This page intentionally left blank Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] A Concise History of Modern India InthissecondeditionoftheirsuccessfulAConciseHistoryofIndia,Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India’s modern history afresh and updatetheeventsofthelastdecade.TheseincludethetakeoverbyCongress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India’s hugeadvancesintechnology,andthecountry’snewroleasamajorplayer inworldaffairs.FromthedaysoftheMughals,throughtheBritishEmpire, and into independence, the country has been sustained and transformed byitsinstitutionalstructures.Astheauthorsargue,itistheseinstitutions whichhavehelpedbringaboutthesocial,cultural,andeconomicchanges thathavetakenplaceoverthelasthalf-centuryandpavedthewayforthe modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality, andreligiousdivisionstillfester.Inresponsetothesedilemmas,thebook grappleswithquestionsofcasteandreligiousidentity,andtheverynature oftheIndiannation. barbara d. metcalf is Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History attheUniversityofMichigan,AnnArbor,andDirectoroftheCenterfor SouthAsiaStudies.HerpublicationsincludeIslamicRevivalinBritishIndia (1982; 2nd edn, 2002) and Islamic Contestations: Essays on Muslims in IndiaandPakistan(2004). thomas r. metcalf isProfessorofHistoryandSarahKailathProfes- sorofIndiaStudiesEmeritusattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.His recent publications include Ideologies of the Raj (1994) and Forging the Raj:EssaysonBritishIndiaintheHeydayofEmpire(2005). Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] CAMBRIDGE CONCISE HISTORIES Thisisaseriesofillustrated‘concisehistories’ofselectedindividual countries,intendedbothasuniversityandcollegetextbooksandas historicalintroductionsforgeneralreaders,travellersandmembers ofthebusinesscommunity. Foralistoftitlesintheseries,seeendofbook. Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] A Concise History of Modern India SECOND EDITION BARBARA D. METCALF UniversityofMichigan and THOMAS R. METCALF UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,SãoPaulo Cambridge University Press TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb22ru,UK PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521863629 ©CambridgeUniversityPress2001,2006 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisionof relevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace withoutthewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublishedinprintformat 2006 isbn-13 978-0-511-24558-9eBook(EBL) isbn-10 0-511-24558-0eBook(EBL) isbn-13 978-0-521-86362-9hardback isbn-10 0-521-86362-7hardback isbn-13 978-0-521-68225-1paperback isbn-10 0-521-68225-8paperback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurls forexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,anddoesnot guaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] CONTENTS Listofillustrations pagevii Prefacetothesecondedition xiii Prefacetothefirstedition xv Glossary xxi Chronology xxvi 1 Sultans,Mughals,andpre-colonialIndiansociety 1 2 Mughaltwilight:theemergenceofregionalstatesandthe EastIndiaCompany 29 3 TheEastIndiaCompanyRaj,1772–1850 56 4 Revolt,themodernstate,andcolonizedsubjects, 1848–1885 92 5 Civilsociety,colonialconstraints,1885–1919 123 6 Thecrisisofthecolonialorder,1919–1939 167 7 The1940s:triumphandtragedy 203 8 CongressRaj:democracyanddevelopment,1950–1989 231 9 DemocraticIndiainthenineties:coalitions,class, community,consumers,andconflict 265 v Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] vi Contents Epilogue:anewcenturybegins 296 Biographicalnotes 305 Bibliographicessay 310 Index 322 Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] ILLUSTRATIONS plates 1.1 ViewofShahJahan’sRedFort,Delhi.Reproducedby courtesyoftheCenterforArtandArcheology,American InstituteofIndianStudies,Gurgaon,India. page2 1.2 AsokaPillar,FerozshahKotla,NewDelhi.Photographby ThomasMetcalf. 9 1.3 BaburSupervisingtheGardenofFidelity,byBishanDas, fromtheBaburnama.ReproducedbycourtesyoftheV&A PictureLibrary,VictoriaandAlbertMuseum,London. 16 1.4 ViewoftheTajMahal,Agra.PhotographbyThomasMetcalf. 19 1.5 AHindutempleintheMughalstyle,constructedbyRaja ManSingh,Brindaban.PhotographbyCatherineAsher. 22 2.1 DaulatabadFort,Maharashtra.PhotographbyThomas Metcalf. 34 2.2 GopalBhavan,Dig,c.1763.PhotographbyThomasMetcalf. 36 2.3 TombofJohnWilliamHessing,1803,Agra.Photograph byThomasMetcalf. 38 2.4 Jaipurcitypalace,withJantarMantarastronomical observatorytotheleftrear.PhotographbyThomasMetcalf. 41 2.5 RagmalapaintingofRadhaandKrishna,Kulu,early nineteenthcentury.FromthecollectionofThomasand BarbaraMetcalf. 42 vii Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] viii Listofillustrations 2.6 TheEastOfferingitsRichestoBritannia,bySpiridion Roma(1778).BypermissionoftheBritishLibrary(F245). 46 2.7 FortStGeorge,Madras,c.1750.PhotographbyThomas Metcalf. 48 3.1 Districtmagistratereadsouttoassembledvillagersnames writtenonclothmapofvillageholdingstoconfirm propertyrights.Faizabad,UttarPradesh,1965. PhotographbyThomasMetcalf. 61 3.2 DetailfromACompanyOfficerabouttoSketchaRuined Temple,fromtheColinMackenziecollection(c.1810).By permissionoftheBritishLibrary(LID586). 65 3.3 DetailfromTheBattleofPollilur1780,byanunknown Indianartist(c.1820).ReproducedfromTheTigerandthe Thistle:TipuSultanandtheScotsinIndia,publishedby thePictureGallery,NationalLibraryofScotland,1999. 69 3.4 CityofLucknow(1824),byJ.Ackerman.Collectionof ThomasandBarbaraMetcalf. 74 3.5 PatnaCollege,c.1837.PhotographcourtesyofRebeccaBrown. 84 3.6 RamMohanRoy.CourtesyoftheCityMuseumandArt Gallery,Bristol. 87 4.1 GovernmentofIndiapostagestamps,deliveringthemail, 1937.FromthecollectionofThomasMetcalf. 98 4.2 Memorialwell,Cawnpore.Photograph1903,courtesyof theAmesLibrary,UniversityofMinnesota. 107 4.3 Bungalow,Allahabad.Photograph1866.Bypermissionof theBritishLibrary(491/1). 110 4.4 ‘BrinjaraandWife’,fromJ.ForbesWatsonandJ.W.Kaye, ThePeoplesofIndia(GovernmentofIndia,1868). 113 4.5 TheLyttonGazette.ReproductioncourtesyofNarayaniGupta. 118 5.1 GreatIndianPeninsularRailwayTerminus(Victoria Terminus),Bombay.CourtesyoftheAmesLibrary, UniversityofMinnesota. 127 5.2 WorkersontheUgandarailway.Bypermissionofthe SyndicsofCambridgeUniversityLibrary. 130 Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected]