How positively or negatively has the colonialism impacted the Indian culture?
The First War of Indian Independence , Sepoy Mutiny, Indian Rebellion, The Great Rebellion are the different names for the 1857 Revolt. The 1857 was an important event in the history of India against the British East India Company. There were many causes for 1857 Revolt which can be divided into PolRead more
The First War of Indian Independence , Sepoy Mutiny, Indian Rebellion, The Great Rebellion are the different names for the 1857 Revolt. The 1857 was an important event in the history of India against the British East India Company. There were many causes for 1857 Revolt which can be divided into
- Political Causes
- Economic and Social Causes
- Military Causes
- Immediate Causes
Political Cause
- The policy Of Doctrine of Lapse can be regarded as one of the causes for the 1857 Revolt.
- Lord Dalhousie introduced the Doctrine of Lapse . By following this he captured places like Satara, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jhansi, Sambalpur and Nagpur and were bought under British expansion.
Social and Economic Cause
- Initially when the British came to India they followed a policy of non interfere in the internal affairs of the Indians. As time passed they started to interfere in the social life of the country.
● In India the caste system was quite complex and rigid and any interference in that in any manner was not tolerated. But the company tried to interfere in this system as well.
● Another social cause for 1857 Revolt was Hindus getting converting to Christianity
and spread of English education in India.
● The passing of the Widow Remarriage act in 1856 was another cause for the 1857 Revolt.
● The passing of Caste Disabilities Removal Act of 1850 by which existing Hindu Laws about inheritance of Hindu property rights were changed. Hindu did not like the interference of the British in the affairs of inheritance so they revolted against them.
Military Causes
- In India there was a deep faith that crossing the sea was irreligious. But without caring about the religious sentiments of the Indian people they were forced and sent to Burma, Afghanistan and several countries to fight on the behalf of the British government.
- The British government did not give higher posts to the Indian Soldiers in the military and they were given less concession and Salary.
- Another important cause was the introduction of Creased Cartilages
Immediate Causes
- The introduction of Greased Cartridges by the British government was a major cause for the 1857 revolt.
- Rumors spread that the cartilages were Greased with fat of Cow and Pig which hurted the religious sentiments of Indian soldiers. Pig was considered a bad omen by the Muslim soldiers and Cow was regarded sacred by Hindu soldiers.
- On April 24 1857 the cavalry regiment of Meerut refused to use the greased cartridges and revolted against the British and the soldiers were arrested and imprisoned.
- On May 10 1857 the Indian soldiers of Meerut killed a large number of English soldiers and marched to Delhi and declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of India.
Indian culture was greatly influenced by colonialism especially by the British colonial rule and this had its negative and positive effects. Despite being exploitative, colonialism led to major transformations in different spheres of Indian society. Positive Impacts • Introduction of Western EducatiRead more
Indian culture was greatly influenced by colonialism especially by the British colonial rule and this had its negative and positive effects. Despite being exploitative, colonialism led to major transformations in different spheres of Indian society.
See lessPositive Impacts
• Introduction of Western Education: The British made establishments of schools and universities so they introduced modern education. Some of the early institutions include the University of Calcutta established in the year 1857 and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
• Social Reforms:Colonial rule, led to a situation where there were various social reform movements across the globe particularly in England.Posters and pamphlets which discouraged practices such as Sati and child marriage were made by preformationists like Raja Ram Mohan Roy leading to the formation of early laws that banned matters like Sati in 1829.
• Legal and Administrative Reforms: Codification of laws and bringing in the modern system of administration facilitated the process of unification and modernization of Indian legal and bureaucratic systems.
Negative Impacts
• Cultural Degradation:Colonial policies often undermined traditional Indian culture. The imposition of English as the medium of instruction. This act made the English language to be more dominant and virtually replaced local languages and literature.
• Economic Exploitation: The economic policies of Britain cliqued the developmental process of the traditional industries of India particularly textile etc. and due to which the rate of poverty and famine also increased. The idea discussed by Dadabhai Naoroji concerning the drain of wealth described the economic colonization by foreign rulers.
• Social Disruption: Division of people into groups(Divide and rule policy) was one of the main aspects of British ruling policies that resulted in long-term division of the society. One of the policies that divided people along religious line is the partition of Bengal in 1905.
Colonialism had different impacts on Indian culture which were either beneficial or detrimental. On one hand, it introduced the system of current education and social change; on the other, it led to cultural declination and economic exploitation. Primarily, colonization disrupted Indian society and its consequences are still evident in different forms in present day society.