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Book No. – 8 (Political Science)
Book Name – Indian Political Thought (Himanshu Roy/ M.P. Singh)
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1. Colonial Encounter and Rammohan
2. The Rationalist Foundations of Reform
3. Constitutionalism: Rights and Justice
4. Conclusion
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LANGUAGE
Rammohan Roy: Civil Rights
Chapter – 14
Table of Contents
- William Adam highlighted Rammohan Roy’s passion for freedom, particularly freedom of thought.
- Rammohan Roy is cherished by enlightened Indians for his contribution to countering foreign contempt of native intellect, symbolizing a response to colonial perceptions.
- On 5 April 1823, an anonymous correspondent in Calcutta Journal categorized Calcutta’s residents into three groups:
- Those who preferred ignorance.
- Those who were content with the status quo under British rule.
- Those who opposed British rule, challenging superstition and custom.
- Rammohan Roy would not have identified with any of these categories, especially as he rejected both the first and third groups.
- Rammohan’s primary quest was epistemological—seeking socially useful sources of knowledge.
- He accepted British rule as a fait accompli and believed it to be providential.
- He argued that British liberalism and constitutional practice in India differed from that in Britain, highlighting the gap between precept and practice.
- Rammohan’s historical location made him a controversial figure: he admired certain aspects of British rule but also critiqued the Mughal polity.
- Born in a high-ranking Brahmin family in Radhanagar, West Bengal, Rammohan’s family had served the Mughal Empire for generations.
- He gained a solid education in Indo-Persian culture due to his family’s background.
- He worked as munshi (private secretary) for European officials like Thomas Woodforde and John Digby.
- His study of English language and European developments began during his service with the British.
- Rammohan Roy moved to Calcutta in 1814, where he befriended influential Europeans and invested in business ventures.
- Over 15 years, he became deeply involved in debates on Hinduism, Christianity, anti-Sati legislation, and a free trade economy.
- He authored over 60 tracts in English, Bengali, and Sanskrit between 1814-1833, covering topics like metaphysics, gender justice, Hindu laws, and societal issues.
- He also ran three journals: Bengali Samvad Kaumudi, Brahmanical Magazine, and Mirat ul Akhbar.
- In 1830, he went to England to advocate for the Mughal Emperor’s pension and counter Hindu orthodoxy’s propaganda against the Sati Regulations.
- While in England, he engaged with Reform Bill discussions, met philosophers like Bentham, and supported working-class reforms.
- He also traveled to France and testified before Select Committees in the British Parliament about India’s material and moral conditions.
- Rammohan Roy passed away on 27 December 1833 after a brief illness.
Colonial Encounter and Rammohan
- Rammohan Roy’s letter to George James Gordon in 1832 revealed his early political views and an autobiographical fragment.
- At the age of twenty, he was already familiar with British laws and forms of government.
- He initially had negative views on British rule but eventually overcame prejudices, believing it would lead to the amelioration of native conditions.
- He viewed Europeans as more intelligent and steady, contrasting them with Hindus, whom he described as superstitious and miserable.
- He considered Bengalis to be submissive, loyal even when oppressed by the Mughals, and warned of the potential rise of anti-British sentiment from upper provinces.
- Despite Bengal’s loyalty to the British, he acknowledged that unaddressed grievances in other regions could undermine British power in India.
- He praised British rule for providing freedom and security, which Indians had not experienced under Hindu rulers.
- Rammohan emphasized the providential nature of British rule, calling the British a deliverer of Bengal from Mughal tyranny.
- He critiqued pre-British rule as regressive, contrasting it with the enlightened British governance.
- Rammohan Roy accepted the British view of their civilizing mission in India, as reflected in a Times article in January 1831.
- The historian Rajat K. Ray identified Rammohan with a threefold modernization process:
- Consolidation of the traditional high caste landed gentry.
- Transformation of a medieval literati into a modern intelligentsia.
- Shift from monopolistic trade to free trade imperialism.
- Rammohan’s belief in free trade as a means for India’s economic modernization was naïve, as it promoted European capital over local industries.
- At a Calcutta Town Hall meeting in 1829, Rammohan and others supported the free trade movement, tied to British economic interests.
- Rammohan was influenced by commercial interests, including his own investment in land and speculation.
- In the Bengal Herald (1829), it was noted that British rule led to rising land prices, the birth of a middling society, and moral freedom.
- As a beneficiary of the Permanent Settlement, Rammohan believed in the landlord’s authority to improve the peasantry’s condition.
- Rammohan’s views on the Bengal economy and land question faced criticism from both liberal and conservativequarters.
- Critics like the Bengal Harakaru accused Rammohan of only representing the interests of zamindars and ignoring peasants.
- Despite criticism, Rammohan suggested lowering rents and taxing luxuries to support the peasantry.
- The Samachar Darpan (1831) misinterpreted Rammohan’s stance, accusing him of supporting English landlords in India, which he did not advocate.
- Rammohan’s error was assuming that profits from European investment would benefit India’s rural economy.
- Free trade policies helped integrate Indian markets with British capitalism, which hindered India’s economic growth.