REPRESENTATIONS OF INDIA, 1740-1840
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Representations of India, 1740-1840 The Creation of India in the Colonial Imagination Amal Chatterjee
First published in Great Britain 1998 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG2l 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-40112-3 ISBN 978-0-230-37816-2 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230378162 First published in the United States of America 1998 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chatterjee, Amal, 1965- Representations of India, 1740-1840 : the creation of India in the colonial imagination I Amal Chatterjee. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-21145-5 (cloth) 1. India-History-I 8th century. 2. India-History-I 9th century. I. Title. DS412.C42 1998 954.03---dc21 97-40140 CIP Amal Chatterjee 1998 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998 978-0-333-68942-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 07 06 ISBN 978-0-312-21145-5 8 7 6 5 05 04 03 02 4 3 2 01 00 99 1 98
Contents Acknowledgements vii PART I INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1 Introduction 2 Historical Background 3 11 PART II THE BRITISH IN INDIA 3 Traders 4 Soldiers 5 Administrators 31 49 67 PART III CUSTOMS INDIAN RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS 6 Religion 7 Sati 8 Thugs 87 111 125 PART IV INDIAN SOCIETY, GOVERNMENT AND RULERS 9 Indian Society and Indians 10 Indian Government and Rulers 11 Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan 145 161 173 v
vi Contents PART V CONCLUSION 12 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index 197 203 222 229
Acknowledgements Particular thanks are due to Richard Cronin of Glasgow University, my family and friends, Susan Ridder, my parents, Prabir, Pratap and Deepika, Jeanne Philips, Pat McDonald and Dorothy McMillan - for patiently bearing with me and guiding me in their own different ways. Special thanks are also due to Ann Karkalas of Glasgow University, Louis James of the University of Kent, Sandra Kemp (formerly of Glasgow University), the staff of Glasgow University Library (particularly the Special Collections), the British Library in London and many of the staff of St Xavier's College, Calcutta. A special word is in order for Sudipto and Gargi Chatterjee for reminding me to get this published, and tot. M. Farmiloe and Aruna Vasudevan of Macmillan for taking it on and for supporting me through the process. Many thanks also to (in no particular order) the Ridder family, Vivek, Vikram and the rest of the Murarka family, Daniel Chan, Daniel Sbarbaro, Per Jakobsen, David Kerr, Chan-kil Park, Bob and Anneli Leslie, Silvia Arribas, Belen Calvo, Monica Landoni, Mohamed Abderrahim, Tino Krell, Fabio Crestani, Hamid Brioua, Jenny Robertson, Stephen Woodruff, Alex Atkins, Jean Anderson, John Hunter, Margaret Green and family, Alan Barr, Sharon Norris, Fiona Ross, Jim Muir, Douglas Graham, Grace Wink, Esther Dunbar, the rest of the staff of the EFL Unit and Language Centre of Glasgow University, Anna Young, Jean Fowler and Drummond Bone. (Sincere and abject apologies to those I have omitted unintentionally.) Finally, wry thanks to the writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth century for providing me with the material for this book! vii