INDIA
How did the different political-philosophical tendencies in English thought perceive India?
English had respect and interest for Indian culture. Orientalism - study of Eastern societies by Western scholars, often leading to distortion of history. India was seen as ‘religion, spirit, nature, the exotic, adventure, danger, romanticism, myth, feminine’. British reaction at home were divided:
conservatives: dignity of Indian culture and Indians should be educated in their own language and culture
orientalists: it was the duty of English to stay and interfere in India’s development
How did attitudes towards India by the English evolve (3 stages of the Raj)?
Three stages of the Raj:
Wave 1: English arrive as traders in 1700, set up the East India Company. After the whites settled permanently, they began to bring their families to India - this put an end to mixed marriages. Discovery Indo-European language system: whites started to learn Indian languages. The real turning point was the Black Hole of Calcutta incident, when the Nawab of Bengal attacked British Calcutta. At that time British were at the sea, leaving a number of British women and children in the city. The Nawab put these women and children temporarily in prison, called the Black Hole. Around 50 of the died from suffocation (удушение) and dehydration. The British used this accident for vicious retaliation (возмездие) and imposition of direct rule.
Wave 2: English saw themselves as Missionaries. 1813 - official entry of Christian missionaries to British India, attempt to Christianize India. The missionaries had little success, the exception being among tribals and low caste Hindus.
Wave 3: 1857-1858 - 3rd wave begins. English turned away from trying to Christianize the natives to trying to Anglicize and civilize them. Indian Mutiny (‘First war of independence’ for Indians’, Rebellion) against the British East India Company, but it ended unsuccessfully.
How was Indian thought influenced by English thought?
One major thing that English did was replacing the multiplicity of legal voices and the centuries of case law with a single voice, that of Jones’ Manu. Manu’s Laws became an instrument in the British vision of an ancient Sanskrit text-based uniform Hinduism which could serve as the uniform religion of all Hindu subjects. Also, The Bhagavad Gita was translated into English, and this book had a place in Hinduism - only a small literate elite used it for spiritual inspiration. The British interpreted the Gita as laying the way for Christianity - at least for the small aristocratic laters of the Indian population. Finally, the British admiration for the Gita led to reform movements among Hindus who sought to fashion Hinduism into something agreeing with British tastes.
What does the case of Ambedekar tell us about the role of caste in modern India?
Ambedkar was a Dalit (неприкасаемый) who agreed with Gandhi that untouchability had to be stopped in the new India. Gandhi thought that you could still keep caste, while Ambedkar thought you couldn’t. He criticized Islam and Hinduism. In 1956 5 million Dalits led by Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, because Buddhism is against the cast system. However, in India Ambedkar and other Dalits were considered as untouchables, so inequality existed, even though Ambedkar himself had bachelor degree in Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He was fighting for the rights of untouchables. Ambedkar was quite successful in his attempts because untouchables started to be treated much better and had special privileges when applying to university or job. Caste discrimination became prohibited, criminal action.
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How did Gandhi draw on Indian and English thought to formulate his ideas?
Gandhi drew on the nonviolent Jaina and Vaishnava traditions of his native Gujarat when developing the idea of satya-graha. He first applied his methods of non-violent resistance in South Africa to defend the rights of the the Indian community there. Ahimsa - non-violence. Gandhi’s program of ahimsa may be said to have multiple origins, a mixture of Indian and Western thought influenced by Indian thought. In other words, there was mutual feedback. Also, fasting was seen in dharma texts as a restoration for sin and errors - Gandhi fasting was also intended as self-improvement too. Gandhi visualized a fundamental role for women as instruments of social change, and it might be that he took this idea of equal rights of men and women from England.
What do the Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj tell us about how Hinduism evolved in contact with Western thought?
Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj - Hindu reform movement. Roy - founder of Brahmo Samaj. He suggested that Indian society should follow the example of Western civilizations: he urges Hindus to learn maths, natural sciences, philosophy, chemistry. Doctrines of Brahmo Samaj:
1. Brahmo Samajists have no faith in any scripture as an authority
2. Brahmo Samajists denounce polytheism and idol-worship
3. Brahmo Samajists are against caste restrictions
4. Brahmo Samajists make faith in the doctrines of Karma and Rebirth optional
They tried to build a new world that would combine the best of Hindu and British values.