MODERN INDIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY and industry – promotion of sciences and arts and –

reorganization of – educational, political, administrative,

 Advent of – Europeans in India – our historiography
legal and social institutions generated unique ideas in India
undergoes a drastic change not mearly in approach,
 Indian historiography received new dimensions because –
treatment and technique – also in volume of historical
British were not – only European power who meddled with
literature..
Indian affairs
 Perhaps no other period or country can boast of such a rich
 Portuguese were – first to come and establish their power in
harvest of historical material as India from 1757 to 1947
India – followed by – Dutch who carried on a flourishing
 Fact – a commercial company of London established its
trade in spices and – French who started – game of
political supremacy over vast areas
converting a peaceful commercial company into a political
 Every policy had to be put down in writing, every opinion
body
expressed in minutes and every business of – State
 These – powers too competed for – supremacy over India –
transacted through dispatches, consultations and
but were pushed to – wall by the superior diplomacy and
proceedings and through secret letters and secret
military strength of – British
correspondence, - resulting – growth of an inconceivable
 However – they too have – tradition of historical writing
volume of historical material
which had an impact on India
 Hence – establishment of British power in India witnessed
 From – time of Voltaire and Gibbon European
enormous changes almost in every sector of Indian life
historiography underwent great changes and history became
 Socio-religious changes of – 19th century – new ways of
a distinctive and independent discipline
thinking and criticism – introduction of large scale trade
 Theological and metaphysical interpretations gave place to
more rational and scientific theories
 By – time – British established their authority in India they
had formulated their historical ideas and had been much
influenced by – Enlightenment school of historiography
 Therefore – process of history writing proceeded along with
history making in India
 Soldiers, administrators and even – merchants who came to
India – saturated with historical notions and – attempted to
influence the policy makers by publishing works of ‘a
politically didactic character’
 When – British historians were thus wrestling with one
another to win their own pots of view – Indian historians
who entered late into this arena – did not like to be lift far
behind
 Indian historiography had not known the western technique
and had remained in – region of mere description and
narration without attempting to explain in – processes and
conditions that affect the events
 But – Indian mind, which is really sharp, was quick to
grasp the issues under debate and entered into the field with
a challenging mood to advance its own views
 More than a century – Indians merely watched the game as
passive spectators – almost fired by imagination as a result
of – intellectual renaissance inaugurated by Raja Ram
Mohan Roy
 They competed with western scholars to refute many of –
theories which Indians regarded as un acceptable
 Not having any historical tradition of their own to match
the western techniques – Indians at first walked in the
British footsteps
 But soon realized that – true history of India during the
British period did not consist in – activities of – E I Co., or
of its successors, the British crown but – activities of
India’s own people
 Indian historians quickly responded to – call of – moment
and formulated their own ideas on history, which stated that
the real significance of history lies in – transformation of
Indian society through – exertion of its own nationals
 Before this kind of modern ideas was championed – Indians
had to pass through, naturally, several stages of thinking
which were varied in nature
 First - There was – extremist school of Rajanarian Bose,
Chandranath Basu, Bankim Chandra Chatterji, A.C.
Das, K.P. Jayaswal, B.G. Tilak, V.D. Savarkar and other
– asserted – superiority of Hindus over Western culture
 Secondly – there was – rationalist school of Rajendralal
Mitra, R.C. Dutt, R.G. Bhandarkar, Rayachaudhri and
other – not intoxicated by – national sentiments –
viewed events more objectively in order to rectify the
errors committed by Europeans in respect of Indian
History
 Third school represented by Major D. Basu, A.C.
Majumdar, C.Y. Chintamani and Surendranath Banerjee
exposed – economic exploitation of India by – British in
order to strengthen the hands of – nationalists in their
struggle for freedom
 Fourth – school consisted of – historians as Hiren
Mukherjee, R. Palme Dutt, Kosambi and others –
greatly impressed by Marxian thought and who
attempted to explain problems of Indian history from
this standpoint
o This school extended its influence to include
scholars of order of Professor Md. Habib, Prof.
S. Nurul Hasan, Prof. Romilla Thapar, Dr. Bipin
Chandra, Dr. Harbans Mukhia, Prof. Irfan Babib
and others
 India produced a fifth school of historians as well –
desired to be aloof from any ideological conflict and
who struggled hard to present a Ranke type of history –
o They are Jadunath Sarkar, S.N. Sen, Shafat
Ahmed Khan, Sardesai, S. Krishnaswami
Iyengar, Srinivasachariar and Vankateshvarlu