8th History Notes NCERT CBSE part-2

8^th History NCERT (2^nd part)

1. Weavers, Iron smelters and Factory Owners

Chapter focuses on textile( declined in late 19^th century) and Iron & steel industry (steel declined during mid 19^th century; while iron industry declined at the end of 19^th century)end of 1

-Mechanized production of Cotton made Britain foremost industrial nation in the 19^th century (1800-1900).

-It came to be known as “Workshop of the World” when its Iron & steel industry started growing in 1850s.

-Relation between industrialisation & colonisation of India:

During late 18^th century East India Company bought goods in India and exported them to the markets of England & Europe. With the growth of Industry in Britain, industrialists began to see India as a huge market for their manufactured goods & as time passed goods made in Britain flooded Indian markets.

Indian Textiles and the world market:

-Muslin: European traders first encountered cotton from India carried by Arab merchants in Mosul (Present day Iraq). So they began referring finely woven textiles as “muslin”.

-Calico: When Portuguese first arrived in India, they landed in Kerala at Calicut. The cotton textiles which they took back along with spices came to be known as “calico”. Gradually all the cotton textiles came to be known as Calico.

-Chintz, cossaes (khassa), bandanna: Printed cotton cloths. Chintz comes from an Hindi word “chhint” meaning a small cloth with colourful and flowery patterns

Bandanna derived from Bandhna (tying): variety of brightly coloured cloth through a method of tying and dying.

Indian Textiles in European market:

By the early 18^th century i.e. 1700s worried by the popularity of the Indian textiles and due to the protest by the wool & silk makers, British govt banned the import of chintz and enacted the Calico Act in 1720.

English producers wanted secure market for their products by getting the Indian textiles banned in England.

1764: Invention of Spinning jenny by John Kaye increased the productivity

178: Invention of Steam engine by Richard Arkwright increased the quantity produced further and cheaply too.

Weavers:

Tanti weavers: Bengal

Julahas or momin weavers:  North India

Sale, kaikollars and devangs of south India

Spinning was mostly done by women

Weaving was mostly done by men.

Rangrez: For coloured textiles the thread was dyed by a dyer known as rangrez.

Chhipigars: For printed cloth weavers required help of specialist block printers known as chhipigars.

Decline of Indian Textiles:

Causes:

1). Due to development of cotton industries in Britain. Textiles now had to compete with British textiles in European and American markets

2). Import duties were hiked in Britain making it difficult to export cotton to Britain.

In the beginning of 19^th century i.e. 1800s English goods forced Indian goods out of European markets and rendered Indian weavers jobless. Weavers who lost their jobs became agricultural labourers; some migrated to cities and some to work on plantations in Africa & South America. Some found work in cotton mills setup in Bombay, Sholapur, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Kanpur.

1830s: British Cotton cloth flooded Indian markets.

1880s: 2/3^rd of cloth worn by Indians was made in Britain.

Handloom industry survived because certain types of cloth could not be manufactured by the machines and the coarse cloth used by poor people was not manufactured by the British.

Cotton Mills coming up:

1854: 1^st cotton mill as spinning Mill came up in Bombay. Why?

Because it was close to the vast black soil tract of Western India where cotton was grown. Raw material was available with ease.

1861: 1^st mill in Ahmedabad was started.

1900: 84 Mills started operating in Bombay. These were estb by Parsi and Gujarati businessmen.

The growth in cotton mills led to an increased demand for labour. Peasants, agricultural labourers and artisans moved to cities to work in these mills.

Problems faced by Indian textile industry:

1). It found difficult to compete with the cheap textiles imported from Britain.

2). Colonial govt refused the protection to local industries and didn’t impose any heavy import duties as was being done by other govts all around the world.

It was during the 1^st world war that the supply from Britain declined and Indian insutries were called upon to supply the military.

Wootz: High carbon steel produced in South India

Wootz is an anglicised version of the Kannada word “ukku”, Telugu word “hukku” & Tamil and Malyalam word “urukku”

The Wootz steel making process was lost by mid 19^th century i.e. 1850s. The words and armour making industry died with the British conquest of India & imports of British iron and steel displaced Indian iron and steel.

Steel making died in India but iron smelting was common until the end of 19^th century i.e. 1900s

In Bihar and Central India, every district had iron smelters that used local iron ore deposits to produce iron which was widely used to manufacture tools and implements of daily use.

By late 19^th century i.e. the craft & iron smelting declined:

1). Due to new forest laws which made it difficult for iron smelters to enter forest and get wood for charcoal and iron ore. Even if they were allowed they had to pay high taxes for the furnaces they used, which forced many to look for other means of livelihood.

2). Moreover, by the late 19^th century Ironsmiths began to use the imported iron to manufacture utensils and implements which lowered the demand for the iron produced by the local iron smelters.

TISCO was setup in 1912.

Large forest area along the banks of River Subarnarekha was cleared and an industrial township called “Jamshedpur” was setup.

Like with the cotton mills, Indian steel & iron industry’s  growth was made possible by the decline in the British imports and the consequential increase in the market for Indian industrial goods. During the 1^st world war when British steel industry had to supply for war and steel requirements in India was solely fulfilled by TISCO.

By 1919 British govt was buying 90% of the steel manufactured by TISCO.

