Report R4.4 Modelling Agriculture in India: Historiography of Technology and Colonialism Seminar Leader: Sridhar Modugu, Research Scholar, Department of History, University of Hyderabad, India sridhar.modugu[at]gmail.com Historiography, as defined by Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris (1988), is "the study of the way history has been and is written--the history of historical writing... When you study 'historiography' you do not study the events of the past directly, but the changing interpretations of those events in the works of individual historians" (p. 223). The study of historiography requires a critical approach to historical facts, interpreting not only historical writings, but also the author's position in society and the type of history being written at the time. Most historical writings about the developments in science and technology in India and their implications on agriculture in particular, focused on the changes in agricultur that followed the entrenchment of colonial rule. The backdrop for these writings was within the framework of the commercialisation and modernisation during colonial rule. Historical writings on agriculture in India are based on certain assumptions on aspects of colonial state and rule, science and technology, etc. The colonial state was assumed to be one full-fledged structure and it was assumed to operate its devices through a plan. But the study of agricultural science reveals that the operating mechanisms of the colonial state had undergone major social changes over a period of time. The seminar leader, in his research on the process of modernisation of agriculture under the British colonial regime in the Madras Presidency (1800-1947), attempted to deviate from the available historiography on the subject. He adapted a processual approach by critically examining these historial writings and their assumptions of the colonial past. He systematically studied various stages of development of agriculture during the period 1800-1947. He also correlated various social changes that were probably considered to influence the process of development in agriculture. Consequently, the study was aimed at representing a different model of the agricultural development process during the period, taking into account a wider range of evidences than the available historical writings have done. Of course, this study also remains open to further critical engagement and research. The study indicates that the British colonial administration saw India as a resource-rich region which lacked effective management. Subsequently, it indulged in teaching and introducing what it considered as "scientific management" of resources. This has been done through the deployment of science and technology available to Britain. With reference to agriculture, this was done by introducing exotic crops (American long-staple cottons, varieties of tobacco, sugarcane, paddy, etc.) and different kinds of implements. Agricultural science was introduced through education, experiments, exhibitions, etc. However, the approach for the whole process was integrative and not unidirectional, unlike how the historiography on the subject has conceived it. The colonial state started its interventions by bringing exotic varieties of crops and implements and, in the course of its journey, it has realised the difficulties of doing so. Consequently, with the lessons learnt from practical interventions, the colonial state was forced to choose plant varieties more suited to local conditions. This kind of analysis is important to understand the endurance of colonial rule and its methods, which was absent in the available works on the theme. While the broad area for this research was “history of science and technology,” inputs for the research were taken from literature in philosophy of science, sociology of science, and economics of the period of study. This resulted in an interdisciplinary fusion of knowledge. References Furay, C., & Salevouris, M. J. (1988). The methods and skills of history: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson. Sridhar, M. (2006). Modelling agriculture in India: Historiography of technology and colonialism. Unpublished manuscript.
Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
