India’s ancient history is vast beyond the measures of Western culture, concepts of time and even historical record. The development of early civilizations in India, such as the Harappans and then Aryans, is a testament to how much more complex and old this part of the world is compared to what I know in terms of history. I think of my own historical records, my family lineage, the history I think I can clearly trace, and even that is muddle in my memory. The challenges of memory and preservation, let alone on this time scale is tremendous, humbling, and hard to conceptualize in any real terms… Having taken this into account, I find it fascinating how the many “lenses” especially the colonial/Western perspective have framed or affected ancient Indian historical perspective. There is such a vast scale of time to reinterpret, misinterpret and frame history. A prominent example in the reading is the debate of the mysterious Aryans. According to McLeod and many outside sources, it is a commonly held interpretation that the Aryans were light-skinned invaders from the north. This is not necessarily true, but the rhetorical implications of “black” or dark-skinned others has been reinforced and twisted over time: one prominent example is the Hitler’s harmful appropriation of the term, that has twisted Western ideas of Aryans in history (15). The Aryans created early religious and hierarchal structures that are still in place today through the Brahmins, Sanskrit and Varna (class) and jati (blood lineage) systems that were combined to create today’s caste system. These hugely important aspects of contemporary India come from a society that formed in 2000 BCE. This timescale for history and misinterpretation and reimagination is what I will strive to be aware of for this period of history during my time in India.
What astounds and intrigues me most about the Mughal era is the unprecedented cultural development and patronage of the arts that took place. Many of the most symbolic pieces of India: the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Jama Masjid, were built under great Muslim leaders in this period (55). What is so striking to me is the contrast of how these pieces were built to show Shah Jahan’s Muslim faith, and how they are such “Indian” symbols, yet the treatment of Muslims in India today is bleak. The idea of Hindu nationalism, and oppression of Muslim minorities (the biggest minorities) is appalling. This is an example of how history and public memory (at least from my first impressions as an outsider) can be reinterpreted and misunderstood. The tensions of forming a picture of Indian identity are vast for a Westerner to understand, but just as complex and diverse from the inside as well, it seems. Being aware of this and taking in a multiplicity of perspectives are what I can benefit from in this chapter of history.
From the British-era of rule in India I am intrigued by the stages of orientalism and identity formed from both sides. The book discusses many stages, one landmark being Cornwallis in 1786 ending a relationship of “close ties” between parties and creating a new “racist climate” in relations (71). McLeod also discusses how India symbolized Britain’s status as a “great power” and the “moral duty” of the British to help the less-developed India (84). From admiration and fascination to domination and oppression, the relationship is complicated to understand and I would expect the effects of colonialism are still a very prominent feature in India today. Being aware of the systematic oppression of the British and the assumptions of otherness/exoticism/Eastern/spiritual versus normal/Western/civilized/scientific… the list goes on are still so prominently a part of our Western assumptions about India today. The implications of colonization in a conceptual realm will be very real and tangible to me when we get there and I hope that that those attitudes are something I can be aware of in myself.
In my reading about the struggle for national independence, I was struck by the intersection of patriarchy and colonialism in formation of social change. By the time I read this section, I was already looking into my independent research on feminism and was reading into the gender politics of change in India, so I was keeping an eye out for how women were playing a role in national independence. In our book there was a lack of women mentioned in creating change, Mcleod mentioned that women could not vote in many of the elections forming the new India, and the role of key figures such as Annie Besant (one of the only women mentioned) was controversial. In addition, after reading about Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru, I became fascinated with their ideas on women, and their strong stress on women as mother figures, the strong backbone of society and even advocacy for equality that was huge for Indian women, but also has strong effects on Indian feminism and equality today. Understanding the formation of modern independent India, I think, is really important because it is so formative to the nation to today and understanding how foundations and laws were laid out for oppressed peoples (women being prominent here) after an era of colonialism is a fascinating layering of history. The intersection of colonialism and patriarchy will benefit my understanding of oppression of minorities in India today.
From the Nehru-Gandhi dynastic period I learned a lot about the brand of nationalism that is seen so prominently in the Indian political climate today. Mcleod discussed the need to strike a balance between diversity and unity. This was seen in the adoption of Hindi as a national language, and although there are 14 official national languages today, the controversy of nationalism (and even further, Hindutva in the BJP…) such as teaching the Bhagavad Gita in schools raises major tensions. The difference in leadership and ideals between Nehru’s secularism to Rajiv’s Hinduism speaks for itself in context of Indian politics. What I can carry away from this period of history is how enormous but how difficult strides of democracy have been in the past 50 years in India. It will benefit me to be aware of the tumultuous and multifaceted issues that government and progress have run into since independence.