SOURCES FOR THE HISTORY OF MODERN INDIA
Travel Accounts:
- Abbe Dubois - Hindu Manners and Customs (Info on socio-economic life of India during 17-18th century)
British travellers:
- James Burner- Narrative of a visit to the court of Sinde
- Alexander Burnes- Travels to Bokhara
- CJC Davidson- Diary of the travels and adventures in upper India
- John Butler- Travels and adventures in the province of Assam
Non-British travellers:
- Victor Jacque Mont- Letters from India describing a journey in the British Dominions of India, Tibet,
- Lahore, and Cashmere during the years 1828-1829—1831
- Baron Charles- Travels in Kashmir and the Punjab
Newspaper and journals:
- First attempts by disgruntled employees of English East India Company to expose malpractices. Later used by nationalists for political awakening of the country.
- 1780-Bengal Gazette/ Calcutta General Advertiser. It was published by James Augustus Hickey and was 1st newspaper in India. This newspaper was seized for govt criticism.
- 1784-Calcutta Gazette
- 1788-Madras Courier
- 1789-Bombay Herald
- The Hindu and Swadesamitran- G Subramaniyan Iyer
- Kesari and Maharatta- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- Bengalee- Surendranath Banerjea
- Amrit Bazaar Patrika- Sisir Kumar and Motilal Ghosh
- Sudharak- GK Gokhale
- Indian Mirror- N N Sen
- Voice of India- Dadabhai Naoroji
- Hindustan and Advocate- G P Varma
- Ghadar- San Francisco, Lala Hardayal
- Punjab- Tribune, Akhbar-i-aam
- Bombay- Indu Prakash, Dhyan Prakash, Kal, Gujarati
- Bengal- Som Prakash, Banganivasi, Sadharani
Indian newspapers outside India:
- Indian sociologist- London, by Shyamaji Krishnavarma
- Bande Matram- Paris, by Madam Cama
- Talwar- Berlin, by Virendranath Chattopadhyay
Literature:
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-94)
- Anand Math-1882- Known for its depiction of Sanyasi revolt and Vandematram.
- Rajasimha- last novel
- Icharam Suryaram Desai (1853-1912)
- Scholar of medieval Gujarati literary history
- 1st novel Hind ane Britanica - one of earliest Indian novels with political overtones.
Southern writers:
Tamil:
- Girija Devi- Mohanra Rajani (1931)
- Ramatirtha Thammal- Dasikalin Mosa Valai (1936)
Telugu:
- G V K Rao- Kilubommalu (1956)
Malayalam:
- Vaikom Muhammad Basheer- Balyakala Sakhi (1944)
- Thakazhi Siva Sankara Pillai - Tottiyude Makan (1948)
- Chemmin (1956)
Paintings:
Company Paintings:
- Also called Patna Kalam
- Patronized by the East India Company and remained popular till introduction of photography in 1840s.
- They picturize the people and scenes as they existed at the time along with trades, festivals, dances and the attire of people.
- Pictorial images are important records of 1857 revolt.
- Relief of Lucknow - painted by Thomas Jones Barker, 1859.
- In Memoriam- painted by Joseph Noel Paton. Records the 2 years of revolt of 1857.
Kalighat paintings:
- Became prevalent in Calcutta in 19th century.
- Depicted mythological creatures + ordinary people in daily life activities.
- Later they captured social change taking place in Calcutta, some made comment against evil practices, some satirised activities of people.
Nationalist paintings:
- Primarily focused on Indian mythology and cultural heritage. Start of modern art movement in India.
- Artists: Nandalal Bose, Raja Ravi Verma, Abanindranath Tagore (Bengal school),
- E B Havell, Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy.
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