index_1800


	==Images and maps: Links to a great many miniature paintings, etc. from the period: Columbia Univ.. Links to a great many period maps: Columbia Univ..
	==Fort William College, in Calcutta, is founded in 1800--on the first anniversary of the conquest of Seringapatam--to provide language instruction to the East India Company's recruits; it publishes some of the early printed works of Urdu and Hindi literature. Its redoubtable language instructor, John Gilchrist, has been accused of artificially separating Hindi and Urdu, and of (semi-)inventing the name "Urdu." Discussion: S. R. Faruqi.
	==Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) is crowned in Lahore in 1801. Unpretentious and a brilliant leader, he shapes a powerful, inclusive Sikh kingdom in the Punjab that earns the loyalty of non-Sikhs as well-- and becomes a serious obstacle to British expansionist designs. Discussion: Tribune India (2001); Sketches of the Sikhs (1812). (Routes)
	==Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833): This great Bengali intellectual, educated in Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit, leaves the service of the Company to become the "Father of Modern India." He translates a number of Upanishads into English and Bengali, and presents his own version of the teachings of Jesus; he opposes sati, press censorship, and British support for Sanskrit studies. In 1828 he founds the Brahmo Samaj. Some of his writings: Columbia Univ..
	==Macaulay's "Minute on Education" (1835): Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59), during his term as a member of the Supreme Council in India, expresses his (in)famous views on the proper form that Indian education should take, in his "Minute on Education" (CU). Much more on Macaulay and his other writings about India: Columbia Univ..
	==Mirza Asadullah Khan "Ghalib" (1797-1869): One of the two greatest poets of the classical Urdu ghazal (and a great Persian ghazal poet too), he's always frustrated by his inability to find readers who can truly appreciate what he's doing. Intellectual thrills and chills, mystical and romantic subtleties, astonishment and delight-- there's simply nothing like his poetry. His work has brought forth A Desertful of Roses. (Routes)
	==Bahadur Shah "Zafar" (r.1837-58 ) is destined to be the last Mughal emperor. His domain in practice is little more than the Red Fort itself, and he lives as a British pensioner with steadily eroding power. He writes Urdu poetry, and has the fine poet Zauq, and the great poet Ghalib, as his ustads. After the rebellion of 1857, he is blamed for the revolt, is exiled to Burma, and dies there.
	==the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42), a wildly ill-conceived and pointless invasion, ends in the complete loss of a large British-Indian army; it sets the stage for many decades of violent skirmishes, periodic warfare, and endless political turbulence in the border regions between Afghanistan and India (Archibald Forbes; T. W. E. Holdsworth; T. L. Pennell. (Routes)
	==Kashmir is sold by the British in 1846, for 7.5 million rupees, to a petty Hindu feudal chief who has helped them defeat the Sikhs. The results are terrible all around. Discussion: Pankaj Mishra in the NY Review of Books: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3. Further information: Kashmir Virtual Library; jammu kashmir; Frederic Drew, 1877. (Routes)
	==Princess Gouramma of Coorg converts to Christianity (1852), at the age of 11, under the auspices of Queen Victoria herself-- in the kind of episode that strikes some Indians as part of an ominous plan for the future. On the history of Coorg: Imperial Gazetteer. (Routes)
	==Avadh is seized and the last Navab exiled to Calcutta (1856); the Imperial Gazetteer explains the thinking behind this move. It surely contributed, perhaps even centrally, to the outbreak of the Rebellion in the following year.
	==the Rebellion of 1857 starts as a military mutiny, but soon becomes a much wider revolt. Its outbreak comes as a terrible shock to almost everybody, and relations between Englishmen and Indians are never the same again. A colonial perspective: Imperial Gazetteer. (Routes)
	==England as imperial power (1858): After the Rebellion has been suppressed, the East India Company is dissolved, and Parliament takes formal control of the governance of India: Imperial Gazetteer. The loyal princes are rewarded, and are confirmed in their hereditary powers (UC Berkeley; Henry Soszynski); no further "native states" are ever annexed by the Crown. An imperial view: James T. Wheeler (1886). (Routes)
	==Deoband is founded (1866), and its theology becomes increasingly influential in South Asian Islam. Discussion: Barbara Metcalf. The Dar ul-'Ulum's own website: dar ul-uloom. Its instructors include Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi (1864-1943), author of "Bihishti Zevar," or "Heavenly Jewels" (c.1900), an enduringly popular advice manual for women (an Urdu text; a translation).
