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Indian Response to European Science and Technology 1757–1857

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2009

Satpal Sangwan
Satpal Sangwan
Affiliation:
National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR), Hill Side Road, New Delhi, India.
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Extract

The spread of modern science to India, the non-scientific culture area according to Basalla's thesis, under the colonial umbrella played an important role in shaping the history of Indian people. Notwithstanding its colonial flavour, the new science left a distinct impression on the minds of the local populace. The belief that the Indian mind was not ripe enough to assimilate the new ideas, supported by a few instances of their (Indian) hostility towards some imported technologies, has dominated historical writings since the Macaulian era. This proposition requires close scrutiny of the contemporary evidence. In this paper, I have tried to explain the various shades of Indian experiences with European science and technology during the first hundred years of British rule.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal for the History of Science , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , June 1988 , pp. 211 - 232
Copyright
Copyright © British Society for the History of Science 1988

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References

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16 As for Sikdar's mathematical attainments, Everest claimed that ‘there are few in India, European or native, that could equal Radhanath Sikdar. Even in Europe his attainments ranked high. As a computer he is quite indefatigable and there is no person in any department so thoroughly skillful in the application of the various formulas.’ Phillimore, , op. cit. (14), vol. IV, pp. 340–41, 461.Google Scholar

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24 The native method of vaccine inoculation against smallpox differed from the European method. ‘They (Indians) took some matter from the pock of a person who had the disease, and put it into a phial. They then dip the point of a needle in this matter, and with it prick the person several times in a circle on the fleshy part of the arm. After the blood is wiped away, they rub some more matter on the part and order the patient to bath in cold water three times a day, and to live on the most cooling thing, such as water melons, cucumbers, ricewater, etc. As soon as the fever comes on, which happens about the fifth or seventh day, the patient is ordered to leave off bathing and the cold diet and to live on milk and sugar. On the second day after the pock was appeared they wash the whole body with cold water for three succeeding days, two or three times each day. When the pock is drying off they sprinkle the patient with rose water.’ Ives, Edward, A Voyage from England to India in the year 1756, London, 1773, p. 54.Google Scholar

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37 Mr Wilberforce Bird, Deputy Governor of Bengal, reported in 1843–1844 that ‘thousands of natives in various districts have been cured by these medical officers; that skilful and difficult operations have been performed by them and that they have been discharging their duties in a manner which merits the highest approbation of the government and the gratitude of the people.’ Harrison, , op. cit. (35).Google Scholar

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41 The Samachar Darpan conceded that ‘it is certain that a cure is more easily obtained from the English system than the native, but it is exceedingly expensive, and the drugs required are far from cheap, so that the poor in the time of sickness fall into despair.’ The Samachar Darpan, 2 08, 1851.Google Scholar

42 Forbes, J., Oriental Memoirs, London, 1813, vol. III, pp. 429–30Google Scholar. Sleeman also informs us that ‘as for the physicians, the natives of India have much more confidence in their own practitioners than in ours, whom they consider too reckless and better adapted to treat diseases in a cold climate. Well-to-do patients often delay resort to the English physicians until they have exhausted all resources of the local hakim or the Vaidya.’ Sleeman, W.H., Rambles and Recollection of An Indian Official, London, 1844, pp. 106–07.Google Scholar

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44 It provided instruction in natural and experimental philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, algebra, etc. Ibid.

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52 Trevelyan, , op. cit. (47), pp. 4–9Google Scholar. Although there was some controversy regarding the medium of teaching European science in India and the Orientalists had their own arguments, it does not appear that Indians were, at any stage, deficient in acquiring knowledge through an alien language. On the contrary, a medical institution opened by Elphinstone in Bombay on the principle of teaching science to Indians through the medium of the Marathi language had to be closed down after barely six years when it was found that not a single person had left with qualifications to practice medicine. See Trevelyan, 's Minute, 13 06, 1833Google Scholar, Proceedings of the General Committee of Public Instruction, (PGCPI), vol. 3Google Scholar, pt. 1.

