Not only did indigenous structures of authority give way under this assault but the East India Company itself almost collapsed into bankruptcy.

The British Parliament decided to mount a salvaging operation and in 1784, through Pitt's India Act, established a very basic framework of government.

Such a framework, however, had very little character.

It was neutral, a scaffolding of empire without the bricks and mortar.

But what sort of empire should be constructed?

Was it to be a permanent or temporary structure?

What were its functions and responsibilities?

How was the new 'raj' to be run?

These were the questions which were asked in 1784.

By 1828 the answers were known.

Various schools of thought had turned their minds to the problem and submitted tenders to lay the foundations for empire.

This tutorial will look at that tendering process.

Synoptic Lecture Notes

LECTURE 2:

A HOST OF MEDDLERS. THE COMING OF WESTERNISATION 1784-1828

Wife of Company official supervises tailor From: Collection of Lawrence Impey

Pitt's India Act 1784 erects the scaffolding of empire

But questions concerning its architecture remain

what kind of empire was this EICo Raj to be?

doubts about the bricks and mortar

Questions asked from 1784 onwards. By 1828 the answers are known.

SETTING

Three basic architectural blueprints put forward.

INDIRECT RULE WHERE FEASIBLE

a) Orientalist - policy of non-interference

- preservation of Hindu/Muslim society

- to rule but not to reform

MIXED RULE: THE BEST OF BOTH SYSTEMS

b) Pragmatist - represents the commonsense view of the British presence

- good government needed for trade, as well as justification of imperial rule

- But this did not necessarily mean English government or institutions.

DIRECT RULE AT ALL TIMES

c) Anglicist - Hinduism debased and must be destroyed.

- Asiatic society despotic and must be replaced.

Two pronged attack:

Evangelical (Wilberforce, Grant, Shore)

Utilitarian (James Mill, Bentham, Bentinck)

Evangelical formula: improvement via the bible

Utilitarian formula: improvement via British laws.

ORIENTALISM

i) for Robert Clive this meant Expediency. What could be done, rather than necessarily what should be done. Simply run the Mughal system if possible.

ii) for Warren Hastings this meant Indianisation. Instead of turning Indians into Brown Englishmen, turn Englishmen into White Asians.

PRAGMATISM

Governor-General Cornwallis comes out with a job to do (1786-1792).

- Clean up corruption

- run government efficiently

He does this by professionalising the Administration.

Establishes the Imperial Civil Service [ICS] on a salaried basis. (Haileybury College 1806)

reforms the land Revenue system

i.e., he regularises taxation.

Two systems of land tenure introduced throughout India:

a) Zemindari System [via landlords]

- Bengal and North India

b) Ryotwari System [via peasants]

- South India

Revolutionary change = introduction of concept of private property

Result = land could be lost by Zemindars and ryots, in event of failure to pay taxes. Bania (moneylenders) move in. Poverty.

ANGLICISM

Evangelical Assault

a) Charles Grant [Chairman of EICo]

Clapham - [Sect - Mafia] 1772 writes: 'Observations on State of Society among Asiatic subjects of Great Britain'

Although a drainpipe study of Hindu India, this work acquires status of a Government White Paper.

Provides Christian rationale of Empire

Ladder of Civilisation

b) James Mill [Policy-Maker fo EICo. 1818-28] 1806-18 writes: History of India in 6 volumes

Becomes a set text at Haileybury.

Extremely influential throughout 19th century

Message: Before India can be improved, its past must be destroyed.

1828 : The Anglicists win the day.

Tutorial Questions to Address

1. 'Orientalism':
A blueprint for accommodation? Examine the architectural designs of Edmund Burke and Warren Hastings.

3. Evangelical Blitzkrieg:
The bulldozing away of Indian culture? Consider the programs of Wilberforce and Charles Grant.

Core Reading

Brown, (Ch II)

Hutchins, (Ch. 1)

Woodruff, Vol 1, Part I, Chs IV,V: PartII, Chs I,III,V

Additional Reading

K. Ballhatchet, Social Policy and Social Change in Western India 1817-1830. (Good on Elphinstone).

Special Issue of Indo-British Review: 'The East India Company Raj', Vol. XXI, no. 2 (1996)

G.D. Bearce, British Attitudes Towards India, Chs. 1-3, 5. (Good on Cornwallis, Munro, Elphinstone and on pressure to reform Indian Society).

A. Embree, Charles Grant and British Rule in India. (Evangelical influence).

E.M. Howse, Saints in Politics: the 'Clapham Sect' and the Growth of Freedom.

P.J. Marshall, Problems of Empire. (Ch. 11.)

S.N. Mukherjee, Sir William Jones: A Study in Eight-eenth Century British Attitudes to India.

E. Stokes, English Utilitarians and India. (Introduction and Ch. 1.)

Special Issue of Indo-British Review

Select Titles to consider

Stephen Blake, 'From Shahjahanabad to Delhi: Mughal Rule to Company Raj, 1839-1857', pp.5-17.

G.J. Bryant, 'The Military Imperative in Early British Expansion in India, 1750-1785', pp. 18-35.

P.J. Marshall, 'The White Town of Calcutta under the Rule of the East India Company', pp. 42-52.

Penelope Carson, 'The Company and the Cross', pp. 72-83.

Martha McLaren, 'Philosophical History and the Ideology of the Company State: the Historical Works of John Malcolm and Mountstuart Elphinstone', pp. 130-143.