Cultural Life Of India In The 18th Century

In the 18th century, social life and culture were characterised by stagnation and a reliance on the past. Of course, there was no uniformity in terms of culture and social patterns across the country. There were no separate societies formed by all Hindus and Muslims. Religion, region, tribe, language, and caste were all used to divide people. Furthermore, the upper classes' social life and culture differed in many ways from that of the lower classes, despite the fact that they made up a tiny minority of the population.

 

 

•    The Hindus' social life revolved around their caste system. Apart from the four varnas, Hindus were divided into a variety of castes (Jatis) that varied in nature depending on where they lived. People were rigidly divided by caste, and their social status was permanently fixed. 

 

•    All social prestige and privileges were monopolised by the higher castes, led by the Brahmins. The caste system was extremely strict. Inter caste marriages were strictly prohibited. There were rules prohibiting members of different castes from dining together.

 

•    In some cases, people from higher castes would refuse to eat food that had been touched by people from lower castes. Though there were exceptions, castes often determined one's choice of profession. 

 

•    Caste councils and panchayats, as well as caste chiefs, strictly enforced caste regulations through fines, penances (prayaschitya), and expulsion from the caste. In the 18th century India, caste was a major source of division and disintegration. 

 

•    It frequently divided Hindus in the same village or region into numerous social atoms. Of course, a person could rise in social status by obtaining a high office or position of power, as the Holkar family did in the eighth century. An entire caste would occasionally, but infrequently, succeed in ascending the caste hierarchy.

 

•    Despite the fact that their religion enjoined social equality, Muslims were divided by caste, race, tribe, and status. Because of their religious differences, Shia and Sunni nobles were occasionally at odds. 

 

•    Muslim nobles and officials from Iran, Afghanistan, Turani, and Hindustan often stood apart from one another. A large number of Hindus who converted to Islam kept their caste and observed its distinctions, though not as strictly as they had before.

 

•    Furthermore, the sharif Muslims, which included nobles, scholars, priests, and army officers, looked down on the ajlaf Muslims, or lower caste Muslims, in the same way that higher caste Hindus looked down on lower caste Hindus.

 

 

•    In 18th century India, the family system was primarily patriarchal, meaning that the family was dominated by the senior male member and inheritance was passed down through the male line. However, in Kerala, the family was matrilineal. Outside of Kerala, women were subjected to almost total male dominance. 

 

•    They were only expected to live as mothers and wives, though they were treated with great respect and honour in these roles. 

 

•    Women were rarely molested and treated with respect even during times of war and anarchy. At the turn of the nineteenth century, a European traveller named J.A. Dubois said: “A Hindu woman can go anywhere alone, even in the most crowded places, and she need never fear the impertinent looks and jokes of idle loungers… A house inhabited solely by women is a sanctu¬ary which the most shameless libertine would not dream of violating.”

 

 

•    Women, on the other hand, possessed little individuality at the time. This isn't to say there weren't any exceptions to the rule. From 1766 to 1796, Ahilya Bai successfully administered Indore, and many other Hindu and Muslim women played important roles in 18th-century politics. 

 

•    While upper-class women were not supposed to work outside the home, peasant women typically worked in the fields, and women from lower-class families frequently worked outside the home to supplement the family's income. Purdah was mostly practised by the upper classes in the north.

 

•    In the South, it was not practised. Boys and girls were not allowed to be in the same room. All marriages were arranged by the heads of the families. Men were allowed to have more than one wife, but most only had one, except for the wealthy. A woman, on the other hand, was only expected to marry once in her lifetime. 

 

•    The practise of early marriage was widespread across the country. Children as young as three or four years old were sometimes married.

 

•    The evil customs of incurring large wedding expenses and giving dowry to the bride prevailed among the upper classes. The scourge of dowry was particularly prevalent in Bengal and Rajputana. The energetic steps taken by the Peshwas in Maharashtra helped to curb it to some extent.

 

•    Apart from the caste system, the practise of sati and the plight of widows were two major social ills in 18th-century India. 

 

•    Sati was a Hindu widow's rite of self-immolation, in which she burned herself and her dead husband's body together. It was most common in Rajputana, Bengal, and other northern Indian states. It was uncommon in the South, and the Marathas discouraged it. It was only practised by the families of rajas, chiefs, big zamindars, and upper castes in Rajputana and Bengal. 

 

•    Widows from higher castes and classes were unable to remarry, though widow remarriage was common among non-brahmins in Maharashtra, the Jats, and people from the hill regions of the north. 

 

•    The Hindu widow's lot was usually pitiful. Clothing, diet, movement, and other aspects of her life were all restricted. In general, she was expected to give up all earthly pleasures and serve her husband's or brother's family members selflessly for the rest of her life, depending on where she spent her remaining years. The hard and harsh life of the widows often moved sensitive Indians. 

 

•    The Maratha General Prashuram Bhau and Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber attempted but failed to promote widow remarriage.

 

 

•    During the 18th century, India's culture was showing signs of exhaustion. Of course, cultural continuity with previous centuries was maintained. At the same time, culture remained firmly rooted in the past. 

 

•    The Royal Court, rulers, and nobles and chiefs financed most cultural activities at the time, but their impoverishment led to their gradual neglect. The branches of art that relied on the patronage of kings, princes, and nobles experienced the most rapid decline. This was true of Mughal architecture and painting in general. Many Mughal School painters moved to the provincial courts and flourished in Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kashmir, and Patna. 

 

•    At the same time, new schools of painting arose and established themselves. The Kangra and Rajput Schools' paintings revealed a new vitality and taste.

