rule and domination on India. The advent of the British on theIndian
soil at around 17th century can roughly be delineated as the beginning
of the Modern Age in Indian history. For two centuries, the British
exercised complete subordination over the Indian landmass till the
blazing inferno of the freedom fighters forced their departure. The
two hundred years of their rule not only had an impact in the sphere
of politics and economy, but also was instrumental in bringing about
considerable changes in the realm of education, society and culture.
Advent of British Era
The British, however, were not the first of the foreign powers to set
their foot on the Indian soil. In the closing years of the 15th
century, the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama had reached Calicut in
South India. Since then, theFrench, the Dutch and subsequently the
British colonisers made their forayinto India, the land of immense
wealth and riches. By the 18th Century,the British Empire in India had
already established their supremacy. The enormous Indian Territory was
characterised by a comprehensive lack of unity amongst the independent
rulers, an aspect of which the British took complete advantage. It was
further escalated by the fall of the Mughals in 1739 and the constant
strife between the various ruling dynasties and the power monger
nobles in the various Indian provinces who wanted to establish their
supremacy independently. Some of themost powerful ruling clans in
India during this period were the Marathas, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan
of Mysore , the Nawabs of Bengal and the Sikhs under the leadership of
Ranjit Singh. The British encouraged rampant commercial exploitation
to exercise their dominance and soon the British East India Company `s
policy of annexation resulted in securing the influence of the British
Empire as the supreme authority. The Governor-Generals and Viceroys
during this time unleashed unscrupulous means to implement their
authority. The imposition of the Dewani (1765), the practice of
Private trade by the East India Company, introduction of the Permanent
Settlement (1793) by Lord Cornwallis were some of the reforms that the
British introduced during their tenure, addingto the woes of the
colonised.
Influence of British
While the British left no stone unturned to ascertain their influence
over the Indian population,they were also prominently involved in
bringing about certain changes in the field of education, culture, as
well as society. This was primarily a form of their cultural
imperialistic designs. Macaulay, an eminent member of the
Governor-General`s Council,in his Minute (1835), despised the
scriptures andwealth of knowledge that India treasured and called for
the introduction of English education which heconsidered to be
superior and necessary to educate the barbaric Indians. However, noted
educationists like Raja RamMohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
were instrumental in imbibing the intellectual trends of Western
Education with those of the ancient Indian scriptures and literary
works. It was towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the
19th century, that some of the premier educational institutions like
the Hindu College or the Presidency College were established in
Bengal. This era is often referred to as the Bengal Renaissance . The
spread of education though was masked by the spread of Christian
religious doctrineswith the Christian missionaries being deputedthe
task of extending education.
The cause of women`s education was propagated by Vidyasagar, who set
up around thirty schools for women in Bengal. Social reformers like
Raja Ram Mohan Roy played a key role in the abolition of the Sati
(1829) or the custom of women surrendering their lives in the funeral
pyres of their husbands. In 1856, the Widow Remarriage Act was
sanctioned by the British Government under the patronage of Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar.
The British were also instrumental in the establishment of the
IndianRailways which began functioning in 1853. This too was a means
of extending their imperialistic designs as the British believed that
the railways would not only make communication swifter, but at the
same time they would escalate the swift movement of troops which had
become extremely necessary to subjugate the uprisings and rebellions
that recurrently spurted againsttheir domination.