This is
the 4th article in the Being Indian Series : carrying on from the
previous one - Being
Indian - 3 : The 1000 Year Slavery, where I examined our so-called slavery
of a 1000 years.
The
impact of Colonialism on the psyche of a people and a society is a tale that
needs to be told, highlighted so that firstly, healing can start; and secondly,
harmful and at times divisive ideas and ideologies can be nipped in the bud. The
rising feeling of a so-called ‘Hindu’ resurgence / freedom for 1000 years of slavery / rising
sectarianism / other factors, has its roots in the colonial experience, the
true extent of which is not known to Indians even in the modern day; if they do
know, the realization of its import is sadly absent, as shown by current
events.
The
assumption, gaining popular ground increasingly in a currently niche segment of
our population, that we have been slaves for a 1000 years, is sadly not based
on facts; this is a telling failure of our education system, which has done an admittedly
laudable job of not feeding hatred against anyone; the unfortunate result of
this has been an incomplete understanding of our history, particularly the
history of the British rule. Further, the education system has also not been
able to keep track of the socio-political changes that are being wrought by the rise of various forces. But that is
another story, to be taken up in another series. Let us leave this thought here
for the time being.
Before
we move into Colonialism, let us ask ourselves one question: was so-called Muslim
rule, or were the Muslim dynasties really as harmful as the British? Second,
why did the Muslim rulers gain a footage in this land? What did they cart away,
and what did they give back to society? And what is the comparison with the
British period? The hard reality is that for most of our history, it has always
been the internal traitor – who was like as not a “Hindu”, who was also responsible
somewhere along the line! Remember Jaichand? Hasn’t it always been our penchant
to call the outsider? Furthermore, we were always divided as a people – can we
run away from that? Why did we not wake up and build defences – it took 17
attacks by one particular Gentleman from the Middle East to awaken us - several hundred years later? Even
after innumerable attacks – Greeks, Huns, etc : we were still asleep and
mindless of our own vulnerability? What were we doing all these years?
Sleeping?
Not
only that, Muslim rule was built upon alliances and relationships with
Non-Muslim rulers as well; and large tracts of India were consistently out of
Muslim yoke. I am not denying the excesses that took place; I am only saying
while acknowledging the excesses, also acknowledge that good that happened;
that will put the entire matter in the proper perspective. In the case of The
British period, we are quick to point out the good - democracy, unity, railways, administration
etc, without conceding the bad, or analyzing the extent of the good and the
bad, and the intent behind the good. By contrast, nothing good apparently
happened in Muslim ruled areas, if you believe some people. Is that a fair
assessment?
It is a
known historical fact that in the lead-up to British rule, our international
trade relationships were strong; be it spices, or be it textiles. In fact,
Shivaji Maharaj actually started building a strong navy for the express purpose
of defending traders from British and European piracy on the high seas. Keep in
mind that the British came to India for trade, or to put it more accurately,
under the guise of trade. We were known exporters with a large share of world
trade and GDP; these profits from this trade stayed within India, and were not
drained out to alien lands.
There
was no attempt to play with the socio-cultural fabric of the society; which,
given the collusion of Islamic rules with local chieftains, kings and nobility,
was a given. Politically there were issues, true; there were instances of
persecution, and sad happenings like Jizyaa tax, and the sporadic odd ruler who
was a fanatic, like Aurangzeb. Granted. But the people were, by and large, much
better off under the previous political setup than in the later British period.
And that is the key to the matter! Local industries thrived; agriculture was
productive, and taxation which varied from mild to slightly excessive, was not
even a patch on that exploitation under British rule. There was no attempt to
divide the people, or to create religious and caste tensions.
But
what happened in British rule? The Bengal experience and example shows in vivid
detail the pillage that occurred in economic terms, leading to a massive
famine, and the ruin of a once-rich land to a condition of penury. A land where
famine was sporadic, now was jolted by famine after famine every few years, as
documented history tells. An estimated 40-60 Million Indians are supposed to
have died due to famines alone. These weren’t
just Hindus – they were Indians of all castes, religions. Taxation increased
to 50-80% of the produce; farmers were
not free to grow what they wanted- cropping changes were forced; these are just
2 examples of the interference that happened. This did not happen during Muslim
rule, and that is a fact.
