Monthly Archives: March 2017

Bernard S. Cohn, “Chapter Five: Cloth, Clothes and Colonialism in the Nineteenth Century”

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Reading Information

Bernard S. Cohn, “Chapter Five: Cloth, Clothes and Colonialism in the Nineteenth Century,” Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge

 

Overview

In this chapter, Cohn examines the role clothing and cloth played in colonial India. One example was the Sikh turban. The Sikhs were located in the Punjab, which was “across the traditional invasion route of India” and they were also growing more militant (Cohn p. 107). These factors meant that they faced persecution by the Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries. Some key elements that distinguished the Sikhs from Hindus and Muslims were that men would not cut their hair, wear a comb in their hair, they would wear knee-length breeches, they would wear a steel bracelet on their right wrist, and carry a sword. There was no mention of the turban, and scholars are not certain when the turban became a key feature of Sikhism. However, the British used the distinct Sikh turban to easily identify them. They favored the Sikhs even though they conquered the Punjab in 1849. They saw them as “manly and brave” and wanted to recruit “Sikhs who looked like Sikhs – wearing those badges of wilderness, the beard and unshorn hair” into the East India Company’s army (Cohn p.109).

Although the turban was not an original staple of Sikhism, the British used it as the main identifier when distinguished Sikhs from other groups. This association may have led to the turban becoming a crucial part of the religion for Sikhs themselves. This is one example in this chapter on how the British were able to influence and inform what became important Indian traditions.

 

Keywords

1.the Punjab – an area in India in which Sikhism originated. A Sikh empire emerged here, but was conquered by the East India Company in 1849.

2. Sikhism – a religious movement that emerged in the 15th century. Many Sikhs were persecuted in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Mughals. The Sikhs went on to create an empire in the Punjab.

3. pagris – the term for turban

 

Argument

Although turbans and Indian clothing had already existed in Indian society, it was the British who deemed some of these articles to be “traditional” and the Indians had to adapt to their own changing customs (Cohn p. 62).

 

Evidence

Cohn uses many news articles, letters, and personal accounts to illustrate how the English reacted to Indian clothing. When the Prince of Wales traveled to India in 1876, English newspapers such as The Graphic and the Illustrated London Weekly recorded the scenes for their audiences in Great Britain. These illustrations showed the “exotic” nature of the Indians with their dances and dress. It is clear that certain features of Indian clothing were highlighted, such as the use of vibrant colors and turbans because it was very different than custom English dress.

 

Historiographical Debate

Cohn uses the work of other historian such as N.C. Chaudhuri (p.131). This work is used to inform how Hindus who worked in higher positions would wear Muslim garb for public appearances, but never at home or in religious context. I am not sure how Cohn is situating himself in a wider scholarly debate because he seems to be supporting the text he uses from them.

 

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

This chapter delves into the importance of clothing in colonial India. There were some “traditions” that were largely defined by the British such as the importance of the turbans or Indians taking their shoes off when entering homes. Although they existed before English control, they came to signify more under it. This could be attributed to the fact that the English wanted to shape Indian society entirely; they wanted to dictate what was to be important for the Indians. This also meant that the new English understanding of Indian customs included strict guidelines for rebellion. I think this chapter helped inform me on everyday things that colonialism affects. I would not have previously thought clothes would be so important to the agenda of a colonial power. However, it becomes crucial when the person dictating what clothing is important to you or to your religion, is the person who is in charge – not yourself.

Bernard S. Cohn, “Chapter 3: Laws and the Colonial State in India”

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Reading Information

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

 

Overview

British colonies in the Caribbean as well as in North America were seen as extensions of Great Britain. They were expected to have the same laws and political institutions as Great Britain. Slavery and the lack of indigenous populations in both places accounted for the reason this idea took hold so easily. Many people knew little else besides what came to be British rule. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company was able to gain territorial power in India (Cohn p. 58). This newly acquired territory was unlike Britain’s other colonies because the society came from an ancient civilization and had a large degree of self-governance. The territory and the number of people that came along with it also informed the decision to keep some aspects of the existing society.

In order to keep some elements of Indian traditions, the British had to fully understand the society. This meant understanding the language and even translating traditional Hindu laws into English. The original attempts at controlling India included incorporating the traditional laws into the new English system. This was unlike what was done in other colonies. By 1864 with the reform of the judicial system, the Hindu and Muslim law officers of various courts were abolished. This ultimately meant that the British were able to transform Hindu law into a form of English case law (Cohn p. 75). This shows that the initial attempts at understanding the ancient Indian constitution did not entirely come to fruition.

 

Keywords

  1. Pandit – Hindu law officer
  2. Ain-i-Akbari – a Perisan work by Abu’l Fazl that was translated into English in an attempt to understand Indian ruling. It included details on how Akbar, one of the Mughal emperors governed as well as land surveys, the properties a good ruler should have, and more.
  3. Maulavi – Muslim law officer

 

Argument

Although the British tried to incorporate Hindu law into what became the new legal system, this did not last long. By 1864, the system shifted to a more traditional form of English law (Cohn p. 75).

