INDIAN LITERATURE UNDER

COLONIAL RULE
1800 - 1947
Periods of Indian Literature
❖Ancient Indian Literature (2000 BC to 1000 AD)
❖Medieval Indian Literature (1000 AD to 1800 AD)
❖Indian Literature Under Colonial Rule (1800 AD to 1947 AD)
❖Contemporary Indian Literature (1947 onwards)
The Overall Context
● At the end of the 18th century, India was a heterogeneous, multilingual
entity, and almost every regional language had a rich body of literature,
written and oral.
● However, literature continued to use the forms and conventions of the
medieval period with comparatively few innovations.
● Languages in close geographical proximity borrowed from each other,
and sometimes a particular literature itself could be multilingual.
● For example, in Punjab, Persian was the court language, but Punjabi was
intermingled with Brajbhasha and Urdu, and some Sikh scholars even
wrote in Brajbhasha, using the Gurumukhi script.
The Printing Press in India
● The printing press was firmly established in India by 1800, marking a new
era of communication.
● It also heralded the slow death of the manuscript, and initiated an age where
the author could communicate directly with the reader, without delay, without
the need of interpretation (performative or otherwise), and create a readership
based on this relationship.
● Up to the establishment of the printing press in India, the learned writer's
medium was either Sanskrit or Persian, his regional Indian language being a
second choice.
● Soon, however, the printing presses also began to cater to local areas and
those languages where a wide readership existed, gradually gained
importance.
T.B. Macaulay’s Minute on Indian Education
● Translations of the Bible into various Indian languages helped the
development of prose writing.
● Prose, so far a neglected field, also gained currency due to the rise of
journalism as newspapers and magazines were introduced to the subcontinent
by the 1740s.
● In the early days of the Empire, the British felt it was beneficial for them to
learn local Indian languages; as the Empire spread its power, their thinking
changed.
● In 1835, Macaulay's Minute on Education was accepted by Lord William
Bentinck, the Governor General, and English began making its presence felt in
the political and social spheres of life in India.
● To create “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in
taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect”
Influence of the English Language
● Macaulay’s ostensible aim was to create a class of Indians that were educated
into, and esteemed , British values and tastes.
● It also aimed at secularizing English education, which had so far been
considered a preserve of the missionaries.
● In 1857, the Indian University system was formally instituted based on the
pattern of London University.
● Universities were set up in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
● By the end of the 19th century English had almost completely replaced Persian,
and had become the new language of power and formal education.
● Slowly, literary expression in many Indian languages began to show the
influence of English, and Indians began writing in English as well.
● Henry Derozio and Michael Madhusudan Dutt were the pioneers in this field.
A Change of Consciousness

● 1857 was also the year of the failed revolt, and ambivalence about British
rule gained momentum.
● Oppression by the colonial power led to greater strife and poverty.
● In response to the growing disaffection, folk poetry began eulogizing
leaders of the revolt, such as Rani Jhansi and Nana Saheb, and gradually
dissenting voices were heard in almost every Indian language.
● The patriotic fervour inspired by the Revolt of 1857, and the atmosphere of
glorious revival led to a marked spirit of resurgent pride and a desire for
liberty.
● Writing in India acquired a strong nationalistic overtone, and this was
coupled with a love for the 'mother tongue'.
Literature & Nation

● Each Literature in India looked to its own past traditions, and its historical
antecedents, in order to create for its patrons a strong sense of identity—
regional and cultural.
● Though common themes can be seen in each language, and certain features
overlap, writers tried to focus on concerns and situations that were of
immediate importance, and close at hand.
● The love of liberty, and the motherland, however was the main unifying
factor.
● Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Anandamath (1882) contained the
patriotic song ‘Vande Mataram', a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit—which
was to later become the anthem of freedom fighters all over the country.
The Reformist Impulse

● The 19th century was also a period when many social & religious reform
movements such as the Brahmo Samaj & the Arya Samaj were instituted.
● Self-reflection & self-criticism was a marked feature of the literary
outpourings inspired by them.
● In their writings, many reformist leaders and their followers also harked
back to India's glorious past, to create a sense of pride and achievement in
the masses that were crushed by a sense of inferiority created by British
rule.
20th Century: The Rise & Influence of English

