British Influence on Indian Culture in the 20th century
- Details
- Hits: 8515
British Influence on Indian Culture in the 20th century
Several things, including the democracy’s long history, unique geography, and most importantly the influence of Great Britain, have shaped Indian culture. During most of the 20th Century, India was under British colonization. This period was characterized by absorption of traditions, customs, and ideas from some of the colonial masters. Some Indians who chose to preserve their ancient heritages, whose origin was the Indus Valley Civilization, were forced to change and adopt a British way of doing things. The great diversity of customs, cultural practices, languages, and traditions are illustrations of the unique co-mingling among the Indians and Britons during the 20th Century. For instance, India, a place initially with Hinduism and Buddhism as the only systems of religion, was left with several religions, including Judaism when the colonialists left.
During this time, the colonial presence of the Protestant British posed a lot of religious influence on society. The coming of Apostle Thomas saw the introduction of Christianity in India in 50 A.D. The Christian church was established at this time. There was total disregard of the native religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. An objective of the British when converting large numbers of Indians to Christianity was one of the conditions of independence. This condition claimed India was not fit for freedom until it was seen to be leavened with Christianity. Nevertheless, the Britons were aware that conversion of Indians to Christianity would not come easy as Muslims were also present and had a lot of influence.
There was immense inequality and imbalance in Hinduism. Christian missionaries took advantage of this and urged Hindus to convert to Christianity, where all people were equal despite their class and social status. Hindus who never felt the inequality began to feel the inadequacies of this caste system; British missionaries would give the Hindu converts everything they needed. Equality, freedom, as well as education, things that were never easy to attain before, were granted freely. Christian missionaries became extremely successful in their conversion bid, and this was a principal reason the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 occurred. Soldiers feared the British missionaries wanted to have them touch polluted weaponry and them expelled from the caste, an eventuality that would make them convert to Christianity. The British demanded the destruction of the caste system as it had become a barrier between the converts and the rest of society. However, the government was more appealing to reap profits and then possibly convert the Indians. A number of Hindus pretended to have converted in a bid to get some benefits exclusively meant for converts. There were many ways of detecting such cases of pretence. One was that the children of such people talked and discussed Hindu legends at school. Therefore, they made a mosaic of cultures more complex than their initial pure Hindu (Allen 30).
Initially, each ethnic group used its own language. In fact, this country is very rich in languages that the number of distinct individual languages 452, of which the speakers of 14 languages are extinct. Because of the influence of Great Britain, English is now one of the languages most spoken in India (Fischer-Tiné and Mann 25). It has also become the language of instruction in schools and has wide application in numerous business transactions. In a bid to make communication between all places in India easy, Great Britain influenced the selection of English and Hindu as the two official languages. Nonetheless, English became a major language because the whole country adopted it. It broke the language barrier that existed before British influence on Indian culture. Because it is an important business language in the world, it has made trading much easier in India (Mohammed 46).
Scholars from Great Britain had a good knowledge of developmental psychology. They used this knowledge to influence the young minds and the way of thinking of Indian children, rather than attempting to influence the adults whose thinking was difficult to change. The first schools established in India- manned by missionaries- started admitting children before the 20th Century, but their influence on Indian culture went further beyond this era. The number of Indians seeking the British system of education grew gradually. Indians were forced establish Hindu Colleges that provided English education, mathematics, Western philosophy, and the natural sciences. Indians’ aim of attending a school with the British system of education was admission to the civil service of India. The government financed this education with the assistance of the EIC. Institutions that taught Indian education were never touched or supported by the government. As the aim was to influence the Indian culture, education became the easiest way to make Indians think the British way. It was assumed if children spent a whole day in an environment where English education was taught, then they would begin behaving like Britons and become British in aspects. An example is the case of the maharajas. Their children were educated in schools offering Western education in India and then sent to further education in Great Britain. When the child grew up and returned to his or her homeland, it did not know about the identity and culture of India. Maharaja Jagatjit Bahadur was one of the maharajas whose children went to further education in Britain. Later, a major conflict arose when these children grew up and got back to their country. They questioned the place they belonged; as they understood little concerning the Indian tradition and the complexity, they saw in it when they compared it to the British one to which they were used. When they went back to Great Britain, the Britons did not accept them because they were Indians. Later they became princes and changed Indian customs they perceived to be unimportant. Nevertheless, society failed to function without the fundamental laws (Mohammed 66).
