflicting interpretations, the individual could make a decision on the basis of his own judgement and conscience. Shah Abdul Aziz and Syed Ahmed Barelvi popularized the teachings of Waliullah but also gave them a political colour. They aimed at creating a homeland for the Muslims. The beginning was made by a Fatwa (ruling) given by Abdul Aziz declaring India to be *Dar-ul-harb* (land of the kafirs) and the need to make it *dar-ul-Islam*. |
→ Syed Ahmad Barelvi — Patna Centre, Organisation and Jihad
→ Syed Ahmad Barelvi — Patna Centre, Organisation and Jihad
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Saiyid Ahmad organise the movement from Rohilkhand and Patna (1822)? | Four Khalifas; Pure Arabia of the Prophet; Right Leader, Organisation, Safe Territory: Saiyid Ahmad first preached his doctrines in Rohilkhand. In `1822`, Saiyid Ahmad chose Patna as centre of his activities. He appointed four Khalifas, spiritual agents for propagation of his ideas. Syed Ahmed condemned all accretions to and innovations in Islam and advocated a return to the pure Islam and society of Arabia of the Prophet’s times. For the achievement of the desired objectives, Syed Ahmad looked for the right leader, a proper organisation and a safe territory from where he wanted to launch his Jihad. He declared the country as *Dar-ul-harb* and gave the idea of Jehad. He aimed at restoring Muslim power in India by ousting Sikhs in Punjab and British in Bengal. He gave the movement military character and transformed it into a religio-political movement. He presented the doctrine of *Hijrat*. He moved to the N-W-F province, captured Peshawar, and issued coin in his name. |
| What was the countrywide organisation and what happened at Balakot (1831)? | Sithana and Patna Strongholds; Peshawar `1830`; Battle of Balakot `1831`; *Maulvis*: Syed Ahmad had a countrywide organisation with an elaborate secret code for its working. It was strong at Sithana in the North-Western tribal belt and at Patna though it had its missions in Hyderabad, Madras, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bombay. Wahabism spread very rapidly in Bihar, Bengal, UP and North-Western India. Peshawar was captured in `1830`, but lost to the Sikhs the following year with Syed Ahmad losing his life in action in the Battle of Balakot against the Sikhs (`1831`). After Saiyad Ahmad’s death, Patna became the centre of this movement. His followers were known as *Maulvis*. The campaign was initially directed against the Sikhs of the Punjab. Jihad was declared against the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab ruled by the kingdom of Ranjit Singh. He waged Jehad against Sikhs in `1826`. He issued a pamphlet Targhiz-ul-Jihad against Sikhs. After the overthrow of the Sikh ruler and incorporation of the Punjab into the East India Company’s dominion in `1849` the sole target of the Wahabis’ attack became the English dominion in India. |
→ Suppression of the Wahabi Movement — Ambala 1864 and Patna 1865
→ Suppression of the Wahabi Movement — Ambala 1864 and Patna 1865
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What role did Wahabis play in 1857 and how did the British crush the movement in the 1860s–70s? | Bakht Khan; Sithana Operations; Ambala Trial `1864`; Patna Trial `1865`; Frontier Continuity: During the Revolt of `1857` the Wahabis played a notable role in spreading anti-British sentiments. The British rulers of India viewed the potential danger of the Wahabi base of operations from Sithana in the background of a possible war involving Great Britain with Afghanistan or Russia. In the `1860s` the Government launched a multi-pronged attack by organising a series of military operations on the Wahabi base of operations in Sithana while in India a number of court cases for sedition were registered against Wahabis. General Bakht Khan, the leader of mutineers at Delhi during the revolt of `1857`, was also a Wahabi. The movement was crushed by the superior military force of the British in the `1870s`. The period between `1863`–`65` witnessed a series of trials by which all the principal leaders of the Wahabi movement were arrested. The Ambala trial of `1864` and Patna trial of `1865` were closely interlinked. The movement lost its vitality though the Wahabi fanatics continued to help the frontier hill tribes in their encounters with the English in the `1880s` and `1890s`. Some other important Wahabi leaders were Vilayat Ali, Inayat Ali, Shah Md. Hussain, Farhat Hussain. |
→ Analysis of the Wahabi Movement
→ Analysis of the Wahabi Movement
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Did the Wahabi movement assume a nationalist character, and what legacy did it leave? | Muslims, by Muslims, for Muslims; Not Nationalist; Separatist Legacy: The Wahabi movement was a movement of the Muslims, by the Muslims and for the Muslims and aimed at the establishment of *Dar-ul-Islam* in India. At no stage did it assume the character of a nationalist movement. Rather it left behind a legacy of isolationist and separatist tendencies among the Indian Muslims. |
46. Movement of Titu Mir — Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya in Bengal
46. Movement of Titu Mir — Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya in Bengal
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who was Titu Mir and how was his movement an independent offshoot of Wahabis in Bengal? | Syed Mir Nisar Ali; Barasat `1827`; 250-Square-Mile Zone; Distinctive Dress and Beard: During the `1820s` and `’30s`, in Bengal a religious movement called *Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya* was developing under the leadership of Titu Mir (aka Syed Mir Nisar Ali / Mir Nassir Ali). It was an independent offshoot of Wahabis. Starting his career as a hired muscleman for the local zamindars, he later went to Mecca, and was initiated by Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi. Titu Mir preached Wahabi doctrine at Barasat in `1827`. He came back to preach Islam in a 250-square-mile area in the northern part of the district of 24 Parganas. His followers came mainly from the poor Muslim peasants and weavers, who were organised into a community with distinctive dress and beard as markers of identity. He advocated a change in the mode of dress to distinguish Muslims from Hindus. The movement was against the customs and beliefs borrowed from popular Hinduism. As this self-assertion of the peasantry challenged the established relations of power, the local zamindars tried to curb them in various ways, by imposing, for example, a tax on beard. It came in conflict with Hindu landlords and British indigo planters and eventually with British administration. |
| How did Titu Mir’s regime end on 16 November 1831? | Ghulam Masum; Own Taxes; Bamboo Fortress Blown; Titu Killed: He proclaimed the end of British Raj and stormed Nadia, Faridpur and 24 Parganas. His lieutenant Ghulam Masum played an important role. Titu Mir and his followers defied the existing authority — as represented by the local zamindars, the indigo planters and the state — established their own regime, started collecting taxes and struck terror in the region. The government ultimately had to mobilise the army and artillery and on 16 November `1831` blew off Titu’s bamboo fortress to crush his movement. Titu was killed in British action. |
47. Islamic Revivalism — the Deoband Movement (1866)
47. Islamic Revivalism — the Deoband Movement (1866)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What were the twin objectives of the Deoband Movement and who founded the school in 1866? | Pure Quran and Hadis; Spirit of Jihad; Nanotavi and Gangohi; Saharanpur: The orthodox section among the Muslim ulema organised the Deoband Movement. It was a revivalist movement whose twin objectives were: to propagate among the Muslims the pure teachings of the Koran and the Hadis and to keep alive the spirit of jihad against the foreign rulers. It aimed at upliftment of Muslims through religious education and to resuscitate classical Islam. The ulema under the leadership of Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi / Wanotavi (`1832`–`80`) and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (`1828`–`1905`) founded the school at Deoband in the Saharanpur district of the U.P. in `1866`. The object was to train religious leaders for the Muslim community. The school curricula shut out English education and Western culture. The instruction imparted was in original Islamic religion and the aim was moral and religious regeneration of the Muslim community. In contrast to the Aligarh movement which aimed at welfare of the Muslim community through Western education and support of the British Government, the Deoband school did not prepare its students for government jobs or worldly careers but for preaching of Islamic faith. Deoband school attracted students not only from all parts of India but from the neighbouring Muslim countries also. |
| How did Deoband politics relate to the INC, Sir Syed, Mahmud-ul-Hasan and Jamiat-ul-Ulema? | Welcome to Congress `1885`; Fatwa `1888`; Mahmud-ul-Hasan; Jamiat-ul-Ulema: In politics, the Deoband School welcomed the formation of the Indian National Congress in `1885`. In `1888` the Deoband ulema issued fatwa against Syed Ahmed Khan’s organisations: the United Patriotic Association, and the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Association. Some critics observe that the Deoband ulemas’ support did not stem from any positive political philosophy or any opposition to British Government but was mainly influenced by their determination to oppose Sir Syed Ahmed’s activities. The new Deoband leader Mahmud-ul-Hasan (`1851`–`1920`) sought to impart a political and intellectual content to the religious ideas of the school. He worked out a synthesis of Islamic principles and national aspirations. The Jamiat-ul-Ulema gave a concrete shape to Hasan’s ideas of protection of the religious and political rights of the Muslims in the overall context of Indian unity and national objectives. |
48. Islamic Revivalism — Ahmadiyya / Quadiani Movement
48. Islamic Revivalism — Ahmadiyya / Quadiani Movement
