How British Colonialism of India Created a Nation of Beggars

This article was originally posted on the Dharma Dispatch Substack.

IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE of this podcast series, we saw how the British Governor-General, Wellesley drastically reduced the endowments given to Hindu charitable institutions from 855000 to just about 200000 lakh rupees in the Mysore kingdom. This had far reaching consequences not just for these institutions but for the traditional culture of food sharing, the sacred cherished cultural practice of Annadanam, something that India had always been renowned for countless centuries.

The fall was swift.

As early as 1829, the new governor general William Bentinck was gloating in a letter about the great success of this destructive British project of systematically starving India. The closer the English-educated Hindus came in contact with the British, the more they became like them, the more they imitated their manners and lifestyle and imbibed the same European contempt towards the social customs and traditions of their own countrymen.

The British famine report of 1880 led to the creation of an elaborate bureaucracy for managing famine and relief efforts. Its mechanisms and justifications are rooted in this fundamental British or European attitude towards food…in other words, it operates on the premise that Annadanam is unethical and is a social evil.

This report is still the basis for the management of famine and relief measures in independent India. This is precisely how the colonial British systematically and institutionally destroyed not just traditional Hindu charitable institutions but transformed India into a nation of beggars.

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FAQs

What is the main argument of this post?

The post argues that British colonial policies damaged traditional Hindu charitable institutions and the culture of Annadanam. It presents this as a cause of long-term social consequences, including the transformation of India into what the article calls a nation of beggars.

What role does Wellesley play in the article's account?

The article says British Governor-General Wellesley drastically reduced endowments to Hindu charitable institutions in the Mysore kingdom. It connects that reduction to harm done to institutions and food-sharing traditions.

What is Annadanam in the context of this post?

Annadanam is described in the post as a sacred and cherished cultural practice of food sharing. The article says India had been renowned for this tradition for many centuries.

How does the post describe the British famine report of 1880?

The post says the British famine report of 1880 created an elaborate bureaucracy for famine and relief management. It argues that this system was rooted in a British or European attitude that treated Annadanam as unethical or socially harmful.

Where was this article originally posted?

The post states that the article was originally posted on the Dharma Dispatch Substack. The page also asks readers to consider supporting Dharma Dispatch on Substack and following its Twitter account.