Chapter 1 : Sources for the History of Modern India

Sources for the History of Modern India

The term 'history' is derived from the Greek word, historia, which means "knowing by inquiry". It is considered a record of past events, human endeavours, beliefs, ideas, and customs. Plenty of historical material is available for studying India from the mid-18th century to the mid-20th century.

Archival Materials

Archives refer to a collection of historical records and documents, usually primary source documents (created as a necessary part of administrative, legal, social, or commercial activity). They are unique/original documents, not consciously written to convey information to a future generation.

• East India Company (EIC) records: Provide a detailed account of trading conditions during 1600–1857.
• British Crown records: Kept in large volume after taking over administration; help trace decision-making processes and policymaker psychology stage-by-stage.
• Other European East India companies: Records of the Portuguese, Dutch, and French are useful for studying the economic and political history of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Central Government Archives

Housed in the National Archives of India (New Delhi), these provide authentic source materials on varied aspects of modern Indian history.

Departmental Records & Their Significance:

• East India Company Branches: Work was distributed among branches (public/general, revenue, political, military, secret, commercial, judicial, education, etc.) → a separate set of records was kept for each.
• Survey of India: Began scientific mapping with the appointment of James Rennell as the first Surveyor General of Bengal in 1767. Records, journals, and memoirs of surveyors provide data on geography, socio-economic conditions, and history.
• Public, Judicial, and Legislative Departments: Proceedings provide ample data for studying the colonial government's social and religious policies.
• Educational Records: Mention government policies on education and the growth of the education system.
• Home Department (Public Series): Originally contained papers bearing on the emergence of the nationalist movement.
• Home Political Series: A new series started in 1907 to deal exclusively with political and communal issues.
• Reforms Office Records: Very useful for an analytical study of constitutional developments from 1920 to 1937.

Archives of the State Governments

State archives comprise records of:

1. Former British Indian provinces
2. Erstwhile princely states (incorporated into the Indian Union after 1947)
3. Foreign administrations other than the British
4. Indian powers taken over by the British

Archives of Three Presidencies

Archives of Other European Powers

Published Archives

Indispensable published sources include:

• Parliamentary Papers: Include excerpts from records of the East India Company and the Government of India under the Crown.
• Reports of parliamentary select committees
• Royal commissions: Constituted on specific subjects like education, civil reforms, and famines.
• Parliamentary debates on the Indian empire.
• Proceedings of the Indian and provincial legislatures.
• Weekly gazettes published by central and provincial governments.
• Collections of laws and regulations issued from time to time.

Judicial Records

Judicial archives contain proceedings, minutes, copies of wills, probates, and letters of administration (useful for genealogical studies and investigating socio-economic conditions).

Foreign Repositories

Vast historical material is available in the repositories of erstwhile imperialist powers and neighbouring countries.

Private Archives

• Comprise papers and documents of notable individuals and families who played a significant role in modern India.
• Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (New Delhi): Houses papers of eminent nationalist leaders and records of organisations like the Indian National Congress.
• Archives of banks, business houses, and chambers of commerce are extremely helpful for studying economic changes.

Key Terms

📌 Exam Tidbits

• James Rennell was appointed as the first Surveyor General of Bengal in 1767.
• The Home Political series of records was started in 1907 to deal exclusively with political and communal issues.
• The Reforms Office records are crucial for constitutional developments from 1920 to 1937.
• The Khalsa Darbar records cover the Kingdom of Lahore from 1800 to 1849.
• The Peshwa Daftar is housed in the Alienation Office, Pune.
• Early records of Fort Williams were lost during the sack of Calcutta in 1756.
• The Danes sold Tranquebar and Serampore to the English East India Company in 1845.
• The earliest available judicial archives are from the Mayor's Court at Fort St. George, beginning in 1689.
• The Mayor's Court at Bombay was established in 1728.
• Records of the Indian National Congress are housed in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi.

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Literary Sources

Biographies, Memoirs, and Travel Accounts

Accounts left by travellers, traders, missionaries, and civil servants supplement official papers and are generally reliable sources for constructing modern Indian history.

