Teaching Plan for Academic Year 2020-21

PAPER: History of India, c. 1750-1857

SEMESTER: IV
SESSION: JAN- May 2021
TEACHER NAME: Dr. Mithilesh Kumar Mishra

SYLLABUS

Unit I: India in the mid-18th Century: society, economy, polity and culture
[a] Issues and Debates
[b] Continuity and change

Unit II: Dynamics of colonial expansion: indigenous states and Company power
[a] Regional kingdoms: economic and military and political dimensions of colonial
expansion: Bengal, Mysore, Marathas, Awadh, Punjab and the North- East.
[b] Economic Developments, Culture and Society

Unit III: Colonial state and ideology: emergence of the Company State
[a] Imperial ideologies: Orientalism, Utilitarianism, Evangelicalism and the question of
Race
[b] The colonial army: military culture and recruitment

Unit IV: Law and education

[a] Evolution of law and colonial courts
[b] Indigenous and colonial education: institutions and medium of instruction

Unit V: Economy and society

[a] Land revenue systems and agrarian relations
[b]Commercialization, indebtedness and famines
[c] Forests and pastoral economy
[d] Question of de-industrialization and foreign trade

Unit VI: Early 19th Century: Reforms and Revival

[a] Young Bengal, Brahmo Samaj, Prathana Samaj, Faraizis and Wahabis
[b] Debating Gender: Traditions and Reform in the 19th Century

Unit VII: Popular resistance

[a] The Uprising of 1857
[b] Peasant resistance to colonial rule: Santhal Uprising (1856); Indigo Rebellion (1860);
Pabna Agrarian Leagues (1873); Deccan Riots (1875).

 Course Description:
 The paper introduces students to key features of the 18th century in the Indian
subcontinent. It analyses the interface between the 18th century kingdoms and the early
colonial state. The paper also discusses the processes by which the British East India
Company transformed itself into a state and gradually consolidated its position over a vast
expanse. Apart from the evolution of colonial institutions of governance and developing
forms of colonial exploitation, the paper also highlights the interface between Company
Raj and indigenous elite on various social issues. The paper concludes with a critical
survey of peasant resistance to colonial agrarian policies, and the 1857 revolt against the
Company Raj.

 TEACHING TIME(No. Of Weeks)

15 Weeks Approximately

 CLASSES

The course is organized around daily lectures as per the time table. Students will be given
reading assignments each week to help them follow the course content. These readings will
be discussed in class in detail. Presentation shall focus either on important themes covered in
the class lectures, or on specific readings. Interactive sessions through group discussions or
group presentations. shall be used to enable un-learning of prevailing misconceptions about
historical developments and time periods, as well as to facilitate revision of issues outlined in
the lectures. Supporting audio-visual aids like documentaries and power point presentations,
and an appropriate field-visit will be used where necessary.

 UNIT WISE BREAK UP OF SYLLABUS

Unit-I: This Unit enables the students to outline key developments of the 18 th century in the
Indian subcontinent. These developments are discussed through key debates on the varied
historical evidences used by historians when examining the weakening Mughal state, growth
of regional kingdoms, changing dynamics of the economy, evolving social structures, cultural
patterns, etc. (Teaching Time: 2 weeks/ 10 Classes approx. and Tutorials.)

Unit- II: This Unit introduces the students to the political process by which Company rules
was established in the Indian subcontinent. The unit shall also acquaint students with the
important features of the 18th century states and how they came to be positioned vis-à-vis an
expanding Company state. (Teaching Time: 3 weeks/ 15 Classes approx. and Tutorials.)