 

•    In terms of architecture, the Imambara of Lucknow demonstrates technical proficiency but architectural decadence. The city of Jaipur, on the other hand, and its structures were a model of perseverance. In the 18th century, music continued to evolve and flourish. During Muhammad Shah's reign, significant progress was made in this area.

 

•    The spread of the Urdu language and the burgeoning popularity of Urdu poetry were notable features of the 18th century literary scene. Urdu gradually gained popularity among northern India's upper classes as a means of social communication. While Urdu poetry shared many of the flaws found in contemporary Indian literature, it also produced brilliant poets such as Mir, Sauda, Nazir, and, in the nineteenth century, Mirza Ghalib.

 

•    Similarly, Malayalam literature flourished, particularly under the patronage of Travancore rulers Martanda Varma and Rama Varma. Kunchan Nambiar, one of Kerala's greatest poets, lived during this period and wrote popular poetry in everyday language. Kerala also saw the full development of Kathakali literature, drama, and dance in the 18th century. 

 

•    In the 18th century, the Padmanabhan Palace was built, with its unique architecture and mural paintings.

 

•    Tayaumanavar (1706-44) was one of Tamil's best exponents of sittar poetry, and like other poets, he protested the caste system's abuses.

 

•    Literature flourished in Assam under the patronage of the Ahom kings. Dayaram, one of Gujarat's most famous lyricists, wrote in the second half of the 18th century.

 

•    Warris Shah composed Heer Ranjha, the famous Punjabi romantic epic, at this time. The eighteenth century was a watershed moment in Sindhi literature. Risalo is a famous collection of poems written by Shah Abdul Latif. The other great Sindhi poets of the century were Sachal and Sami.

 

 

•    Indian culture's main flaw was in the field of science. India lagged behind the West in science and technology throughout the 18th century. Western Europe had been undergoing a scientific and economic revolution for the previous 200 years, which had resulted in a flurry of inventions and discoveries.

 

•    The scientific outlook was gradually pervading the Western mind and revolutionising Europeans' and their institutions' philosophic, political, and economic outlooks. 

 

•    On the other hand, the Indians, who had made significant contributions to mathematics and natural sciences in the past, had neglected the sciences for centuries. The Indian mind was still bound by tradition, and both nobles and commoners were extremely superstitious. 

 

•    The Indians were almost completely unaware of the West's scientific, cultural, political, and economic achievements. Except for war weapons and military training techniques, the rulers of India in the 18th century had no interest in anything western.

 

•    The total subjugation of India by the most advanced country at the time was largely due to this weakness in the realm of science

 

•    In 18th century India, friendly relations between Hindus and Muslims were a healthy feature of life. Even though the nobles and chiefs of the time were constantly at odds with one another, their feuds and alliances were rarely based on religious differences.

 

•    To put it another way, their politics were primarily secular. In fact, there was little religious intolerance or communal animosity in the country. Everyone, no matter how high or low they were, respected one another's religion and shared a spirit of tolerance. 

 

•    Hindus and Muslims shared a bond that was similar to that of brothers. This was especially true of ordinary people in villages and towns, who shared each other's joys and sorrows without regard for religious affiliations.

 

•    In non-religious areas such as social life and culture, Hindus and Muslims worked together. The emergence of a composite Hindu-Muslim culture, as well as common practises and attitudes, proceeded unabated. 

 

•    Hindu writers frequently wrote in Persian, whereas Muslim writers frequently wrote in Hindi, Bengali, and other vernaculars, frequently dealing with Hindu social life and religion, such as Radha and Krishna, Sita and Ram, and Nal and Damayanti. The development of the Urdu language and literature provided a new forum for Hindus and Muslims to interact.

 

•    The mutual influence and respect that had been developing in the last few centuries as a result of the spread of the Bhakti movement among Hindus and Sufism among Muslims continued to grow even in the religious sphere.

 

•    Many Hindus revered Muslim saints, and many Muslims regarded Hindu gods and saints with equal reverence. Muslim rulers, nobles, and commoners enthusiastically participated in Hindu festivals such as Holi, Diwali, and Durga Puja, just as Hindus did in Muharram processions.

 

•    Raja Rammohun Roy, the greatest Indian of the first half of the nineteenth century, was influenced by both Hindu and Islamic philosophical and religious systems in equal measure.

 

•    It should also be noted that in cultural and social life, religious affiliation was not the primary point of departure. The lifestyles of upper-class Hindus and Muslims converged far more than the lifestyles of upper-class Hindus and Muslims, or upper-class Hindus and Muslims. 

 

•    Similarly, regions or areas served as starting points. People from the same region, regardless of religion, had far greater cultural synthesis than people from different regions who practised the same religion. Village dwellers also tended to have a different social and cultural pattern than city dwellers.

 

 

 

•    The struggle for power and wealth, as well as economic decline, social backwardness, and cultural stagnation, had a profound and negative impact on the morals of a segment of the Indian population. Nobles in particular devolved in both their private and public lives.

 

•    In the single-minded pursuit of selfish goals, the virtues of loyalty, gratitude, and faithfulness to their pledged word tended to fade away. Many nobles succumbed to degrading vices and excessive wealth. When they were in office, the majority of them took bribes. 

 

•    Surprisingly, the common people were not degraded in any significant way. 

 

•    They maintained a high level of personal integrity and morality throughout. For example, in 1821, the well-known British official John Malcolm said:I do not know the example of any great population, in similar circumstances, preserving through such & period of changes and tyrannical rule, so much virtue and so many qualities as are to be found la a great proportion of the inhabitants of this country. 

 

•    In particular, he praised “the absence of the common vices of theft, drunkenness, and violence.”