Objective of the study:

Veena Talwar Oldenburg’s work shows that instead of adhering to the principle of complete non-interference in the traditional structure of Indian society, the direct outcome of the revolt was the systematic elaboration of a more penetrating and effective means of controlling Indian society. After the revolt, the official policy was to abstain in future from interfering in the social customs of the “natives” however barbaric these might appear from the standpoint of metropolitan culture. But this is the view from colonial decision-making process at its highest, almost abstract levels and in the context of the anti-imperial mood of mid-nineteenth century Britain. Instead, the author focuses on the lowest levels of local decision making and action in the urban context to arrive at a radically different conclusion.