Unit-III: The unit shall discuss in detail and familiarise students with the evolving
ideological underpinnings of the Company state, the idea of difference which developed
within the imperial discourse, the changing military requirements and military culture of the
expanding colonial state. (Teaching Time: 2 weeks/ 10 Classes approx. and Tutorials.)
Unit-IV: This Unit shall equip students to identify and explain the peculiarities of evolving
colonial institutions and their impact. The discussion shall focus largely on the evolving legal
apparatus and education structure and policy of the Company state. (Teaching Time: 2
weeks/ 10 Classes approx. and Tutorials.)
Unit-V: This Unit shall familiarise students with the key debates on the economic impact of
Company Raj. Students shall assess this impact by looking at changing agrarian relations,
crop cultivation, forest policy, handicraft production and trade patterns. (Teaching Time: 2
weeks/ 10 Classes approx. and Tutorials.)

Unit-VI: This Unit shall acquaint students with the social churning on questions of tradition,
modernity, reform, etc. that unfolded during first century of British colonial rule. Through
special focus on gender concerns, gender roles in the household and ideas of ‘ideal
womanhood’, the unit shall enable students to contextualize the endeavours of nineteenth-
century social reformers and nationalists. (Teaching Time: 2 weeks/ 10 Classes approx.
and Tutorials.)

Unit-VII: This Unit shall enable students to identify and discuss the issues reflected in the
major uprisings of the nineteenth century. In the context of heavy revenue assessment,
changing land rights, deepening stratification within the rural society, emergence of new
social forces in agrarian economy, etc., students shall discuss the discontent of the landed
elite, and those of struggling peasants and tribals during the Company Raj. (Teaching Time:
2 weeks/ 10 Classes approx. and Tutorials.)

 ASSESSMENT

Internal Assessment: 25 Marks

Students will be regularly assessed for their grasp on debates and discussions covered in
class. Two written submissions; one of which could be a short project, will be used for final
grading of the students. Students will be assessed on their ability to explain important
historical trends and thereby engage with the historical approach. Students in this course will
primarily have three modes of assessment:
1) Written assignment
2) Presentation
3) Class Test
Two assignments of 5 marks each. Students will have to write one essay based assignment
inclusive of bibliographies, and for the second assignment they will have to prepare a
presentation. There will be a Class Test of 10 marks. It will take place tentatively after the
mid semester break.
Additionally there are 5 marks for Attendance

