We will explore various strands of dissent in India – from challenges to colonial economic orders, patriarchy, and caste, to movements against secularism and liberalism. Historically, both colonial and anti-colonial nationalist narratives tended to ‘collectivise’ experiences in ways which hid the wide array of individual responses to, and protests against, colonialism. This course introduces some of the key social and political protest movements of colonial India, and the broader debates surrounding them. Many of these narratives of dissent have shaped and re-shaped the very fabric of Indian politics and society; others operate on parallel planes and have simmered beneath the surface. Studying these movements, and their protagonists and methods, requires us to rethink the multiple meanings of freedom, of rights, and, ultimately, of democracy for India’s colonial subjects and postcolonial citizens.
We will explore this rich history of socio-political protest from the 1800s-1947, beginning with early movements in response to conquest and the extension of the new East India Company state, and moving through mid-century revolts and the development of new kinds of political and social organisations seeking to effect social change or harness and channel ‘public opinion’ in the later 19th century. We will finish with a look at the rise of the revolutionary strand of Indian nationalism in the early 20th century, and the many voices of interwar Indian nationalism. Famous figures such as Gandhi will be placed in historical and regional context, and short excerpts from South Asian writers, clerics, intellectuals, activists and politicians will be provided to explore the ideas that motivated protest movements in colonial India.
What our students say
"Dr Denault has such a vast and expansive knowledge of India. I came out of the class feeling as though I had been studying Indian politics and history for my entire life."
