Effects of Colonialism and Imperialism in India

India is one of the countries found in Southern Asia. India was one of the British colonies until late in the year 1947 when they got Independence. It attained independence on 15 August 1947 and became a republic on 26 January 1950. Amongst the countries in South Asia, India is the seventh largest, with an area of 3287590 KM2 , with water constituting approximately 9.6 percent of the total area. According to the results of the census that was conducted in the year 2011, the population of India was estimated to be over 1.2 billion people. This is one of the largest populations in the world. The country does not have any national language. However, there are two official languages in India namely Hindi and English. The government is a federal constitutional republic. The country is governed under a parliamentary system. This system of government encompasses twenty eight states and seven union territories.

The president is the top executive official followed by the vice president and the prime minister. The speaker of the house and the chief justice are amongst the executive figures, thigh they are below the prime minister in rank. It is one of the strongest nations in the world. Its army is the third largest worldwide. Its military is ranked eighth worldwide in terms f expenditure. India has a very strong economy. Its economy is ranked the eleventh largest in the world on the basis of nominal GDP. In addition, the country’s economy is ranked the third in the world on the basis of purchasing power parity. India has a diverse culture and traditions. This follows the different people from different origins and ethnic backgrounds that it hosts.

Journal # 1.

Sekhar, Raja. 2012. Colonialism and Imperialism and its impacts on English Language. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research Vol.1 Issue 4,September 2012, ISSN 2278-4853. Retrieved November 25 2013 from ttp://www.tarj.in/images/download/ajmr

Sekhar (2012) defines colonialism as the establishment and expansion of a colony in one’s territory by individuals from another territory. The colonizers expand their nation’s sovereignty over other foreign regimes via forceful occupation. Once a nation is colonized, the colonizers can influence that nation in several ways. They can change the economy as well as the social structure of that nation. In addition, the even though the colonizers may affect the government of the colony, they can bring several developments that will later benefit the colony in several ways. It is of critical significance to note that colonizers always affect the culture and languages of the colonies in several aspects (Sekhar, 2012). Imperialism refers to the system in which a sovereign nation haves command over other countries. Linguistic imperialism was the major influence that most colonizers had over their colonies. Linguistic imperialism refers to the aspect of a stronger nation dominates other nations through inception and transfer of their language to those people. The transfer of the dominant language depicts power dominance. In this transfer, several cultural exchanges also result.

Article # 1

Joshi, Priya. 2002. In another country colonialism, culture, and the English novel in India. New York: Columbia University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=92094.

Imperialism and colonialism have massively affected the linguistic and cultural diversity in India. British were the dominant colonizers of India. Before colonization, India mostly used Hindi as the most familiar language (Joshi, 2002). However, after colonization, the British introduced English to India. This language has increasingly affected the social and cultural aspects in India in several ways. It is prudent enough to acknowledge the fact that language plays a critical role in any society. It has a very strong relationship with the society. Therefore, adopting any language is liable to cause several changes in the society. The introduction of English to India affected the Indian economy, education, and trade in India (Joshi, 2002). In addition, the influence of English in the Indian culture affected the business in India in several perspectives. Through colonialism, English found its roots in the Indian education sector. This has led to several changes in the culture of education in India. Indians have been using English in writing many of their literatures. In addition, English is now an official language in India and is treated as the second language after Hindi.

Book

Kesavanarayana, B. 1996. British imperialism and native resistance in India: a case study of Nuzvid Zamindari in Andhra. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications.

English has been in the school curriculum of India for several decades. Currently, India has been producing several English teachers with international recognition as well as adoration (Kesavanarayana, 1996). Other than the education sector, English has also found its roots in trade, commerce and information technology. In addition, the use of English has taken over Hindu through its inception in administration and foreign relations. The Introduction of English to India has created several job opportunities to the people of India. Several people have been employed as English teachers in several institutions, both in India and abroad (Kesavanarayana, 1996). This has contributed towards earning of income, change of living standards as well as growth of the country’s economy.

English language has also availed several opportunities in medicine, foreign relations and information technology not only domestically but also in international levels to the Indians (Kesavanarayana, 1996).. Moreover, several Indians have been employed in some of the world’s most renowned research institutions because of English. Due to the influence of English in India, health and sanitation also improved immensely. In addition, economies grew based on the international trade as well as introduction of new goods by the British.