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Who founded the Ahmadiyya (Quadiani) movement and what did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claim? | Qadian (Gurdaspur); Prophet, *Mujaddid*, *Mahdi* (`1891`); Apolitical Universalism: The Ahmedia / Quadiani Movement started in around `1899` at a town Quadiyan / Qadian (Gurdaspur, Punjab) under the leadership of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed of Qadian (`1835`–`1908`) who in `1891` claimed that he was a prophet, revivalist (*mujaddid*), and the messiah (*mahdi*) anticipated by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, by peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam. Ahmadi thought emphasizes the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Muhammad and the necessity of restoring it to its true intent and pristine form, which had been lost through the centuries. It emphasized the humanitarian and universal character of Islam. It also emphasized that technological progress should be regarded by the Muslim as a part of God’s purpose and should be given religious recognition. It was strictly apolitical. It was conservative in social morals. |
| Why did orthodoxy and later Pakistan law target Ahmadis, and how did the movement split in 1914? | Challenge to Final Prophethood; Colonial Loyalty; `1914` Quadiyani vs Lahori Split: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s claim to prophecy challenged the orthodox Islamic tenet that Muhammad was the final Abrahamic prophet. Indian orthodox Muslim community took umbrage with Ahmad’s unswaying loyalty to the colonial British at a time of rising nationalist sentiment. The Ahmadi community in colonial India also tended to be better educated and more prosperous compared to other Muslims. These religious, cultural, and political factors contributed to their early targeting by Muslim political groups upon independence particularly in Pakistan where they were categorized as a non-Muslim minority in national law in `1974`. The movement split into two following the death of Ahmad’s successor, Maulana Nur ad-Din, in `1914` into Quadiyani and Lahori: one group affirming Ahmad’s messianic status (The Ahmadiyya / Quadiyani Movement) and a second group regarding him as a reformer, but otherwise adhering to mainstream Islamic beliefs that understand Muhammad to have been the final prophet (the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement). |
49. Aligarh Movement — Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
49. Aligarh Movement — Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What post-1857 official climate and Hunter thesis shaped the opening for Sir Syed’s loyalist modernism? | Arch Conspirators Impression; Wahabi Confirmation; Hunter’s “Rallying the Muslims”: A legacy of the Revolt of `1857` was the official impression that the Muslims were the arch conspirators in `1857`–`58`. The Wahabi political activities of the `1860s` and `1870s` confirmed such suspicions. However, a wind of change was perceptible in the `1870s`. W.W. Hunter’s book The Indian Musalman made a vigorous plea for reconciling and “rallying the Muslims” around the British government through thoughtful concessions. A section of the Muslim community led by Syed Ahmed Khan was prepared to accept this stance of official patronage. These Muslims felt that the Muslim community would forgo its rightful share in the administrative services if they shut themselves in a shell and resist modern ideas. |
| What was Sir Syed’s career arc and educational–religious–political reform programme? | Delhi `1817`; Loyalty in `1857`; *Loyal Muhammadans* `1860`; Knighthood `1888`:Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (`1817`–`98`) was born in Delhi in `1817` in a respectable Muslim family; he received education in the traditional Muslim style. He was in the judicial service of the Company at the time of the Rebellion of `1857` and stood loyal to the Government. He retired from service in `1876`. He wrote the book in `1860` — The Loyal Muhammadans of India. In `1878` he became a member of the Imperial Legislative Council. His loyalty earned him a knighthood in `1888`. His programmes for reform were educational, religious, political. Syed Ahmed tried to modernize the outlook of the Muslims. He tried to reconcile his co-religionists to modern scientific thought and to the British rule and urged them to accept services under the Government. In this objective, he achieved great success. Sir Syed also tried to reform the social abuses in the Muslim community. He condemned the system of *piri* and *muridi*. The pirs and faqirs claimed to be followers of the Sufi school and passed mystic words to their disciples (*murids*). He also condemned the institution of slavery and described it un-Islamic. His progressive social ideas were propagated through his Urdu magazine Tahdhib-ul Akhlaq (Improvement of Manners and Morals). In his masterly work Commentaries on the Quran, Sir Syed criticised the narrow outlook of traditional interpreters and gave his own views in the light of contemporary rationalism and scientific knowledge. His emphasis was on the study of Koran and liberal interpretation of the Koran. His interpretation of Islam emphasized the validity of free enquiry and similarities between Koranic revelation and the laws of nature discovered by modern science. The word of God, he said, should be interpreted by the work of God which lies open before all to see. |
→ Aligarh Education — Scientific Society, MAO College 1875 and Education Conference 1886
→ Aligarh Education — Scientific Society, MAO College 1875 and Education Conference 1886
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What educational institutions did Sir Syed found and how did Aligarh become a cultural centre? | Scientific Society `1864`; MAO College `1875`; Muslim University Nucleus `1920`; Conference `1886`: In the field of education, the Aligarh Movement aimed at spreading western and scientific education among the Muslim masses. Foundation of the Scientific Society in `1864` introduced the western sciences through Urdu translation. Sir Syed opened the Anglo-Mohammadan Oriental College at Aligarh in `1875`, where instruction was imparted both in Western arts and sciences and Muslim religion. Soon Aligarh became the centre of religious and cultural revival of the Muslim community. The school became the nucleus for the formation of the Muslim University in `1920`. The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Education Conference was started in `1886` for promoting western education among Muslims. Persons associated with the Aligarh Movement included Altaf Hussain Hali, Maulavi Nazir Ahmad, Maulavi Shibli Numani. |
→ Political Philosophy of Sir Syed — Qaum, Not Nation-State (David Lelyveld)
→ Political Philosophy of Sir Syed — Qaum, Not Nation-State (David Lelyveld)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did David Lelyveld frame Sir Syed’s political philosophy of *qaum* versus Congress nation-state? | Contending Groups under Superior Power; Ex-Ruling Class Claim; Federation of *Qaums*: As David Lelyveld has shown, Sir Syed’s political philosophy revolved round the idea that Indian society was an aggregate of contending groups brought together by a superior power, previously the Mughal emperor, who had now been replaced by Queen Victoria, presiding over a hierarchy of distinct social units. The Muslims as an ex-ruling class were entitled to a special position of authority and power in this new cosmopolitan British empire. But for this they must educate themselves and acquire the new skills which would empower them to assert themselves within the new institutional set up of colonial India. His idea of being a Muslim was not opposed to being an Indian, but he did not see India as a nation state based on individual citizenship; for him it was a federation of *qaums* or ethnic communities based on common descent. These groups would enjoy cultural autonomy and share power according to their ancestry and inherited subculture, but not achievement. The Muslims as an ex-ruling class, though minority, would therefore have a greater representation in the sharing of power and a special relationship with the political order. It was here that his philosophy differed from that of the Indian National Congress, which imagined India as a nation state based on individual citizen’s rights. It was because of this divergence of perceptions that Muslim politics began to drift away from Congress and mainstream nationalism. He opposed the Ilbert Bill. He also said — “Hindus and Muslims are two eyes of India.” |
→ Aligarh in Opposition to Congress — Beck, Patriotic Association and Defence Association
→ Aligarh in Opposition to Congress — Beck, Patriotic Association and Defence Association
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How was Aligarh College a “profoundly political enterprise” against Congress? | Ethos of Solidarity; Mohammedan Educational Conference vs Congress; Cow-Killing Riots `1893`: Sir Sayyid’s Aligarh College was a “profoundly a political enterprise” to construct and consolidate among its Muslim students the mentality of belonging to a *qaum* and to reach through them the greater social catchment area of north Indian Muslim population. Its curriculum blended Muslim theology with nineteenth-century European empiricism that would prepare the new generation of Muslims for the advantages and opportunities of British rule. So far as knowledge was concerned, the Aligarh students did not have much of an edge over others; but what they picked up here was an ethos of solidarity. The other vehicle to spread Sir Sayyid’s message was the Mohammedan Educational Conference which met every year since `1886`, i.e. the year after the Congress was born, at different cities all over India. This was in direct opposition to the Congress which Sir Syed thought was an attempt to organise and consolidate the Hindu majority electorate to dominate over the Muslim minority in the new representative bodies and the civil services. This majority phobia increased further because of the cow-killing riots of `1893`, the Hindu demand for legal ban on cow-slaughter and Congress silence about it. He stood against the Indian National Congress with Raja Sheo Prasad of Banaras. The internal problems of the Aligarh College might have also forced Sir Sayyid to take a more radical anti-Congress stand. This particular trend in Muslim politics was patronised by the British bureaucracy. |