The Meiji regime in Japan in 1868 during late 19^th century laid down several policies to encourage local industries as it believed that Japan needed to industrialise in order to resist Western domination. Colonial govt create barriers to industrialisation of India while in Japan the fear of foreign conquest spurred Industrialisation. This also meant that Japanese industrial development from the beginning was linked to military needs.

Patola weave (mid 19^th century i.e.1850s): woven in Surat, Ahemdabad and Patan. Highly valued in Indonesia it became part of the local weaving tradition there.

Jamdaani weave (early 20^th century i.e. 1900s): Jamdani is a fine muslin on which decorative motifs are woven on the loom, typically in grey and white. Often a mixture of cotton and gold thread was

used. The most important centres of Jamdani weaving were Dacca in Bengal and Lucknow in the United Provinces

Bandanna patterns were mostly produced in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Agarias: community who specialised in iron smelting

2.Civilising the “Native”, educating the Nation

British & Indian Education:

1783: William Jones arrived in Calcutta. He was a linguist and a junior SC judge.

Asiatic society of Bengal: Started by William Jones

Asiatick Researches: A journal started by William Jones

-Officials like William Jones, Henry Colebrooke were Orientalists.

Orientalists: Those with a scholarly knowledge of language and culture of Asia.

Views of Orientalists:

1). they shared a deep respect for the ancient cultures, both Indian and the West and believed that Indian civilisation had attained its glory in the past and declined.

2). Understanding of ancient sacred & legal texts was to be fundamental for future development of India.

3). The discovery and translation of sacred Indian texts would not only help Indians in rediscovering their past glory but also help British to better control them by understanding their culture.

4). They favoured setting up of schools where Indian language & texts were to be taught, not subjects alien to Indians. This would enable the British to win hearts and earn respect from the natives.

1781: a madrasa was set up in Calcutta to promote the learning of Arabic, Persian & Islamic law. Warren Hastings who believed that the ancient customs of the country and the oriental learning should be the basis of British rule in India, took the initiative to set up the madrasa and he favoured Orientalists.

1791: Banaras Hindu College was established to encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts that would be useful for the administration of the country.

Many English officials were against the orientalist view.

Criticism of Orientalists:

From early 19^th century i.e. 1800s the criticism of Orientalists became sharper , the govt policy of spending public money in promotion of  oriental education was criticised & following reasons were given by the likes of Thomas Babington Macaulay and James Mill for the same,

1). Knowledge of the east is full of errors, non-scientific, non-serious & light hearted

2).James Mill said that education’s aim ought to be to teach what was helpful & practical. So Indians should be taught Western scientific thought rather than ancient texts and poetry.

3).Macaulay considered Indians as uncivilised and they needed to be reformed. He emphasised need to teach English as it would make Indians aware of the developments in Western Science & Philosophy and in essence make them civilised & cultured.

As a result,

English Education Act 1835 was passed wherein,

-English was made medium of instruction for higher education.

-promotion of Calcutta madrasa and Benaras Sanskrit College was stopped.

1854: Woods’s Despatch was sent to Governor General of India by Charles Wood the president of the Board of Control of the company. It emphasised the practical benefits of European learning,

1). It will make them realize the advantages of expansion of trade and commerce and make them see the importance of developing the resources of the country.

2). Introduction to European ways would change their tastes & they will value British goods and demand of British goods will increase.

3). Improvement in the moral character of Indians & by making them truthful and hones it would provide honest civil servants.

Despatch also mentioned that text of the East was full of errors and it could not instil in people a sense of duty and commitment to work and requisite skills for administration.

Measures taken after Despatch:

-Education deptt was set up to control matters wrt education.

-Steps were taken to establish a system of University Education.

Stand of the Christian missionaries in India:

They were opposed to the idea of practical education and believed that education should attempt to improve the moral character and only Christian education was capable of doing so.

They established mission in an area under Danish East India company as English East India company feared that if they allowed missionaries a free run then people might get suspicious of their presence.

After 1857’s revolt British govt was reluctant to support missionary activity as they feared that it may enrage naive opinion.

Condition of Local schools:

The report of William Adam:

He was a Scottish missionary who toured the districts of Bengal and Bihar in 1830.

He was asked to prepare a report on the progress of the education in the vernacular.

His report noted that,

1). There were many paathshalas across the districts and they were run by either rich people, local community or a teacher himself.

2). Teacher decided what to teach. The timings were flexible like schools remained closed during harvest time when children worked in the fields. Due to this flexible system even peasants’ children could study.

3). Rich had to pay more while poor students paid less. No caste distinctions were followed in the school.

Still East India company is running things in India

After 1854, Company decided to bring order to & improve vernacular education. They took following measures,

1). It appointed govt pundits who were incharge of 3 to 4 schools and they were asked to submit periodic reports.

2). Fees was fixed. Timetable was imposed. Teaching was based on textbooks now and a system of annual examination to check the learning of students was introduced.

3). Timetable made it difficult for the children of the peasants to study as during harvest they had to go to their fields.

4). Those paathshalas which worked within the above criteria were given govt grants  while others did not.

Views of Mahatma Gandhi on Education:

Gandhiji believed that Western education has enslaved us.

1). He wanted an education that helps Indians recover their sense of dignity and self-respect.