• Missionary Accounts: Written to encourage respective societies to send more missionaries for evangelising inhabitants. Provide useful information on socio-economic life during the decline of Indian powers and the rise of the British.
  • Bishop Heber's Journal
  • Abbe Dubois's Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies

Travel Accounts by EIC Employees and British Officials:

Travel Accounts by Non-British Travellers:

Newspapers and Journals

Published in English and vernacular languages in the 19th and 20th centuries, they form an authentic source of information, depicting almost all aspects of colonial life from the 1870s onwards, and tracking the freedom struggle from the 1920s onwards.

• Methodological Caution: Newspaper accounts cannot be seen as unprejudiced or completely objective (e.g., a pro-British Raj report in London differed from an Indian nationalist paper).

Early Attempts and Publications:

• The first attempts to publish newspapers in India were made by disgruntled employees of the English East India Company who sought to expose the malpractices of private trade.
• 1776: William Bolts (a disgruntled EIC employee censured by the Court of Directors for private trading) resigned and announced his intention to publish a newspaper → official response was strong → his plan ended before materialising.
• 1780: James Augustus Hicky published the first newspaper in India, entitled Hicky's Bengal Gazette or the Original Calcutta General Advertiser. His press was seized within two years owing to outspoken criticism of government officials.
• Early newspapers primarily aimed at catering to the intellectual entertainment of Europeans and Anglo-Indians.

Nationalist Newspapers (Second half of the 19th century):

• Many powerful newspapers appeared, edited/published by distinguished and fearless journalists.
• Nearly one-third of the founding fathers of the Indian National Congress in 1885 were journalists.

Newspapers Published by Nationalists/Revolutionaries Abroad: Aimed to infuse a feeling of nationalism among Indians living abroad.

Creative Literature

The literary genre of the novel emerged in the latter half of the 19th century as a significant outcome of Indo-European contact. Despite different backgrounds, these writers shared a strong sense of realism and deep interest in the marginalised and oppressed sections, providing a picture of the social milieu.

Key Terms

📌 Exam Tidbits

• William Bolts attempted to publish a newspaper in 1776 but was stopped by the government.
• James Augustus Hicky published India's first newspaper, Hicky's Bengal Gazette, in 1780.
• Nearly one-third of the founding fathers of the Indian National Congress in 1885 were journalists.
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Anandamath (1882) depicts the Sanyasi Revolt of the 1760s and contains the lyric Vandemataram.
• Hind Ane Britannia (1885) by Ichharam Suryaram Desai is one of the earliest Indian novels with political overtones.

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Oral Evidence

Oral history refers to the construction of history with the help of non-written sources, for instance, personal reminiscence.

• Significance: Allows historians to broaden the boundaries of their discipline and corroborate findings from other sources.
• Methodological Caution: Many historians remain sceptical of the veracity of oral history (not completely reliable).

Key Terms

📌 Exam Tidbits

• Oral sources are used to corroborate findings, though historians remain sceptical of their absolute veracity.

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Painting

Paintings provide information on the socio-economic, political, and cultural life during the colonial period.

Specific Paintings of the 1857 Revolt:

• Relief of Lucknow: Painted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1859. Commemorates British heroes.
• In Memoriam: Painted by Joseph Noel Paton. Recorded two years of the revolt. Depicts English women and children huddled in a circle, looking helpless and innocent, seemingly waiting for the inevitable—dishonour, violence, and death.

Key Figures of the Bengal School / New Art Movement:

• Nandalal Bose and Raja Ravi Varma (representatives of the new trend).
• Abanindranath Tagore (nephew of Rabindranath Tagore) led the Bengal School.
• E.B. Havell (joined the art school in Calcutta as principal).
• Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (son of an important Tamil political leader in Sri Lanka).

Key Terms

📌 Exam Tidbits

• Company paintings are also known as Patna Kalam.
• The introduction of photography in India in the 1840s led to the decline in popularity of Company paintings.
• Relief of Lucknow was painted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1859.
• In Memoriam by Joseph Noel Paton depicts English women and children during the 1857 revolt waiting for dishonour and death.
• The Bengal School was led by Abanindranath Tagore, with vital roles played by E.B. Havell and Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy.
• Growing nationalism → primary stimulus for the emergence of the new art movement (Bengal School) in the late 19th century.

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