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{{Short description|Social class in colonial Bengal}} |
{{Short description|Social class in colonial Bengal}} |
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{{Culture of Bengal}} |
{{Culture of Bengal}} |
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| ⚫ | '''Bhadralok''' ({{lang|bn|bhôdrôlok}}, literally 'gentleman', or 'well-mannered person') is [[Bengali language|Bengali]] for the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during [[British India|British rule in India]] in the [[Bengal region]] in the eastern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="Sekhar2004">{{cite book|first=Sekhar |last=Bandyopadhyay|title=Caste, Culture, and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SVIflbyHQC&pg=PA25|year=2004|publisher=Sage Publications | isbn=978-0-761-99849-5 | page=25}}</ref><ref name="Chakrabarti 2017 56">{{Cite journal|last=Chakrabarti|first=Sumit|date=2017|title=Space of Deprivation: The 19th Century Bengali Kerani in the Bhadrolok Milieu of Calcutta|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44508277|journal=Asian Journal of Social Science|volume=45|issue=1/2|pages=56|doi=10.1163/15685314-04501003|jstor=44508277|issn=1568-4849}}</ref><ref name="Ghosh 2016">{{Cite book|last=Ghosh|first=Parimal|title=What Happened to the Bhadralok?|publisher=Primus Books|year=2016|isbn=9789384082994|location=Delhi}}</ref> |
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{{more footnotes|date=April 2013}} |
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| ⚫ | '''Bhadralok''' {{lang|bn|bhôdrôlok}}, literally 'gentleman', 'well-mannered person') is [[Bengali language|Bengali]] for the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during [[British India|British rule in India]] |
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==Caste and class makeup== |
==Caste and class makeup== |
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According to Sekhar Bandyopadhyay |
According to [[Sekhar Bandyopadhyay]], the ''Bhadralok'' primarily, though not exclusively, belonged to "the three traditional upper castes of Bengal", the [[Bengali Brahmin|Brahmin]], [[Baidya]] and [[Bengali Kayastha|Kayastha]].<ref name="Sekhar2004" /><ref name="Chakrabarti 2017 56"/><ref name="Ghosh 2016"/> Wealth, English education, and high status in terms of administrative service were the factors which led to the rise of this 'new aristocracy' and since a large number of the three upper castes had administrative skills and economic advantages, they formed the majority of Bhadralok in 19th century Bengal. The ''Bhadralok'' "was never a closed status group", in practice it was an open social group.<ref name="Sekhar2004N">{{cite book|first=Sekhar |last=Bandyopadhyay|title=Caste, Culture, and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SVIflbyHQC&pg=PA113|year=2004|publisher=Sage Publications | isbn=978-0-761-99849-5 | page=113}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA56|title=elites in south asia|year=1970 |publisher=CUP Archive|pages=56|language=en}}</ref> A majority of the Brahmins and Kayasthas, being poor and illiterate, were not regarded as ''Bhadralok''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA56|title=elites in south asia|year=1970 |publisher=CUP Archive|pages=57|language=en}}</ref> By the late 19th century many of the middle-ranking peasant and trading castes, who had gained affluency, had entered the ranks of ''Bhadralok'' .<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyay|first=Sekhar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SVIflbyHQC&pg=PA25|title=Caste, Culture and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal|date=2004-08-19|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-0-7619-9849-5|pages=154|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA56|title=elites in south asia|year=1970 |publisher=CUP Archive|language=en}}</ref> |
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The ''Bhadralok'' community includes all gentlefolk belonging to the rich as well as middle-class segments of the Bengali society. Amongst the upper middle classes, a [[zamindar]], or landowner, normally bearing Babu at the beginning would be considered to be a ''Bhadralok''. A zamindar bearing the title Raja or Maharaja would be considered to be higher than middle-class, but would still be a ''Bhadralok'' 'gentleman'. All members of the professional classes, i.e. those belonging to the newly emerging professions, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, university professors, and higher civil servants, were members of the ''Bhadralok'' community.{{cn|date=September 2021}} |
