As the historiography of colonial India continues to move beyond the political history of larger imperial projects to evaluating the social, cultural and intellectual transformations within distinct contexts during the nineteenth century, it is vital to examine educational debates and their role in social change. Indeed, as the British expanded their rule over north India during the nineteenth century, language and education became central to the British conquest of land and people. Research about colonial education has often concentrated on the expanding influence of English-language Anglicist education following the debates over Macaulay's Minute in the 1830s. Much of this writing has centred on the argument for a homogenous, hegemonic, colonial, educational agenda (in English) for British India.Footnote 1 Yet, a more focused analysis within the regional contexts of north India reveals that English-language education was less important than the reform and utilisation of local Indian languages for what was termed “vernacular” education.
In north India, especially the north-west Indian region of Punjab, colonial officials promoted the use of Urdu and the development of Urdu- language instruction by the 1850s. The object was to transform the Persianised (Perso-Islamic) cultural world of the Indian elite, replacing Persian – the main language of the courts (administration) and literate culture, utilised by all communities – with an Urdu cultural world that represented British rule. Led by orientalists and colonial officials, along with the Indian literati, the development of Urdu-language “vernacular” education was pioneered through the development of a new curriculum in Urdu that included subjects such as history. And the creation of textbooks for use in schools became central to these reforms.
The object of this paper is to examine the development of vernacular Indian history textbooks (in Urdu) to provide an insight into the emerging contestations about the meaning of history and its influence on the evolving nature of community identity in colonial India. History textbooks and newer historical methods – affiliated with vernacular education – help us to understand the wider implications of colonial educational reforms in the middle of the nineteenth century; these textbooks provided opportunities for reformers to influence, directly and indirectly, the emerging debates about historical identity – helping communities to articulate their own consciousness as well demarcate the boundaries between themselves and other communities. Indeed, the articulations about the meaning of history in the colonial context provided an important area of contention between British educational officials and the Indian literati about the purpose of education and the characterisation of religious identities. Thus, I undertake this analysis by situating history textbooks within a wider framework of educational developments in north India.
In this paper, I first will evaluate educational reforms (and the processes of reform) in colonial north India, concentrating on the formation of a vernacular curriculum. Then I will examine the development of colonial Indian historiography before analysing how these issues eventually shaped the creation of vernacular Indian history textbooks and facilitated the articulation of community identity.
The Context: Educational Reform in North India
North-west India, specifically the region of Punjab, provides us with an opportunity to examine the impact of colonial rule and educational reforms over a relatively short period of time. The region, only annexed by the British in 1849, was rapidly incorporated into British India. For colonial officials, education was a key method to promote British rule, as it could foster larger social changes as well. Thus, educational reforms expanded rapidly after the annexation of the region.Footnote 2 In addition, Lahore, the capital of the Punjab, became a centre for educational reforms in north-west India following the Revolt of 1857 and the destruction of Delhi as the physical and symbolic capitol of India.Footnote 3 Thus, educational reformers in the Punjab became some of the most prominent advocates for vernacular education, as well as the leading critics of Anglicist education in India.Footnote 4 Moreover, the Punjab helps us to reconsider the role of Muslims in educational reform in north India. Instead of resisting colonial attempts to develop newer education structures, the Muslim literati in Lahore took an active part in educational developments. Indeed, vernacular education provided a space for these literati to respond to the challenges of colonial rule by adapting their own cultural frameworks and incorporating and articulating new forms of knowledge, under the patronage of colonial officials. Lastly, the experience of colonial rule in the Punjab was not necessarily similar to other regions in India which had had a much longer experience of British rule. Thus, we need to understand the experience of colonialism and education reforms that were specific both to the Punjab as well as wider north India, as they will help us to contextualise later historical developments in the region that have been examined in much greater detail.
In the early 1850s, colonial officials in Lahore began to experiment with the establishment of schools that could reflect the new cultural world brought with colonial rule. These schools were not firmly planted within an administrative structure until 1856, when the colonial government founded the Department of Public Instruction, Punjab. However, many of the schools established before and after 1856 began to utilise the new administrative vernacular language chosen for the Punjab, Urdu. In these debates, colonial officials already deemed Punjabi as inappropriate, choosing instead Urdu, a language already used in other parts of north India.Footnote 5 Therefore, by the later 1850s, Urdu became the medium of instruction for schools founded and aided by the Punjab government, English instruction was limited to much more advanced students. At this time, the government initiated an ambitious programme to develop a series of vernacular textbooks as well.
The establishment of an official programme of education, the use of Urdu and the creation of an Urdu curriculum posed a direct challenge to the predominant indigenous educational structure in the Punjab, the Persian-language maktab.Footnote 6 The maktab was an elementary (and secondary for some) educational institution. It was central to the transmission of the Perso-Islamic cultural heritage of the Punjab (and north India).Footnote 7 Indeed it was a main site for the transference of Persian-language skills and knowledge associated with elite literate culture in the Punjab. Students learned the various skills and expertise that were required to serve in local administration, trade and other intellectual and cultural aspects of life in the region (even during Sikh rule). Although maktabs were by no means a universal educational system, students from all religious communities attended them.Footnote 8 Many were members of the elite in the region, including Hindu Khatris and Muslims who were members of the sharif elite.Footnote 9 These groups also were the main class of students who attended colonial schools, realising the need to adjust to new circumstances.
Although maktabs were not formally regulated by a government authority such as an education department, prior to colonial rule, there were many similarities between maktabs across the region (and north India). In addition to linguistic skills, they provided a moral framework associated with sharif culture. For example, adab literature was central to the curriculum, including the Gulistan and Bustan of Sa'di, the famous Persian poet. The teaching of Persian-language history texts varied and mainly appeared in more advanced classes as part of the adab curriculum. Yet, with the establishment of formal colonial schools, much of the maktab curriculum, including the texts by Sa'di, were arguably unsuitable for their practical application to the circumstances of colonial rule. For example, in one of his earliest educational circulars, the first Director of Public Instruction for the Punjab (DPI), W.D. Arnold, characterised the syllabus of maktabs as “teaching boys to read the Gulistan and Bostan with more or less fluency, and little or no comprehension”, and “to write a letter in Persian, and perhaps. . .to keep accounts in the Mahajunee fashion”.Footnote 10
Due to these considerations, colonial officials viewed maktab education as outdated, and educational reform became identified with wider social reforms. Thus, officials sought to develop a new Urdu educational system that was not identified with the religious and cultural framework of the maktab, replacing it and many of its characteristic texts. It is not my intention here to explore the formal changes that facilitated the establishment of Urdu-language primary and secondary schools (both government and government aided-private schools). I have detailed this elsewhere.Footnote 11 Rather, here, I wish to examine specific aspects of the creation and production of an Urdu language-curriculum in the 1850s and 1860s, focusing on history textbooks. History textbooks were part of a curriculum that taught practical knowledge, skills, and morals – to produce productive and honest employees who could serve the colonial state. Therefore, Urdu textbooks were not only representative of the changes brought with colonial rule, they were considered central to educational and associated societal reform efforts.
Vernacular Education and the Transmission of “General Knowledge”
One of the main objectives of vernacular education in north India was to provide a new educational system that utilised key aspects of English education without relying on the English language to covey this material. This educational system was organised and regulated, and included the establishment of an official school system with schools in principal towns and villages that were subject to the authority of the colonial administration. Related to these developments was the formulation of an official Urdu-language curriculum that established fixed standards and taught distinct forms of literacy, knowledge and methods of analysis. Texts and materials were divided into specific subjects, including language and literature.
However, the impact of educational reforms went beyond simply utilising Urdu. One of the central functions of the vernacular school curriculum was the conveyance (in Urdu) of what was described as “general knowledge”, including mathematics, geography and history. These subjects were drawn from the curriculum of English schools in Britain as well as those in India. Indeed, the incorporation of knowledge (what was termed generally as ‘ilm) from European educational systems into Indian-language textbooks was vital to the creation of a vernacular curriculum that offered a practical education, an education that also could be tested via examination.Footnote 12 This knowledge was identified with Europe, even if the roots of this knowledge were from classical Greece and Asia.
The use of knowledge identified with Europe was pioneered in the earlier nineteenth century at locations such as Delhi College.Footnote 13 Originally founded in 1825 on the site of a defunct madrasa, the College integrated European subjects and English-language education into its syllabus, forming English and Oriental departments in 1835. By the 1840s, Delhi College became renowned as a centre of learning for the revival and development of Urdu and Urdu education through the assistance of European thought. Although the curriculum offered an “orientalist” approach to the study of classical Indian languages and literature (such as Arabic and Persian), European knowledge was also transmitted through the study of history, philosophy and science in the “vernacular”. As a result, the Vernacular Translation Society was formed at Delhi College in the 1840s, through the efforts of college officials and the Indian literati, to translate English textbooks on history, law, science and medicine into Urdu. These books, both translated and written for the College, were some of earliest textbooks to be developed for Urdu vernacular education. These pioneering efforts later served as examples for the development of vernacular texts – including history textbooks – in the North-Western Provinces (NWP) in the later 1840s (see below), and in the Punjab by the 1850s.
These advancements raise the question: why did reformers promote the use of knowledge and frameworks associated with Europe? ‘European’ knowledge came to represent the power of the colonial state. By utilising this knowledge, including European scientific developments and European concepts of history (discussed below) associated with the “advances” of Europe, the aim was to promote the progress and reform of Indian society. Indeed, educational reformers (and increasingly the Indian literati) argued that European knowledge (including the sciences, history and related disciplines) was necessary to improve and develop education in the region.Footnote 14 After all, Macaulay believed that, “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”, and there were many more shelves in this symbolic European library.Footnote 15 Through the promotion of European knowledge, educational debates in the 1850s moved beyond the questions about Anglicist or orientalist subjects to questions about the language of instruction. Although Macaulay and the Anglicists argued that European knowledge was best communicated through English-language education, ‘neo-orientalists’ in regions such as the Punjab argued that European knowledge and education could equally be communicated in Indian languages. These ‘neo-orientalists’ sought to draw from European educational systems (as well as Indian educational systems), using Indian languages as a way to respond to the push for English-language education.Footnote 16
By the late 1850s, many education officials in the Punjab could be defined as neo-orientalists. They began to establish a formal Urdu curriculum, utilising textbooks to convey a variety of skills as well as ‘general knowledge’. By the 1860s, ‘general knowledge’ in the Punjab became more formalised with the development of an official curriculum by the Director of Public Instruction (DPI), Punjab, A.R. Fuller, and the standardised use of textbooks for the region.Footnote 17 In addition to the creation and standardised use of language texts, there was an assortment of additional subjects. For example, textbooks were written that conveyed functional mathematics skills, including arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.Footnote 18 Geography and history textbooks were formulated as well.
Vernacular textbooks in the Punjab were, sometimes, translations of English school textbooks: for example, textbooks about the history of England and Europe.Footnote 19 Yet, the development of Indian history textbooks in Urdu involved more than mere translations of texts – raising larger debates about the meaning and functions of history. I will evaluate the emerging colonial historiography on India and how this influenced the development of Indian history textbooks in Urdu before examining history textbooks generally in the Punjab.
Colonial Historiography, Myth, and the Development of History Texts
To understand and situate the role of history textbooks in portraying community identity as well as their place in educational advances in the Punjab, we need to evaluate the development of colonial historiography on India in history textbooks prior to the 1850s. The relatively limited research on the evolvement of Indian language history textbooks during colonial rule has focused on Bengal, often attempting to trace the relationship of these textbooks to the nationalist cause.Footnote 20 However, we also need to place these developments within the wider debates about education. Moreover, it is important to understand how history textbooks developed in north-west India in order to recognise the similarities as well as differences with developments in Bengal and to analyse the debates that erupted in the Punjab.
As I have said, the incorporation of European knowledge was a vital part of the development of the vernacular educational system, and history was a key discipline in this enterprise. It has been argued that the development of history writing in colonial India was a marker of modernity because it illustrated a “consciousness of. . .historical depths and trajectories”, mainly associated with national consciousness and nationalist movements.Footnote 21 Although this point does not need to be specifically detailed here, the development of history in colonial north India was less concrete than a divide between modernity and pre-modernity (“medieval”), or between the rational and the irrational. I recognise that the attitudes and purposes regarding the writing of history largely changed with colonial rule, as the British brought European conceptions of history affiliated with the development of the European nation state. However, history textbooks developed during colonial rule in the nineteenth century also adapted pre-colonial conceptual frameworks and knowledge to serve colonial purposes (and this became the subject of debate – discussed below).
Mughal histories in Persian provided important pre-colonial sources for the development of Indian history texts in the colonial context. These pre-colonial histories exhibited the past as a model for contemporary readers, as Mughal histories included both historical (chronological) memory and collective memory.Footnote 22 Mughal texts provided insight into the worldviews of rulers and the elite, and this was evident to the readers of these texts. Thus, one could argue that these texts provided a limited understanding of historical trajectories and were part of a growing ‘consciousness’ about Muslim ‘Hindustan’.Footnote 23 Nonetheless, pre-colonial histories did not reflect a wider historical background and did not trace the causes and consequences of historic events.Footnote 24 Therefore, Mughal histories were somewhat linear as well as cyclical, often articulating a general historical memory (Islamic or regional) as well as concentrating on a court of a specific ruler.
During British expansion in India, European conceptions of history influenced the developing forms of colonial Indian historiography. Colonial histories, and more specific to this discussion, history textbooks (in the vernacular) mainly detailed historical ‘facts’ in order to appear unbiased.Footnote 25 However, the British utilised pre-colonial knowledge in order to formulate ‘factual’ histories that covered longer trajectories of time, and attempted to illustrate the relations between different rulers and periods (see below). These histories also helped to legitimise British rule by redeveloping chronological and collective memory to insert the British into the wider trajectory of Indian history. Therefore, we should evaluate the influence of European conceptions of factual histories, as well as pre-colonial knowledge, on the writing of history texts in English that served as models for history textbooks in Urdu.
The process of writing Indian history in colonial India dates from the earlier orientalist experiments during the time of Sir William Jones in the later eighteenth century. Jones focused on the importance of primary sources (in Persian and Sanskrit) in order to construct the past into an accurate history of India.Footnote 26 This emphasis on primary sources to locate ‘facts’ in order to write history illustrates the Orientalist connections to Western-derived notions of history and academic study. However, James Mill soon challenged the reliability of Indian language sources, formulating important distinctions between fact and fiction. For instance, he opposed the later eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century ‘mythological histories’ written by Indian historians where “fable stands in the place of fact”.Footnote 27 This was part of a larger effort to separate literature (including fables) – labelled by the British as ‘adab’ – from ‘ilm – knowledge associated with science and ‘fact’.Footnote 28
Mill's History influenced later Indian histories, and his ideas shaped the development of history textbooks. Consequently, a significant objective in the patronage and development of history textbooks in north India in the 1850s and 1860s was the separation of ‘myth’ (including literature and folklore) from ‘factual’ histories that represented knowledge – ‘ilm. Such ‘factual’ histories also served to justify vernacular education and the pre-eminence of vernacular texts over the maktab texts that supposedly relied upon ‘fables’ and unreliable facts. Indeed, colonial officials viewed the history texts of the maktab – often associated with adab literature – negatively. For example, W. D. Arnold (the DPI, Punjab), described one ‘history’ text used in maktabs, the Sikandar Nama, as “a narrative of facts which are not true”.Footnote 29 In order to replace such texts and develop history as a subject, education officials sought to develop new Indian histories in the vernacular.
As Mill was part of the utilitarian movement, his History offered a comparative critique of European and Indian civilisations. His evaluations were often critical of Indian society. For example, during his discussion about the beliefs and practices of the “Religion of the Hindus” Mill criticised the “burning of wives” and the encouragement of the “loosest morality”.Footnote 30 Indian history texts in Urdu were not so explicitly critical of Indian society. Thus, although most writers acknowledge Mill's influence in developing Indian historiography, another important model for the development of Indian history textbooks in the vernacular was the more “value-free” (implying a less critical or less moralising) History of India: From Antiquity to the Accession of the Mogul Dynasty by John Marshman.
Marshman was a Baptist missionary who originally wrote his text (in English) in the 1830s for mission schools. It was less opinionated than Mill's work, providing a basic ‘factual’ history. Indeed, Marshman's main emphasis was “simplicity of style”, although he used various historical writings as sources. For instance, Mill's History provided a three-part model to understand Indian history, based upon historical periods associated with Hindu rule, Muslim rule and British rule, a model that corresponds with European historiography of the ‘classical’, ‘medieval’ or ‘feudal’ and the ‘modern’ periods. Marshman's History also employed a similar framework, dividing Indian history up to Mughal rule into two periods, the “Hindoo Period” and the “Moosulman Period”.Footnote 31 The Hindu period was roughly a third of the book, detailing early Hinduism, the Vedas, along with the rise of Buddhism, and various early invasions of India (including Darius and Alexander the Great). By this time, the need to separate fact from myth (or ‘fable’) influenced Marshman's attempts to locate proper sources for the Hindu period. Thus relatively few sources limited this discussion, an important point since Indian histories in Urdu (discussed below) relied upon Marshman's text.Footnote 32 However, Marshman also referred to wider historical events, such as the development of Christianity and Islam (outside of India) during the Hindu period. The Muslim period was much more detailed, and included the initial Muslim conquests in north India, up to the rise of the Mughals. However, this section also included references to Hindu rulers who challenged Muslim rule and the initial Portuguese contacts in India. Marshman's History was soon used for vernacular translations, and was referred to as the “Tarikh” at Delhi College.Footnote 33
Indian History Textbooks in North India and the Punjab in the 1850s and 1860s
Indian history texts in English influenced the creation of history textbooks in Urdu. One of the first Urdu-language history texts came from the neighbouring region, the North-Western Provinces. Indeed, many of the early educational developments in the Punjab came from the NWP, as Lt. Governor James Thomason's administration became an early advocate for Urdu-language education in the later 1840s. Many of his young officials moved to Lahore in the 1850s, bringing their experiences and ideas with them.Footnote 34 The use of NWP textbooks influenced the development of educational subjects in vernacular schools in the Punjab. For instance, the first DPI, Punjab, W. D. Arnold, wrote that many tehsil (subdivision of the district) schoolboys could “give an intelligent account of the early Muhammadan invasions of India”.Footnote 35 One widely used general Indian history textbook from the NWP was the Tarikh-e Hind [History of India]. It was published in Agra early in the 1850s, and used in the Punjab soon afterwards. Fuller also included it in the curriculum of “middle” classes in schools in the Punjab.Footnote 36 In 1861 it was reprinted in the Punjab as the Tawarikh-e Hind [Histories of India].Footnote 37
Similar to Marshman's History, the Tawarikh-e Hind provided a chronological framework that detailed facts about Indian history. It began with a review of the geography of India, from Burma to Kashmir and Afghanistan.Footnote 38 The second chapter provided an early history of India before the coming of Islam. It was not specifically labelled as the Hindu period, but it described several Buddhist and Hindu rulers and the conquests of Alexander the Great.Footnote 39 As the Tawarikh was influenced by Marshman's (and indirectly Mill's) conception of Indian historiography, it was concerned about “proper sources pertaining to the first people” [inhabitants] who came to India,Footnote 40 echoing Marshman's concern for “authentic” records from the era before the arrival of Islam in India, as many sources were “mythological” texts such as the epic, the Mahabharata. A lack of ‘proper’ or ‘authentic’ records was used to partly justify the brief discussion of this period in the Tawarikh – illustrating the influential emphasis on ‘facts’ by Mills and colonial historians as well as the supposed accuracy of the text.Footnote 41
The third chapter about Muslim rule in India employed a comparable format and discussion to Marshman's History, sequentially detailing the history of Muslim rulers. After an opening discussion about the Prophet Muhammad and the early Muslim Khalifa period, the chapter chronologically rapidly proceeds to the early history of Muslim contact in India, the invasions of Mahmud of Gahzni and the Delhi Sultanate.Footnote 42 The largest section of the chapter is devoted to Mughal rule, including a detailed discussion of Mughal emperors. Although similar to Marshman, it is clearly aimed at an Indian audience. For instance, while Marshman stated the reign of Akbar began just prior to the reign of Elizabeth I of England, such a reference was not needed (and may not have even been understood) in an Urdu textbook in north India. However, both texts were sympathetic to Akbar and less generous in their treatment of Aurangzeb, a common theme in colonial Indian historiography. For example, the Tawarikh states that Akbar, “enjoyed the company of scholars. His listened to all ideas carefully. . . .No disgrace to the nation came from his mouth”,Footnote 43 while the discussion of Aurangzeb was less enthusiastic, focusing on palace intrigue and Aurangzeb's rise to power through force.
The textbook concludes with a brief review of the expansion of British rule in India, illustrating how the British were incorporated into a wider narrative of Indian history.Footnote 44 This review includes the acquisition of territory by the East India Company, and closes with discussions about the various Afghan wars and the annexation of Sindh. Although the book was republished in the Punjab, the Sikh wars that led to the eventual annexation of the region by 1849 are only briefly mentioned.Footnote 45
These examples illustrate that the Tawarikh-e Hind provided factual knowledge (‘ilm) within a chronological structure, following the model of Indian history textbooks in English. The long section on Muslim rule was organised mainly by the rulers of each time period. Although the Muslim period was informed by Persian histories either directly or indirectly (through Marshman), the conceptual organisation of historical trajectories, especially regarding the ‘progress’ of Indian history from a ‘Hindu’ period to successive Muslim dynasties, was a central feature of colonial historiography. However, the large time period under review did not provide many opportunities to sufficiently detail military campaigns or some of the major controversies that surrounded certain rulers.
Another significant feature of the text is that much of its information was obtained from other Indian histories, written in English (and Urdu). The many similarities between the Tawarikh and Marshman's History indicate that Marshman was an important source. As we have seen, the basic organisation and structure between the two texts is similar, with equivalent divisions into Hindu and Muslim periods and discussions about different family dynasties and conquests. In addition, both texts were concerned about historical sources of pre-Islamic India, and both only briefly cover Indian history prior to the tenth century. However, the summary of this period is even more basic in the Tawarikh-e Hind. An emphasis on the well-documented period of Muslim rule is apparent in many Indian histories, and Tawarikh-e Hind continued this tradition.
Although certain parts of the Tawarikh were heavily based on Marshman's History, the text is not a mere translation.Footnote 46 Instead, the Tawarikh selectively details Indian history. For example, the Tawarikh focuses on Muslim rule in north India; unlike Marshman, it did not extensively detail the Portuguese and Christian contacts in western India or the rise of Christianity (material arguably more appropriate for mission schools than a ‘secular’ government curriculum). Moreover, since Marshman's History originally only provided information up to the foundation of Muhgal rule, additional English and Persian language sources would have been used to write the Tawarikh. English sources appear likely for the brief discussion about the expansion of British rule in India and how “kings” and “nawabs. . .were gradually weakened” during the eighteenth century. This clearly echoes the familiar theme of Mughal ‘decline’ in colonial Indian historiography, inserting the British within the larger trajectory of Indian history. One colonial Indian history in English that could have been consulted – as it also was used in schools in the district of Zillah, Punjab – was Hugh Murrary's History of British India.Footnote 47 However, Indian histories in English, such as Murray's book, mainly discussed British conquests and rule in India, whereas the Tawarikh-e Hind concludes with only a brief summary of British rule in India.
Emulating history texts written in English, the Tawarikh-e Hind became a model for history textbooks in vernacular schools in north India. It provided a chronological structure with a clear distinction between different periods of Indian history based on successive Hindu and Muslim rulers. The emphasis on ‘factual’ sources was central to British conceptions of historical knowledge (‘ilm), leading to a larger focus on the ‘Muslim’ period. In addition, the text inserted the British into the larger chronology of Indian history. Consequently, the voice of the unnamed Urdu translator/author (of the Lahore edition) is less clear. Instead, we can infer a desire by colonial officials (such as Captain Fuller, the Director of Public Instruction who requested the Lahore edition) to provide a text that closely followed Indian history texts in English.
However, although the Tawarikh-e Hind originated during the formation of colonial education in the NWP, prior to the Revolt of 1857 that changed the nature of rule in India, it provides few details about the battles leading to the annexation of the Punjab in the later 1840s. Therefore, the Punjab Education Department required an updated history, with perspectives that incorporated the expansion of British rule in the Punjab and adapted Indian historiography to the circumstances of post-1857 colonial India. Moreover, education officials sought to reverse the mediocre history examination results of the early 1860s that compounded the difficulties of teaching history in schools in the Punjab.Footnote 48 For these reasons, educational officials in the Punjab sought to create additional history textbooks.
A.R. Fuller, Karim al-Din and the Development of Vernacular Textbooks in the Punjab
Two significant groups were central to the creation of Urdu textbooks and wider educational reforms in the Punjab. The first group consisted of British neo-orientalists and educational officers who were the patrons of the second group, the Indian literati. The development of Indian history textbooks in the region followed this model, and was promoted by the Director of Public Instruction in the early 1860s, Captain Abraham R. Fuller. Born in 1828 to a Bengal army captain, Fuller was appointed to the Royal Artillery, Bengal in 1845 and became a captain in 1858. He also was an orientalist scholar of Arabic and Persian and translated texts such as ‘Inayat Khan's Shah Jahan Nama. In addition, he assisted H. M. Elliot in his massive project, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians (discussed below).Footnote 49 His superiors must have appreciated these skills when they recommended him for the post. Fuller's language skills became further apparent when he actively supported and sponsored the creation of vernacular textbooks for the Punjab, as well as the adaptation in the early 1860s of textbooks from Agra and other parts of the NWP (such as Tawarikh-e Hind).
In order to develop textbooks suitable for the circumstances of the region as well as to promote his educational agenda and career, Fuller was eager to locate promising Indian literati. The relocation to Lahore after 1857 of several important younger members of the Indian literati provided Fuller with the opportunity to work with several prominent intellectuals who mainly were Muslim. These intellectuals came to Lahore seeking opportunities, and for some – refuge, following the devastating British suppression of the Revolt in Delhi.Footnote 50 Many, including Karim al-Din, were educated and affiliated with Delhi College, which closed due to the Revolt. Thus, Lahore became a sanctuary for the literati, and they brought to Lahore their experiences and ideas of educational reform. As the main generators of change, the literati helped to elevate Lahore as a centre of learning in north-west India, making it a location for educational innovation and experimentation.
Karim al-Din worked closely with Fuller to adapt and create Urdu textbooks. His work in the Punjab (and in Delhi prior to that time) indicates that he was a significant educational reformer. Yet, there has been little work about the role and influence of this important Muslim intellectual. Karim al-Din previously was a central figure at Delhi College during its principal years of reform in the 1840s.Footnote 51 From an important Panipati family of Sufis and educated in Arabic and Persian before entering Delhi College, his literary skills were valued by its principals in the 1840s, including Dr Aloys Sprenger. Karim al-Din translated several books into Urdu for the Vernacular Translation Society at Delhi College, and wrote about Arab and Indian poets. He also held Musha'iras (poetry sessions) at his house during this time. After Sprenger left Delhi College, Karim al-Din became a lecturer in Urdu at the Anglo-Oriental College at Agra in the 1850s, where he continued to write textbooks. He left Agra after the disturbances of 1857–1858, and soon found employment in Lahore as a sarishtadar (register keeper).
Where can we place Karim al-Din in relation to his contemporaries? He was part of a wider tradition of north India Muslim intellectuals who actively responded to the challenges of British rule to his Perso-Islamic cultural heritage. Although he did not closely associate with prominent movements such as the Aligarh Society of Syed Ahmed Khan, Karim al-Din shared similar ideas about the need to utilise European knowledge and ideas to re-examine Perso-Islamic knowledge systems associated with education.Footnote 52 Moreover, Karim al-Din and Syed Ahmed both were from important literary families rooted in a Persianised cultural heritage, and both sought to reform this heritage. Indeed, Karim al-Din was active in educational reform, and became a significant author of textbooks on grammar, composition and history for the Punjab Education Department. Thus, Karim al-Din provides us with some insight into the significance of the Muslim literati who worked closely with colonial officials and relied upon them for patronage, yet have been less studied than Muslim reformers such as Syed Ahmed Khan.
Several of Karim al-Din's NWP textbooks were used in the Punjab, and they became the foundation for his further work in the region. These include grammars such as Qawa'id al-Mubtadi [A beginner's grammar], written in the later 1850s during his service in Agra.Footnote 53 However, Karim al-Din became most recognised for his work in the Punjab, including his textbook about the history of India. This effort became embroiled in a controversy that provides us with insight into the nature and purpose of vernacular educational reforms, and the role of history textbooks in helping to define community consciousness.
The Waqi'at-e Hind and Indian History Textbooks in the Punjab
In the early 1860s, Fuller asked Karim al-Din to write a history textbook to replace the Tawarikh-e Hind. In 1863, his text was published as the Waqi'at-e Hind Indian Events. Although Karim al-Din is ultimately credited with writing the text, especially the sections that became embroiled in controversy, he was assisted by other Indian officials in the Education Department, Master Ram Chandra and Muhammad Zia al-Din.Footnote 54 Ram Chandra was an important mathematician connected to Delhi College prior to 1857. After the abolition of the College, he became the headmaster of Delhi District School. Muhammad Zia al-Din was an Urdu teacher at the Delhi Normal School, and became a Professor of Arabic at the newly opened Government College, Delhi in 1864. He also served as an examiner for the Punjab Education Department mathematics examinations as he previously had been a maths teacher.Footnote 55 Their work was divided up, and it appears that Karim al-Din mainly read English-language Indian histories, while Chandra and Zia al-Din consulted Persian-language histories of India.Footnote 56
The Waqi'at-e Hind's anecdotal form followed a similar chronological model as its predecessor, the Tawarikh-e Hind. The Waqi'at also begins with a review of the geography of India. After the geographical description, the first section of the book provides a brief review of the pre-Muslim period in Indian history. The treatment of this period is inconsistent, partially detailing Vedic times, the battles in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata and the invasions of Alexander the Great. The second section of the Waqi'at details the successive periods of Muslim rule, also covering similar topics to the Tawarikh-e Hind in further detail. It discusses the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni, the expansion of Muslim rule during the Delhi Sultanate and also reviews the various Mughal emperors. It concludes with a discussion of Siraj ud-daula, the battle of Plassey and the annexation of Bengal. The last section of the Waqi'at provides an “account” of British rule in India. This section was 73 pages, much more substantial than the Tawarikh-e Hind's brief survey of British rule. It also incorporated a more updated history of British rule, inclusive of the Punjab.
The similarity between the Tawarikh-e Hind and the Waqi'at is not surprising since both texts utilised Marshman's History as an important source. For instance, the section on the “Hindu” period in the Waqi'at was adapted from Marshman's text by Karim al-Din (the main writer of the section).Footnote 57 This was because Karim al-Din and the other authors had no special knowledge about the pre-Muslim period of Indian history, and most likely would not have been able to read the necessary Sanskrit sources. Moreover, the issue about sources that concerned Marshman and Mill again surfaced about this early period. Therefore, the material covering pre-Muslim India was obtained from English-language Indian histories. In addition, Marshman's History influenced the writing about the Muslim period in the Waqi'at, both providing a chronological framework to present the history of Muslim rule, based upon successive dynasties (or families). Some descriptions closely followed Marshman's text, such as the section about Lodhi rule in Delhi. However, like the Tawarikh-e Hind, the Waqi'at mainly focused on north India and did not provide a detailed summary of Portuguese contacts or other Hindu rulers during the Muslim period. However, the Muslim and British periods in the Waqi'at were based upon additional sources. For example, Persian sources provided information for the section on the Mughals.
The sources of the Waqi'at are important, as the brief narrative about the pre-Muslim period of Indian history in the Waqi'at became the subject of controversy in the Punjab Education Department. This controversy sheds light upon the purpose of history textbooks and the relationship to the development of vernacular education. Moreover, it illustrates the central, but at times controversial, role of the literati in vernacular education. It began when Captain Pollock, the Officiating Commissioner, Lahore Division, submitted the objections of “Hindoo scholars” in the Ferozepore district to a passage that did not recognise the “divine” origins of Raja Ram Chandra.Footnote 58 Fuller began his steadfast support for Karim al-Din, replying that the Waqi'at-e Hind followed the example of “a former history” (a reference to the Tawarikh-e Hind), when it stated that Raja Ram Chandra and his associates were human (and not divine). Fuller further argued that the “former history” had, “been used without the slightest objection in all Government schools of the Punjab”, since 1856. Moreover, to the best of his knowledge, the Waqi'at, had not been, “met anywhere with the slightest opposition” either. Thus, Fuller questioned the legitimacy of these objections.
The controversy was mainly part of the internal battles between officials in the Education Department, as a relatively small portion of this history text became the focus of a significant dispute. The identity of the “Hindoo scholars” was not made clear. Fuller even raised the possibility that they did not exist, as the book was not distributed to schools in the Ferozepore district at the time. However, the controversy also illustrates the difficulty in writing a history textbook that will please different communities. The government did not want to appear biased against any community, and the Waqi'at controversy challenged their policy on neutrality. Therefore, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, Robert Montgomery, stated that it was “exceedingly objectionable to issue. . .passages written by a Mahomedan in terms evidently contemptuous and calculated to be offensive to Hindoos”.Footnote 59 In an indirect way, the supposed ‘factual’ basis of the knowledge used to write the text was questioned because the author might have been calculatedly biased.
However, Fuller supported his dedicated assistant Karim al-Din with a discussion about the role of factual knowledge in history. Fuller grounded his reply within the view that history texts should rely upon facts and serve a secular curriculum, not pre-colonial ideas of divine history that British historians from James Mill onward criticised, when he wrote that he did not wish to “corroborate” the belief that Raja Ram Chandra was an “Incarnation of the Deity”.Footnote 60 Consequently, Fuller asked the new Lieutenant-Governor, Donald Mcleod, to dictate the exact changes that were necessary in the text in 1865. Eventually, certain sections about Raja Ram Chandra were omitted from ensuing publications of the Waqi'at. In addition, polite forms of respect, as expressed in north Indian languages – including the suffix ji, were added to Ram's name to acknowledge his royal connections, connections that could be factually corroborated.
On the surface, Tawarikh-e Hind and the Waqi'at-e Hind appear to be basic history textbooks. However, we can see several themes emerge when we analyse them within a wider framework, especially regarding the influence of British historiography on India in the development of vernacular history textbooks. Through sponsorships of indigenous literati such as Karim al-Din, education officials sought to create value-free history textbooks in Urdu that were influenced by European historiography. These new history texts illustrated a wider understanding of historical trajectories, as they incorporated European models of history and the reliance upon ‘factual’ knowledge (‘ilm) in order to facilitate the reduction of the cultural, religious and political influences of pre-colonial Indian histories. Thus, European historiography was an important part in the development of Indian history textbooks. This influence is noteworthy, as the section of the Waqi'at that perhaps was most directly influenced by European historiography and concepts of factual knowledge also garnered the most controversy.
Although European conceptions of historiography were central to the process of writing Indian history texts, the process was more complex than a simple, distinctive break from pre-colonial historiography. The use of Persian sources in the Tawarikh-e Hind and Waqi'at-e Hind demonstrates the reliance on pre-colonial knowledge and organisation in the development of history textbooks.Footnote 61 A.R. Fuller was an important sponsor of these efforts to write an Indian history in Urdu; as the translator of the Shahjahanama, and as a member of H.M. Elliot's project, the History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, he was aware of the significance of precolonial histories. In addition, Karim al-Din and Ram Chandra were part of the earlier experiments at Delhi College that began to formulate Urdu textbooks, including history textbooks, from Persian texts. From this legacy, it is not surprising to learn the mixed nature and purpose of writing an Indian history textbook in the Punjab. Therefore, these textbooks were not simply derived from European models but illustrate the multiple influences on the development of knowledge for educational purposes.
The debates about the Waqi'at mainly concerned colonial officials and involved a clash of personalities; they did not directly involve the literati who wrote the text. Moving beyond the colonial concerns, what was the reaction of Karim al-Din? It is difficult to locate Karim al-Din within the debates, as his voice does not appear in colonial records and he rarely discussed the issue directly.Footnote 62 However, in his writings, there are limited references to this controversy that provide some insight into Karim al-Din's reactions. British officials clearly showed concern that Karim al-Din, as a Muslim author, intended to insult Hindu deities, beliefs and possibly practices. However, it would be difficult to prove that Karim al-Din held a personal animosity toward Hindus or that he ‘calculated’ to offend them. For example, in his novel, Khat-e Taqdir, he offered a defence of the Waqi'at, especially against the idea that he deliberately sought to debase Hindus or Hindu “mythology’. In the introduction, he states that he never sought to offend any “religion” or “philosophy”.Footnote 63 Instead, he hopes that his writing would have a positive “effect on human nature. . .and consequences on people”. His personal actions and character support these statements. For example, Karim al-Din maintained faithful relations with his brother after the latter publicly converted to Christianity.Footnote 64 Thus, Karim al-Din used the Khat-e Taqdir, originally written as the controversy over the Waqi'at began, to defend his work and his personal beliefs.
Karim al-Din arguably was also concerned about receiving future patronage as well as his employment in the Punjab Education Department. Fortunately, Fuller defended Karim al-Din as he clearly was impressed with his work. Indeed, Fuller initially appreciated Karim al-Din's skills and efforts to write a variety of textbooks, including literature textbooks. For example, he commented that Karim al-Din's “original tales in Urdu. . .are likely to prove very popular”.Footnote 65 In the late 1860s, the Inspector of the Lahore Circle also stated that Karim al-Din, his Deputy Inspector of schools, was “a man of considerable learning and immense industry”.Footnote 66 Thus, Karim al-Din's devoted service to the Education Department further indicates that he did not intend to cause any controversy. Although Karim al-Din's superiors appreciated his work, his efforts did not bring him into prominent roles in administration, and his history textbook was criticised as “offensive”. However, this has not diminished from his influence in formulating a history textbook that continued to be used for generations.Footnote 67
Conclusion
The controversy surrounding the development of history textbooks in the Punjab raises several pertinent questions about the role of texts in the evolving nature of community identity during early colonial rule. There has been a burgeoning of studies about the processes of identity formation in colonial north India and the relationship to communalism and religious nationalism (including “Indian,” Muslim, and Hindu).Footnote 68 One important feature of the articulation of community identity was the emergence of print and public forums for debate during colonial rule. For Muslims, this meant that the control of the articulation of Muslim identity moved beyond the traditional religious scholars, the ‘ulema, as well as mosques and Muslim education institutions (including the maktab); Muslim intellectuals and religious reformers, such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, began to offer new alternatives.Footnote 69 In addition, as the developments discussed here begin to illustrate, the formation of colonial vernacular education became a site to construct and debate reforms; vernacular educational systems provided a forum where the Muslim literati (who often were not directly part of Muslim reform movements) could participate in the transformations of language, print and, ultimately, the articulation of identity. Many of these Muslim literati, including Karim al-Din, travelled to Lahore, where they received patronage and encouragement to partake in these developments.
History textbooks and educational reform movements were one of several arenas where history and community identity were articulated through print and public forums in the nineteenth century. For example, the formation of community organisations and literary societies in the Punjab, such as the Anjuman-e Punjab, also provided opportunities to consider such issues.Footnote 70 Print facilitated debates between various individuals and organisations, including the Anjuman and the Education Department. Print also enabled a larger section of the public to participate in debates that concerned a variety of social issues. Although only one example from the emerging print culture in early colonial Punjab, the history textbooks examined here were formulated during the early development of print in the region, and are one of the relatively few examples still extant. Moreover, these textbooks help to illustrate the influence of print on identities as they were widely circulated and used in schools – schools attended by students who formed a literate elite in the region and who were likely to utilise print to articulate their interests in the late nineteenth century.
Therefore, the development of history textbooks challenges us to consider the growing articulation of community identity in colonial north-west India. Prior to colonial rule, it would be difficult to assert that there was a lack of community consciousness, especially an idea of a Muslim community (umma) and the importance of Islamic history to this community. For instance, the Muslim sharif were aware of their connections to Mughal rule as well as a wider trajectory of Muslim history that dated from the time of the Prophet Muhammad.Footnote 71 Although Persian-language histories differed in purpose, organisation and presentation from colonial Indian historiography, they did exhibit a wider understanding of the relationship of the Mughal emperor to the community.Footnote 72 However, Indian histories formulated during colonial rule assisted in the construction of newer forms of community identity, including the notion of a Hindu period, a Muslim period and a British period in Indian history. Such a framework served to increase both Muslim and Hindu community connections to ‘their’ histories as distinct parts of Indian history, especially in relation to British rule.
The growing literature on identity also has highlighted ‘arenas’ outside the direct control or influence of the colonial state.Footnote 73 These studies have provided us with analysis about local communities, moving beyond the role of the colonial state in controversial events (such as riots). Although there were various influences upon the development of community identities, the production of history textbooks and the controversy surrounding the Waqi'at suggest that colonial officials played an important role in establishing at least part of a framework for emerging debates between religious communities. It would be difficult to assert that the colonial state directly sought to interfere in religious controversies, yet the state did play an indirect but important role through educational reform. For example, similar to the census and other studies, colonial historiography helped to demarcate boundaries between communities. The organisation of a three-part periodisation of Indian history (Hindu, Muslim, British – or one could state, ancient, medieval or “feudal,” and modern – as that was an implied meaning) and the application of this organisation into Indian-language history textbooks are examples of a territorial marker.
In addition to the influence of historiography on concepts of community identity, education officials did take an active part in helping to define debates between communities about collective histories. In their attempts to be “neutral”, they actually exacerbated a minor (but arguably fundamental) concern about the appearance of a Muslim author negatively portraying “Hindu history”. These initial debates about the Waqi'at were not launched by members of any religious community or organisation.Footnote 74 Instead, the competition of education officials, Fuller and Pollock, helped to further the controversy (or as Fuller argued, this was the main reason it began since he was unaware of any objections by Indian readers). Thus, colonial officers facilitated future debates about history and identity in the region; the reference points and rhetoric used by officials such as Pollock certainly helped to politicise the entire process, providing important questions for later communities to utilise. Historical ‘knowledge’ became the subject of these debates, as the concept of factually based knowledge was used to question the validity of mythological and religious sources and the proper portrayal of historical figures. Moreover, the religious identity of the textbook author became important for determining a supposed ‘bias’ when writing about such knowledge. Therefore, the early controversy over the Waqi'at helped to define historical content and terminology that was appropriate as well as contentious, predating some of the more common debates in later colonial rule over the use of history.
Finally, although this discussion has related history textbooks and identity, I should state that I am cautious about applying the controversy surrounding history textbooks in the early 1860s in Lahore to an overt assertion of community identity in colonial north-west India (and for that matter communalism, as there is little evidence of direct community tensions over the creation of history textbooks in the 1850s and 1860s). Some authors have sought to trace the use of nineteenth-century history textbooks to communal and nationalist positions in the twentieth century.Footnote 75 There also has been extensive commentary about the use of education, especially history textbooks, to advance a ‘communal’ education in contemporary India.Footnote 76 Moreover, K.K. Aziz has written passionately about the politicisation of history in Pakistan.Footnote 77 This paper takes us back to some of the early foundations of these contemporary crises, examining the early development of Indian historiography, its connections to the development of vernacular education and how history began to become a site for debating community history and identity. By doing so, we may not see an assertive communal identity, but the framework for the emerging articulation of such an identity.