53 In 1839 four native students of the Calcutta Medical College, Bholanath Bose, Dawarkanath Bose, Gopalchunder Seal and Surjitcomar Chuckerbutty went to England where they distinguished themselves in the various branches of medical science. They became Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. One of them, Dr Chuckerbutty, by prolonging his stay, was enabled to graduate from the University of London. See Harrison, , op. cit. (35).Google Scholar

54 In medical science, for instance, of the fifty students on the roll of the Calcutta Medical College during 1838–1839 only three belonged to the traditional Vaidya or doctor class. All others came from different classes, viz., brahmins, weavers, goldsmiths, etc. The Medical College of Bengal, Calcutta, 1839.Google Scholar

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58 The Hindu Patriot, 6 04, 1854.Google Scholar

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66 The Calcutta Gazette, 14 08, 1823.Google Scholar

67 A petition sent to the House of Commons in this regard from Calcutta had more than 7600 signatures which also included the names of some local dignitaries. See Grindley, R. M., A View of the Present State of the Question as to the Steam Communication with India, London, 1837, p. 20.Google Scholar

68 Ibid., p. 7.

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70 Bengal Marine Board Proceedings, 25 09, 1834Google Scholar no. 34. In 1833 the private charge of the Enterprise and the Ganges was 400 rupees per diem, and Rs 200 for the Hooghly and Diana. See Papers on Steam Vessels, p. 216.Google Scholar

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79 By the First Electric Telegraph Act of 1854 the Company government claimed its monopoly. No one could make a telegraph without a licence and a licence might even be suspended at any time by a resolution in Council. The Bombay Times And journal of Commerce, 17 01, 1855.Google Scholar

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83 The Pluto, Diana, Hooghly, Brahampootra, Ganges and Irrawaddy were all Calcutta-built steamboats, fitted with Maudslay engines.

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85 She was sent from Bombay during the first Burmese war and then served in the expedition to the Persian Gulf from 1823 to 1826. Her services were again utilized in the China war of 1841–1842, Burmese war of 1852, Persian war of 1856, Mutiny of 1857, China expedition of 1859 and in the Abyssinian and Malta expeditions. Ibid.

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89 While the construction of the railway in India was carried out by private European Railway Companies, the establishment of electric telegraph was a government monopoly.

90 Engineers and managers of departments, whether engaged in construction or maintenance, received roughly double the pay given in England plus considerable additional allowances.

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96 The Board of Directors of the Madras Railway Company conceded in 1853 that ‘natives when properly educated and trained will prove themselves most useful servants in all branches of railway operations.’ PWD(Rly.)LFC, 1854, no. 4.

97 PWD(Rly.)LFC, 1854, no. 4.

98 Ibid., 1856, no. 12.

99 In 1846, it was proposed to send ‘natives’ and East Indian youths to England to be trained as engine drivers and fitters. Reports of the Committee of Engineers on the Practicability of Railway into India, 13 03, 1846.Google Scholar

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101 Reports and Documents connected with the proceedings of the East India Company in regard to the culture and manufacture of cotton-wool, raw silk and indigo in India (R.D), London, 1836, p. 61.Google Scholar

102 Ibid., p. 62.

103 Remarks of the Governor-General in Council. Ibid.

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105 In 1817, when the Court of Directors sent gins to the Bombay government, the experiment failed because maladjustment of the machine caused injury to the staple, , op. cit. (104), p. 65Google Scholar. Similarly in 1835, Lord Ellenborough, President of the India Board, regretted that much of Indian cotton was spoilt by ‘the injudicious and inexperienced use of the saw gin.’ Ibid., p. 283.

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107 The cost of an imported American or English gin machine ranges from £40 to £50 and the cheapest machine built on that model in India and fitted with imported saws costs £15.

