Themes

Objectives

Where, When, How

(a) An overview of the period.

(b) Introduction to the new geographical categories.

(c) An outline of the time frame.

(d) An introduction to the sources.

(a) Introduce the changing nomenclature of the subcontinent and regions.

(b) Delineate major developments within the time frame.

(c) Suggest how the sources of study for this period are different to those of earlier periods.

The Establishment of Company Power

(a) Mercantilism and trade-wars.

(b) Struggle for territory, wars with Indian rulers.

(c) The growth of colonial army and civilian administration.

Regional focus: Tamil Nadu.

(a) Unravel the story of a trading company becoming a political power.

(b) Show how the consolidation of British power was linked to the formation of colonial armies and administrative structures.

Rural Life and Society

(a) Colonial agrarian policies; their effect on peasants and landlords.

(b) Growth of commercial crops.

(c) Peasant revolts: focus on indigo rebellions.

Regional focus: Bengal and Bihar. Some comparison with later developments in Punjab.

(a) Provide a broad view of changes within rural society through a focus on two contrasting regions.

(b) Show the continuities and changes with earlier societies.

(c) Discuss how growth of new crops often disrupted the rhythms of peasant life and led to revolts.

Colonialism and Tribal Societies

(a) Changes within tribal economies and societies in the nineteenth century.

(b) Tribal revolts: focus on Birsa Munda.

Regional focus: Chotanagpur and North-East.

(a) Discuss different forms of tribal societies.

(b) Show how government records can be read against the grain to reconstruct histories of tribal revolts.

Crafts and Industries

(a) Decline of handicrafts in the nineteenth century.

(b) Brief reference to growth of industries in the twentieth century.

Case-studies: textiles.

(a) Familiarise students with the processes of de-industrialisation and industrialisation.

(b) Give an idea of the technologies of weaving and the lives of weavers.

The Revolt of 1857-58

(a) The rebellion in the army and the spread of the movement.

(b) The nature of elite and peasant participation.

Regional focus: Awadh.

(a) Discuss how revolts originate and spread.

(b) Point to the changes in colonial rule after 1857.

(c) Illustrate how vernacular and British accounts can be read to understand the rebellion.

Education and British rule

(a) The new education system – schools, syllabi, colleges, universities, technical training.

(b) Changes in the indigenous systems.

(c)Growth of ‘National education'.

Case-studies: Baroda, Aligarh.

(a) Show how the educational system that is seen as universal and normal today has a history.

(b) Discuss how the politics of education is linked to questions of power and cultural identity.

Women and reform

(a) Debates around sati, widow remarriage, child marriage and age of consent.

(b) Ideas of different reformers on the position of women and women's education.

Regional focus: Maharashtra and Bengal.

(a) Discuss why so many reformers focused on the women's question, and how they visualised a change in women's conditions.

(b) Outline the history of new laws that affect women's lives.

(c) Illustrate how autobiographies, biographies and other literature can be used to reconstruct the histories of women.

Challenging the Caste System

(a) Arguments for caste reform. The ideas of Phule, Veerasalingam, Sri Narayana Guru, Periyar, Gandhi, Ambedkar.

(b) Consequences and implications of the activities of the reformers.

Region: Maharashtra, Andhra.

(a) Familiarise students with the biographies and writings of individuals who sought to criticise and reform the caste system.

(b) Discuss why the question of caste was central to most projects of social reform.

Colonialism and Urban Change

(a) De-urbanisation and emergence of new towns.

(b) Implications of colonial policies and institutions -municipalities, public works, planning, railway links, police.

Case-study: Delhi.

(a) Outline the nature of urban development in the19th and 20th centuries.

(b) Introduce students to the history of urban spaces through photographs.

(c) Show how new forms of towns emerged in the colonial period.

Changes in the Arts: Painting, Literature, architecture

(a) Impact of new technologies and institutions: art schools, printing press.

(b) Western academic style and nationalist art.

(c) Changes in performing arts – music and dance enter the public arena.

(d) New forms of writing.

(e) New architecture.

Case-studies: Mumbai, Chennai.

(a) Outline the major development in the sphere of arts.

(b) Discuss how these changes are linked to the emergence of a new public culture.

(c) Illustrate how paintings and photographs can be used to understand the cultural history of a period.

The Nationalist Movement

(a) Overview of the nationalist movement from the 1870s to the 1940s.

(b) Diverse trends within the movement and different social groups involved.

(c) Links with constitutional changes.

Case study: Khilafat to Non Cooperation.

(a) Outline the major developments within the national movement and focuses on a detailed study of one major event.

(b) Show how contemporary writings and documents can be used to reconstruct the histories of political movements.

India after Independence

(a) National and regional developments since 1947.

(b) Relations with other countries.

(c) Looking to the future.

(a) Discuss the successes and failures of the Indian democracy in the last fifty years.

(b) Illustrate how newspapers and recent writings can be used to understand contemporary history.