The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

INTRODUCTION

xxxi

torevise
it. Bythe irony
offate, it
seemsquiteprobable
that

the

deusexmachind

whowill secure

this long-deferred reform

for

Indiawill

bethe English

craftsmanwho is now in

revolt

againsta

systemwhich, as

Ruskin said, makes him

the most

pitiful

formofslave

—ameremachinewithitsvalves

smoothed

with

heart'sblood

insteadof oil, when

he might be a living,

progressive, and

happyhuman being/

In

questioningthe

soundnessofthehistorical basis upon

which

the statecraftofthe

British Raj isbuilt, I amnow

ven-

turing

still further into

the depths. The Indo-Aryanvillage

community,which

has dropped off the Government file,

was

manyyearsago a

very thorny question. The

agents of the

EastIndia

Companywere thefirst European

officialsto come

into

direct relationswith the political

organisation of Aryan

India, sofaras ithad survived

the chaoswhich followed the

disruption oftheMogul Empire.

Itoccupied theclose atten-

tion of British

officials until long after the events of

1857

brought India

underthedirect control ofthe Government

of

Great

Britain. But during all the years it remained

on the

Governmentfile,

itwas onlyregarded from one standpoint

—

thecollection

ofrevenue. Theofficialswhooccupiedthemselves

withthesubject knewas much, oras little, of Indianpolitical

history

before

Muhammadan ruleastheydonow. The

religion

and
cultureofthepeopletheywere

dealing

with wereeven less

understood. Hinduismwasto them anidolatrous superstition

which all

good

Christians must wish to uproot, though as

officials
itwasexpedientto

be tenderwith thefeelings

of

the

heathen. Indian art seemed

strange and

wonderful in its

heathenway,butwhollyincompatiblewith the ideasofdecent,

cultured.
Christian

gentlemen. Itneveroccurredtothem that

theveryinstitutionwithwhichthey

weretamperingin

a

British

businesslikeway

(and onlywithan eye to business) was the

1

"

LecturesonArchitecture

andPainting,''

p.

128.