| What roles did Theodore Beck and the two anti-Congress associations play? | United Patriotic Association `1888`; MAO Defence Association `1893`; Loyalty to Raj as Mughal Successor: Particularly significant was the role of Theodore Beck, the European principal of the Aligarh College, who formed in `1888` the Indian United Patriotic Association to oppose Congress and to plead for government patronage for the Muslims. In `1893` the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association was formed, once again with Beck’s encouragement, to check the growing popularity of the Congress and to organise Muslim public opinion against it. So Aligarh movement under Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan and his Aligarh College developed in opposition to Congress-led nationalism and in loyalty to the British Raj, which was conceived as a legitimate successor to the Mughal empire. |
→ Limits of Sir Syed’s Leadership and Gradual Islamisation after 1898
→ Limits of Sir Syed’s Leadership and Gradual Islamisation after 1898
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why was Sir Syed’s leadership never universally accepted among north Indian Muslims? | Ulama vs Westernisation; al-Afghani Anti-Colonialism; Tyabji `1887`; Punjab Urdu Press: Sir Sayyid’s leadership was never universally accepted in the north Indian Muslim community. The ulama certainly did not like his thrust towards westernisation, which seemed to threaten their pre-eminence in Muslim society. As opposed to his modernism and rationality, they invoked Islamic universalism and exclusivism. There were men like Jamaluddin al-Afghani who were rabid anti-colonialist and did not like Sir Sayyid’s loyalism. He was ridiculed for his imitative Western ways and unabashed championing of specific class interests. By the late `1880s` many Muslims in north India were tilting towards the Congress, while in `1887` Badruddin Tyabji of Bombay had become its first Muslim president. By the late `1890s`, many of the Urdu newspapers in Punjab were asserting that the Aligarh School “did not represent the Indian Muhammadans.” |
| How did younger Aligarh leaders after Syed’s death (1898) Islamise politics and confront Macdonnell’s Nagri Resolution (1900)? | Muhammad Ali–Shaukat Ali; Abdul Bari; *Qaum* to Restlessness; Nagri 18 April `1900`: After Sir Sayyid’s death in `1898`, even the younger generation at Aligarh became restless, as they began to feel that they were losing out because they were not properly organised and hence could not voice their demands effectively. As a result, they gradually began to deviate from the existing tradition of Aligarh politics. For example, the earlier politicians of Sir Sayyid’s generation had kept the ulama at arm’s length in favour of the Western-educated intelligentsia. The politics of this period was confined to “kachari-linked family groups” who deployed their Muslim identity only in self defence. But by contrast, the younger leaders like Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali were profoundly influenced by the ulama, like Maulana Abdul Bari, and through their influence they rediscovered the inspiration of Islam as a mobilising force. This resulted in what may be called a gradual Islamisation of Muslim politics. The younger leaders also started deviating from the loyalist stand of Sayyid Ahmed and partly responsible for this was Lieutenant Governor Macdonnell’s unsympathetic policies towards the United Provinces Muslims. He preferred the Hindus to the Muslims, it was alleged, and this preference was reflected in the Nagri Resolution of 18 April `1900`, which recognised the Nagri script, along with Persian, for official use in the courts. This sparked off the Hindi-Urdu controversy, as language now became a trope for community honour and a focus for mobilisation. And soon to this campaign was added a demand for an all-India Muslim University as a cultural centre of pan-Indian Islam. But the leaders of the older generation, like Mohsin-ul-Mulk, soon backed out of this agitation, as Macdonnell threatened to cut off grants for the Aligarh College. So the younger generation was left alone to protest against discriminatory government policies and in no time they realised the inadequacies of Sayyid Ahmed’s loyalist politics; some of them even threatened to join the Congress. So the older leaders and the colonial bureaucracy now felt the urgent need for a political organisation for the Muslims in order to mobilise the community against the Congress and also to offer an independent political platform, as many of the Bengal, Punjab and Bombay Muslim leaders were not prepared to accept Aligarh’s leadership. |
50. Simla Deputation (1 October 1906) and Birth of the All India Muslim League
50. Simla Deputation (1 October 1906) and Birth of the All India Muslim League
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What Bengal and Morley-budget context produced the Simla deputation of 1 October 1906? | Fuller’s Resignation; Morley’s Budget Speech; Fear of Hindu Majority Electorate: The Bengali Muslims had been coming closer to their north Indian co-religionists since `1899`, when the annual Mohammedan Educational Conference was held at Calcutta. But the events of `1906` brought them even closer, though not entirely on cordial terms. In eastern Bengal the resignation of Lt. Governor Bampfylde Fuller, known for his pro-partition and pro-Muslim sympathies, and the possibility of partition itself being rescinded, made the Bengal Muslim leadership panicky. And then the Secretary of State Morley’s budget speech of `1906` indicated that representative government was going to be introduced in India. This alarmed Muslim leaders across the board, as they thought that in the new self-governing bodies they would be swayed by the Hindu majority who were now well organised under the Congress. This provided the context for the Simla deputation of 1 October `1906` to the Governor General Lord Minto. |
| Was Simla a “command performance,” and what did the petition claim? | Archbald Thesis vs Mohsin-ul-Mulk Initiative; Separate Community; No Bengali Joiners: For a long time the prevalent theory was that it was a “command performance,” entirely stage-managed by the British, through the European principal of the Aligarh College, W.A.J. Archbald. But recent analyses show that the initiative had come from the Aligarh veterans, like Mohsin-ul Mulk, the secretary of the Aligarh College, who wanted to assuage the feelings of younger Muslims; and it was hoped that the Bengal Muslims would also join any such deputation. But in the end the grievances of the Bengal Muslims were bypassed for being too sensitive or divisive and no Bengali joined the deputation to Simla. The petition, which the Aligarh leaders drafted, represented only their interests. It depicted the Muslims as a separate community with political interests different from those of the Hindus and therefore having legitimate claim to minority rights to proportional representation in the representative bodies and public employment. The deputation was given a patient hearing by the viceroy, and he also assured the east Bengalees that their rights would not be jeopardised. |
→ Founding of All India Muslim League (30 December 1906, Dacca)
→ Founding of All India Muslim League (30 December 1906, Dacca)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why was a separate Muslim party launched at the Dacca Educational Conference, and what were its professed goals? | *Qaum* to *Ummah*; Aga Khan’s “Nation within a Nation”; Salimullah; Three Goals: The success of the Simla deputation was a tremendous morale booster to Muslim politics; yet mere verbal assurances were hardly expected to satisfy the younger Muslims. They had long been feeling the need for a separate political organisation for themselves; a religious orientation of the movement was also on their agenda, as there has now been a clear shift of emphasis from *qaum* (community based on common descent) to *ummah* (community based on allegiance to a common faith). The thirty-five delegates at Simla therefore decided to organise the community for independent political action to secure for themselves a recognition from the government as “a nation within a nation,” to use the words of Aga Khan, the leader of the delegation. The next annual Mohammedan Educational Conference was scheduled to be held in December `1906` in Dacca, the capital of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. So it was decided that this opportunity would be taken to launch a new Muslim party. The situation in Dacca was already volatile. The nationalist agitation against the partition of Bengal had gained an unexpected momentum and there was widespread fear among the Bengali Muslims that the government might succumb to the nationalist pressure and annul the partition to the disadvantage of the Muslims. There was already a proposal from Nawab Salimullah of Dacca, the leader of the east Bengali Muslims, about the formation of a political party for the Muslims and this could be an excellent starting point for further discussion. So it was in this Dacca Educational Conference on 30 December `1906` that a new party was launched and it was called the All India Muslim League. Its professed goals were: to safeguard the political rights and interests of the Muslims, to preach loyalty to the British and to further the cause of inter-communal amity. The Muslim supporters of the Congress immediately tried to counteract this move, but in vain; the majority of the educated Muslims had already decided to tread along a different path. Until about `1910` for all practical purposes the All India Muslim League maintained its existence only as an adjunct of the Mohammedan Educational Conference and then the two bodies were separated. |
→ Historiography, Constitution and Morley-Minto Separate Electorates (1909)
→ Historiography, Constitution and Morley-Minto Separate Electorates (1909)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Was the League an outgrowth of Aligarh or of Bengali Muslim politics (Jain vs Maitra)? | M.S. Jain Culmination Thesis; Jayanti Maitra Bengal Catalyst; Nawab of Dacca’s Aligarh Link: Some scholars like M.S. Jain (`1965`) think that the League was a logical culmination of the Aligarh movement. Jayanti Maitra, however, believes that the Muslim League was not an out-growth of the Aligarh movement, but rather the outcome of the political developments among the Bengali Muslims, who were always more politicised than their north Indian counterparts. And after all, it was the Bengal situation of `1906` that had acted as a catalyst in bringing into existence the new Muslim party. But even the Nawab of Dacca believed that the new party represented “the next stage of political life” that first blossomed at Aligarh and it was expected to provide greater opportunity in public institutions for the young educated Muslims. During at least the first decade of its existence, the League remained dominated by the UP Muslims and it established Aligarh’s position at the centrestage of all-India Muslim politics. Viqar-ul-Mulk and Mohsin-ul-Mulk became the joint secretaries of a provisional committee that drafted its constitution, which was approved at its next session at Karachi in December `1907`. In this way the Aligarh veterans, with the help of some Punjabi leaders, made the League their own organisation and moulded it according to their own ideological preferences. The constitution, for example, ensured that the new organisation would remain under the control of “men of property and influence.” This excluded from the League’s power structure many of those angry young men under whose pressure the party had been created at Dacca. |
