HST265 - The Making of Modern India, 1780-1965

20 credits (Semester 1)

Module Leader: Dr Saurabh Mishra (2024-25)

Module Summary

Scenario 1: James Achilles Kirkpatrick was a British officer at the court of the Indian princely kingdom of Hyderabad in the 1780s. He wore Indian-style clothing at home, smoked a hookah, chewed betelnut, enjoyed nautch parties, and maintained a small harem. He spoke Tamil as his first language, wrote poetry in Urdu, and also knew Persian and Hindustani (all of them Indian languages). Kirkpatrick also married a local noblewoman called Khair-un-Nissa, who was was the granddaughter of Nawab Mahmood Ali Khan -- the prime minister of Hyderabad -- and converted to Islam.

Scenario 2: The Ilbert Bill was formally introduced on 9 February 1883, giving senior Indian judges the authority to try European undertrials. This led to a massive pushback by Europeans, especially planters and merchants, who formed the European and Anglo-Indian Defence Association to fight it. Rumours began circulating that an English female was raped by an Indian in Calcutta, and that she had to face the humiliation of appearing before an Indian judge. The British press in India spread wild rumours about how Indian judges would abuse their power to establish harems which they would then fill with British females. All of this led to the eventual watering-down of the bill.

These two are completely different scenarios that show two very different British attitudes towards race, ethnicity, and imperialism. This module will examine the process whereby these changes happened between the 1780s and the end of the nineteenth century – often seen as the high noon of British rule in India. It will also examine Indian reactions, resistances, rebellions, and the eventual eviction of the British (as well as the Partition) as a result of the national movement. It will also venture into the post-colonial period to analyse the legacies of imperialism.

THEMES

Introduction to India, and a brief survey of Historiography
From the Mughals to the British: Continuity and change in Eighteenth-Century India
Knowledge and Power: Annexations, Surveys, and the formation of Empire
Race and Empire in India
Of Widows jumping into funeral Pyres of husbands: Sati and the question of women’smreform
Rebellions, Revolts and the Violence of Colonialism
Death, Disease, and Famines in India: Genocide by another name?
Gandhi, Mass Mobilization, and the Indian National Movement
‘This stained tainted light, this night-bitten dawn’: Independence and the violence of the Partition
‘This Independence is a farce?’: Postcolonial breaks and continuities

The seminars will discuss the same themes as the lectures, and the module will follow a roughly chronological order.

FOR A GOOD INTRODUCTION TO MODERN INDIAN HISTORY, LISTEN TO SUNIL KHILNANI’S:

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives on BBC Radio 4

Learning outcomes

Ability to comprehend history of a different and unfamiliar region.

Ability to voice opinions in an articulate way.

Ability to read on a range of themes and understand them with all their nuances.

Ability to work independently, and present arguments convincingly in the written form.

Further develop your ability to read critically.

Teaching

The module is taught via 11 weekly lectures, and 11 weekly seminars.

Assessment

Please see this page for assessment details: Level 2 assessment