108 R.D., op. cit. (101), pp. 8, 111.Google Scholar

109 Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency, Dharwar, Bombay, 1884, p. 370.Google Scholar

110 The paraphernalia of the filature were so much more costly than the traditional layi or nuttah, rudely fashioned by the village carpenter, that the chassars could not afford them. Bhattacharya, , op. cit. (104), p. 245.Google Scholar

111 A fair imitation of the machine which they managed to prepare later ‘had no mechanism for twisting the fibre as they were wound from the cocoon.’ Martin, R.M., The History, Antiquites, Topography, etc., London, 1838, vol. III, pp. 263–64.Google Scholar

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113 Walker, Alexander, ‘Indian Agriculture’, in Dharampal, Indian Science And Technology in the Eighteenth Century, Delhi, 1971, p. 183Google Scholar. ‘The native plough, generally speaking, weighs about 25 lbs, some were even lighter. The Konkan plough for example, weighs only 20 lbs, while an improved plough will weigh from 30 lbs to 80 lbs.’ Voelcker, J.A., Report on the Improvement of Indian Agriculture, London, 1893, p. 217.Google Scholar

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118 Captain Thomas Holcott, ‘On the Drill Husbandry of Southern India’, in Dharampal, , op. cit. (113), p. 211Google Scholar. ‘In Eastern Bengal a wooden plough costs 8 annas only. But Rs 2/- to 4/- may be considered the general range of prices throughout India, while the cheapest improved plough will cost Rs 5/- to 6/-.’ By the end of the nineteenth century the rate of some improved ploughs were as follows: the Duplex, Rs 5/-; the Kaisar, Rs 6/-; the Seebpore, Rs 6/-; the Watts, Rs 7/-; the Saidapet, Rs 8/-; the Hindustan Rs 12/-; Voelcker, , op. cit. (113), pp. 216–17.Google Scholar

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121 Walker, , op. cit. (113), p. 199.Google Scholar

122 Ibid., p. 181. Later scientific observations have disproved the idea of deep ploughing in India. Conserving moisture, exposition of weeds and slices to the sun, availability of limestone and Kankar into the depth of the soil and the uncertainty of rainfall, all these factors affirmed the preference of the Indian husbandmen to his wooden-shared plough against deep ploughing. Voelcker, , op. cit. (113), pp. 220–222Google Scholar; The Royal Commission of Agriculture in India, 1928, p. 110.Google Scholar

123 Elsewhere I have discussed in detail the import of new seeds and plants in British India. Sangwan, Satpal, ‘Plant Colonialism 1786–1857’, PIHC, Burdwan, 1983, pp. 414–424.Google Scholar

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125 FPP, 14 11, 1856Google Scholar, no. 222.

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127 FPP, 14 05, 1858Google Scholar, nos. 94–95.

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135 The deed of the engagement submitted by the British Resident at Lucknow to the Company government on behalf of the King contained provisions for the management of that institution under the guarantee of the East India Company. FPP, 1 August, 1836, no. 45.

136 Ibid, 1 January, 1840, no. 70.

137 The Madras Journal of Literature and Science, 07 1837Google Scholar, no. 16, pp. 56–60.

138 There were two medical schools in the Nizam's territories; the Bolurum Medical School and the Chudderghant Medical School. The former was, however, abolished in 1846–1847 under the instruction of the British Resident at Hyderabad. For more details of these schools see FPP, 5 December, 1838, no. 116; FPP 3 January, 1851, no. 108; Foreign Political-Letters from the Court of Directors (FP-LFC), 1848, no. 19.

139 Duff, Alexander's Evidence before a Select Committee of the House of Lords, 3 06, 1853Google Scholar, Parliamentary Papers: House of Lords, 1852–1853.Google Scholar

140 The prizes distributed from the donation of D.N. Thakur were as follows; prizes for the students of the Anatomical Class, 1st prize Rs 400, 2nd Rs 330, 3rd Rs 260, 4th Rs 190 5th Rs 120, 6th Rs 60, total Rs 1350; prizes for the chemical class, 1st Rs 275, 2nd Rs 200, 3rd Rs 125, 4th Rs 50, total Rs 650. HPP, 24 August, 1836, no. 14.