 

Evidence

Cohn describes the work of Warren Hastings who was appointed the governor-general of the East India Company in 1772. Hastings wanted to understand past Indian rule in order to create a new system that incorporated indigenous institutions (Cohn p. 61). In 1774, Hastings wrote a letter advocating against the implementation of complete English laws in India, but rather he wanted to use the ancient constitution to inform any future systems. Using sources such as letters, Cohn successfully supports his argument that the British wanted to initially understand and incorporate aspects of the ancient Indian constitution into their new form of governance. Hastings also furthered his goal by gathering pandits to compile a code deriving from Hindu law that could be translated and used by English judges.

 

Historiographical Debate

Cohn addresses two scholars that disagree on the code that was created by Hastings’ efforts to include traditions from past Indian rule. Derrett believes that Hastings largely informed the topics covered in the code instead of what was deemed important by the pandits. On the other hand, Rosane Rocher, argues that the Sanskrit version was in fact informed by traditional views. She attributes this to the difference in text they analyzed because Derrett used the English translation. I believe Cohn gives us both sides of the debate to show how difficult the task of translating the text was.

 

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

This chapter helped my understanding in what creating a new legal system looked like at the time the British were taking control of India. They did not completely eradicate the old system because of the size of the state and the extent of existing self-governance. Instead, they had to try and understand where Indian tradition came from. Although Hindu law was incorporated into the system, it was molded into what was already seen as English. It was English ideals that shaped what was to be pulled from the old system. This is the precursor to what became the judicial reform of 1864. If key English values were extracted from Hindu law, what was the point of trying to keep Hindu law going? Instead, they reverted back to a form of traditional English law.

Bernard S. Cohn, “Introduction”

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Reading Information

Bernard S. Cohn, “Introduction,” Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge

 

Overview

Before the eighteenth century, power in a state was exercised through grand processions and rituals such as coronations and funerals. These were led by people such as priests, artists, and historians who specialized in the expression power. After the eighteenth century, the way in which European states power expressed their power took on different forms. Besides rituals and processions, the way power was shown took a “boots on the ground” form. They made distinctions between the private and public spheres, classified the different groups in a population, recorded the sale of property, and more. These new procedures tried to record most aspects of a person’s daily life. For the emerging imperial power that was Great Britain, India, its most important colony, became a place in which these new ways to express power were tested. India also became testing grounds for policies that later were implemented in Great Britain.

Cohn goes on to describe the investigative modalities used by the British to collect data. These investigative modalities are comprised of the definition of what information is needed, the procedure in which the information is gathered, and how the information is transformed into useful data (such as into reports, legal codes, encyclopedias, etc.) Some of these investigative modalities are explained below in the keywords section. The “Introduction” chapter tells us how Great Britain implemented their own ways of thinking and record keeping to keep India under their control. They needed to understand the people, language, and area to implement policies that the British were accustomed to and used the investigative modalities to utilize the data and information they obtained.

 

Keywords

  1. Investigative Modality – Different forms of investigation taken on by the British to learn more about India; they could create their own official documents from the knowledge they gained.
  2. Survey Modality – This form of investigation came through mapping the land, collecting botanical specimens, recording architectural/archaeological sites, and recording the measurements of plots of lands. The survey modality was used to create things such as the “Survey of India” led by George Lambton.
  3. Travel Modality – This form of investigation came through the travel accounts of tourists and of tradespeople. The accounts change over time to reflect the different political climates and show what the British deemed as important enough to record.

 

Argument

The British used investigative modalities to learn about India’s geography, history, customs, language, and more. With the information they gained, they were able to interpret and publish their own reports as well as create legal codes to exercise their power over India (Cohn p. 5).

 

Evidence

Cohn gives us many different examples of investigative modalities that he will use throughout the book. For each, he does include real accounts. For the survey modality, he uses the “Survey of India” which was used to map India as a grid to make it easier for the British to locate any site they needed. He gives us examples of surveyors – James Rennall, William Lambton, Alexander Cunningham, etc. For the enumerative modality, Cohn describes the 1881 census which not only included population numbers, but information on the caste system, religions, and economic structure. I do think the sources Cohn discusses are reliable because they are the firsthand accounts of what the British recorded. This can further his argument on how they recorded things they thought were useful to emphasize British customs in India.

 

Historiographical Debate

I am not sure how the author is situating himself in a wider scholarly debate.

 

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

Cohn’s introductory chapter is useful in understanding how the British were able to gain their information on India. It gives real examples such as land surveys, which puts the effort by the British into perspective. Rather than just defining colonialism, this chapter gives us a real scenario to examine. As a reader, I begin to learn the different investigative modalities, which will appear throughout the book. He also introduces important documents such as the census and some legal codes. This begins to show the reader that the British used the information they gathered in order to shape new policies as well as laws to reflect the British ideals – not just Indian values. The British had to first understand the society that they wanted complete control over, before actually changing the fabric of the society. This meant learning the language and familiarizing themselves with the different religions, regions, and people through the various investigative modalities.