Colonial Origins Of Modernity In India

Book excerpt: Our main discussion in this book Indian society, polity and culture of the colonial period. Indian society in the 19th century was caught in an inhuman web created by religious superstition and social obscuration. Hinduism, has become a compound of magic, animation and superstition and monstrous rites like animal sacrifice and physical torture had replaced the worship of God. The most painful was position of women. The British conquest and dissemination colonial culture and ideology led to introspection about the strength and weakness of indigenous culture and civilization. The social reform movements which emerged in India in the 19th century arose to the challenges that colonial Indian society faced. The well-known issues are that of sati, child marriage, ban on widow remarriage and caste discrimination. It is not that attempts were not made to fight social discrimination in pre-colonial India. They were central to Buddhism, to Bhakti and Sufi movements. What marked these 19th century social reform attempts were the modern context and mix of ideas. It was a creative combination of modern ideas of western liberalism and a new look on traditional literature.We hope that students will benefited a lot from reading this book.