| How did provincial Leagues, the London branch and Morley-Minto 1909 lock in separate Muslim political identity? | Provincial Liberty `1907`–`09`; Syed Amir Ali London May `1908`; Reserved Seats Excess of Proportions: Between `1907` and `1909`, provincial Muslim Leagues were formed in all the major provinces and they enjoyed liberty to frame their own constitutions. They were not formally controlled by the all-India body, nor could they interfere with the affairs of the central organisation. Hence the provincial Leagues were of varied political complexion and often their policies were at variance with those of the central body. Its London branch was inaugurated in May `1908` under the leadership of Syed Amir Ali, which played a significant role in shaping the constitutional reform of `1909`, the Morley-Minto Reforms. This new act provided for reserved seats for the Muslims in imperial as well as provincial legislatures, in numbers much in excess of their proportions and in keeping with their political importance. This granting of separate electorate for Muslims thus provided an official legitimacy to their minority status and the separate political identity of the Indian Muslims, the League representing its public face. The subsequent evolution of this Muslim identity from minority status to nationhood took a long and tortuous trajectory. |
51. Contribution of Indian Renaissance to the Growth of Modern India
51. Contribution of Indian Renaissance to the Growth of Modern India
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How does the source define Indian Renaissance as elite response to colonial rule, and why is the term problematic? | Post-Enlightenment Rationalism; Discover Reason in Past; “Bengal Renaissance” Label: Indian renaissance was the response of the educated Indian elite to challenges posed by colonial rule. The impact of Western ideas gave birth to new awakening and need was felt to reform from within in the light of post-Enlightenment rationalism. The response of the educated Indian elite to civilisational critiques was to reform Hinduism from within in the light of post-Enlightenment rationalism. This phenomenon is often celebrated in the older historiography as the “Bengal Renaissance” or the “Nineteenth Century Indian Renaissance.” Although the use of the term “renaissance” is problematic, this cultural movement essentially involved attempts to discover rationalism in India’s past and thus to reposition her religious and philosophical traditions within the critical terrain of reason. The effects of the Indian Renaissance were realised in almost every aspect of life which led to the growth of Modern India. |
→ Religious Contribution of the Renaissance
→ Religious Contribution of the Renaissance
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did socio-religious movements revive and reform religions across communities? | Brahmo, Arya, Vivekananda; Orientalist Translations; Aligarh for Islam: The social and religious movements revived faith among Indians in their own religion and brought forth the necessity of reforming their religion. All religious communities of India including the Hindus, Muslims, Parsi, Sikhs and Christians etc. attempted to modernise and simplify their religion. The best attempt in this direction was made by several Hindu reformers and institutions — Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahma Samaj, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Arya Samaj, Vivekanand and Ramkrishna Mission etc. — aimed to reform the Hindu religion and revive its past glory. Foreign scholars like Max Muller, Sir William Jones, Charles Wilkins etc. helped in reviving the past glory of India. They translated several religious texts (Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata) of the Hindus and proved these were among the best religious treatises of the world. Many Hindus gave up superstitions, useless religious rituals, idol worship etc. The different socio-religious reforms strengthened the Hindu religion. Arya Samaj forbade regarding the Purans and other such books as the sources of the development of the Hindu religion and regarded only the Vedas as the fountain source and the only true base of the Hindu religion. Swami Vivekanand placed the Hindu religion on the high pedestal of spiritualism. The same was done by Aligarh and other movements related with the Muslims for the strengthening of Islam and Muslim society. |
→ Social Contribution of the Renaissance
→ Social Contribution of the Renaissance
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What social evils did reformers attack and what legal and institutional markers does the synthesis passage give? | Caste, Untouchability, Child-Marriage, Sati, Purdah, Polygamy; Widow Remarriage Law; Age 10 in `1860`: Effort was made to eliminate social evils as well. Reformers actively opposed the caste system, untouchability, child-marriage, Sati system, Purdah system, polygamy etc. They supported the general uplift of women, including widow remarriage and the spread of modern education to men and women; several schools and colleges were opened by these movements and reform. These movements made a significant contribution in the field of female education. Its impact is mirrored in women coming out of seclusion and taking part in the public life. Some legal measures were introduced to elevate the status of women. The practice of Sati and infanticide had been made illegal. In `1866`, a law was passed permitting widow remarriage (as stated in this synthesis passage). Another law was passed in `1860` which raised the marriage age of girls to 10. Due to efforts of certain movements inter-caste marriages and inter-dining were promoted and hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages, libraries etc. were opened. |
→ Political Contribution and Rise of Nationalist Consciousness
→ Political Contribution and Rise of Nationalist Consciousness
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did socio-religious reformers contribute indirectly to Indian nationalism? | Self-Respect; Dayanand’s Swaraj and Hindi; Besant and Nivedita Lines; Countrywide Reach: The social and religious reform movements of the nineteenth century contributed to Indian nationalism though indirectly. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekanand, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Annie Besant etc. were all great patriots. They revived the glory of ancient India, created faith among the people in their religion and culture and thus, gave the message of self-respect, self-confidence and love to their motherland and to the people of India. Dayanand Saraswati exercised great nationalising influence upon his followers. He was the first who used the word Swaraj and declared Hindi as the national language of India. Many Arya Samaj leaders were in the forefront of the national movement and were primarily responsible for the rise of extremism in the Indian National Congress. According to Mrs. Annie Besant: “It was Dayanand Saraswati who proclaimed India for the Indians.” Thus, these social and religious reformers made a significant contribution in the development of national movement. According to Sister Nivedita, “Swami Vivekanand was also a great patriot and the queen of his adoration was his motherland.” Reform movements were countrywide movements influencing people everywhere and not just in isolated areas. Reformers tackled all social evils on a national basis. This led to feeling of one nationality among Indians. The reform attacked institutions like caste which hampered social unity and created a sense of oneness in people. The reform movement helped many Indians to come to terms with the modern world. Many Indians began to acquire a modern, secular and national outlook in place of narrow outlook dominated by consideration of caste and religion. These movements were not an isolated phenomenon. The ideas and activities of reformers were indirectly related to the task of nation building and formed the prelude to national consciousness. As J. Nehru puts it: “The rising middle class were politically inclined and were not so much in search of religion; but they wanted some cultural roots to cling on to; something that gave them assurance of their own worth; something that would reduce the sense of frustration and humiliation that foreign conquest and rule had produced. The religious reform movement after all transformed India into a nation in the making.” |
→ Economic Contribution and Growth of Reason and Humanism
→ Economic Contribution and Growth of Reason and Humanism
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did Renaissance awaken economic critique of British rule and the twin doctrines of Reason and Humanism? | Industrialisation under Indian Government; Twin Doctrines; Against Obscurantism: The Renaissance awakened the Indians to the miserable economic conditions as well. Several reformers were convinced that the purpose of British rule was to exploit India economically, that is, to enrich England at the cost of India. They realised that India could make little progress in the economic field unless British imperialism was replaced by a government controlled and run by the Indian people. They realised that the only remedy for retrieving the economy lay in industrialisation. They declared that Indian industries could not flourish except under an Indian government which could protect and promote them. The growth of the attitude of reason was the cause as well as one of the results of the Indian Renaissance. Before the beginning of the social and religious movements the Indians were largely traditionalists and lived on blind faith. The religious reform movements of modern times had an underlying unity — most of them were based on the twin doctrines of Reason (Rationalism) and Humanism, though they also sometimes tended to appeal to faith and ancient authority to bolster their appeal. The reformers of the 19th Century opposed the ritualistic, superstitious, irrational, and obscurantist elements in Indian religions. |
