COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AS A COLONISING TOOL

THE BRITISH INTRODUCED COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN BHARAT TO EFFECTIVELY SUBJUGATE AND MAKE THEIR PRESENCE ON THE SUB-CONTINENT GAINFUL AND LASTING

- DR AMRITA SHILPI

The fact that the powerful imperialist forces of Britain had to bow down before the enduring grit and resilience of Indians is indisputable. However, the process that made it happen has been prone to misleading interpretations by many scholars of east and west alike. That the entire imperial rule was propelled by the idea of civilising the barbarians, that the British introduced India to modern technologies and political processes, that they ‘gave’ independence to India… books are replete with such mumbo-jumbo. Let us not forget that British colonisers were here for loot and plunder and were thrown out by the people of India who decided to settle with nothing short of swaraj.

Decolonisation of Bharat was a result of struggle of strong nationalist people and sentiments continuously confrontng the sly and oppressive British empire and its stooges. There was an unvarying spirit in the subcontinent that united people into one nation. It was coming together of various factors and forces that made it possible. One such extremely important factor that made this confluence possible in such a large and culturally different nation was the new communication technology: the telegraph, printing press, and the radio. The very means of communication that the British introduced to establish themselves firmly was undermined by the resilient Indians who acquired and propagated ideas and information using those means. All these gained momentum after the first war of independence in 1857.