● By the early 20th century, inspired by a spirited and continuous interaction with
western and English literature, Indian literature begins to incorporate new themes
and issues.
● Translations became available in many languages; these were of Western texts,
such as the works of Shakespeare and Maxim Gorky, and even of other Indian
writers such as Tagore.
● The changes in modern Indian literature were perhaps mainly a matter of
imitation at first, but soon innovations and adaptation ensued; the language and
expression of literary creation in all the major languages was transformed.
● The novel, essay and short story replaced poetry as the major form of expression
as well.
● In poetry, the sonnet form, verse romance and ballads were popularized.
Towards Social & Political Change
● As a result of social reform movements, there was a gradual change in the position
of women and their education.
● A number of journals, meant exclusively for women, were now being brought out in
almost every language.
● Another important feature was the rise of the literary journal, in languages such as
Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu, to name a few.
● They provided a platform for emerging authors and gave an impetus to the
development of a modern literature in their respective languages.
● Indian Writing in English at this time assumed great importance and it became a
vehicle that was used with skill and felicity.
● Swami Vivekananda, Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Gandhi, Nehru and others were able to
communicate their viewpoint against colonial power to the West, and gain support.
The Gandhian Influence

Political writing is an important feature of this period, and Gandhi's writings

had a deep and powerful impact on the country, as well as on other writers.
He insisted that literature had a transformative effect on society and laid stress
on the writer's social and moral responsibilities.
Under his influence, untouchability, the plight of women and other socio-
political concerns and musings on the 'Indian way of life' became predominant
concerns in all the Indian languages.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was the most popular novelist of the period, but
Tagore dominated the scene and his writings engaged with philosophical and
political debates on nationalism and humanism .
Impact of the Freedom Movement on Indian Literature
● Most writers were in some way involved with the Freedom Movement, but
even those that were not, could not but respond to the mood of the day.
● Literature of this period, in all the modem Indian languages, articulates the
reformist and resurgent spirit of the people and raises its voice in protest
against oppression, whether political or social.
● It also condemns inequality and discrimination, in order to create a better
society.
● Writers celebrate, even mythologize India's glorious past in order to give
back pride to a subjugated people.
● The Nationalist Movement made many writers aware of their own
linguistic and individual identity and past.
Literary Tendencies
● In their writings, writers often adopted or adapted ancient methods of storytelling or
presentation to keep traditions alive.
● The majority of Indian writers of this period came from villages, and even if they
migrated to cities, they maintained the links with the past, and rural concerns are
evident in their literary expressions.
● In the 1920s the mood of Indian literature was 'romantic' as seen in movements like the
Chayavad in Hindi and the Navodaya in Kannada.
● The most eloquent expression of this was found in lyrical poetry.
● The writing was personal and subjective and talked about the suffering of sensitive
souls who had a melancholy response to nature and also wished to change the present
order of society.
● This romantic mode of writing came in for a lot of criticism, especially from those
whose concerns were overtly political and social.
Progressive Writers’ Association
● The formation of the Progressive Writers' Association is a landmark in the
progress of modern Indian Literature.
● The PWA held its first meeting in Lucknow, in 1936, with Premchand as its
President.
● The socialist and egalitarian concerns that this movement came to be
associated with were to influence Indian literature for the rest of the 20th
century.
● Economic exploitation and deprivation, class concerns and a concern for
the underprivileged became themes for literature in the entire Indian
subcontinent.
Indian Middle Class & Theatre

● Writers and readers increasingly tended to be from the middle class, and
literature reflected this change.
● An important link between the two was theatre.
● Many Bengali & Marathi playwrights became popular with semi-urban &
rural audiences.
● Popular novels were often 'performed' where audiences were yet
unfamiliar with them (usually due to illiteracy).
● Films emerged as a popular medium & writers & poets began to be
associated with this new medium.
● IPTA (Indian People's Theatre Association) was one of the products of the
political ferment of the 40s.
Indian People's Theatre Association
● A people's theatre movement was started by a few intellectuals, scientists
and artists at Bombay in the years 1942-43.
● Within a short span of time, 500 units of IPTA sprang up all over the
country combining the dynamism of Punjab, the lyricism of Bengal, and
the pain of rural Assam & Andhra, and welding all these on to a common
platform .
● Sarojini Naidu, popularly known as the nightingale of India, became the
first President.
● Many artists and playwrights associated with IPTA were to later become
members of the film industry.
The Turbulent 1940s
● The Second World War brought with it a deep questioning of the imperial powers &
their motives
● Quit India movement launched in 1942 made it evident that British Rule in India was
on its way out
● The passion and patriotic zeal that marked political life in this period was to remain a
source of inspiration in literature for many years.
● India's struggle for freedom was not waged for merely economic or political gains—in
a very important way, it was to reassert India's cultural identity.
● The euphoria of Independence was marred by the heartrending Partition of India.
● The Literature of this period reflects both the glory of the Freedom struggle, and a
somber, darker mood of self-reflection
● India had to chart her own destiny, as much still needed to be done for its millions of
inhabitants.