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| ⚫ | The polity and politics of [[West Bengal]] have been dominated by the bhadralok despite their lesser numerical presence in the state.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhattacharya|first=Debraj|date=2019-06-14|title=Decline of the Bengali bhadralok in the politics of West Bengal: What next ?|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/decline-of-the-bengali-bhadralok-in-the-politics-of-west-bengal-what-next|access-date=2021-02-27|work=National Herald|language=en}}</ref> All [[Chief Minister of West Bengal|Chief Ministers of West Bengal]] since 1947 have been from ''Bhadralok'' social groups.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Political Collapse Of Bengal's Upper Caste Bhadralok Hegemony And BJP's Prize|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/opinion-political-collapse-of-bengals-upper-caste-bhadralok-hegemony-and-bjps-prize/357287|access-date=2021-02-27|magazine=Outlook India}}</ref> |
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== Economy == |
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Among others, Joya Chatterji, Lecturer in History of Modern South Asia at Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity College, blames the Bhadralok class for the economic decline of the state of [[West Bengal]] after India's independence in 1947.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Noorani |first=A.G. |date=13 March 2009 |title=Bengal's sorrow |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30183947.ece |magazine=Frontline |access-date=2023-10-19}}</ref> She writes in her book, titled ''The Spoils of Partition'': |
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{{unreferenced section|date=September 2018}} |
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| ⚫ | <blockquote>Bengal's partition frustrated the plans and purposes of the very groups who had demanded it. Why their strategy failed so disastrously is a question which will no doubt be debated by ''bhadralok'' Bengal long after the last vestiges of its influence have been swept away... But perhaps part of the explanation is this: for all their self-belief in their cultural superiority and their supposed talent for politics, the leaders of ''bhadralok'' Bengal misjudged matters so profoundly because, in point of fact, they were deeply inexperienced as a political class. Admittedly, they were highly educated and in some ways sophisticated, but they had never captured the commanding heights of Bengal's polity or its economy. They had been called upon to execute policy but not to make it. They had lived off the proceeds of the land, but had never organised the business of agriculture. Whether as theorists or practitioners, they understood little of the mechanics of production and exchange, whether on the shop-floor or in the fields. Above all, they had little or no experience in the delicate arts of ruling and taxing people. Far from being in the vanguard as they liked to believe, by 1947 Bengal's ''bhadralok'' had become a backward-looking group, living in the past, trapped in the aspic of outdated assumptions, and so single-mindedly focused upon their own narrow purposes that they were blind to the larger picture and the big changes that were taking place around them.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The spoils of partition : Bengal and India, 1947-1967|last=Chatterji |first=Joya |year=2011 |orig-year=First published 2007 |isbn=978-0-521-18806-7|pages=317|oclc=816808562}}</ref></blockquote> |
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Two primary factors led to the rise of the ''bhadralok'': |
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* the huge fortunes many merchant houses made by helping the [[British East India Company]]'s trade up the Ganga valley |
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* Western-style education from colonial rulers and missionaries. |
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A steep rise in real estate prices in [[Calcutta]] also made some petty landlords in that area to wealthy overnight. The first identifiable ''bhadralok'' figure was [[Ram Mohan Roy]], who bridged the gap between the Persianised nobility of the [[Bengal Sultanate|Sultanate]] era in Bengal and the new, Western-educated, [[nouveau riche]] [[comprador]] class. {{citation needed|date=December 2017}} |
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{{unreferenced section|date=September 2018}} |
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The [[Bengal Renaissance]] was largely carried out and participated in by ''bhadralok''. In addition, the rise of the [[Brahmo Samaj]] and various other [[:wikt:samaj|samajes]] (a category halfway between 'society' and 'community') was also largely a ''bhadralok'' phenomenon. A ''bhadralok'' embraced Western and Northern European values (though not always the same ones in each case), had a modicum of education, and a sense of entitlement to (and consequently grievance against) favours or employment from the colonial government. While the ''bhadralok'' were influenced by the West in terms of their morals, dress, and eating habits, they also reacted the most strongly against the West, and both the most scathing critiques, and the most spirited defences of Westernisation, were made by ''bhadralok'' writers.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} |
