Colonialism in India

UNIT-I

Introduction

The word colonialism has been derived from the Roman term "colonia" which means
colony. These phenomena began in the 14th century and progressed until the late 19th century.
Colonialism is the policy where one country seeks to extend political or economic authority over
the people and physical territory of another country to become richer. Economic dominance and
exploitation of resources is the primary aim of the country indulging in colonialism.

Beginning of English Colonialism in India :

The coming of the Europeans to India is a great importance in history of our country.
Portuguese were the first to come to India. Indian commodities were great in demand in
European markets. These things used to reach Europe either by land or sea. Colonialism is a
practice or policy of control by one nation over the people living in different areas or countries
often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. Due to
colonialism, the colonizers were able to impose their cultural practices, economics and language
and spread their religion.

OBJECTIVES:

* The basic purpose of British colonial rule over India was to compliment and serve the
industrialisation Process in Britain.

* The soul aim of the colonial government was to reduce India to a mere supplier of raw
materials for the betterment and advancement of their home country.

* The purposes of colonization included economic exploitation of colonies natural resources,

creation of new markets for the colonizer and extension of colonizer's way of life beyond
national borders.

Colonialism lead to nationalism in India:

Colonization affected people’s freedom and national sentiments surged during the process of
struggle against imperial domination. Sense of oppression and exploitation became a common
bond for people from different works of life and it resulted in growth of nationalist
ideals.Colonial era in India started with establishment of Portuguese trading centre at Quilon. In
1505,King Manuel of Portugal appointed Francisco de Almeida the first Portuguese viceroy in
India.British came to India with a motive of colonization. British used India as a feeder colony
for flourishing economic back to Britain.

Reason for colonization in India:

There were economic, political and religious reasons. During colonization economic depression
was occurring in Europe and powerful countries were losing money. This exploitation continued
for about two centuries till we got independence.

Types of Colonialism

* SETTLER COLONIALISM

Settler colonialism involves a large scale immigration by settlers to colonies for the purpose
of settling down and establishing settlements, often motivated by religious, political, or
economic reasons. It occurs when colonizers and settlers invade and occupy territory to
permanently replace the existing society with the Society of colonizers.

* EXPLOITATION COLONIALISM

Exploitation colonialism involves fewer colonists and focuses on the exploitation of natural
resources or labour to the benefit of their home country. It is the use of force to control another
country to exploit its population as labor and its natural resources as raw materials. In
undertaking exploitation colonialism,the colonial power sought only to increase its wealth by
using the indigenous people as low-cost labour.

* SURROGATE COLONIALISM

It involves a Settlement project supported by a colonial power in which most of the settlers
do not come from the same ethnic group as the ruling power. A foreign power encourages and
supports either openly or covertly the settlement of non native group on territory occupied by an
indigenous population.

* INTERNAL COLONIALISM

Internal colonialism is a source of exploitation comes from within the state.

* NATIONAL COLONIALISM

It is a process involving elements of both settler and internal colonialism in which nation
building and Colonization are symbiotically connected.

Role of money lenders,zamindars change the social structure in village. Moment of people from
India to other colonies threatened the change in social system of caste. It involved the oppression
of Labourers by curtailing their freedom and exploiting them. British's decision to grant
independence to India arose primarily and Gandhi's successful social movements inspired a
fundamental change in the colonial power that led to collapse of British colonial empire.
 Nationalism

Nationalism has been derived from the noun designating “Nations”. Nationalism in India
means a change in people's understanding of their identity and sense of belonging. Growth of
modern nationalism is connected to anti colonial movements. People began discovering their
unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism.

ORIGIN OF NATIONALISM:

* Indian nationalism was fully developed during the Indian Independence movement which
campaigned for independence from British rule.

* Indian nationalism quickly rose to popularity in India through this united anti-Colonial
Coalition and movements.