2).Western education created a sense of inferiority amongst Indians making them see Western education as superior destroying the pride they had in their own culture. During national struggle he therefore asked the students to leave the British institutions to show that they were no longer willing to be enslaved.

3). He felt that Indian languages should be the medium of teaching. English language crippled Indians making them foreigners in their own lands and alienating them from the masses.

4).He said Western education focused on reading and writing while real learning is through lived experience and practical knowledge. He argued that education should develop a person’s mind and soul.

Rabindranath tagore’s views on Education:

1901: Started Santiniketan

1). He felt that creative learning could only be encouraged in a natural environment. So he opened his school 100kms away from Calcutta i.e. santiniketan or abode of peace where children living in harmony with nature could cultivate natural creativity.

Difference between Gandhiji’s and Tagore’s views on Education:

1).Gandhiji was highly critical of Western Education while Tagore wanted to combine the elements of Modern West civilization with what he saw as the best within Indian tradition.

2).Gandhiji was also critical of the western education’s worship of science and technology while Tagore emphasized a need to teach science along with art, poetry and music.

Education Act 1870:

It was only after passing of this act that schools were opened by the government and compulsory schooling was introduced. Before that most of the 19^th century there were very less schools run my missionaries or rich people.

3.Women, caste and reform

Working towards a change:

From early 19^th century i.e. 1800s the debates concerning social customs and practices took a new character due to,

1). Spread of new forms of communication. People could easily read books; pamphlets etc and discussions could reach a wider segment of people and so it became easier for such debates to be linked to movements for social change.

These debates were initiated by Indian reformers and reform groups.

Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833):

-Founded Brahmo Sabha (later known as Brahmo Samaj) in Calcutta.

His views:

-He felt that changes were necessary in society and unneeded practices should be done away with & the best way of doing so was t persuade people to give up old practices and adopt a new way of life.

-He was in favour of spread of Western Education and greater freedom & Equality for women.

-He wrote about how women have to bear the burden of domestic life and their lives are chained to kitchen only

-Campaign against Sati: Through his writings he showed that widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts. British supported his stand and the Sati was abolished in 1829

His strategy of referring and pointing to ancient texts to rubbish sati was employed by many reformers later on wherein they tried to find a verse in ancient texts to support their view against such harmful practices.

Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar:

-He used ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry

-In 1856, a law was passed permitting widow remarriage.

By 2^nd half of 19^th century i.e. after 1850s the movement for widow remarriage spread to other parts of country too.

-Hitakarni Samajam: In Telugu speaking areas of Madras presidency, Veerasalingam Pantulu formed an association for widow remarriage.

-In Bombay also the at the same time young intellectuals and reformers pledged to work for this cause

-In North India, Dayanand Saraswati formed Arya Samaj in 1875.

Despite above movements and associations widow remarriage was quite low in number as those widows who remarried were not accepted by the society.

Girls begin going to School:

-Schools were opened up in Calcutta by Vidyasagar and by others in Bombay.

-During mid 19^th century i.e. 1850s people were reluctant sending girls to school because they feared the corrupting influence of girls venturing out in the society. As a result, most of the women were home schooled throughout 19^th century.

-Schools were established in the later part of the 19^th century by Arya Samaj in Punjab and Jyotirao Phule in Maharashtra.

-Mumtaz Ali a reformer reinterpreted the verses from Koran to argue for women’s education.

-Urdu novels started to be written in the late 19^th century.

Women writing about women:

From the early twentieth century, Muslim women like the Begums of Bhopal played a notable role in

promoting education among women. They founded a primary school for girls at Aligarh.

Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta.

-She criticised conservative ideas and said that all religious leaders of every faith accorded an inferior place to women.

1880s:

Women’s percentage increased in universities. They began to write about condition of other women.

-Tarabai Shinde published “ Stripurushtulna” criticising social differences between men and women.

-Pandita Ramabai:

She was a Sanskrit scholar who criticised Hinduism for being oppressive towards women and wrote a book about miserable lives of upper caste Hindu women.

-She opened a widow home at Poona to provide shelter and trained them to help support themselves economically.

Reaction of Orthodox:

Orthodox Hindus and Muslims saw this whole movement of women and by the women as a threat to their traditional values and culture.

So, by the end of 19^th century women began writing books, magazines, opening schools and organizations for helping other women.

From early 20^th century they formed pressure groups to push their demands of female suffrage, better healthcare and education.

Law against Child marriage was passed in 1929 titled as Child marriage restraint Act. No man below 18 yrs and no woman below 16 yrs could be married.

Caste & Social Reform:

-Rammohun Roy translated an old Buddhist text that was critical of caste practice.

Prarthna Samaj: Founded by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang in 1867. It adhered to the tradition of Bhakti that believed in spiritual equality of all castes.

Paramhans Mandali: It was started by Dadoba Panderung in 1849. It was the first socio-religious organization of Maharashtra. It worked for the abolition of caste.

During 19^th century Christian missionaries also started opening schools for the tribals and lower caste children.

Villagers now were leaving for expanding cities and towns for new jobs. Roads, buildings, drains all had to be built there which demanded labour and they lower caste people saw the opportunity to escape the clutches of oppressive landowners.  Many went to work in the plantations at Assam, Indonesia, Mauritius and Trinidad.

Untouchable castes like Mahars found jobs in army in Mahar Regiment.