Modernization theory is a theory that elucidates progress mechanisms and procedure of modernization (Rice, 2009). This theory puts more insight into the internal drives of any nation. It hints that indigenous countries can reach the same developmental levels attained by more developed countries through assistance. This puts emphasis on the internal social and economic drives that such a country may have. These internal factors may include the labor force, soil fertility and availability of space for agriculture, minerals, education and technological expertise. This is greatly linked to the rise of India to greater heights in world economy. India has a very large population that offers the requisite labor needs in many of the Indian industrial sectors. This has led to increased production of goods and services to the world markets. A good number of this population is engaged in the agricultural sector that ranks second best worldwide. Again, the technological expertise as well as education has made India realize tremendous growth and development in terms of both infrastructure and economy. Colonization of India contributed towards adoption of English as a second language in India. This majorly influenced Indian traditions, thereby contributing to adoption of some English cultures like education. This has majorly led to economic growth in the country where traditional cultures were overtaken by modern cultures.

Article # 2

Szczepanski, Kallie. 2013. The British Raj in India. retrieved on November 25, 2013 from http://asianhistory.about.com/od/colonialisminasia/p/profbritraj.htm

India plays a greater role in the global economy. It is the eleventh best nation worldwide in economic terms with regards to its Gross Domestic Product. It has a very stable economy in global perspective. In addition, it is placed the third best in the world on the basis of Purchasing Power Parity. He Indian economy has seen tremendous growth since independence (Szczepanski, 2013). This follows the strong international relations that the country shares with other nations globally. Other than good international relations, India also produces several goods to the world markets. These goods compete favorably with rival goods from other countries, thus ensuring economic growth. Some of these goods include the agricultural products as well as other related sectors forestry and fishing. On global perspective, India ranks the second best nation with regards to farm output. This has led to massive exportation of agricultural products to the global markets, thereby strengthening its economy.

Newspaper

Rice, Andrew. 2009. Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism? The New York Times Magazine. Published: November 16, 2009. Retrieved on November 25 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/magazine/22land-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Rice (2009) states that currently, India is the world’s leading producer of milk, jute and pulses. In addition, it features in second position worldwide based on the cattle population. Therefore, this has ensured that India produce huge quantities of agricultural products to the world markets. India also produces sugarcane, rice and wheat (Rice, 2009). Other agricultural products sold to the global markets include fruits and vegetables, of which India ranks the second largest producer in the world. Again, India clinches position two globally in distribution of silk to the world markets. This has tremendously affected the economy of India, thus resulting to its current strong economy. Other than agriculture, India also boasts of its mining industry that produces approximately 79 different minerals (Rice, 2009). Some of these minerals include iron ore, bauxite and manganese. However, during the colonial periods, Indians filled for their colonizers several labor needs. The British solely depended on the Indian women as ayahs and wet nurses. The wet nurses provided services for their children whereas the ayahs helped with other house chores (Szczepanski, 2013). Other than the women, Indian men also acted as bearers for the British male children.

References

Joshi, Priya. 2002. In another country colonialism, culture, and the English novel in India. New York: Columbia University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=92094.

Kesavanarayana, B. 1996. British imperialism and native resistance in India: a case study of Nuzvid Zamindari in Andhra. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications.

Rice, Andrew. 2009. Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism? The New York Times Magazine. Published: November 16, 2009. Retrieved on November 25 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/magazine/22land-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Sekhar, Raja. 2012. Colonialism and Imperialism and its impacts on English Language. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research Vol.1 Issue 4,September 2012, ISSN 2278-4853. Retrieved November 25 2013 from http://www.tarj.in/images/download/ajmr/AJMR%20SEPTEMBER2012%20PAPERS%20PDF/AJMR%20SEPTEMBER%202012%20PAPERS%20PDF/9.9,%20G%20Rajasekhar.pdf

Szczepanski, Kallie. 2013. The British Raj in India. retrieved on November 25, 2013 from http://asianhistory.about.com/od/colonialisminasia/p/profbritraj.htm