 ESSENTIA READINGS

•Alavi, Seema(ed.). (2002). The Eighteenth Century in India. New Delhi: OUP
(Introduction).
• Roy,Tirthankar. (2013). “Rethinking the Origins of British India: State Formation and
Military- fiscal Undertakings in an Eighteenth Century World Region”. Modern Asian
Studies, 47 (4), 1125-1156.
• Bayly, C.A. 1988. Indian Society and the making of the British Empire. Cambridge: CUP
(Chapter1, pp. 7- 44).
Parthasarathi, Prasannan. 2011. Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic
Divergence, 1600- 1850. Cambridge: CUP (Introduction and Part I, pp. 1-88; Part III, pp.
185- 269).
• Vries, Peer. (September 2012). “Review: Challenges, (Non-) Responses, and Politics: A
review of Prasannan Parthasarathi, ‘Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global
Economic Divergence, 1600-1850’.”Journal of World History, 23(3), 639- 664.
• Faruqui, Munis D. 2013. “At Empire’s End: The Nizam, Hyderabad and Eighteenth Century
India,” In Richard M. Eaton, Munis D. Faruqui, David Gilmartin and Sunil Kumar (Eds.),
Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History: Essays in Honour of John F.
Richards (pp. 1- 38).
•Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar .(2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India.
New Delhi: Orient Blackswan (Chapter 1, ‘Transition to the Eighteenth Century’, pp. 37-62).
• Bayly, C. A. (2008). Indian Society and the making of the British Empire. Cambridge: CUP
(Chapter 2, ‘Indian Capital and the Emergence of Colonial Society’ pp. 45- 78; Chapter 3,
‘The Crisis of the Indian State’, pp. 79- 105).
• Fisher, Michael H. (1996).The Politics of British Annexation of India 1757- 1857. Oxford:
OUP (Introduction).
• Marshall, P.J. (1990). Bengal: The British Bridgehead. Cambridge: CUP.
• Marshall, P. J. (1975). “Economic and Political Expansion: The Case of Awadh”. Modern
Asian Studies, 9 (4), pp. 465- 82.
• Cederlof, Gunnel. (2014). Founding an Empire on India’s North- Eastern Frontiers 1790-
1840: Climate, Commerce, Polity. OUP.
• Mukherjee, Rudrangshu. (February 1982). “Trade and Empire in Awadh, 1765- 1804”. Past
and Present, 94, pp. 85- 102.
• Chaudhury, Sushil. (2000). The Prelude to Empire: Plassey Revolution of 1757. New Delhi:
Manohar.
• Bryant, G. J. (April 2004). “Asymmetric Warfare: The British Experience in Eighteenth-
Century India”. The Journal of Military History, 68 (2), April 2004, pp. 431- 469.
• Marshall, P.J. (ed.). The Eighteenth Century In Indian History: Evolution or Revolution?
(Introduction, pp. 1- 49).
• Chakravarti, Uma. (1998). Rewriting History: The Life and Times of Pandita Ramabai. New
Delhi: Kali for Women (Chapter, ‘Caste, Gender and the State in Eighteenth Century
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•Metcalf, Thomas R. (2007 reprint). Ideologies of the Raj, Cambridge: CUP (Chapters 1,2 &
3).
• Wagoner, Phillip B. (October 2003). “Pre- colonial Intellectuals and the Production of
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• Alavi, Seema. (1995).The Sepoys and the Company: Tradition and Transition in Northern
India 1770- 1830. New Delhi: OUP (Introduction and Chapters 1-3, pp. 1- 154).
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•Stokes, Eric. The English Utilitarians and India(Chapter, ‘Law and Government’).
• Metcalf, Thomas R. (2007 reprint). Ideologies of the Raj, Cambridge: CUP (Chapters 1
&2).
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Knowledge.
• Singha, Radhika. (2000). A Despotism of Law: Crime and Justice in Early Colonial India.
New Delhi: OUP(Preface; Chapter 1 (pp.1- 35); Chapter 4 (pp.121- 167); Chapter 5 (pp. 168-
228); Epilogue (pp. 285- 301)).
• Viswanathan, Gauri. (2014 reprint). Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in
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• Copland, Ian. (2007). “The Limits of Hegemony: Elite Responses to Nineteenth- Century
Imperial and Missionary Acculturation Strategies in India”. Comparative Studies in Society
and History. Vol. 49. No. 3. (637- 665).
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• Kopf, David. (1969). British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance: The Dynamics of
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• Panikkar, K.N. (1995). Culture, Ideology, Hegemony: Intellectuals and Social
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• Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi (ed.). (1998).The Contested Terrain: Perspectives on Education
in India. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan (“Introduction”).

•Stein, Burton. (ed.). (1992).The Making of Agrarian Policy in British India 1770-1900.
Oxford: OUP (Introduction (pp.1-32)& Chapter 4(pp.113-149)).
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(Chapter 2, pp.47- 67)
• Bose, Sugata. (Ed.). (1994).Credit, Markets and the Agrarian Economy of Colonial India.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press (Introduction (pp. 1-28) & Chapter 2 (pp. 57- 79)).
• Guha, Ramachandra. (1990). “An Early Environmental Debate”. Indian Economic and
Social History Review (IESHR).
• Bhattacharya, Neeladri. (1995). “Pastoralists in a Colonial World”, In David Arnold and
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History of South Asia,NewDelhi: Oxford University Press.(49-85).
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Causes of the 1897 Famine in Chotanagpur”, Environment and History, 1(2), pp. 129-158.
• Chandra, Bipan. (1999). “Colonialism, Stages of Colonialism and the Colonial State”, in-
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