1st Edition

Routledge Revivals: New India (1909) or India in Transition

By Henry Cotton Copyright 1909
    260 Pages
    by Routledge

    260 Pages
    by Routledge

    First published in 1909, the purpose of this book was to draw attention to the political, social and religious changes that were taking place in India and detail how this should inform British colonial policy. The author argues that the political situation demanded decisive action as several factors had caused increasing difficulties in administration: waning enthusiasm on the part of English officials, greater tension between the governors and the governed — often caused by colonial arrogance which had been brought into sharper relief by spread of education and the growth of patriotic feeling. He also argues that the crux of India’s economic difficulties was the poverty of its people and asserts that the solution to both problems was the ‘sympathetic and systematic encouragement of her legitimate aspirations and patriotic tendencies’. In regard to the social and religious changes, the author observes that the changes are not less considerable and advises that the government should, as far as was possible, maintain the existing basis by a policy of ‘wise conservation’. This book will be of interest to students of Indian history and colonialism.

    Preface; 1. India’s Political Problem 2. Indian Opinion and Aspirations 3. The Increased Bitterness of Race 4. Indian Land Problems 5. India’s Economic Problem; 6. Administrative Reform; I. The Substitution of Indian for European Official Agency II. The Separation of Judicial From Executive Functions, and the Re-organisation of the Civil Service III. Local Self-Government and the Legislative Councils; 7. England and India 8. Political Reconstruction 9. The Social and moral Crisis 10. The Religious Tendencies of India; Appendix: The Partition of Bengal; Index

    Biography

    Henry Cotton