Madigas: Shoe makers in AP

Dublas: They worked for upper caste landowners, cultivated their fields and did odd jobs at the landlord’s house. They were from Gujarat.

Demand for Equality and Justice:

By 2^nd half of 19^th century i.e. after 1850s people from non-Brahmin caste began organizing movements against the caste discrimination and social equality & Justice.

Satnami Movement: Started by Ghasidas for improving the social status of leatherworkers

East Bengal: Haridas Thakur’s Matua sect worked among the Chandala cultivators. Haridas Thakur questioned Brahamanical texts that supported caste system.

Shri Narayan Guru: He was of Ezhava caste & proclaimed ideals of unity for his people. One caste, one religions, one god for humankind.

Jyotirao Phule:

-born in 1827

-A low caste leader; he studied in missionary schools.

-Argued against the Brahamanical claim of superiority since they were Aryans. He stated that Aryans were foreigners, who came, defeated the original children of this country.

-He said upper caste had no right to their land & power & in actuality land belonged to indigenous people, the so called, low castes.

-Claimed that before Aryan rule there was a golden age when peasant warriors tilled lands and ruled the Maratha countryside

-He proposed that Shudras and Atishudras should unite to challenge the caste discrimination

-Satyashodhak Samaj: founded by Phule to propagate caste equality.

-Gulamgiri: book written by Jyotirao Phule in 1873 & linked conditions before American Resolution against slavery to conditions here of the lower castes by dedicating his book to all those who fought to free the slaves in America

-He argued against all forms of inequality, conditions of upper caste women and

This movement of caste reform was carried out in 20^th century by leaders like Dr. BR Ambedkar in the North and EV Ramaswamy Naicker in South

Temple Entry:

In 1927 Ambedkar started a temple entry movement in which his Mahar caste followers participated. Brahman priests were outraged.

-He led 3 such movements b/w 1927 & 1935

 -With an aim to make everyone see the power of caste prejudice in society

Non-Brahmin Movement: (early 20^th century)

In the early 20^th century the non-Brahmin movement started. It was started by those non-Brahmin castes that had gained access to education, wealth and influence.

-They believed that Brahmins were heirs of Aran invaders from the North who had conquered Southern lands from the indigenous Dravidian races and also challenged their claims to power.

EV Ramaswamy Naicker/Periyar:

-He became a member of the Congress but left it in disgust as he saw the prevalence of caste distinctions in the party at a feast.

His views:

-He believed that lower castes had to fight for their own rights and started Self-Respect Movement.

-argued that untouchables were the true upholders of original Tamil and Dravidian Culture, not Brahmins

-he believed that all the religious authorities saw the caste distinctions as god given so the untouchables had to free themselves from all the religions in order to achieve equality.

-He was a critic of Gita, Ramayana and Codes of Manu blaming them to be used by Brahmins to establish their superiority over lower caste and the domination of men over women.

Reaction of Orthodox Hindu society:

-Orthodox Hindu society reacted by founding the

-Sanatan Dharma Sabha

-Bharat Dharma Mahamandal in North.

-Brahmin Sabha in Bengal

The object of these associations was to uphold caste distinctions as a cornerstone of Hinduism, and show how this was sanctified by scriptures.

Various  Reform Movements:

-Brahmo Samaj:

-        Founded in 1830

-        Prohibited indolatry & sacrifice, Believed in Upanishads, forbade members to criticising other religious practices

-        -critiqued ideals of Hinduism and Christianity

-Young Bengal Movement:

-        This movement was a group of radical Bengali free thinkers emerging from Hindu College, Calcutta. They were also known as Derozians, after their firebrand teacher at Hindu College, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.

-        His students attacked tradition & custom, demanded education to women & campaigned for freedom of thought and expression

-Veda Samaj:

-        Established in Madras in 1864

-        Inspired by Brahmo Samaj

-        It worked to abolish caste system & promote widow remarriage & education

-        Its members believed in one God

-        -condemned superstitions & rituals of Hinduism

-Prarthna Samaj:

-        Founded in 1867 in Bombay

-        It sought to remove caste restriction, abolish Child marriage, encourage the education of women and end the ban on widow remarriage

-Ramakrishna mission or Vedanta movement & Vivekananda:

-        Founded by Vivekananda in 1897

-        Mission stressed the ideals of salvation through social service & selfless action

-Aligarh Movement:

-        The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College founded by Sayyid Ahmed khan in 1875 at Aligarh, later became the Aligarh University

-        It offered modern education including Western science to Muslims. The Aligarh Movement had a tremendous impact in area of educational reform.

-Singh Sabha Movement:

-        Formed in Amritsar in 1873 & in Lahore in 1879

-        Reform organization of Sikhs

-        Sought to rid Sikhism of superstitions, caste distinctions & practices seen by them as non-Sikh.

-        Promoted education among Sikhs, often combining modern instruction with traditional Sikh teachings

-        Khalsa college was establish by leaders of this movement in 1892

4.The changing world of visual Arts

Colonial rule introduced several art forms, styles, materials and techniques.

 Changes discussed here are in the sphere of painting and print making.

New forms of Imperial Art:

During 18^th century many European artists came along the British traders and rulers. They brought with themselves a new concept called as Realism & Oil painting.

Realism: a belief that artists had to observe carefully & depict faithfully what the eye saw. Artist was expected to draw Real & lifelike.

