political fragmentation of the subcontinent. At Aurangzeb’s death, his own
sons had battled for power at the center; within two decades Mughal wealth
and power had been dissipated. Regional leaders who had chafed under
the autocratic rule of Aurangzeb now sought hegemony over their various
domains. Inter-regional fighting and civil war within regions were not
uncommon. Various kingmakers (such as the Sayyid brothers in the Deccan)
would establish a series of puppet “kings” over whom they could exercise
control. Among those re-establishing claims to parts of the subcontinent
were the Mara ̄tha ̄s fighting into the Deccan and points south; Afghans
invading the northwest; Sikhs trying to protect their claims to the Panja ̄b;
even the Persians, whose army under Nadin Shahsacked Delhi in 1739.
In the northeast, regional rulers in Oudh and Bengal sought to enlarge
their domains. Meanwhile further south, the Nizam of Hyderabad who had
left Delhi in 1723 re-established control in the Deccan, where, for several
decades, inter-regional warfare ensued involving the Mara ̄tha ̄s. Still later
in the century, Tipu ̄ Sulta ̄n, headquartered near Mysore, enjoyed several
decades of sub-regional hegemony.^22
Once the British established control over some three-fifths of the sub-
continent, a certain degree of stability did ensue. Yet the British presence
brought a variety of results, many of them mixed. The infusion of Western
technology brought the printing press, railways, and Western forms of
science and medicine. The study of Indian languages and translations of its
literature by “orientalists” spurred a renaissance of pride and appreciation
for things indigenous. At the same time, the scathing critique of the evan-
gelicals led to soul-searching and new defensiveness. English-style education,
for better or worse, stimulated both renewal and critique amongst Indian
intellectuals. Indeed, India in the nineteenth century could be described
as one of the liveliest places in the world for experimentation in responding
to “global” currents, envisioning a new society, and rethinking the nature
and role of religion. Many of India’s intellectuals were people living and
thinking “on the boundaries” in ways that presage the challenge of many
living in the twenty-first century around the world.
Stage one
One of the early responses was that of a radical critique, even toward
secularization, by some young Anglicized Indians. Henry de Rozio(1809–
31), an Anglo-Indian Benga ̄lı ̄, was a case in point. Writing poetry at the age
of seventeen, and assistant to a headmaster at a Christian college, he called
upon young Indians to join him in seeking radical change from unreflected
traditions. De Rozio lived only briefly, but his work exemplified one
approach in shaping a new era.^23
176 Streams from the “West” and their Aftermath