Old Delhi and the Origins of ‘Modern’ South Asia.
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Transcript of Old Delhi and the Origins of ‘Modern’ South Asia.
Old Delhi and the Origins of ‘Modern’ South Asia
In a Vast History, Starting in the Middle
Written vedic texts in the first millennium BCE
Origins of several of the world’s great religions: Hinduism and Buddhism, not to mention Sikhism
Several notable dynastic traditions: Gupta, Cholan, Mughal
Also crucial to the understanding of the beginning of a changing global economy (disruption of Indian textiles)
European colonial conquest and rule: British East India Company
Independence: Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah
Religious/political radicalism: India/Pakistan tensions
The End of Old Delhi Straddles many historical themes
The End of the Mughal Dynasty
Shift in British Colonial Rule
Rallying cry for Independence Movements
Origins of modern Islamic/Hindu/Sikh animosity
Setting: A Rising and a Setting Sun
The first English endeavor in South Asia: British East India Company
From textiles to conquest
Mughal Decline from the 17th century to 19th century
The Last Mughal Emperor: Bahadur Shah II (henceforth “Zafar”)
Setting: Islamic and Hindu Relationships under Mughal Rule
General Model: Islamic tribute empire with Muslim emperor ruling over Hindu principalities
Akbar and the legacy of tolerance
Aurangzeb and Islamic orthodoxy
Less relevant after the slow decline in the 18th century
Zafar himself-Sufi
Setting: Evolving British Attitudes
Evolving relationships in the military reflective of generational differences and changing British attitudes
First generation British officers and administrators enthusiastic about South Asian Culture: Orientalist
Second generation: pragmatists and evangelists
Religion Evangelical Christians
Hindus
Mughal tradition of a flexible, perhaps cosmopolitan, Islam (Zafar himself was a mystic)
More orthodox Muslims (outside court)
The Military British Military presence
British Officers“Sepoys”-High caste Brahman Hindus
Successful campaigns initially and mutual trust
Later generation British officers held different attitudes
The controversy of the Enfield Rifle
Rebellion Begins in the military ranks
(Mostly) Hindu soldiers march to Delhi
Initial days of violence
Zafar petitioned for his approval-political legitimacy of the uprising across religious lines
The Last Mughal Emperor trapped between two forces of history
Faction emerge across and between religions, castes, and political interests
British Revenge Violent reprisal visited upon Delhi
Zafar imprisoned and the Mughal line broken
Great Britain remembers the “Sepoy Rebellion” as a warning: Hardening of the empire
Hindus and Muslims remember the uprising◦ 1) Evidence of the brutality of British Imperial
Rule◦ 2) Reason to doubt each other in political
struggles against the Empire
Legacies Fundamental change in British Colonial Rule in India: The British Raj
The Queen would rule directly (through a Governor-General)
No more influence by Orientalists
Pragmatists take a hard line
“The Company” gives way to a more direct form of rule
No more Mughal intermediaries
Use of the Gurkhas (Nepal)
Authoritarianism: Amritsar Massacre of 1919 (More than a 1000 die at Dyer’s orders)
Legacies II By the end of the turn of the 20th century nascent independence movements amongst Hindus and Muslims
Initially divided regionally and along religious and cultural lines
Indian National Congress begins in the last two decades of the 19th century-educated elites
Gandhi comes from South Africa in 1915-mass appeal and garners
Muslims and Hindus work together initially (Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah)
Suspicion, negotiation, partition in 1947