	==the Arya Samaj is founded (1875) by Swami Dayanand Sarasvati (1825-1883), and is still very influential today. The Swami takes a hard-line "back to the Vedas" approach (An Introduction to the Vedas), and is very critical of Christianity and Islam. He favors the caste system-- but wants it to be based on something like personal merit. His most influential work: the Satyartha Prakasha ("Light of the Truth").
	==Sri Ramakrishna (1836-86) of Bengal, who experiences the rapturous union of Radha and Krishna, and claims an empathy with all religions, attracts many followers (Max Mueller). His most famous disciple, the promising Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), makes a tremendous hit at the "Parliament of World Religions" held in Chicago in 1893 (ramakrishna).
	=="Kashidarpana" (1876), a famous map of Banaras: "The mirror of Kashi, that is the fine and excellent picture of the city of Varanasi as told in the Linga, Shiva, Nandi, Skanda, Garuda, and Agni Puranas, along with the names and places of deities and waterplaces." Presentation: Univ. of Heidelberg. On Banaras: Sandria B. Freitag. On Hinduism: William R. Pinch; Pankaj Mishra "Sundhya". (Routes)
	==Toru Dutt (1856-77), in her brief life, becomes the mother of Indian poetry in English. A Bengali raised in France and tutored by her father, she is multilingual (translating from French, German, and Sanskrit) as well as a poet in her own right. Her early death from consumption (tuberculosis) cuts off a strong talent. Samples of her work: Univ. of Toronto.
	==Victoria becomes Empress of India (1877): She does it simply by assuming the new title. Many congratulations are duly offered. A report on one such celebratory gathering: Internet Sourcebook. A colonial view of her reign: Imperial Gazetteer.
	==Aligarh M.A.O. College opens (1878): Later to become Aligarh Muslim University, the Aligarh Mohammedan-Anglo-Oriental College becomes the chief goal in the life of the remarkable reformer Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-98) (Columbia U.). The AMU home page. (Routes)
	==Madame Blavatsky visits: She tours India in 1879-80, and relishes its mysteries in "From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan" (Columbia U.) To her great regret, she's unable to integrate Swami Dayanand and the Arya Samaj into the Theosophy movement (victorian web).
	==Azad and Hali: In the 1880's, shaken by the aftermath of 1857, Muhammad Husain "Azad" (1830-1910), in Aab-e hayaat ("Water of Life," 1880), and Altaf Husain "Hali" (1837-1914), introduce into Urdu literary criticism the concept of "natural poetry." Discussion: Nets of Awareness.
	==the Indian National Congress is formed (1885), initially through the organizational efforts of a retired British civil servant, Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912). Its early years are relatively quiet; then, of course, Gandhi comes along. A history of the nationalist movement, from within: Lala Lajpat Rai (1916). The modern Congress Party website: congress sandesh. (Routes)
	== Rudyard Kipling: Born in India, Kipling (1865-1936) writes a series of extremely popular poems and stories, both romanticizing a timeless India and justifying imperialism-- and at his best, doing much more as well. Children today still enjoy "The Jungle Book" (1894), and his masterpiece, the novel "Kim" (1901), is still greatly cherished. His work: Project Gutenberg. His life: wikipedia. Discussion: "Who Was Kipling?". (Routes)
	==New voices begin to be heard: With increasing literacy (even for women and common people), and new means of both travel (trains, good roads) and communication (postal service, telegraph, newspapers), there begins to be a sense of public opinion-- and both Congress and the Raj have to take note. (Routes)


	==Images and maps: Links to a great many miniature paintings, etc. from the period: Columbia Univ.. Links to a great many period maps: Columbia Univ..
