🔆 COLONIAL KNOWLEDGE & THE MAKING OF BRITISH RULE
📍 Colonial Knowledge as a Tool of Rule
🟢 European colonial domination depended not only on military power, political authority and economic wealth, but also on what scholar Nicholas Dirks calls the “cultural technologies of rule.”
🟢 Knowledge of Indian laws, customs, languages, literature and social institutions helped the British understand and administer the colony.
📍 Warren Hastings: “Rule the Conquered in Their Own Way”
🟢 Warren Hastings sought to end Robert Clive’s Dual Government and establish a stronger territorial administration in Bengal.
🟢 He opposed simply imposing English laws and ways on India.
🟢 His approach was to rule the conquered in their own way by understanding existing Indian institutions and traditions.
🟢 Reconciliation with native traditions was expected to make British rule more acceptable and help prevent resistance.
📍 Asiatic Society of Bengal
🟢 Established by William Jones in 1784 at Calcutta.
🟢 Objective: make India more intelligible to the British through systematic study of Asian languages, literature, history and traditions.
🟢 The Society published the journal Asiatick Researches.
🟢 William Jones acquired mastery of Sanskrit and authored A Digest of Hindu Law on Contract and Succession.
🟢 Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavad Gita into English.
📍 Henry Thomas Colebrooke
🟢 Colebrooke succeeded William Jones as a prominent Orientalist scholar.
🟢 He became Professor of Sanskrit at Fort William in 1800.
🟢 He studied the Vedas, placing them chronologically before the Puranas.
🟢 His work highlighted the existence of a monotheistic tradition in ancient India.
🟢 His essay in Asiatick Researches supported the existence and authenticity of the Vedas.
📍 Codification of Hindu Law
🟢 Warren Hastings’ judicial reforms revealed different interpretations of local laws by Brahman Pandits, based on different schools of Dharmashastra.
🟢 To bring uniformity, 11 Pandits compiled a digest of Hindu laws.
🟢 N.B. Halhed translated it into English as A Code of Gentoo Laws.
🟢 A Code of Gentoo Laws and A Digest of Hindu Law on Contract and Succession emerged as important authoritative texts on Hindu law.
🟢 The Company government financed their compilation and publication.
📍 Mapping Colonial India
🟢 The Office of Surveyor General of Bengal was established under Warren Hastings.
🟢 James Rennell became the first Surveyor General of Bengal in 1764.
🟢 Rennell produced A Map of Hindoostan, described as the first authoritative mapping exercise of India.
🟢 Sepoys and British Army officials participated in the survey and mapping exercise.
📍 Administrators-Cum-Scholars
🟢 Fort William College contributed to the emergence of administrators who were also scholars of Indian society.
🟢 Their knowledge of India was increasingly applied to colonial administration.
🟢 Thus, the production of knowledge became closely connected with the exercise of colonial power.
📍 UPSC MAINS
Q. Colonial rule in India was strengthened not merely through military power but also through the systematic production of knowledge. Discuss with reference to the Orientalist scholarship and administrative practices under Warren Hastings.
#history #prelims #mains
Join https://t.me/CSE_EXAM https://t.me/Upsc_4_history
📍 Colonial Knowledge as a Tool of Rule
🟢 European colonial domination depended not only on military power, political authority and economic wealth, but also on what scholar Nicholas Dirks calls the “cultural technologies of rule.”
🟢 Knowledge of Indian laws, customs, languages, literature and social institutions helped the British understand and administer the colony.
📍 Warren Hastings: “Rule the Conquered in Their Own Way”
🟢 Warren Hastings sought to end Robert Clive’s Dual Government and establish a stronger territorial administration in Bengal.
🟢 He opposed simply imposing English laws and ways on India.
🟢 His approach was to rule the conquered in their own way by understanding existing Indian institutions and traditions.
🟢 Reconciliation with native traditions was expected to make British rule more acceptable and help prevent resistance.
📍 Asiatic Society of Bengal
🟢 Established by William Jones in 1784 at Calcutta.
🟢 Objective: make India more intelligible to the British through systematic study of Asian languages, literature, history and traditions.
🟢 The Society published the journal Asiatick Researches.
🟢 William Jones acquired mastery of Sanskrit and authored A Digest of Hindu Law on Contract and Succession.
🟢 Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavad Gita into English.
📍 Henry Thomas Colebrooke
🟢 Colebrooke succeeded William Jones as a prominent Orientalist scholar.
🟢 He became Professor of Sanskrit at Fort William in 1800.
🟢 He studied the Vedas, placing them chronologically before the Puranas.
🟢 His work highlighted the existence of a monotheistic tradition in ancient India.
🟢 His essay in Asiatick Researches supported the existence and authenticity of the Vedas.
📍 Codification of Hindu Law
🟢 Warren Hastings’ judicial reforms revealed different interpretations of local laws by Brahman Pandits, based on different schools of Dharmashastra.
🟢 To bring uniformity, 11 Pandits compiled a digest of Hindu laws.
🟢 N.B. Halhed translated it into English as A Code of Gentoo Laws.
🟢 A Code of Gentoo Laws and A Digest of Hindu Law on Contract and Succession emerged as important authoritative texts on Hindu law.
🟢 The Company government financed their compilation and publication.
📍 Mapping Colonial India
🟢 The Office of Surveyor General of Bengal was established under Warren Hastings.
🟢 James Rennell became the first Surveyor General of Bengal in 1764.
🟢 Rennell produced A Map of Hindoostan, described as the first authoritative mapping exercise of India.
🟢 Sepoys and British Army officials participated in the survey and mapping exercise.
📍 Administrators-Cum-Scholars
🟢 Fort William College contributed to the emergence of administrators who were also scholars of Indian society.
🟢 Their knowledge of India was increasingly applied to colonial administration.
🟢 Thus, the production of knowledge became closely connected with the exercise of colonial power.
📍 UPSC MAINS
Q. Colonial rule in India was strengthened not merely through military power but also through the systematic production of knowledge. Discuss with reference to the Orientalist scholarship and administrative practices under Warren Hastings.
#history #prelims #mains
Join https://t.me/CSE_EXAM https://t.me/Upsc_4_history
❤2👏1