The starting of Indian Modernity

Written by: Dipti Vaghela  D

Topic : The starting of Indian Modernity

Paper : 4^th

Roll no : 09

Submitted To: Department of English

                           Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji

                           Bhavnagar University

The starting of Indian Modernity

 Preface:

        Our India is a beautiful country. It has great heritage regarding the Sanskrit Literature. It was rich country and there were some poems also written on it. Before some years Indian people believe in ‘satipratha’ and ‘dudhpiti’etc. But after passing some time, some people break those beliefs. Some people were not accepting those rules and they awakened and believe in manhood. So that period known as ‘Indian modernity’.

~The starting of Indian Modernity:

        The idea of modernized India first came in the state of Bengal in nineteenth century. Henry Derozio analyzes the paper and to creating an enlightened group called Young Bengal who inculcated enlightened habit of mind, ranging from critical inquiry to free thinking atheism and brought in western modernity to Bengal. Derozio’s metrical poem ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera’ and his prose writings reveals his concept of aesthetics and ideas of a syncretistic, democratic culture within early colonialism.  He wants to change widow burning and introduction of widow remarriage.

        Not only Derozio’s follower used his ideas of modernity, but also other Indian liberals, reformers and revivalists, such as Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekanand and Bankim Chandra Chatopadhyay profited by them. Derozio also enjoys the dubious reputation of being the initiator of the Bengal Renaissance and reformer of a conservative Hindu Society. Writing in English before the advent of the British Raj, and before the establishment of formal English education in India, his virtues are extolled and his shortcoming forgiven. Derozio was the first Indian English poet. His satirical verse and the long narrative poem ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera’ clearly indicate his special affinity with Byron. That poem is an extremely competent narrative of the tragic life of Nuleeni, a high caste Hindu widow, rescued from the funeral pyre by a young robber chief, whose love she returns. In the ensuing battle, the love is killed and is finally united in death with the heart broken Nuleeni. Derozio’s influence on the social and intellectual life of Bengal had its own vicissitudes. Generally as we know that Indian women follow all the rules which told by her husband and society. But in the poem ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera’, Nuleeni does not follow those rules. She does as she want in her life. She not become ‘Sati’ because she does not follow the rules which given by society. Nuleeni’s character posses a chief ship for the women of before modernity. Derozio want to change this type of rued belief which laying in the country of India. And that’s why he drew this type of character, who is feel free to live her life because as we know that, freedom is more important than any other thing. We know very well that any bird don’t like to live in the cage or in the any bounding place but it like to fly in the sky as it’s wish.

        Derozio is also a pioneer in the use of Indian myth, legend, imagery and diction. After his death, even Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar  who claimed to be a rationalist did not have the courage to include a fellow rationalist and free thinker like Derozio in his ‘jivan charitra’, a collection of biographies published by him in 1849.

        There was no Indian literature in English before the advent of formal English education in India. Percival Spear, Sisir Kumar Das, Alphonson Karkala and Vinay Dharwadker are some of the few who have paid attention to this lapse. In 1835 Thomas Macaulay convinced the British government to “retain the Sanskrit college at Benares and the Mahometan college at Delhi” and divert all remaining funds for education to “the Hindu college at Calcutta.

        In the starting of Indian Modernity, development of education of also possible or very well. That’s why gradually our India became well educated. One line related it as under,

        “Education is the third eye of the person”

        Now people of India also start to notable the education and also get to develop.

        Many European communities had settled in Calcutta and had opened English academies and school to provide informal education to Europeans, Eurasians and Indians. Many of the graduates from academies went on to write argumentative pieces in newspaper or published their own creative oeuvres like Derozio.

        In the second half of the nineteenth century literary activity by Indian writers in the language of English began to recognize. Perhaps this is one reason why most literary historians writers like Din Muhammad, Henry Derozio, and C.V.Boriah from Indian  literary history of late eighteenth century. In a highly perceptive but critical work on Indian writing in English published in 1969.

        Devid Mecutchion writer did not like Din Muhammud or Derozio. He expressed surprise that Anglo-Indians created a ‘truly English speaking milieu in India’ but did not produce any literature worth the name. Mecutchion dated Indian writing in English with Kasiprasad Ghos’s  ‘Shair and other Poems’ and Michael Dutt’s ‘the Captive ladies’ and not with Shaykh Din Muhammad’s ‘the Travels of Dean Mahomer’ or Derozio’s ‘Jungheera’.

        In the next century bilingual culture would created by the great writer like Salman Rushdie and the Stephanian School. Then Muslim and Christian beginnings of Indian writing in English from undivided Bengal.

        New ideas came in Bengal first time from western ideas and then gradually it spread in whole India. The foundation of Bengal Renaissance in Calcutta, a city dominated by caste and religion. Calcutta also an important city in number of things. I was a growing centre of trade, it was also known as great intellectual centre because English academies and school also opened in Calcutta. Thus it is an important city.

In that time Derozio was also aware of the Greek literature. On the mind of young Bengal grace was there.  In the Hindu college at Calcutta, the young Eurasian poet and democrat Henry Derozio wrote on the heroic struggle of the Greek through the ages and the equal greatness of ancient India. It means students of that time interested in Greek ideas and literature as same other country also get inspiration from the story and literature of Greek.

~ Conclusion :

        Thus, by the work of Derozio Indian modernity born. In this poem people find the new ideas regarding our society and all the people started to learn English and read those new ideas. There was a rule regarding the Indian women in society. That widow could not live life but she must become ‘Sati’ behind her husband. That rule only for women not for men.

        As we know that British people only ruled over us but with that rule some good change also possible in our India like ‘Satipratha’, ‘Dudhpiti’. To removed those things Raja Ram Mohan Roy gave his time and contribution. Thus Indian modernity started.