Patriotism and the Youth in India
1
1 How, When and Where
How Important are Dates?
There was a time when historians were fascinated with dates. There were heated debates about the dates on which rulers were crowned or battles were fought.
In the common-sense notion, history was synonymous with dates. You may have heard people say, “I find history boring because it is all about memorising dates.” Is such a conception true?
History is certainly about changes that occur over time. It is about finding out how things were in the past and how things have changed. As soon as we compare the past with the present we refer to time, we talk of “before” and
“after”.
Living in the world we do not always ask historical questions about what we see around us. We take things for granted, as if what we see has always been in the world we inhabit. But most of us have our moments of wonder, when we are curious, and we ask questions that actually are historical. Watching someone sip a cup of tea at a roadside tea stall you may wonder – when did people begin to drink tea or coffee? Looking out of the window of a train you may ask yourself – when were railways built and how did people travel long distances before the age of railways?
Reading the newspaper in the morning you may be curious to know how people got to hear about things before newspapers began to be printed.
Fig. 1 – Brahmans offering the
Shastras to Britannia, frontispiece to the first map produced by
James Rennel, 1782
Rennel was asked by Robert
Clive to produce maps of
Hindustan. An enthusiastic supporter of British conquest of
India, Rennel saw preparation of maps as essential to the process of domination. The picture here tries to suggest that
Indians willingly gave over their ancient texts to Britannia – the symbol of British power – as if asking her to become the protector of Indian culture.
_ Activity
Look carefully at Fig.1 and write a paragraph explaining how this image projects an imperial perception.
2 OUR PASTS – III
All such historical questions
1 How, When and Where
How Important are Dates?
There was a time when historians were fascinated with dates. There were heated debates about the dates on which rulers were crowned or battles were fought.
In the common-sense notion, history was synonymous with dates. You may have heard people say, “I find history boring because it is all about memorising dates.” Is such a conception true?
History is certainly about changes that occur over time. It is about finding out how things were in the past and how things have changed. As soon as we compare the past with the present we refer to time, we talk of “before” and
“after”.
Living in the world we do not always ask historical questions about what we see around us. We take things for granted, as if what we see has always been in the world we inhabit. But most of us have our moments of wonder, when we are curious, and we ask questions that actually are historical. Watching someone sip a cup of tea at a roadside tea stall you may wonder – when did people begin to drink tea or coffee? Looking out of the window of a train you may ask yourself – when were railways built and how did people travel long distances before the age of railways?
Reading the newspaper in the morning you may be curious to know how people got to hear about things before newspapers began to be printed.
Fig. 1 – Brahmans offering the
Shastras to Britannia, frontispiece to the first map produced by
James Rennel, 1782
Rennel was asked by Robert
Clive to produce maps of
Hindustan. An enthusiastic supporter of British conquest of
India, Rennel saw preparation of maps as essential to the process of domination. The picture here tries to suggest that
Indians willingly gave over their ancient texts to Britannia – the symbol of British power – as if asking her to become the protector of Indian culture.
_ Activity
Look carefully at Fig.1 and write a paragraph explaining how this image projects an imperial perception.
2 OUR PASTS – III
All such historical questions