Colonial Historiography: An enquiry into its ideological dimensions in Indian context

Colonial historiography involves writing history of a colony by the metropolis, according to it’s own needs and understanding. In Indian context, we find that many schools of thought developed regarding it over the years. The orientalists were fond of Indian religion and culture, especially it’s ancient period. The Utilitarians on the other hand were complete opposites of them. They found all flaws in India. Its culture was seen as stagnant and decadent, which could only be cured under British rule. With the setback of 1857 and rising national consciousness, the conceptions of historians regarding India became even worse. India was portrayed as a disunited geographical entity, which housed followers of many religions, culture, traditions etc. It was only under the iron grip of British rule that India could hope to even exist! An important thread which ran around all these views was the continuation and strengthening of British rule in India, and the varying ideas, beliefs were designed to serve this purpose. Though there were some positives as well, but they were far outnumbered by the negatives.