Reading Information

Bernard S. Cohn, “Introduction”, “Chapter Three: Law and the Colonial State in India”, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge

Overview

Cohn first introduces his readers to the various methods in which the British used in order to gain awareness of the vast territory of India, which they now controlled. To gain specific knowledge on their new colony, Cohn breaks down the British’s quest of knowledge into modalities. In each modality, Cohn explains how the British gained information in each sector of India, such as geography, population, the arts, and criminal justice. The investigation of each modality tells the readers that the British were keen on understanding the Indians in order to The time period in which Cohn is analyzing begins in 1765, when Cohn makes note of the “systematic survey of India” (Cohn, 7) and ends around the 1860s, when Cohn makes reference to “…the generation and transmission of knowledge of the antiquities of India…” (Cohn, 9) Cohn’s introduction relates to the general topic of colonialism/imperialism because the first step in which any colonial power acquire territory is to understand the land and its people in which it now controls.

In the final pages of the introduction, Cohn introduces the HRAF and its role in the “post- colonial world” (Cohn, 11) The HRAF main role was to deploy linguists during World War II to learn languages in freed territories. The HRAF used experts to understand the culture of these territories in order to understand and subsequently formulate U.S policy in those territories. Cohn uses the HRAF to make readers understand that the British’s use of modalities continued into the post-colonial world.

Keywords

1. Modality: A modality, in relation to Indian colonialism, is Great Britain’s procedure of conducting a broad overview of Indian culture and history to gain some awareness of the Indian subjects they now ruled over. Cohn mentions seven modalities: Historgraphic, Observational/ Travel, Survey, Enumerative, Museological, Surveillance, and Investigative.

2. HRAF: Human Relations File is an encyclopedia of people. The file classified people along class lines. The HRAF is viewed as a liaison between the Western world and the ‘native’ world.

3. “Epistemological Space”: An “epistemological space” in relation to Indian colonialism equates to obtaining knowledge on a specific area/territory. For example, in India, the British sought to grasp not only the Indian territory, but the Indian mind. This was achieved by several British scholars who studied India’s culture and languages.

Argument

Cohn argues that multiple modalities were used to gain intellectual and cultural awareness of the vastness of India and its people. These modalities Cohn argues was necessary to achieve domination of India.

Evidence

Cohn uses secondary sources across multiple disciplines such as Anthropology, Sociology, and History. In addition, Cohn uses some of his previous work to reinforce his ideas in the introduction. For example, Cohn’s article “The Census, Social Structure, and Objectification in South Asia” is used to expand on the ways the British government sought to understand the India’s social classes through censuses. (Cohn,8) Cohn’s selection of sources in the introduction is reliable because a significant number of his sources come for academic journals, which are reputed to be peer-reviewed. The evidence which Cohn presents to his readers does support his argument of Great Britain’s use of multiple modalities to gain awareness on the vastness of India’s various sectors such as criminal justice, art, history, and geography.

Historiographical Debate

Cohn explicitly addresses the work of anthropologists Mead and Ruth Benedict in order to illustrate that knowledge seeking scholars were significant in “…influencing U.S policy toward the emperor of Japan.” (Cohn, 14) Cohn makes reference to the Benedicts in order to reinforce his argument that scholarly work was necessary in order to efficiently run newly acquired territory.

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

Cohn’s introduction was necessary in order to understand the amount of manpower that was utilized in order to acquire as much knowledge on India. Imperialism to my understanding, can only be successful if the mother country makes the conscience effort to learn the history and the inner workings of newly acquired territory. The assigned text however, introduced the ways in which a colonial power obtains the necessary knowledge. The procurement of the necessary knowledge can have severe consequences. For example, the British “…were uncomfortable in the narrow confines of a city street, a bazaar, a mela – anywhere they were surrounded by their Indian subjects.” (Cohn,10) In other words, colonialism/imperialism sought to obtain knowledge on their colonies by minimizing actual contact with the people. This awkward distance can perhaps explain the major flaws of colonialism/imperialism. In addition, the introduction showcased that the British efforts on obtaining knowledge on their colony was adopted by other countries almost two centuries later. Imperialism never truly dies, it manifests and evolves into different forms.