	==Fort William College, in Calcutta, is founded in 1800--on the first anniversary of the conquest of Seringapatam--to provide language instruction to the East India Company's recruits; it publishes some of the early printed works of Urdu and Hindi literature. Its redoubtable language instructor, John Gilchrist, has been accused of artificially separating Hindi and Urdu, and of (semi-)inventing the name "Urdu." Discussion: S. R. Faruqi.
	==Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) is crowned in Lahore in 1801. Unpretentious and a brilliant leader, he shapes a powerful, inclusive Sikh kingdom in the Punjab that earns the loyalty of non-Sikhs as well-- and becomes a serious obstacle to British expansionist designs. Discussion: Tribune India (2001); Sketches of the Sikhs (1812). (Routes)
	==Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833): This great Bengali intellectual, educated in Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit, leaves the service of the Company to become the "Father of Modern India." He translates a number of Upanishads into English and Bengali, and presents his own version of the teachings of Jesus; he opposes sati, press censorship, and British support for Sanskrit studies. In 1828 he founds the Brahmo Samaj. Some of his writings: Columbia Univ..
	==Macaulay's "Minute on Education" (1835): Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59), during his term as a member of the Supreme Council in India, expresses his (in)famous views on the proper form that Indian education should take, in his "Minute on Education" (CU). Much more on Macaulay and his other writings about India: Columbia Univ..
	==Mirza Asadullah Khan "Ghalib" (1797-1869): One of the two greatest poets of the classical Urdu ghazal (and a great Persian ghazal poet too), he's always frustrated by his inability to find readers who can truly appreciate what he's doing. Intellectual thrills and chills, mystical and romantic subtleties, astonishment and delight-- there's simply nothing like his poetry. His work has brought forth A Desertful of Roses. (Routes)
	==Bahadur Shah "Zafar" (r.1837-58 ) is destined to be the last Mughal emperor. His domain in practice is little more than the Red Fort itself, and he lives as a British pensioner with steadily eroding power. He writes Urdu poetry, and has the fine poet Zauq, and the great poet Ghalib, as his ustads. After the rebellion of 1857, he is blamed for the revolt, is exiled to Burma, and dies there.
	==the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42), a wildly ill-conceived and pointless invasion, ends in the complete loss of a large British-Indian army; it sets the stage for many decades of violent skirmishes, periodic warfare, and endless political turbulence in the border regions between Afghanistan and India (Archibald Forbes; T. W. E. Holdsworth; T. L. Pennell. (Routes)
	==Kashmir is sold by the British in 1846, for 7.5 million rupees, to a petty Hindu feudal chief who has helped them defeat the Sikhs. The results are terrible all around. Discussion: Pankaj Mishra in the NY Review of Books: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3. Further information: Kashmir Virtual Library; jammu kashmir; Frederic Drew, 1877. (Routes)
	==Princess Gouramma of Coorg converts to Christianity (1852), at the age of 11, under the auspices of Queen Victoria herself-- in the kind of episode that strikes some Indians as part of an ominous plan for the future. On the history of Coorg: Imperial Gazetteer. (Routes)
	==Avadh is seized and the last Navab exiled to Calcutta (1856); the Imperial Gazetteer explains the thinking behind this move. It surely contributed, perhaps even centrally, to the outbreak of the Rebellion in the following year.
	==the Rebellion of 1857 starts as a military mutiny, but soon becomes a much wider revolt. Its outbreak comes as a terrible shock to almost everybody, and relations between Englishmen and Indians are never the same again. A colonial perspective: Imperial Gazetteer. (Routes)
	==England as imperial power (1858): After the Rebellion has been suppressed, the East India Company is dissolved, and Parliament takes formal control of the governance of India: Imperial Gazetteer. The loyal princes are rewarded, and are confirmed in their hereditary powers (UC Berkeley; Henry Soszynski); no further "native states" are ever annexed by the Crown. An imperial view: James T. Wheeler (1886). (Routes)
	==Deoband is founded (1866), and its theology becomes increasingly influential in South Asian Islam. Discussion: Barbara Metcalf. The Dar ul-'Ulum's own website: dar ul-uloom. Its instructors include Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi (1864-1943), author of "Bihishti Zevar," or "Heavenly Jewels" (c.1900), an enduringly popular advice manual for women (an Urdu text; a translation).
