The history writing by the British was a deliberate and systematic effort. The British used history of India as a tool for demoralizing the natives. History of India was twisted, falsified and misinterpreted on a grand scale. In a letter dated December 16, 1868 the famous Indologist Max Muller wrote to the Duke of Argyll, the then Secretary of State of India, 'India has been conquered once, but India must be conquered again and that second conquest should be a conquest by education'. (Ref: 'The Life and Letter of F. Max Muller, edited by Mrs. Max Muller, 1902, Vol.1, p.357). Prof. Max Muller was not just a philosopher, he was also an examiner for the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination. Teaching of falsified history played a great part in this 'second conquest'.
1. Who were these British history writers ? They were mainly army officers and administrators of the East India Company. For example:
Major General John Malcolm - A Memoir of the Central India (1824)
Captain Grant Duff - History of the Marathas (1826)
Gen. Briggs - History of the Rise of Mohammedan Power in India (1829)
Lt.Colonel James Todd - Anals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829-32)
M. Elphinstone (Resident at Peshwa Court, later Governor of Bombay), History of India (1841)
Joseph Cunningham (brother of Gen.A.Cunningham) History of Sikhs (1849)
Lt. R.F.Burton - History of Sindh (1851)
Thus this is akin to victors writing the history of the vanquished. How many American Western movies depict the generosity and the bravery of the native Americans? Do you know of a single British movie depicting the courage, intelligence and skill of the German and Japanese soldiers? Hence we can imagine what kind of 'history' these British officers and administrators must have written or the slant there in.
But these very books became standard textbooks in India and were prescribed for teaching the later day examinees of the Indian Civil service and the Indian army.
how british distorted indian history. British sins in India
2. Effect of British Version of History on Indian Leaders
Since almost all our leaders were educated under the British system this slanted history had tremendous impact on the psyche of our leaders. By learning such history our leaders developed a severe inferiority complex, and suffered from loss of self confidence and self esteem. They started despising their ancestors. They became convinced that unless they followed the West blindly, borrowed ideas, concepts and technology from her India had no salvation.
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