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==Babus== |
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{{unreferenced section|date=September 2018}} |
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{{main|Babu (title)}} |
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The term [[Babu (title)|Babu]] means an individual of rank and dignity. It is most commonly used to refer to a gentleman, but is meant for anybody who enjoys a position of dominance in his immediate social circle. An Indian [[zamindar]] (land-owner), or an Indian member of the higher government services, was referred to as a Babu. Amongst the landlords, a Babu in the former [[Bengal Presidency]], especially in Bengal and [[Bihar|Behar]], was normally a substantial and extremely wealthy zamindar in the same rank as a [[Thakur (Indian title)|Thakur]] or a [[Mirza]], and would rank just below a [[Raja]]. The term Babu has been historically used to refer to the upper echelons of Indian society, including the ruling classes.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} |
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In [[British India]], the term was derogatorily used to refer to members of the indigenous community, especially in law courts and revenue establishments in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, where most members were appointed as Munsifs from respectable and/or zamindari families. {{citation needed|date=December 2017}} |
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== Popular culture == |
== Popular culture == |
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Bhadralok class |
The ''Bhadralok'' class appears frequently in popular Bengali literature, including in the novel and stories of [[Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay|Saratchandra Chattopadhyay]] and [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. [[Kaliprasanna Singha]] in his famous book ''[[Hootum Pyanchar Naksha]]'' sarcastically criticized the class's social attitude and hypocrisy during its ascension to prominence in the nineteenth century. |
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In the 1990s and 2000s, [[Chandrabindoo (band)|Chandrabindoo]] |
In the 1990s and 2000s, the band [[Chandrabindoo (band)|Chandrabindoo]] highlighted the class's hypocritical attitude and paradoxical social role in their lyrics to the songs "Sokale Uthiya Ami Mone Mone Boli", "Amar Modhyobitto Bheeru Prem", "Amra Bangali Jaati" and many more. |
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== Economy == |
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| ⚫ | The polity and politics of [[West Bengal]] |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[Christianity in West Bengal]] |
*[[Christianity in West Bengal]] |
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*[[Nastanirh]] |
*[[Nastanirh]] |
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*[[Gentleman]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Social anthropology]] |
[[Category:Social anthropology]] |
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[[Category:Social class in India]] |
[[Category:Social class in India]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Bengal Presidency]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Culture of Bengal]] |
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[[Category:Bengali words and phrases]] |
[[Category:Bengali words and phrases]] |
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Latest revision as of 07:35, 11 March 2024
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Bhadralok (bhôdrôlok, literally 'gentleman', or 'well-mannered person') is Bengali for the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during British rule in India in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.[1][2][3]
Caste and class makeup
[edit]According to Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, the Bhadralok primarily, though not exclusively, belonged to "the three traditional upper castes of Bengal", the Brahmin, Baidya and Kayastha.[1][2][3] Wealth, English education, and high status in terms of administrative service were the factors which led to the rise of this 'new aristocracy' and since a large number of the three upper castes had administrative skills and economic advantages, they formed the majority of Bhadralok in 19th century Bengal. The Bhadralok "was never a closed status group", in practice it was an open social group.[4][5] A majority of the Brahmins and Kayasthas, being poor and illiterate, were not regarded as Bhadralok.[6] By the late 19th century many of the middle-ranking peasant and trading castes, who had gained affluency, had entered the ranks of Bhadralok .[7][8]