	==the Arya Samaj is founded (1875) by Swami Dayanand Sarasvati (1825-1883), and is still very influential today. The Swami takes a hard-line "back to the Vedas" approach (An Introduction to the Vedas), and is very critical of Christianity and Islam. He favors the caste system-- but wants it to be based on something like personal merit. His most influential work: the Satyartha Prakasha ("Light of the Truth").
	==Sri Ramakrishna (1836-86) of Bengal, who experiences the rapturous union of Radha and Krishna, and claims an empathy with all religions, attracts many followers (Max Mueller). His most famous disciple, the promising Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), makes a tremendous hit at the "Parliament of World Religions" held in Chicago in 1893 (ramakrishna).
	=="Kashidarpana" (1876), a famous map of Banaras: "The mirror of Kashi, that is the fine and excellent picture of the city of Varanasi as told in the Linga, Shiva, Nandi, Skanda, Garuda, and Agni Puranas, along with the names and places of deities and waterplaces." Presentation: Univ. of Heidelberg. On Banaras: Sandria B. Freitag. On Hinduism: William R. Pinch; Pankaj Mishra "Sundhya". (Routes)
	==Toru Dutt (1856-77), in her brief life, becomes the mother of Indian poetry in English. A Bengali raised in France and tutored by her father, she is multilingual (translating from French, German, and Sanskrit) as well as a poet in her own right. Her early death from consumption (tuberculosis) cuts off a strong talent. Samples of her work: Univ. of Toronto.
	==Victoria becomes Empress of India (1877): She does it simply by assuming the new title. Many congratulations are duly offered. A report on one such celebratory gathering: Internet Sourcebook. A colonial view of her reign: Imperial Gazetteer.
	==Aligarh M.A.O. College opens (1878): Later to become Aligarh Muslim University, the Aligarh Mohammedan-Anglo-Oriental College becomes the chief goal in the life of the remarkable reformer Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-98) (Columbia U.). The AMU home page. (Routes)
	==Madame Blavatsky visits: She tours India in 1879-80, and relishes its mysteries in "From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan" (Columbia U.) To her great regret, she's unable to integrate Swami Dayanand and the Arya Samaj into the Theosophy movement (victorian web).
	==Azad and Hali: In the 1880's, shaken by the aftermath of 1857, Muhammad Husain "Azad" (1830-1910), in Aab-e hayaat ("Water of Life," 1880), and Altaf Husain "Hali" (1837-1914), introduce into Urdu literary criticism the concept of "natural poetry." Discussion: Nets of Awareness.
	==the Indian National Congress is formed (1885), initially through the organizational efforts of a retired British civil servant, Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912). Its early years are relatively quiet; then, of course, Gandhi comes along. A history of the nationalist movement, from within: Lala Lajpat Rai (1916). The modern Congress Party website: congress sandesh. (Routes)
	== Rudyard Kipling: Born in India, Kipling (1865-1936) writes a series of extremely popular poems and stories, both romanticizing a timeless India and justifying imperialism-- and at his best, doing much more as well. Children today still enjoy "The Jungle Book" (1894), and his masterpiece, the novel "Kim" (1901), is still greatly cherished. His work: Project Gutenberg. His life: wikipedia. Discussion: "Who Was Kipling?". (Routes)
	==New voices begin to be heard: With increasing literacy (even for women and common people), and new means of both travel (trains, good roads) and communication (postal service, telegraph, newspapers), there begins to be a sense of public opinion-- and both Congress and the Raj have to take note. (Routes)