52. Limitations of Socio-Religious Reform Movements
52. Limitations of Socio-Religious Reform Movements
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did reform remain confined to a narrow social space of colonial beneficiaries? | *Bhadralok*; Three Higher Castes; Sanskritised Prose Barrier; Prarthana 68 Members: These movements had remained confined to a narrow social space, as the reformist spirit appealed only to a small elite group, who were primarily the economic and cultural beneficiaries of colonial rule. In Bengal, the reform movement involved only a small number of Western-educated elite who were known by the general term *bhadralok* (gentlefolk). These were the “new men” who had made money as junior partners of the English officers and free merchants, consolidated their position as small landholders under Permanent Settlement and later took advantage of English education to fill in the various new professions and subordinate administrative positions. Socially, they were mostly Hindus, and though caste was not a major criterion for membership, most of them belonged to the three higher castes, Brahman, Kayastha and Baidya. The Brahmo movement was almost exclusively patronised by these groups, and although it spread from Calcutta to district towns and to other provinces, it remained alienated from the masses. The reformers never even tried to take the reform to the people, as the language of reform, the chaste Sanskritised Bengali prose of Rammohun Roy for example, remained incomprehensible to the uneducated peasants and artisans. Similarly in western India, the members of the Prarthana Samaj were the English-educated Chitpavan and Saraswat Brahmans, some Gujarati merchants and a few members of the Parsi community. In `1872` the Samaj had only sixty-eight members and about 150–200 sympathisers. And in Madras Presidency, where English education made much slower progress and caste domination of the Brahmans remained unshaken, the reform ideas took longer to appear. Indeed, the general high-caste character of the reform movements of the early nineteenth century explains to a large extent the relative silence on the caste question. Untouchability as an issue of social reform had to wait until the beginning of the twentieth century and the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in Indian public life after World War One. |
| What further structural limits — urban base, revivalism, colonial legislation from above — does the source stress? | No Mass Consciousness; Urban Phenomenon; Religious Revivalism’s Political Implications; Bentinck Fiat: The Reform Movements could not give rise to a mass-consciousness — the modern ideas or the ideas of the reformers could not percolate down to the Masses. At the most these movements were individual or organizational efforts and their impact remained restricted to the educated elite only. The movements were basically urban phenomena — their base remained in urban areas and the activities of the reformers too were confined to it. They could produce little impact on the rural folk. Indian reformers of this period wanted to rediscover reason and science in their own civilisation, and to reposition the modernisation project within a cultural space defined by Indian tradition. These new intellectual stirrings created a reform mentality that did not reject Indian tradition, but sought to change certain ‘unreasonable’ aspects of Hindu society, which did not conform to their new ‘rationalist’ image of a glorious Indian past. This provided legitimacy to the reform agenda of the Utilitarian reformers like William Bentinck. But since this mentality was still confined to a small circle of English-educated elite, the reform programme could hardly be expected to succeed. Indeed, in the early nineteenth century a series of social reforms followed, being mainly reform from above through government fiat. And as expected, these reforms remained on paper in most cases, as there was never any attempt to develop a modern social consciousness from below. The success of the reformers was not spectacular in concrete terms. Most of the traditional and irrational ethos continued. The association of some of these movements with religious revivalism proved to be a negative aspect as well. Religious revivalism associated some of the movements with orthodoxy and fundamentalism. It gave rise to the tendencies towards formation of religious solidarity which had wider political implications in the subsequent period. The reformers of the nineteenth century put a one-sided emphasis on the religious and philosophical aspects of the cultural heritage. These aspects were not a common heritage of all people. On the other hand, art and architecture, literature, music, science and technology etc. in which all sections of people had played an equal role were not sufficiently emphasised. Lacking in a broad social base, the reformers of the early nineteenth century thus exhibited an intrinsic faith in the benevolent nature of colonial rule and relied more on legislation for imposing reform from above. There was very little or no attempt to create a reformist social consciousness at the grass roots level, where religious revivalism later found a fertile ground. |
53. Colonial Character of Reform — Scripture Authority and Lata Mani’s “Women as Ground of Discourse”
53. Colonial Character of Reform — Scripture Authority and Lata Mani’s “Women as Ground of Discourse”
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How did colonial assumption that religion was encoded in scriptures structure the sati and related reform debates? | Civilising Mission as Restoring Shastras; Sati Grounded in Scripture; Women Marginal: Equally important is the colonial character of the reforms, as the Indian reformers’ positions in a significant way mirrored the colonial mind and therefore also the ambivalence of the colonial policy planners. The dominant colonial assumption of the time was that religion was the basis of Indian society and this religion was encoded in the scriptures. This colonial perception assumed a total submission of the indigenous society to the dictates of the scriptures. Social evils were thought to be the results of distortion of scriptures by self-seeking people, in this case the cunning Brahman priests who had a monopoly over this textual knowledge. The civilising mission of the colonial state was thus seen to lie in giving back to the natives the truths of their own little read and even less understood *shastras*. The whole debate over sati was grounded in scriptures: the colonial government decided to prohibit it only when it was convinced that the custom was not enjoined by the scriptures. As the colonial rulers gave supreme importance to scriptures, the Indian reformers too, as well as their detractors, referred to ancient religious texts to argue their respective cases. The brutality or the irrationality of the custom, or the plight of women, whom the reform was intended for, were lesser concerns in a debate, which was more on the definition of tradition. In Mani’s words, “women are neither subjects nor objects but, rather, the ground of the discourse on sati; … women themselves are marginal to the debate.” The same thing can be said of the debate on widow remarriage and later, on the prohibition of female infanticide. The scriptures, lately valorised by the Orientalists, thus provided legitimacy for social reforms and women were denied agency in their own emancipation. |
→ Opposite Views — Roy’s Humanism, Pre-Colonial Rationalism and Jaffrelot’s Formulation
→ Opposite Views — Roy’s Humanism, Pre-Colonial Rationalism and Jaffrelot’s Formulation
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why is it improper to say Indian reformist discourses merely reflected colonial formulations? | Humanistic Pleas; Clinching Feminist Arguments; Persian Pre-Colonial Rationalism; Ambivalence after Calcutta: This brings us to the inner tensions of colonial modernity, as it is not proper to say that the Indian reformist discourses just reflected some colonial formulations. The early writings of Rammohun Roy are indeed full of “humanistic pleas” to ameliorate the conditions of Indian womanhood. He talked of scriptures when advocating the abolition of sati, as that was how he could sell his reform to a cautious colonial government and to a reticent Hindu society reluctant to accept change. But this traditionalism notwithstanding, his “clinching arguments” anticipated the idiom and stances of contemporary feminism. Roy’s rationalism was indeed pre-colonial. In his early writings in Persian he had taken a totally rational approach to religion that nearly amounted to a negation of religion itself. However, after his contact with Christianity and Western free-trade thinking in Calcutta, he became more moderate or perhaps more ambivalent. Although Indian modernisers looked towards the colonial state for support and direction and post-Enlightenment rationality shaped their visions, they could neither leave their tradition, nor forget their Indian identity. The Indian modernisation project therefore always felt a compulsion to construct a modernity that would be located within Indian cultural space. To summarise their position in Christophe Jaffrelot’s words, they “undertook to reform their society and its religious practices in order to adapt them to Western modernity while preserving the core of Hindu tradition.” It was through this project that the cultural essence of Indian nationhood, its difference from the colonising West, were gradually imagined by the Indian intelligentsia. However, the inherent ambivalence or tensions within this cultural enterprise later made it appear weak and rendered it vulnerable to the more aggressive assertion of tradition in the late nineteenth century. This later cultural movements too were involved in a complex intellectual project of interrogating and adjusting at the same time to the colonial constructs of Indian tradition. |