Oil Painting enabled artists to produce life like images. The subjects that European artists painted varied but they all seemed to emphasise the superiority of Britain, its culture, its people and its power.

Picturesque landscape painting:

-This style Depicted India as a quaint land, to be explored by travelling British artists; its landscape was rugged and wild, seemingly untamed by human hands

-Thomas Daniell & his nephew William Daniell were most famous artists who painted within this tradition.

-Central theme of their paintings was that traditional life of India was pre-modern, motionless and changeless & only British governance was able to transform it into a modern civilisation.

Portraits of Authority:

Portrait painting: The portraits were life size images unlike existing Indian miniature portraits.

-This style projected the importance of the patrons who commissioned these portraits

-This style also became a way of displaying the lavish lifestyles, wealth and status that empire generated

-Famous portrait painters

Johann Zoffany: came to India in 1780s

-depicted Indians as submissive, inferior and serving their white masters while British were shown as superior and imperious

-Some Nawabs also took commissioned portrait painters like Muhammed Ali Khan who lost battle with British in 1770 appointed Tilly Kettle & George Willson

History Painting:

There existed 3^rd category of imperial painting which was called “History painting”.

This tradition sought to dramatise and recreate various episodes of British imperial history and enjoyed great prestige and popularity during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

-Painters in Britain used British victories to depict favourable image of British actions in England These paintings once again celebrated the British: their power, their victories, their supremacy.

Francis Hayman produced one of the first of such paintings in 1762 where he showed Mir Jafar welcoming Clive after Battle of Plassey.

Rober Kerr Porter – The storming of Seringapatnam

David Wilkie - The discovery of body of Sultan Tipu by General Sir David Baird

These paintings sought to implant the imperial victories in the minds of people to make British appear invincible & all-powerful.

Court artists:

In different courts there were different trends.

-Tipu encouraged local traditions & had the walls of his palace at Seringapatnam painted with murals (wall painting)

-At Murshidabad the local miniature artists were encouraged to absorb the tastes & artistic styles of British

 - Artists of Murshidabad used elements of Realism like,

-        perspective which creates a sense of distance between objects that are near and those at  a distance. They use light and shade to make the figures look life like and real.

Comapny paintings:

-Many Artists turned to British. British made them to paint local plants, festivals, processions, animals, buildings & monuments, castes; communities etc so that they could understand India, remember their life here & show India to the West. Such paintings came to be known as “Company Paintings”

Situation outside the courts:

New Popular Indian Art (19^th century):

Bengal: Around pilgrimage center of Kalighat)

- local village scroll painters (patvas) & potters (called kumors in eastern India and kumhars in north Indian) of  the area began developing a new style of art.

-They moved to cities in search of opportunities (new patrons and buyers)

-Before 19^th century the patvas and potters painted on mythological themes and when they shifted to Kalighat they continued doing so.

-Traditionally, the scroll paintings looked flat and simple but now Kalighat painters began using shades to give them a 3D look. Even then, the paintings didn’t looked life like but a deliberate bold and non-realistic style of Kalighat paintings gave them a larger than life look with minimum lines and colours.

After 1840 i.e. mid 19^th century,

-Kalighat painters depicted changes going on around them producing paintings based on social & political themes.

Late 19^th century,

-Now they mocked those who tried to emulate Western habits, warned women against moving out. In a nutshell now they began expressing fear the common people felt about the dramatically changing social norms.

Earlier Kalighat images were engraved on wooden blocks but with the advent of printing press

Prints now began to be produced in large numbers at cheap prices and now poor could also afford them.

Paintings by middle class painters:

Printing presses were setup by middle class painters who were trained in British Art schools in new methods of “Life Study”, oil painting and print making.

Life Study- Study of human figures from living models who pose for the artists.

Calcutta Art studio was one of the most famous pres set up by such painters in late 19^th century

-it produced life like images of Bengali personalities, mythological pictures which were realistic.

In early 20^th century i.e. 1900s as nationalism spread the images now started carrying nationalistic messages.

By mid 19^th century i.e. during 1850s many European photographers began travelling India and set up photo studios.

Bourne & Shepherd the famous studio of Calcutta was set up by Samuel Bourne in 1860.

By late 19^th century Indian photographers also began to take photos and presented a different side of India. They took photos of everyday life of people and the nationalist marches

Change in the Architectural styles:

-The new buildings that came up in the Bombay during mid 19^th century were mostly Gothic in style.

-Gothic style is characterised with elongated structures & pointed arches.

-British also borrowed from the classical styles of Greece and Rome when they built the Central Post office in Calcutta with rounded arches and pillars.

-They wanted their buildings to project their power and cultural achievements.

Search for a national Art:

By the end of 19^th century i.e. 1890s a stronger connection was established between art & nationalism.

Raja Ravi Verma:

-Tried to create a national style by mixing elements from modern & ancient Indian art.

-He belonged to a family of Maharajas of Travancore in Kerala.

-He mastered oil painting & realistic life study but painted themes from Indian mythology like Ramayana & Mahabharata.

-from 1880s his paintings became very popular with Indian princes.

-Owing to his increasing popularity he decided to set up picture production team & printing press on outskirts of Bombay to mass produce coloured prints of religious paintings which even poor could buy.