Indians were first to attend a vernacular primary school. Immediately after this, they joined an Anglo- Indian high school. A few went on to colleges and universities available in Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. This type of education produced a clique of intellectuals that were ready to change this subcontinent. Most of these learners were Hindus and Brahmins as Moslems rejected the educational programs from Great Britain, citing injustice they faced as a result of refusing to change their Sharia system. The Hindus got the chance to experience an equal treatment while other people studied about equality in British schools. Lower castes attempted to imitate the behavior of the higher ones. Known as Sanskrititazion, this enabled them to get upward in social stratum and caste. Sanskrititazion meant people of very low status could adopt the attributes behaviors of castes with Brahminical status as stated in texts of Sanskrit. When the British came, this act was replaced by increased westernization. Indians were able to imitate the apparently prestigious Britons in order that they move upward in the Indian hierarchy (Hodgson 130).
The British administrators found the Moslems generally suspicious and considered them perpetrators of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. This led to a skewed distribution of British education. Because of the higher level of education, the traditional cultural classes that ruled changed. Indians wielded more political power than did Muslims. This also changing the social strata as the ruling class amassed more and more wealth, leaving the others poor. Politics were mostly left to the Hindus and Brahmins; their clique became the largest cast that controlled the political circle. They effected major decisions on language, religion, and nationalism. Brahmins started to encourage both religious and political reforms as influenced by the British government. Moslems technically did not have a class to represent their opinions and protect their interests. They were denied the chance to understand the circumstances in which they found themselves. This was to affect them later during the struggle for the country’s liberation. Previously, people had viewed education as a boundary between all Indians, but later they understood what freedom and democracy meant. Overall, the British used education as a major tool to influence Indian culture in the 20th Century. Today India is one of the continents where the best grammatically correct English is spoken. In addition, India has universities and colleges with reputable degrees, which are recognized worldwide (Hodgson 162).
There was also a substantial influence on the caste system. Initially, the social structure in India comprised four Varna (colors or class categories). The original castes were groups where membership was attained at birth and lasted for the entire lifetime. The divisions occurred along facial color lines. People belonging to a caste could only marry within that caste (endogamy). A person who came from a high caste to interact with a person from a lower one was considered impure; he or she had to bath in River Gang immediately. In addition, there was the Sudras caste, the lowest. They were untouchable since they were considered nothing, but sand. They could not attain an education or work, but they could burry dead bodies or repair sinks. Brahmins were the higher castes, or the priests, whose work was teaching. Under them was a caste called the Kshattriya, which comprised of politicians, administrators, and soldiers. Sometimes a fifth Varna is described. This is the pariahs at the bottom of the stratum. They consisted of lowly servants who buried unclaimed human corpses. They were considered impure and worked at night (Allen 64).
The British favored individualistic as opposed to group behavior. The Indians were influenced to drop the caste system and act as individuals. In India, the core of society had been a group, with people struggling to fit in particular groups. Influence from Great Britain tried to eradicate group identity in favor of individual identity. The British encouraged the Hindus to act and decide individually, insisting that this never meant a person could never be part of a group. He or she could join a group but place his or her individualism above that social group (Kasbekar 148).
Hierarchy, as important as it is in the Indian society, was influenced to the extent that it was almost scrapped. Prior to the onset of British influence on Indian culture, the hierarchical composition was uncommon and unique. There existed three criteria: one was being a member of a certain religious group, living according to one’s wealth and profession, as well as respecting and living to the expectations of one gender. Principally, the Indian hierarchy over history was formed around religious groups as seen from the Moghul Empire and the colonization of India. There was always a group hierarchy and another one within any given family. Such hierarchies were core of society until the British colonialists interfered with them. Because of that interference, today the caste system is prohibited, but it exists in the form of an extremely rigid stratum system. The British encouraged Indians to drop the hierarchy as one way of showing them how to be enlightened (Fischer-Tiné and Mann 234).