Politics
[edit]The polity and politics of West Bengal have been dominated by the bhadralok despite their lesser numerical presence in the state.[9] All Chief Ministers of West Bengal since 1947 have been from Bhadralok social groups.[10]
Economy
[edit]Among others, Joya Chatterji, Lecturer in History of Modern South Asia at Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity College, blames the Bhadralok class for the economic decline of the state of West Bengal after India's independence in 1947.[11] She writes in her book, titled The Spoils of Partition:
Bengal's partition frustrated the plans and purposes of the very groups who had demanded it. Why their strategy failed so disastrously is a question which will no doubt be debated by bhadralok Bengal long after the last vestiges of its influence have been swept away... But perhaps part of the explanation is this: for all their self-belief in their cultural superiority and their supposed talent for politics, the leaders of bhadralok Bengal misjudged matters so profoundly because, in point of fact, they were deeply inexperienced as a political class. Admittedly, they were highly educated and in some ways sophisticated, but they had never captured the commanding heights of Bengal's polity or its economy. They had been called upon to execute policy but not to make it. They had lived off the proceeds of the land, but had never organised the business of agriculture. Whether as theorists or practitioners, they understood little of the mechanics of production and exchange, whether on the shop-floor or in the fields. Above all, they had little or no experience in the delicate arts of ruling and taxing people. Far from being in the vanguard as they liked to believe, by 1947 Bengal's bhadralok had become a backward-looking group, living in the past, trapped in the aspic of outdated assumptions, and so single-mindedly focused upon their own narrow purposes that they were blind to the larger picture and the big changes that were taking place around them.[12]
Popular culture
[edit]The Bhadralok class appears frequently in popular Bengali literature, including in the novel and stories of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore. Kaliprasanna Singha in his famous book Hootum Pyanchar Naksha sarcastically criticized the class's social attitude and hypocrisy during its ascension to prominence in the nineteenth century.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the band Chandrabindoo highlighted the class's hypocritical attitude and paradoxical social role in their lyrics to the songs "Sokale Uthiya Ami Mone Mone Boli", "Amar Modhyobitto Bheeru Prem", "Amra Bangali Jaati" and many more.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (2004). Caste, Culture, and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal. Sage Publications. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-761-99849-5.
- ^ a b Chakrabarti, Sumit (2017). "Space of Deprivation: The 19th Century Bengali Kerani in the Bhadrolok Milieu of Calcutta". Asian Journal of Social Science. 45 (1/2): 56. doi:10.1163/15685314-04501003. ISSN 1568-4849. JSTOR 44508277.
- ^ a b Ghosh, Parimal (2016). What Happened to the Bhadralok?. Delhi: Primus Books. ISBN 9789384082994.
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (2004). Caste, Culture, and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal. Sage Publications. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-761-99849-5.
- ^ elites in south asia. CUP Archive. 1970. p. 56.
- ^ elites in south asia. CUP Archive. 1970. p. 57.
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (2004-08-19). Caste, Culture and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal. SAGE. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7619-9849-5.
- ^ elites in south asia. CUP Archive. 1970.
- ^ Bhattacharya, Debraj (2019-06-14). "Decline of the Bengali bhadralok in the politics of West Bengal: What next ?". National Herald. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
- ^ "Political Collapse Of Bengal's Upper Caste Bhadralok Hegemony And BJP's Prize". Outlook India. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
- ^ Noorani, A.G. (13 March 2009). "Bengal's sorrow". Frontline. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ Chatterji, Joya (2011) [First published 2007]. The spoils of partition : Bengal and India, 1947-1967. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-521-18806-7. OCLC 816808562.
- Subho Basu and Sikata Banerjee, 'The Quest for Manhood: Masculine Hinduism and Nation in Bengal in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East
- Bhadralok in Banglapedia
- Indira Choudhuri, The Fragile Hero and Virile History: Gender and the Politics of Culture, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998).
- Tithi Bhattacharya, The Sentinels of Culture: Class, Education and the Colonial Intellectual in Bengal, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