A Different Vision OF National Art:

In Bengal, group of nationalist artists gathered around Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951).

They rejected Raja Ravi Verma’s art because they thought it was,

- Imitative and westernised

-not suitable for depicting the nation’s ancient myths & legends

Their belief:

They believed in capturing the spiritual essence of the East through non-western art traditions.

What they did?

So, instead of western styles of oil painting and realistic style, they turned to medieval Indian tradition of miniature paintings and Mural paintings in Ajanta Caves.

-They were also influenced by Japanese artists who visited India at that time to develop an Asian art movement.

After 1920s, new painters & artists moved away from the style popularized by Abanindranath Tagore due to following reasons,

-Some considered it sentimental

-Others thought, rather than spiritualism which can’t be seen as the central feature of Indian Culture, real life folk art & tribal designs should be used.

Kakuzo movement and Okakura:

1904-Okakura published a book named “The ideals of the East” whose opening lines became popular. They read as: “Asia is one”.  Okakura argued that Asia had been humiliated by the West and Asian nations had to collectively resist Western domination.

He was the principal founder of the first Japanese art academy. Okakura visited Santiniketan and had a powerful influence on Rabindranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore.

5. Making of a National Movement (1870-1947)

Emergence of Nationalism:

The awareness and the spread of national consciousness that this country India and its resources belonged to people of India and British were exercising their control over it oppressively which needed to end.

This consciousness was demonstrated by many organisations that came up after 1850 esp those in 1870s and 1880s lead mostly by lawyers.

Some of such organizations are,

·        Poona Sarvajanik Sabha

·        Indian Association

·        Madras Mahajan Sabha

·        Bombay Presidency Association

·        Indian National Congress

Central theme of the above organizations: wanted people of India to be sovereign

Various repressive acts passed in 1870s and 1880s further increased the growing dissatisfaction.

Oppressive acts passed,

·        Arms Act (1878) – Disallowed Indians from keeping Arms

·        Vernacular Press Act (1878) – Allowed govt to confiscate assets of those newspapers which published objectionable content

·        Ilbert Bill (1883) – Sought equality b/w British and Indian judges by allowing trial of European or British persons by Indian judges. The bill was withdrawn after white opposition which exposed the racial attitudes of the British. It deepened the desire for an All-India organization of educated Indians,’

Dec 1885 -  INC was founded at Bombay by 72 delegates. Early leadership having leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, W.C Bonnerji, Surendranath Bannerji, Romesh Chandra Dutt & S.Subramaniya Iyer was mainly from Calcutta and Bombay.

Naoroji also published his book titled – “Poverty and Un-British rule”

·        It contained a scathing criticism of economic impact of British rule

Early 20 years of Congress it mainly, had following “moderate” objectives,

·        greater role for Indians in the administration

·        Setting up of legislative assemblies in provinces

·        Separation of judiciary from the executive

·        Repeal of the Arms Act

·        Freedom of speech & expression

·        Raised economic issues like poverty & famines due to British rule, Increase of Land-revenue led to impoverished peasants and zamindars, food shortage due to export of grain from India to Europe

·        Reduction in revenue

·        More funds for irrigation

What they did?

·        Tried to create awareness of the adverse & unjust British rule and its economic impact by publishing articles, magazines, books.

Their belief:

·        They felt that British had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice & would accept their demands so what was necessary was to make them aware of the feelings of Indians.

1890s

During this phase the objectives of the congress and their moderate ways of achieving them began to be criticised by radical leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab respectively. These leaders and their followers came to be known as Extremists.

Their beliefs:

They argued that people must rely on their own strength & not on good intentions of the government. People must fight for Swaraj.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak raised the slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”

Kesari: Marathi Newspaper started by Tilak.

1900s:

Partition of Bengal in 1905 by Lord Curzon on the administrative grounds enraged people all over. India.

What was done?

East Bengal was merged with Assam.

Why was it done?

Administrative convenience but in reality, to divide people on caste lines & curtail the impact of Bengali Politicians

The outcome:

It resulted in “Swadeshi Movement”. It was strongest in Bengal but had its echoes elsewhere too.

In deltaic Andhra it was known as “Vandemataram Movement”

Objectives of Swadeshi Movement:

·        Oppose British rule

·        Encourage the ideas of self-help, Swadeshi enterprise, national education and use of Indian languages

·        Radicals advocated mass mobilisation & boycott of British goods & institutions

1906:

All India Muslim League was formed in Dacca in 1906 by a group of Muslim landlords and Nawabs

It supported the partition of Bengal and desired separate electorates for Muslims.

1907:

Congress split

1915:

Congress Reunited

1916:

In December 1916, Lucknow Pact signed between Muslim league & INC to work together for representative govt. In country

Growth of Mass nationalism:

After 1919, struggle against British rule became a mass movement gradually involving peasants, tribals, students, women & occasionally, factory workers as well.

The 1^st world war changed the economic and political situation in India. How?

·        A huge rise in defence expenditure led the govt to increase the taxes on individual incomes and business profits

·        Increased demand for supplies for war also led to increase in the prices creating difficulties for the common people

·        Soldiers supplied by villages during the war returned back with awareness as to how the imperialist powers oppressed and exploited people in Asia & Africa and had a desire to oppose their rule in India.