There was massive British influence on Indian food. Prior to the British arrival to colonize, the Indians used to feed on traditional foods they got from subsistence farming. Traditionally, cooking was done in a way that one was left wondering how all of the food would come together to the table, from the kitchen. Women were the principal cooks in Hindu families. The oldest woman usually delegated tasks to others in a given household, and preparing one meal could be a daylong affair. It comprised pounding spices, making multiple sauces, as well as preparing breads from scratch. Recipes could be handed down within lineages or communities for successive generations. Men were food purveyors of restaurants in numerous early towns and helped prepare feasts. Cooking for one’s friends was very popular among young women. Sitting down to a meal often left a Briton noticing that some utensil was missing cutlery or silverware. Traditionally, fingers were the "utensils" for picking portions of food from the serving platter. The British called such dining ‘family style.’ Large trays and bowls crowded the table. Every person used to pinch up hand-full of breads or rice to scoop up the dishes. The Indians did not emphasize thorough hand washing prior to eating.
Since British invasion and the beginning of British influence in India, foods eaten have changed enormously. Today, India boasts of one of the most colorful and aromatic foods among world cuisines. A Variety of countless Indian foods is identifiable by their caste, tribe, or region. Most Indians take a diet quite similar to that of their ancestors, but with modifications from Great Britain. With what the British called ‘civilization,’ Indian food has now changed. Hefty volumes are now to be found on the treasure of Indian seasonings and recipes. However, some staple foods making up the traditional diet remain popular like the basmati. India will continue boasting of many variations in the repertoire of its federal foods, thanks to a blend of influences from Great Britain, Arab, Turkey, and Qatar.
Indian clothing varied from region to region based on the ethnicity, climate, cultural traditions, and geography. Historically, the clothing worn by men and women evolved from the simple loincloths and lingoes that covered only essential parts to elaborate costumes (Kasbekar 85). The costumes were used both for casual wear and during festivities and rituals like dance performance. Integral to India’s clothing history is the Kashmiri shawl. Its varieties include the pashmina wool shawls and shahtoosh. Wool textiles find mention in association with the Kashmir. The dye applied on such shawls was red, violet, or purple. The red dye was procured from some cochineal insects while the purple or violet came from a combination of red and blue. The lowly prized Kashmir shawls, Jamavar, as well as the Kanika Jamavar were woven carefully with weaving spools containing a colored thread known as Kani. Each shawl took the time to make, ensuring its quality was high, and people would like it. In fact, a tailor with enough experience usually took more than a couple years to complete a set of two shawls. In addition, each shawl required a range of 100 to 1500 kamis, although this depended on the level of elaboration necessary to complete a high quality garment. On completion, the person supposed to put it on usually left it in the sun to dry. He or she then looked for ornaments for additional beauty. With British influence, especially in the urban areas, western clothing became common and worn uniformly by people of all social status. Today, there is a great diversity in weaves, colors, fibers, and material used for clothing. People follow color codes in clothing because of religion or ritual in question. For instance, while mourning Hindu women will put on white attire to indicate lamentation. In other areas, white is worn when one is going for a wedding.
In conclusion, one cannot determine the strength of the influence of Great Britain on Indian culture in the 20th century. Nevertheless, apparently this influence came indirectly through the education system copied from Great Britain. Because of this influence, India is gradually becoming a more individualistic society. Since independence, however, the Queen of England has announced a declaration that Great Britain should not interfere with Indians; Indian religions and customs should be left alone. This statement appears lawful because the British have limited knowledge on Indian religion and customs. Educational programs enabled the British to influence the Indian society in a way that was not forceful. The British coerced every Indian person, whose culture was subordinate, to denigrate him or herself. Some form of a virtual reality was created where the expedition of an attitude of self-hate among Indians arose. Alternatively, a smokescreen meant to hide the repression, exploitation and tyranny from Great Britain was underway. Great Britain has been considered successful in its ‘civilizing mission’ and propagation of its great cultural heritage in India.