141 Harrison, , op. cit. (35).Google Scholar

142 Ibid., p. 10.

143 HP-LFC, 5 September, 1827, para 27. The sicca rupee was a stamped coin; especially the designation of the silver currency of the Mughals adopted by the East India Company.

144 Report of the Director of Public Instruction, 1855–1856.Google Scholar

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148 Talib noted with great admiration that the English carried their passion for machines so far as to equip even their kitchens with all manner of gadgets. Ibid.

149 Khan, Mirza Abu Talib, The Travels of Mirza Abu Talib Khan in Asia, Africa and Europe during 1800, 1802 and 1803, tr and ed. Stewart, Charles, London, 1810, p. 194.Google Scholar

150 Mujeeb, Ashraf, Muslim Attitudes towards British Rule and Western Culture in India, Delhi, 1982, p. 104.Google Scholar

151 One of his important books Shams-ul-Hindsa was published in 1823.Google Scholar

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153 Malihabadi, Maulana Abdul Razzaq, Azad ki Kahani Khud Azad ki Zubani, Delhi, 1958, p. 389.Google Scholar

154 Ibid., p. 390.

155 The booklet was entitled Arzdasut dar Bab-i-Zarurat Tarvij-i Zaban-i Angrezi-O Ulum Firang (‘An Appeal for the Study and Dissemination of the English language and Western learning.’)

156 Eastwick, Edward B., ed., The Autobiography of Latfulla, London, 1857, p. 176.Google Scholar

157 Rahman, A., ‘Science and Cultural Values and Historical Analysis’, New Orient, 12 1960, 1, pp. 19–22.Google Scholar

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159 Heber, R., Narrative of a Journal Through the Upper Provinces of India 1824–1825, London, 1828, vol. 1, pp. 295–96.Google Scholar

160 One contemporary newspaper observed that ‘the repugnance of the Pundits to European science arise from the foreign and the repulsive character of that science. There is little or no hope for making them instrumental in diffusing European science.’ The Friend of India, 22 07, 1841.Google Scholar

161 Poddar, A., Renaissance in Bengal, p. 221Google Scholar. But there were some others among the natives who ‘looked upon the botanic gardens as rather an extravagent establishment, more ornamental than useful.’ Hooker, J.D., Himalayan Journals, London, 1854, I, pp. 4–5.Google Scholar

162 Two such societies emerged on the scene in the 1860s; ‘The Bihar Scientific Society’ was founded in 1868 at Muzaffarpur by Imdad Ali, and the ‘Aligarh Scientific Society’ was founded by Syed Ahmed Khan. See Habib, , op. cit. (158).Google Scholar

163 Mackenna, , op. cit. (128), p. 7Google Scholar. It was not in the case of implements and practices only but in matters like education the Macaulian belief was that ‘what was reasonable in England must be reasonable in India and would, when forcibly presented, prevail.’ Mayhew, A., The Education of India: A Study of British Educational Policy in India 1855–1920, London, 1926, p. 58.Google Scholar

164 In 1838 Dr Lush had cautioned the Court over their speculation that ‘since this machine (Whitney's saw gin) had succeeded in America, it would also be a success in India.’ Walton, W., Short History of Cotton, its Culture, Trade and Manufacture in the Bombay Presidency, Bombay, 1880, p. 11.Google Scholar

165 In the beginning the metalled roads laid by the British in India did not appeal to the natives. The cause was simple. ‘As they (natives) seldom shoed their cattle, they complained that the metalled roads wore out the hooves of their beasts. They, therefore, travelled by the side of the trunk road-rather than on them.’ Kaye, J. W., The Administration of the East India Company: A History of Indian Progress, London, 1853, p. 309Google Scholar. Similarly, the steam oil-mills erected at Dacca proved ‘a perfect failure, due to the aversion of the natives to the oil expressed by these means. They alleged that it contained too much of the bitter principle to be used in their cookery.’ Davidson, , op. cit. (22), vol. 2, p. 113.Google Scholar