·        Revolution in Russia (1917) also inspired the nationalists

Advent of Gandhi:

He arrived in India in 1915 from South Africa. He spent his 1^st year travelling throughout the country to understand needs of people & the overall situation.

 Natal Congress:  Gandhiji founded it along with other Indians to fight against the racial discrimination

His earliest interventions was in the local movements in Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad (1918).

1919:

Rowlatt Satyagraha:

Gandhiji started Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act which curbed the fundamental rights such as freedom o f expression & strengthened police powers. Jinnah also supported Gandhiji.

9^th April 1919: Gandhiji asked people to observe this day as non-violent opposition to the Act, as a day of humiliation & prayers and hartals.

During Rowlatt satyagraha the participants tried to ensure that Hindus and Muslims were united in the fight against the British rule

This Satyagraha turned out to be the 1^st all India struggle against the British government though it was mainly restricted to cities.

Government used brutal repression to suppress this movement. Jallianwala bagh (13^th April 1919) tragedy was a part of this repression.

Rabindranath Tagore renounced his Knighthood in protest to the Jallianwala bagh incident.

Khilafat Agitation & Non-Co-operation Movement:

1920: British imposed a harsh treaty on Turkish Sultan or Khalifa.

Reaction of Indian Muslims:

Muslims were enraged and wanted Khalifa to retain control of all the religious places in the erstwhile Ottoman Empire.

Muslim brothers Md. Ali and Shaukat Ali wished to initiate a full fledged Non-Cooperation movement.

Gandhiji supported them & asked the congress to campaign against the “Punjab wrongs”, the Khilafat wrongs and demand Swaraj.

Non-Cooperation Movement:

It gained momentum during 1921-22.

Impact of the movement:

·        Students left colleges and schools

·        Eminent lawyers like Nehru, CR Das etc gave up their practice

·        People lit bonfires of foreign cloth which resulted in falling of imports drastically between 1920 and 1922.

People’s Initiatives during the movement:

·        People protested non-violently & linked this movement to their local grievances.

·        Kheda: Peasants organized non-violent campaigns against high land revenue demand of British

·        Coastal Andhra & interior TN: Liquor shops were picketed

·        Guntur (AP): tribals & poor peasants staged “forest Satyagaraha” and sometimes sent cattle into the forests without paying fees.

·        Sind: Muslim traders & peasants were very enthusiastic about Khilafat call.

·        Bengal: Khilafat non-Cooperation alliance gave enormous communal and strength to the national movement

·        Punjab: Akali agitation sought to remove corrupt Mahants supported by British from their Gurudwaras. This movement got closely identified with Non-Cooperation movement.

·        Assam: Tea garden labourers shouting “Gandhi Maharaj ki Jai” demanded a big increase in their wages

1922-1929:

In 1922 gandhiji called off the Non-Cooperation movement due to Chauri Chaura incident.

After that focus shifted to constructive work in rural areas.

-Motilal Nehru & Chittra Ranjan Das believed that INC should fight elections and enter councils to influence the govt policies.

The rural constructive work provided a large support base for the Civil Disobedience movement in 1930.

Two important developments of 1920s:

1). Formation of RSS

2). Communist party of India

·        Foundation of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA) in 1928 at Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi by Bhagat Singh and his comrades. They wanted to fight the colonial rule and the rich exploiting classes through a revolution of workers and peasants. Bhagat Singh and B.K Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8th April 1929.

-Simon Commission protests held in 1927

1929:

The decade ended with the congress resolving to fight for Purna Swaraj (complete Independence) in 1929 under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru.

26^th Jan 1930: Independence Day was observed all over the country.

March to Dandi:

In 1930, Gandhiji declared that he will break the salt law by leading a march to Dandi from Sabarmati.

·        He believed it was sinful to tax the salt.

·        Salt march related a general desire of freedom to a specific grievance shared by everybody

·        Peasants, tribals and women participated in it. Initially Gandhiji had opposed women joining the Salt march but Sarojini Naidu persuaded him and he allowed.

Govts reaction:

·        It tried to crush the movement through brutal action and sent thousands of satyagrahis to jail.

GOI Act passed in 1935

·        Prescribed provincial autonomy

Govt announced elections to the provincial legislatures in 1937. Congress formed govt in 7 out of 11 provinces.

1939:

In Sept 1939 the 2^nd World war broke out. Congress supported British as they were against Hitler but demanded that India be granted Independence after war. British refused so Congress ministries resigned.

Quit India Movement & later:

-This movement was started by Gandhiji amidst the 2^nd world war

-He said to people to “Do or Die” but fight non-violently

-Gandhiji and other Congress leaders were arrested but it didn’t stop the spread of the movement as it attracted peasants and students in large numbers.

-Symbols and communications of state authority were attacked all over the country.

Towards Independence and Partition:

1940: Muslim league moved a resolution for a separate nation from Hindus.

Why was league so bent on a separate nation?

1.      Provincial elections of 1937 convinced them that they will always have to play second fiddle to Congress in any democratic structure

2.      Congress decision to reject league’s desire of forming a joint Congress-League govt in United Provinces in 1937 also annoyed it

3.      Congress’ failure to mobilise Muslim masses in 1930s allowed league to widen its social support base.

At the end of war in 1945 British held negotiations between Congress, League and themselves for Independence of India. The talks failed as League saw itself as the sole spokesperson of the Muslims in the country, a position which Congress didn’t accept. So, Elections were again held in 1946 in which Muslim League succeeded in the Muslim majority areas.

