Social and Cultural Policy

The British had come to India with the idea of making immense commercial profits. The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe. Pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon too were in great demand. They, therefore, engaged in fierce battles to get hold of the territories, since colonies would yield higher profits for them. Apart from the commercial and territorial interests, they also felt that they had a cultural mission to “civilise the natives”. The British felt that Western ideals were ‘superior’, discounting India’s own rich traditions and that it was their moral responsibility of the superior to uplift and civilize the inferior.

This notion was exhibited in their following imperialist strategies: Education Policy:

• Anti-orientalism in education: From the early nineteenth century, many British officials criticised Orientalist studies as full of errors and unscientific thought.
• Macaulay’s minute: Macaulay emphasised the need to teach the English language as a way of civilising people, changing their tastes, values and culture.
  • Following Macaulay’s minute, the English Education Act of 1835 was introduced which made English the medium of instruction for higher education, and stopped the promotion of Oriental institutions like the Calcutta Madrasa and Benaras Sanskrit College which were seen by them as “temples of darkness that were falling themselves into decay”.
• Wood’s Despatch:
  • It argued that the literature of the East could not instil in people a sense of duty and a commitment to work, nor could it develop the skills required for administration.
  • It argued that European learning would improve the moral character of Indians and thus supply the Company with civil servants who could be trusted and depended upon.

Social and Cultural Policies:

• Shift in the attitude of the British: Initially, the cultural, educational and social policy was inspired by the ideology of British Orientalism.
  • There were elements of political pragmatism and orientalist conceptions in British policy. They viewed native social practices sympathetically even when they differed from Western norms.
  • However, the attitude and policies of the British slowly but progressively moved in the direction of cautiously intervening in the Indian social institutions. Orientalism came to be criticized by a variety of ideological streams which shared the belief that Indian society needed urgent modernization and westernization.
  • For instance, in the nineteenth century Nayar matrilineal inheritance came to be viewed as ‘unnatural’ and Nayar female polyandry was condemned as ‘concubinage’ and ‘immoral’.
• Evangelical challenge: The Evangelical challenge led by William Wilberforce and Charles Grant asserted that Hinduism was based on superstition, idolatry and the tyranny of the priests. Their avowed objectives were to modernize Indians by Christian missionary proselytization.

The British intervention in social life led to elimination of some of the most inhuman social practices like sati, female Infanticide, slavery etc. through legislation. However, the modernisation sought to be achieved was mainly guided by their economic interest and superiority complex. Although the British talked about introducing reforms, in reality very few half-hearted measures were taken. Pragmatic considerations of not provoking wide scale resentment and revolt acted as severe constraint in the wholesale application of Western ideals on India.