54. Mains Q — Was the 19th Century Socio-Religious Reform Movement a Renaissance?
54. Mains Q — Was the 19th Century Socio-Religious Reform Movement a Renaissance?
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| How is European Renaissance defined, and what is View I (Sushobhan Sircar/Sarkar) that Indian reform was Renaissance? | European 13th–16th c. Frame; Sushobhan Sircar “Notes on Bengal Renaissance”: Renaissance refers to a movement in Europe — 13th to 16th century — which was essentially a new attitude of mind, new reason, new outlook, characterized by elements of rationalism, humanism and this new outlook found expression in various fields like literature, European discoveries, painting, sculpture, architecture, science etc. Sometimes 19th century socio-religious reform movements of India are also termed as Renaissance. View I: It was Renaissance. Most representative historian is Sushobhan Sircar (also Sushobhan Sarkar). He wrote an essay — “Notes on Bengal Renaissance.” He considers the movement representing the renaissance phenomenon of Europe. The basis of such considerations are the elements of rationalism, humanism and new vision in 19th century reforms movements. |
| What is View II (Varun Dey, Sumit Sarkar, K.N. Panikkar) that it was not Renaissance, and what is the synthesis conclusion? | Urban/Regional Confinement; Ideological Contradictions; Socio-Religious Limits; Limited-Sense Conclusion:View II: It was not Renaissance. Representative historians are Varun Dey, Sumit Sircar / Sumit Sarkar, K.N. Panikar / Panikkar. The basis of the arguments are: the movement confined to urban areas and a few regional regions; absence of unity of ideas and there were ideological contradictions in the movement — there was a modernism and traditionalist contradiction because the reformers got associated with both (e.g. Raja Ram Mohan Roy — Upanishads as well as Western education); the movement remained confined to socio-religious issues; the expressions of the movement were limited — visible in the field of reforms and literature only. Conclusion: In a limited sense, it can be considered as Renaissance because it presents a new vision, a new outlook and in general it can be considered as modernism. |
55. Mains Q — Recasting Old Religion (Hinduism) into a New Form for New Society
55. Mains Q — Recasting Old Religion (Hinduism) into a New Form for New Society
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Why did 19th-century religious reform necessarily extend to reconstructing social institutions? | Religion and Social Structure Organically Interwoven; Gender Critique of Mill; Cultural Defence: The programmes of religious reform movements in the 19th century were not restricted to the task of merely reforming religion but extended to that of the reconstruction of social institutions and social relations. This was due to the fact that in India religion and social structure were organically interwoven. Nowhere in the world did religion dominate and determine the life of the individual as in India. Caste hierarchy, sex inequality, untouchability, and social taboos flourished because of the sanction of the religion. Social reform, consequently, constituted a part of the platform of all religious reform movements and this was equally true of Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramkrishna Mission, Theosophical Society in Hinduism as also among the Muslims, the Parsis and the Sikhs. The reform movements provided a cultural defence against the assault of the colonial culture. They played a significant role in quest and struggle for new identity. By interpreting their religious past in modern rational terms and by weeding out many of the corrupting and irrational elements from the 19th century religious beliefs and practices, the reformers enabled their followers to meet the official taunt that religion and society were decadent and inferior. Indian civilisation was despised because it assigned such a low status to women. This gender question was a key issue for James Mill condemning Indian civilisation in his The History of British India. So, the Indian intelligentsia also responded to this civilisational critique by advocating and supporting reforms to improve the status of women in Indian society. |
| How did Rammohan Roy, Dayanand, Prarthana Samaj and Neo-Hinduism each recast Hinduism? | Vedanta Monotheism; Vedas as “Religion of the Book”; Gradualism; Advaita Neo-Hinduism:Rajarammohan Roy contested the missionary claim of superiority of Christianity and he tried to reform Hinduism in the light of reason, by going back to its purist form as enshrined in the Vedanta texts. He condemned idolatry, priestcraft and polytheism and translated the Upanishads into Bangla to demonstrate that ancient Hindu scriptures themselves propagated monotheism. In this way he endeavoured to recast Hinduism into a new form suited to meet the needs of the new society. Dayanand Saraswati also tried to recast Hinduism as an aggressive response to the Western culture. He invoked the authority of the Vedas as the most authentic Indian religious texts, and sought to purge Hinduism of all its post-Vedic accretions. His discourse had the Western Orientalist touch that tried to project Hinduism as a “religion of the book,” like Christianity and Islam. He claimed that the Vedas alone contained “scientific truths,” and therefore, the religion based on these texts was superior to Christianity and Islam. On the authority of the Vedas, he attacked idolatry, polytheism, ritualistic religion dominated by the Brahman priests, condemned child marriage and stood for widow remarriage, inter-caste marriages and female education. He also denounced untouchability, and repudiated caste system; but at the same time, he upheld the fourfold varna division, thus retaining the core of the Indian social organisation. Similarly, the goal of Prarthana Samaj was not to break with the past and cease all connection with our society and thus recasting Hinduism to achieve gradual changes in the society. Neo-Hinduism was interpretations of Hinduism that developed in the 19th century to incorporate western ideas into traditional Indian religions, especially Advaita Vedanta, which is asserted as central or fundamental to Hindu culture and the main exponents were Ramkrishna Paramhans, Vivekananda, Theosophical Society. They attempted to recast Hinduism and regain the glory of Ancient India to counter the colonial narrative which considered Indian society degenerated. |
→ English Education and Scientific Rationalist Mentality (Cross-Reference)
→ English Education and Scientific Rationalist Mentality (Cross-Reference)
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Where is the full English-education → scientific rationalist mentality → social reform agenda answer placed in this note? | Section 42 Already Holds Full Mains Answer Body: The source’s dedicated Mains question — “How English education led to rise of scientific rationalist mentality in India which in turn translated into social reform agenda?” — is fully placed under Section 42 of this note (English Education, Scientific Rationalist Mentality and the Language of Reform). That block retains the full analytical chain: selective adoption of English knowledge; prism of reason, utility, progress and justice; science as “universal sign of modernity and progress” and authoritative “language of reform”; Society for Translating European Sciences `1825`; Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge `1838`; IACS `1876` (Mahendra Lal Sircar); Banaras Debating Club `1861`; Aligarh Scientific Society `1864`; Bihar Scientific Society `1868`; legitimacy for Bentinck Utilitarian reforms; elite confinement and reform-from-above remaining on paper without consciousness from below. No content from that source passage is omitted from this file; it is consolidated once to avoid duplicate blocks. |
UPSC Relevance
UPSC Relevance
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| What Mains angles does this note support under Modern Indian History — Ram Mohan–Brahmo–Prarthana–Vidyasagar–Young Bengal–Arya–Theosophy–Ramakrishna–Sikh–Parsi reform, Islamic revivalism, Aligarh–Muslim League, Renaissance synthesis and historiography, press, Western education, Orientalism, colonial science and Christian missions? | Key Angles UPSC Targets:
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I'll check existing Cornell Notes patterns in the repo so the conversion matches the established VitePress format.I have the full 551–820 block and the established Cornell/details pattern. Converting every PYQ and topic in that range into clean VitePress + Cornell Notes markdown now.## Mains PYQ Analyses: Santhal Hool; French Failure; Periodisation; Nehru’s Temples; 1857; Orientalism; Charter Act 1833; Left-Wing Congress; Railways; Aruna Asaf Ali; Act of 1858; Renaissance; Commercialisation; Bassein; Revolutionaries
Mains PYQ Analyses: Santhal Hool; French Failure; Periodisation; Nehru’s Temples; 1857; Orientalism; Charter Act 1833; Left-Wing Congress; Railways; Aruna Asaf Ali; Act of 1858; Renaissance; Commercialisation; Bassein; Revolutionaries
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Q: “The Santhal hool began in July `1855`. The core of the movement was economic, the basic cause of the uprising was agrarian discontent.” – Elucidate. | Damani-Koh Settlement; Diku Oppression; Bonded Labour; Sidhu–Kanhu; Santal Parganas Tenancy Act `1856`: Historically, the Santhals were settled in Damani-Koh (forested hilly areas of Rajmahal Hills) in the present day Jharkhand in what was then known as the Bengal Presidency. The Santals were good cultivators and possessed good pieces of agricultural land. They were engaged in their agrarian way of life by clearing the forest and by hunting for subsistence. When new colonial rule of the British East India Company claimed their rights on the lands of the Santhals, they retreated to reside in the Rajmahal hills. After a brief period, the British along with the local landlords and zamindars [outsiders (Diku)] started claiming their rights in this new land as well. The Santhal tribes were turned into bonded labor by the zamindars and the money lenders who first appeared to them as businessmen and traders and had allured them by lending them money and goods. However hard a Santal tried to repay these loans, they never ended. The alienation of land, oppressive land revenue extraction, extraction of other dues and prevalence of bonded labour destroyed the way of life of the Santhal and caused agrarian discontent along with the loss of freedom and respect among the Santhals. The Santal hool or Santhal uprising started when the Santhals finally took oath to launch an attack on the British colonial rule, zamindars and money lenders. In July `1855`, two Santhal leaders, Sidhu and Kanhu, mobilized thousands of Santhals and declared a rebellion against the colonists. Many money lenders and native agents of the Company were killed with their primitive weapons. But finally, the British, equipped with modern weapons and tactics, brutally crushed the revolt; the two celebrated Santhal leaders Sidhu and Kanhu were killed. Over 20,000 Santhal tribes were killed and several villages were destroyed. However British passed the Santal Parganas Tenancy Act, `1856` which tried to appease the Santhals by giving some sort of protection to them from the colonial exploitation. Santal Pargana was born, land alienation was checked, the regular police was abolished and the local administration was vested in the hands of locals and village headman. Hence the Santhal hool had economic reasons at its core causing the agrarian discontent and it was attempted to be solved by British through an agrarian act i.e. Santal Parganas Tenancy Act. |