Mar 1946:

3 member Cabinet Mission was sent to India which suggested that India should remain united & constitute itself as a loose confederation with some autonomy to Muslim majority areas. Both Congress & Muslim League didn’t accept it.

Partition was inevitable now.

19^th Aug 1946:

Muslim League announced it as a “Direct Action Day”. Riots broke out in Calcutta which lasted several days and many people died.

Mar 1947:

Violence spread to different areas of North India.

Khudai Khidmatgars:

This movement was founded by Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Badshah Khan). He was against partition.

C.Rajagopalachari (Rajaji):

He was the leader of Salt Satyagraha in South and was free India’s 1^st Governor General.

Maulana Azad:

He was a Scholar & exponent of notion of Wahadat-i-deen, the essential oneness of all the religions and a staunch advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. Also he opposed Jinnah’s 2 nation theory.

6. India after Independence

After freedom following problems arose:

1). Problem of 8 million refugees from Pakistan

2). Problem of 500 princely states who had to be convinced to be a part of India and join the nation.

3). A large diverse population which had people from different castes, faiths who spoke different languages had to be unified.

4).Problem of development: Vast numbers of people lived in villages and were peasants, farmers who depended upon monsoon for survival. If monsoons failed so did the people engaged in the non-farm sectors like weavers, carpenters, barbers who would not get paid for their services. Cities were crowded with slums and no access to education and health care.

Both unity and development had to go hand in hand as a lack of unity would result in conflicts while a lack of equitable development would create fresh divisions.

A constitution is written:

Indian constitution was framed by Constituent Assembly and adopted on 26 Jan 1950.

Features which the assembly tried to incorporate in the constitution were,

1). Universal Adult Suffrage: This right granted immediately to all greater than 21 yrs would be allowed to vote in state and national elections unlike in US & UK where this right was granted after much struggle and in stages.

2).Equality before law: Equality of citizens before law irrespective of their caste or religious affiliation. Some wanted India to be a Hindu state but Jawaharlal Nehru stated that he did not want that India to become a “Hindu Pakistan”.

3). Special privileges to poorest & most disadvantaged:

Untouchability was abolished and a certain percentage of seats in the legislature as well in govt jobs were reserved for lower castes, SC/STs

4). Categorization of subjects into lists: Union list, State list and Concurrent list was created to clearly define the areas in which centre and states would have the authority and the areas in which they would have a joint responsibility.

Compromise was arrived wrt language. While Hindi was to be the official language of India, English would be used in the courts, the services & communications b/w one state and another.

Dr. BR Ambedkar said “Political democracy had to be followed by social and economic democracy”.

Formation of States:

In 1920s, INC had declared that after independence each major linguistic group would have its own province but after partition & ensuing riots Mahatma Gandhi & Patel were against formation of states on linguistic basis.

Aftermath of this stance of INC:

-This backtracking by INC enraged Kannada speakers, Malayalam speakers, Marathi speakers but the reaction were most violent in the Telugu speakers of Madras Presidency.

-Nehru was shown black flags in 1952 when he went there to campaign for General elections. Slogans like “We want Andhra “were raised.

-15 Dec 1952: Potti Sriramulu a gandhian leader died fasting for a separate state for Telugu speakers

Thus, after strong protests Centre gave into the demands & on 1^st October 1953 Andhra Pradesh was formed.

Formation of SRC:

Other linguistic communities too started demanding their own separate states. As a result, State Re-organization Commission was set up. It submitted its report in 1956.

Recommendations of SRC:

-It recommended redrawing of district and provincial boundaries to form compact provinces of Assamese, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada & Telugu speakers.

1960:

Bombay was divided into Marathi speaking and Gujarati speaking areas.

1966:

Punjab was divided into Punjab & Haryana

Planning for development:

Lifting India and Indians out of poverty, and building a modern technical and industrial base were among the major objectives of the new nation.

1950:

Planning Commission was set up to help design & execute suitable policies for economic development.

A “Mixed economy Model” was to be followed wherein State & private sector would play important & complimentary roles in increasing production & generating jobs.

What were these roles?

-Which industries to be initiated by State & which by the centre.

-achieving balance between different regions & States.

These were to be defined by Planning commission.

1956:

2^nd 5 year plan was formulated. Focus was on,

1). Heavy industries such as Steel

2). Building of Dams                                                                              Sectors to be under control of State

The focus in the 2^nd 5 year plan was on Heavy industries and on the effort at State regulation of economy. This approach was to continue for coming few decades.

Critics of this approach felt there was an,

-inadequate emphasis on Agriculture

-Neglect of primary education

-Environmental implications of economic policies ignored

A case for formation of states on Linguistic Basis

The roots of Srilankan internal turmoil is the imposition of Sinhala as the official language of country & ignoring the subsequent warning & protest from Tamil minority areas of the North.

On the other hand India has survived such internal conflict as it did not impose Hindi on the Southern States and all the languages have been allowed to flourish. Contrary to the beliefs held by Nehru and Patel the formation of States on the linguistic basis have not threatened the unity of India but have deepened this unity.

Once the fear of one’s language being suppressed has gone, the different linguistic groups have been content to live as part of the larger nation called India.