* Bala Gangadhar Tilak is known as the father of Indian nationalism. He was called by
British colonial authorities as the father of Indian unrest, a person who rules or guides or inspires
others is a nationalist leader.

* Nationalism comprises basic elements like common

race,language,religion,traditions,history,geography,war,etc.

* Race is an important factor in the formation of nationalism.

* British imperialism was an important factor which contributed to the rise of nationalism in
India.

* Before the advent of the British the people of South were usually separated from rest of
India. The first president of Indian nationalism A.O.Hume was a retired civil servant of the
British government.

Reasons for the emergence of Nationalism in India are:

* Political, economic an administrative unification

* Impact of western education

* Development of means of transport

* Socio religious reform movements

* Development of media, newspaper and magazines

* Britisher's exploited policies

* National movements outside India

 * In India in the early 20th century people of different creeds and castes joined or united to
fight against colonial rule

* The Indian National Congress led by Gandhi did non-violent protests to gain poorna
swaraj or complete independence.

Colonial Schools

Colonial Schools, especially in India, aimed to establish an English –based education system
with the goal of creating a class of interpreters between the colonial administration and the
governed. When the colonial administration provided the formal education system with English
as the medium of instruction, many educational institutions were also established by missionaries
and private individuals. The curriculum was based on the British model with subjects like law
science and history were taught.

Colonial schools were run by churches and religion was an important part of Education. The
teachers were not well trained .All grades were taught in one room at one time by one teacher.
Teachers were not well trained and were poorly paid and relied on students’ parents for room and
board. Teachers did not have tools-,no globes no blackboards etc. When their parents needed
them to work at home they did not go to school.

Colonial Education:

Colonial education during the colonial period, especially in British India aimed to promote
English education and British values. Missionaries also played a role in establishing schools and
promoting Christianity. Indians were to be educated in English and their native language. The
education system was to be set up in every province. Every district should have at least one
government school. Colonial officials hoped education would mould Indians into “Babus”- loyal
to the colonial regime. Colonial educations strips the colonized people away from indigenous
learning structures and draw them towards the structures of the colonizers.

Features of colonial education:

Colonial education has a pyramid shape quality. The number of students who started at lower
levels reduced as they went to higher levels. Schools were built in areas with economic
importance.

Impact:

The English education did change the Indian life in its politics, economics, religious and moral
life. The English education enabled people to think in broader terms and understand what our
scriptures are really saying. It gave them courage to demolish the evil systems in Hindu religion
like Sati and Child Marriage.

Conclusion:

Mahatma Gandhi argued that colonial education created a sense of inferiority in the minds of
Indians. It made them see Western civilization as a superior and destroyed the pride they had in
their own culture.

Marxist view on Colonialism

The Marxist perspective on colonialism is rooted in the analysis of the capitalist mode of
production and it impacts on the global system of imperialism. Marx view colonialism as a
manifestation of imperialism, which is the highest stage of capitalism. According to Marxist
theorists, colonialism involves the exploitation of colonies and their resources by imperialist
powers in order to generate profit and maintain their dominance over the global economy.

Marx argues that colonialism is closely intervened with the process of capitalist
accumulation, as colonial power seek to extract surplus value from their colonies through the
exploitation of cheap labor and natural resources. This process leads to the underdevelopment of
colonies, as their economies are structured to serve the interests of the imperialist powers rather
than the needs of the local population.

In addition to economic exploitation Marx also highlight the role of colonialism in

promoting cultural hegemony and perpetuating systems of oppression and inequality. Colonial
powers often impose their own cultural norms, values and institutions on colonized society.
Marxism views colonialism as a form of imperialism and capitalism that exploits and oppresses
colonized peoples for the benefit of the colonizers. Colonialism is seen as a system of economic
and political domination where the colonizers extract resources and cheap labor from the
colonies to fuel their own industrial development and accumulation of profits. From Marxist
perspective decolonization is necessary in order to overturn these power dynamics and create a
more equitable and just society.