| Q: Compared to their English counterpart, the French East India Company enjoyed little discretionary power and had to always look up to Paris for all major decisions. This partly explains the failure of the French in India. Evaluate critically. | State Company vs Joint-Stock Autonomy; Neglect; Politics over Commerce; Poverty at Zenith; Other Factors:Difference in nature of French East India Company and English East India Company:
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| Q: The current practice of categorization of ‘Early Modern India’ is based on a shift from the old imperialist periodization of ‘Muslim India’–‘British India’ to the more secularist one of ‘Medieval India’–‘Modern India’, which puts Indian history in a Universalist chronological structure. Critically examine. | James Mill’s Communal Periodisation; Secular Ancient–Medieval–Modern; Marxist Subaltern Turn; Limits of Universalist Frame: Historians divide history into different periods when they intend to highlight the central characters of a certain period. From this angle, breaking down a country’s history to different periods appears logical and appropriate. Such description helps the reader to understand how the society, its customs, economy, religion and art changed as the country passed from one era to the next. The imperialist historiography had divided period of Indian history into Hindu, Muslim and British period which was clearly based on communal lines and supremacy of British Crown over India (in case of British India). Famous 19th century utilitarian philosopher and historian James Mill in his book A History of British India had for the first time divided India’s history into three periods: Hindu, Muslim and British. Muslim period was considered as dark period while Hindu period was glorified, but it was an imperialist design to legitimize the British rule while claiming to liberate ancient Indian civilization from medieval dark period. This periodization was also favored by Hindu nationalist historians. This kind of periodization is criticized due to the following reasons:
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| Q: “Nehru’s ‘temple of Modern India’ consisted not only of steel and power plants, irrigation dams, but included institutions of higher learning, particularly in the scientific field.” Elaborate. [30 Marks] | Bhakra Nangal `1954`; PSEs as Modern Temples; IPR `1956`; SPR `1958`; IITs; Nuclear and Space Foundations: In `1954`, Nehru, while inaugurating Bhakra Nangal Dam, had described public sector enterprises (PSEs) as ‘temples of modern India’. Nehru declared that India’s economic policy must be based on a humane outlook and must not sacrifice men for money. They were called ‘Modern Temples’ because: (1) PSEs, working in areas like dams, steel and power plants were conceived as instruments to bring socio-economic transformation of the country. (2) They were important for the nation building, national integration and self reliance. Following steps were taken in this direction: (1) Big dams like Bhakra Nangal, Hirakud were built. (2) Iron and Steel Plants were established in Bhilai, Durgapur, Rourkela and Bokaro. (3) Industry was made priority area in the second five year plan. (4) Industrial Policy Resolution `1956` defined areas for public and private sector. Important objectives of building these modern temples were to create infrastructure, absorb technology, encourage innovation, generate employment, solving socio-economic problems etc. To fulfil these objectives, ‘temples of modern India’ were not just limited to building dams and plants but also included creating institutions of higher learning particularly scientific institutions. Without these institutions, it was not possible to create highly trained manpower, scientists, engineers etc. to work in PSEs or to contribute in any other way in building modern India and socio-economic transformation of India. This was also necessary for self reliance. Following important steps were taken in this direction:
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| Q: “The military, feudal and traditional overtones of the Revolt of `1857` were overshadowed by its nationalist or proto-nationalist character.” Critically examine. | First War of Independence Thesis; Military/Feudal/Traditional Layers; Seeds of Nationalism: Majority of Indian historians and leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vir Savarkar etc. considered the revolt of `1857` as the first war of Indian Independence. Many consider the war as proto-nationalistic because nationalism in modern sense had not developed at that time. Logic behind calling the revolt as nationalistic or proto-nationalistic were the following: (a) Since the end of alien rule was the chief purpose, in this sense the revolt of `1857` was national war for freedom. (b) This revolt could not spread so rapidly if it had not been supported by the people. (c) Both the Hindus and Muslims took part in this revolt moved by national sentiments. (d) A large number of common people including women took part or supported the revolt. But this nationalistic or proto-nationalistic overtone overshadowed military, feudal and traditional overtone of revolt. There are views that it was military uprising. The sepoys revolted due to their own personal grievances and religious sentiments. The Indian soldiers could not hope to rise in the hierarchy of the Army as the higher posts in the army were reserved for European Officers. They were discriminated in the matter of salary and promotion. The Indian soldiers were asked to fight outside India, across the sea, which offended their religious sentiments. The immediate cause of revolt was the issue of greased cartridges which were said to be made with fat of cows and pigs. Some considered it as feudal in nature because by means of this revolt all those discontented native rulers and landlords wanted to regain their territory, jagirs and pensions which the various Governor-Generals had confiscated. There are other traditional reasons of the revolt like local economic, religious and other grievances of different sections of the society like peasants and tribes. It is true that the revolt had military, feudal and traditional overtones but these elements in 19th century India should not be seen in isolation. The sepoys had close kinship relations with the agrarian population and this population shared a common grief with feudal elements of society like local rulers and zamindars. Though it would be very hard to justify the revolt as having nationalistic character as the revolt was mostly limited to northern India, there was limited participation of local rulers as well as common man and it was mostly based on personal interests of the local rulers. But at the same time, the revolt had the seeds of nationalism which paved the way for the emergence of nationalism and strong nationalist movement later on. Hence it can be concluded that whatever may be the original character of the rebellion, it soon became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British power. It remained a shining example before the nascent nationalism in India in its struggle for freedom from British Yoke. |
| Q: “In `1857`, the rebel sepoys showed a remarkable centripetal tendency to congregate at Delhi.” Do you agree? Substantiate. | Meerut to Red Fort; Bahadur Shah as Rallying Point; Convenience not Conspiracy; Political Meaning of Revolt: In May `1857`, the Sepoys revolted in Meerut and then marched to Delhi and entered the Red Fort. They appealed to the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II to lead the revolt. The provisional government was set up in Delhi under Mughal Emperor. Mughal Emperor was weak with no real power but still suddenly became the rallying point of the rebels. The news of the events at Delhi spread rapidly, provoking uprisings among sepoys and disturbances in many districts. It is from Delhi that the sepoys moved to different parts joining local rebels. It is argued that the rebel sepoys showed a centripetal tendency to congregate at Delhi from different parts of India to fight against British under Mughal Emperor. This tendency can be explained through the following reasons:
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| Q: “Orientalism produced a knowledge of the past to service the needs of the Colonial States.” Elucidate. | Hastings `1773`–`1832`; Reverse Acculturation; Fort William; Jones–Müller Kinship Rhetoric; Exceptions: British Orientalism in India was the 18th century administrative policy of the East India Company favouring the preservation of Indian languages, laws and customs. The period of Orientalism can be said to begin from `1773` with Warren Hastings being appointed the Governor General of the East India Company and extends upto `1832`, when the East India Company government made English education compulsory in India and brought the Orientalist phase to a close. The fundamental principle of this tradition was that the conquered people were to be ruled by their own laws. It therefore needed to produce knowledge about Indian society, a process which is often called “reverse acculturation”, whereby the dominant society (i.e. the British) acculturated themselves to the colonized society (i.e. Indian society). Orientalism was not knowledge of the Orient produced by Englishmen sympathetic to the cultures of the East but it was knowledge meant to serve the need of the colonial state because of the following reasons:
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| Q: “The Charter Act of `1833` rung down the curtain on the company’s trade and introduced a new concept of government in India.” Substantiate. | End of Commerce; Trust for Crown; Centralisation; Separation of Powers; Macaulay; Open Competition; Slavery; Colonisation: The Charter Act of `1833` was passed by the British Parliament when the Charter Act of `1813` ran out in `1833`. It extended the royal Charter granted to the East India Company for 20 more years. This Act is considered as a landmark in the constitutional development in India as it put end to the Company’s trade and introduced a new concept of government. The Charter Act of `1833` rung down the curtain on the company’s trade: The Charter ended the Commercial activities of East India company and it became a purely administrative body and no longer a commercial body. Company was to rule over India in the name of British crown as the Act provided that the company’s territories in India were held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty’. The Company lost its monopoly on trade with China and trade with tea. With this, monopolies in trade were eliminated and other British Companies were allowed to trade freely with India in all commodities along with other Far East countries. The Charter Act of `1833` introduced a new concept of government in India:
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| Q: “The emergence of left-wing group in the congress radicalized its social economic agenda.” Critically evaluate. | Post-WWI Emergence; CSP `1934`; Karachi `1931`; Faizpur `1936`; NPC `1938`; Limits of Compromise: The leaders of the Congress were aware of Socialism from the beginning. Dadabhai Naoroji, for example, had close contacts with British Socialists and attended the International Socialist Conference in Amsterdam in `1904`. But still early leaders did not seriously concern themselves with the Socialist ideology as it encouraged class struggle. The clear emergence of the left-wing group occurred during the post-First World War years of recession — the period in which the rising prices of commodities and increasing repression of the Government played havoc with the lives of Indians. The sudden withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement left many frustrated and some of them in Congress chose the path of socialism. The emergence of left wing leaders like Nehru and Bose who were elected Congress presidents and the formation of Congress Socialist Party in `1934` within the Congress helped in turning the socio-economic agenda of the Congress to left. Radicalisation of socio-economic agenda of Congress:
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| Q: “Railway development in India provides an interesting instance of private enterprise at public risk.” Critically evaluate. | Dalhousie Railway Minute `1853`; 5% Guarantee; 99-Year Lease; Multiplier to Britain; Later Corrections: The construction of Railways in India by British colonists was entirely for the purpose of furthering the British interest. Lord Dalhousie took great interest in railway projects for military and economic reasons. He thought that railway would increase striking power of the British forces, bring British capital and enterprise into India and provide access of ports to the interior part of the country which would provide British with the better access to raw materials for British manufacturing and new Indian market for British goods. Dalhousie gave the overall development plan of the railway in his Railway Minute of `1853`. Under Dalhousie’s plan, railway construction was undertaken by British private enterprise under the supervision and the control of the Government. The railway projects provide an instance of private enterprise at public risk due to the following reasons:
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| Q: “The active participation of Aruna Asaf Ali in `1942` movement symbolized the role of women in India’s freedom struggle.” Critically evaluate. | Gowalia Tank Flag; Underground Inquilab; Heroine of `1942`; Limited Supportive Roles Elsewhere: Aruna Asaf Ali was a woman freedom fighter who in a short time gained prominent position among the freedom fighters. She was inclined towards Socialism. During civil disobedience movement she broke the salt law and was imprisoned. She was not released under Gandhi–Irwin pact `1931` by stating her as a vagrant. She launched a hunger strike in Tihar jail in `1932` against the indifferent treatment of political prisoners but she was moved to Ambala jail but was later released. On August 8 `1942` Bombay session Congress passed quit India resolution. British arrested all the prominent leaders of the congress working committee and thus tried to pre-empt the movement from success. Aruna Asaf Ali presided over the remainder of the session on 9 August and hoisted the Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan. This marked the commencement of the movement. Infuriated by her strong rebellious action, the police attacked the assembly, targeting tear gas at the people and trampling the flag that she had hoisted. However, the damage was done as there were sparks of protests and demonstrations all over the country. The Quit India Movement of `1942` was different from rest of the movements of freedom struggle because: 1. It lacked Organized Leadership 2. It was spontaneous 3. There was clarity on Objectives but not on Methods 4. Oppression by Government was at its heights 5. There were moral dilemmas and differences in ideologies. Amid all these difficulties, Aruna Asaf Ali’s work in the movement symbolized the courage and commitment of a woman towards liberating the nation. With the aim to organize the resistance movement, she moved from Bombay to Delhi. However, with the danger of being caught by the police who hunted for her, she went underground, thus escaping seizure. It was while being underground that she edited Congress party’s monthly magazine Inquilab. In `1944`, she urged the Indian youth to stop the futile discussion of violence and non-violence and participate actively in the freedom struggle. She even turned down Gandhi’s advice to surrender while leading underground revolutionary activities. The earlier involvement of women was more of a supportive nature with instances that rose them to level as leadership seen as occasional. But, by the time of Quit India Movement, the active participation of women like Aruna Asaf Ali have proved again and again of the higher responsibilities women can assume for nation. It was this gallant behaviour that earned her the title of ‘Heroine of `1942`’ movement. Though the role played by her symbolized the role of women in India’s freedom struggle, role of women was quite limited and mostly of supporting nature. When non-cooperation movement started in `1921`, Gandhi initially prescribed a limited role for women, i.e., that of boycott and swadeshi. Even in Civil Disobedience Movement, Gandhi did not want to include women in his original core group of volunteers on the Dandi march. The Congress never included women in any decision making process. A frustrated Sarala Devi therefore had to lament that Congress wanted them to be law breakers only and not law makers. Other shortcoming was that even as the participation of women in anti-imperialist movement increased, they did not use the occasion to raise issues that affected them as women like social and economic discrimination vis-a-vis men. |
| Q: “In terms of administrative structure, the government of India act of `1858`, meant more continuation than change.” Do you agree? Substantiate. | Company already Subservient; Secretary of State; Viceroy Name Change; Continuity of ICS; Policy Shifts in Army and Patronage: Although in India demands were always raised for the abolition of the Company rule, earlier the British government was not so sure about such a measure. The charter of `1833` was renewed in `1853`, but this time not for another twenty years like earlier. The Company was allowed to retain the Indian possessions “in trust for Her Majesty, her heirs and successors until Parliament shall otherwise provide”, thus keeping the door open for a future takeover. The Company’s control over appointments was curtailed by the introduction of competition for the recruitment of the Indian Civil Service. Already deprived of its commercial privileges, the Company hereafter hardly ever controlled policies in India. Since the act did not give it the right to govern for the next twenty years, the House of Commons with greater ease could formally abolish Company administration in India in `1858`; the immediate occasion for this final stroke was of course provided by the revolt of `1857`. The revolt made the English people more aware of the Indian situation and generated popular support for the perpetuation as well as reorganisation of British rule there. Since `1833`, many English traders and settlers had also developed a vested interest in India and their persistent complaint was that the Company had been neglecting their interests. In other words, both at home and in India there had been now considerable pressure for the abolition of the Company Raj and the establishment of Crown rule. The government of India Act, `1858` ended the East India Company’s rule in India and brought it directly under the British Crown. However, in terms of the administrative structure, the Government of India Act of `1858`, which followed the pacification of the revolt, meant more continuation than change:
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| Q: Discuss the extent to which the Indian Renaissance Movement contributed towards the rise of nationalist consciousness. | Cultural Defence; Dayanand’s Swaraj; Vivekananda’s Patriotism; Anti-Caste Oneness; Nehru on Middle Class Roots: Indian Renaissance Movement was the 19th century social and religious reform movement which gave birth not only to various socio-religious movements but affected every aspect of Indian life. This movement had impact on political sphere also and contributed to the rise of national consciousness, though indirectly. Extent of the contribution of Renaissance Movement towards the rise of national consciousness can be explained by the following points:
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| Q: To what extent did the process of commercialization of agriculture affect the rural scene in India? | Inequality; Moneylenders; Food Decline; Regional Specialisation; World Market Link; Famines; Peasant Revolts; Progressive Side:Extent upto which the process of Commercialisation of agriculture affected the rural India:
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| Q: “The treaty of Bassein, by its direct and indirect operations, gave the Company the Empire of India.” Comment. | Sidney Owen Thesis; Subsidiary at Poona; 26 Lakh Cession; Weakened Confederacy; Castlereagh Criticism: The Treaty of Bassein was concluded in `1802` between the British East India Company and the Peshwa Baji Rao II, when Peshwa Baji Rao II fled to British protection after having been defeated by Holkar. The treaty was not acceptable to leading Maratha chiefs and hence followed by 2nd Anglo Maratha war (`1803–1806`). Sidney Owen holds that “the Treaty by its direct and indirect operations gave the Company the Empire of India”. The reasons can be explained as the following:
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| Q: Describe the changing nature of revolutionary activities in India between `1905`–`1946`. [First phase outline from source block] | Akharas and Secret Societies; Swadeshi Surge; Anushilan and Yugantar; Kingsford Bomb; Barrah Dacoity: The revolutionary movement can be divided into three phases which had different characters. The first phase (`1897–1910`): Akharas or gymnasia that propagated a ‘physical culture’ and an interest in militant politics were set up in many parts of Bengal in the 1860s and 1870s. These were the precursors to the earliest secret societies in Bengal which came up around `1902`, three in Calcutta and one in Midnapore. The Midnapore Secret Society was founded by the brothers Jnanendranath and Satyendranath Basu, and Hemchandra Kanungo; Sarala Ghoshal started a gymnasium for sword and lathi-play to train revolutionaries for action; the Atmonnati Samiti was set up by Nibaran Bhattacharya among others and the Anushilan Samiti was set up by Satishchandra Basu. However, it was the popular upsurge of the Swadeshi Movement in `1905` that marked a sudden increase in the activities of these secret societies and the birth of many more. The Dacca chapter of the Anushilan Samiti was founded by Pulinbehari Das in `1906`. In Dacca and Midnapore, the Swadeshi movement was stage-managed by secret societies. In `1906` Hemchandra Kanungo travelled to Europe to train with revolutionaries. Aurobindo and Charuchandra Dutta started a weekly called Yugantar. They had set up a religious school and bomb making factory at Manicktala, and also used Hemchandra’s expertise in this regard, freshly acquired from his trip to Europe. The first successful assassination was undertaken by Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki. These two young members of the Samiti had thrown a bomb at a carriage they had believed was carrying the magistrate Kingsford, but it had killed the wife and daughter of a barrister, Pringle Kennedy. Within 36 hours, the whole group had been rounded up and arrested, except Aurobindo and Hemchandra. Prafulla shot himself and Khudiram was sent to the gallows. This incident was followed by a series of killings in retaliation. At the same time the Dacca Anushilan Samiti made its presence felt with the Barrah dacoity in `1908`. |