Local
Industries were destroyed; business profits plunged to a fraction of the old
within a few years of the onset of British rule; weavers – for example –
reduced to beggars, creating the begging problem in a land where no beggars
were known on so wide a scale; landless labour class expanded dramatically as
profits from agriculture dipped, creating a massive nationwide class of
landless labour; Zamindari strengthened through direct intervention; industry
after industry collapsed, as the inverted duty structures made imports cheaper
than home-grown products for the first time in our history; new technology
inflow reduced to zero; education losing steam and focus…
Next
came the interventions in Religion, and the targeted conversions that started
to happen on a scale not seen before – targeting all religions; and on top of
all this, was the denigration and destruction of the local arts and culture
scene, with Indian habits, cultural occasions and arts being targeted and
derided; the advent of cultural imperialism, and the way it interrupted the
development of our arts and culture; the way an ugly combination of livelihood
dependency on knowledge of the English Language, and constant debasement of
everything Indian by the British became associated in the minds of the people
with western superiority, giving rise to a
plethora of modern issues…
But
worst of all was the destruction of the socio-political fabric of this lovely
nation, a fabric that had ensured its continued dominance and survival for
millennia, despite its many faults and flaws. This is to be taken up in the
concluding 5th part of the Being Indian Series, so let us leave this
thought here. Point to be noted here is that in Trade, Industry, Arts, Culture,
Economics, Religion – in just about each and every sphere of societal and political
mileu in India, it is the British Rule which stands out as being the most
harmful and divisive in our long history.
No
period of our history has had as many tragic stories happening simultaneously
on so large a scale, as under British Rule. The period prior to British rule,
while not without its issues and problems, was a period of relative prosperity
and growth, the many problems notwithstanding. Merchant guilds, industries,
factories, agriculture scenario, trade routes and nationwide trade networks
were all vital and strong just prior to the British, that is a fact. By contrast, under British rule,
wealth- which previously stayed within India, not started going out of India…
This was both through sanctioned as well as unofficial loot. Unbelievably high taxation, paying for the enite edifice of colonialism alongwith its massive perks and high expenses through internal money, the repatriation of around a full 50% of the annual budget to England; the taxation outflows, with Indian goods taxed at 80% and imports at 20%, unpaid war debts, which were as high as 40% approximately of total British war debts {as per some estimates}; complete destruction of both agriculture as well as industry as viable professions for Indians; destructions of trade routes and networks are all of British origin, and none from so-called Muslim rule.
Add to
this the slaughter : the genocide of 1857, the innumerable famines, the brutal
suppression of uprisings and freedom movements across India – and you have a
tale of disaster that is unparalleled anywhere. The British denuded us of our
wealth, and built their own developed World on our money; not only that, they also
got us to believe in our own inferiority in military, economic as well as cultural
terms; this was not present earlier. This is the true victory of the British Empire
: getting the strongest, most resilient and innovative people on the planet to
believe they are backward, decadent, weak and defenseless, and that Western
culture is superior. This continuing belief in the superiority of Western
Culture is the ultimate and lasting triumph of The British Raj, alongside the absolute, complete and total success of the policy of divide and rule, getting brother to question brother, getting us to question our
selves, rather than our rapists…
I believe that the British raj did more damage to our country than what we can ever assess. However, I feel that the mughals weren't as benevolent as they are often pictured to be. I assume that there were mass scale conversions which happened long before Aurangzeb came into power. And it is tough for me to believe that these conversions happened willingly. From what I have read ( please , correct me if I am wrong) that Sati was a result of Mughals invading India and atrocities they committed against Indian men and women. Having said that, I absolutely agree with you when you say that penchant for western culture amongst Indians till date shows their real triumph over us.
ReplyDeleteRiddhima, interesting perspective on Sati; my readings tell me that The Mughals were the first to Ban Sati. Can you share your sources with me? I would like to know more.
DeleteAs regards Mughal period, or Muslim rulers, I have noted the same as you : issues were there; that is undeniable. But the record faithfully shows that by and large, the people as a whole were far better off... excellent point.
A very well written article. Liked the way you raised the questions and gave insights of our history. I agree to your views on this topic. Bad things have happened and affected the integrity of India but let's leave history behind ,it cannot be changed . let's learn from our mistakes and ressurect the nation on new ideologies .
ReplyDeleteI like your articles , waiting for the next in the series. :)
Thanks Pavan... liked your perspective "ressurect the nation on new ideologies"
DeleteCould you elaborate?