Finish Line & Beyond

How, When and Where

Importance of Dates

History always creates an impression of time. But all events cannot be precisely as-
sociated with a particular date or year. There are certain events which can be pre-
cisely associated with a particular year or date. For example, the year of the Battle of
Panipat can be precise. But yet other events, like invention of wheel or invention of
writing cannot be associated with a particular year.

Those events which involved a particular individual or particular dynasty can be re-
ferred to a certain time period. Certain events which take years to evolve cannot be
referred to a particular year. For example it must have taken human beings hundreds
of years to learn writing as we identify it today. It takes generations to develop a
particular eating habit or way of life.

There was a time when historians wrote about exploits of rulers. But later on a
thought process developed that history is beyond rulers and dynasties. History also
involves common lives. How the common people faced and overcame problems of
day to day life is also important from historical perspective.

Different Viewpoints on Indian History:

During British rule mainly British historians started to write about the Indian history.
For them every important aspect was of English origin. Indians or Indian history was
never in their focus. For them India was primitive society and they thought it their
duty to teach the ‘refined way of life’ to Indians. It can be said that this was not go-
ing to reveal the complete picture.

Periodisation of Indian History Based on Religion

In 1817, James Mill, a Scottish economist and political philosopher, published a

massive three-volume work, A History of British India. In this he divided Indian his-
tory into three periods – Hindu, Muslim and British.

Even this periodisation was faulty, because Indian history is not only about influences
of Hinduism, Islam or Christianity. Religion is only one of the many aspects of our
life. Mughals not only brought Islam along with them, they also brought a distinct
cuisine, costume and literature along with them. Similarly, British brought a modern
education system and latest technologies of the industrial revolution. These imports
highly affected almost every sphere of our life.

Source of Information of the Colonial Period.

Administration produces records

One important source is the official records of the British administration. The British
believed that the act of writing was important. Every instruction, plan, policy de-
cision, agreement, investigation had to be clearly written up. Once this was done,
things could be properly studied and debated. This conviction produced an adminis-

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 Finish Line & Beyond

trative culture of memos, notings and reports. The British also felt that all important
documents and letters needed to be carefully preserved. So they set up record
rooms attached to all administrative institutions. The village tahsildar’s office, the
collectorate, the commissioner’s office, the provincial secretariats, the lawcourts – all
had their record rooms.

Specialised institutions like archives and museums were also established to preserve
important records. Letters and memos that moved from one branch of the adminis-
tration to another in the early years of the nineteenth century can still be read in the
archives.

Surveys

By the early nineteenth century detailed surveys were being carried out to map the
entire country. In the villages, revenue surveys were conducted. The effort was to
know the topography, the soil quality, the flora, the fauna, the local histories, and the
cropping pattern – all the facts seen as necessary to know about to administer the
region.

From the end of the nineteenth century, Census operations were held every ten
years. These prepared detailed records of the number of people in all the provinces
of India, noting information on castes, religions and occupation. There were many
other surveys – botanical surveys, zoological surveys, archaeological surveys, an-
thropological surveys, forest surveys.

Stories Derived from Official Records

As these official records were written by officials working for the British Government,
so chances of bias are there. Although they give good source to understand how the
administration functioned in those days, but it doesn’t give the information about
common people’s lives.

Newspapers and Literature

Newspapers became common after invention of printing. Many newspapers in the

vernacular medium were popular among people. These give us a glimpse of the com-
mon life and culture. Moreover, other forms of popular literature like novel and reli-
gious discourse also give us good information about that period.

Summary

History is not only about a particular date or year it is also about greater time span
which can be spread over centuries. History written from a single perspective can
never be complete. To have better understanding one needs to analyze the history
from different perspectives. Every record, whether official or unofficial is important to
construct the real story of a particular historic event.

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