Impact of British Colonial Rule on India's Cultural Players
This presentation delves into the repercussions of British colonialism on the cultural dynamics of India, focusing on the Nautch girls and their contributions to society. It examines how British hegemony reshaped perceptions, devalued traditional arts, and instigated shifts in societal norms, impacting the cultural identity of the Indian subcontinent.
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Presentation Transcript
2015 Reynolds Faculty Symposium Ghazala Hashmi Professor of English The Nautch Girls of India British Rule and its Social and Economic Impacts on the Dance Girls of India
Overview of Presentation The background and history of the nautch girls in India The relevance of the nautch girls within the dramatic political reshaping of the Indian subcontinent from the 18th century onward A brief history of the English East India Company Discussion of the ways in which British cultural hegemony shaped the East Indian s own perceptions of the nautch girls and also devalued their role in the preservation and transmission of cultural artifacts such as high poetry, sophisticated manners, and dance traditions
The Argument British colonial rule deliberately targeted and disrupted the role of cultural players within Indian feudal society in order to create political instability. The undermining efforts of the East India Company were supported by three major elements of expanding colonial rule: the arrival of Christian missionaries on the subcontinent in the late 19th century the increased migration of English women in the late 19th century the social sensibilities of Victorian England Orientalist assumptions about the sexuality and sexual behaviors of non-European peoples At significant cost to themselves, East Indian communities assimilated the reductive values of the colonizer, participating in what some theorists have termed the colonization of the mind.
The Nautch Girls of India Background Cultural values and traditions Roles in High Society Early Colonial Perspectives
Contributions to Literary and Linguistic Traditions The Ghazal a highly-structured, lyrical poem sung out loud, typically within an organized, public performance languages of the ghazal include Urdu, Farsi, Turkish, and Pashto renowned poets include Rumi, Hafiz, and Ghalib
Other Essential Contributions of the Nautch Girls Tameez Tehzeeb Culture Refinement of thought, action, and words Good manners A sense of decorum An ability to discern Demonstration of good judgment Cultured sensibility Courtliness (linguistic equivalent of Castiglione s sprezzatura)
The East India Company History, Structure, and Power The English Nabob Consequences and Impacts on the Modern World: The rule of the Company Man Forerunner to companies such as British Petroleum (BP) and colonizing monopolies characterized by political domination and control of resources
Lingering Influences of Colonial Attitudes Case Study: Pakeezah, an Indian film released in 1972 Pak means pure or to make clean an object that was once unclean. Pakeezah reflects orientalist assumptions about the nautch girl, that she is unclean, a prostitute, and a social pariah. At the same time, it also seeks to undermine these assumptions.
Concluding Comments Assimilation of Western values with regard to women s roles within public performance, high society, and preservation of literary and dance art forms proved detrimental to the societies of nautch girls. The loss of political, economic, and social capital among the nautch cultures had a broader impact on South Asian society. Negative societal judgment of women s public performance remains evident today and is more indicative of English Victorian values than of indigenous attitudes that preceded British colonial rule.
