Colonization
The advent of the British marks a siginificant turning point in India’s cultural hi story as well. This became all the more apparent when the British Government took over the complete administration of India in the 19th century. The British tried to colonize India intellectually as well as politically. This was a slow process which went on for many years in different phases. They initially attempted to establish that the English language and literature were superior to all the Indian languages and literature put together. Many European texts were translated into the local Indian languages.
But it was also important for the British to know the local language as matters of administration had to be in Indian languages. They had to know India well to govern it better. So there was also a reverse movement of translation from India to England. However, what got translated were ancient Sanskrit works. They claimed that they had ‘discovered’ the priceless Sanskrit literature for the entire world to enjoy. Sir William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society, translated Abhijnanasakuntalam into English in 1789. Charles Wilkins, official translator of Persian and Bengali to the Commissioner of Revenue, was the first to translate the Bhagavad-gita into English in 1784. These translations had official blessings as they were undertaken with the specific purpose of helping the British to know India better.
The period after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 marks another phase in the cultural conquest because it is at this time that the Queen directly took over power of the Indian administration. This also brought in specific language policies. English became the language of administration and it was promoted among the Indians. In this respect, Macaulay’s "Minute on Indian Education" of 1837 is very important. It called for the cultivation of a class of people “Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.” This resulted in educated Indians acquiring English proficiency. There were large scale efforts to translate English books into Indian languages and promote English literature. Many obscure 18th and 19th century English novels found their way to Indian languages.
One of the other aims of the British empire was evangelization or spread of Christianity. The Bible was translated into local languages with this aim. The impact was two-fold: Christianity reached the locals and it strengthened the vernacular languages. The Serampore Mission Press (1800) enlisted Indian experts in different languages to translate the Bible. But these translations radically changed the concept of translation in India.It first brought in the concept of printing to what was predominantly an oral tradition till then. The Indian tradition of translation was a free adaptation of source material and was really retelling rather than accurate translations. But the Bible changed all of that. It emphasized the need for accurate ‘word for word’ translation; fidelity in translation became a concern for the first time, because it was felt that the word of God had to be conveyed accurately and with no distortions.
The Bible translations strengthened the vernacular languages. Like the English Bible, vernacular versions had simple language that could be understood by the lay person. It also enriched the vocabulary by bringing in idioms and imagery to illustrate its concepts. The British also contributed to the local languages by bringing out systematic books on grammar and compiling dictionaries. The credit of compiling the first dictionary in most Indian languages goes to some European or the other. |
