Topic- salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
4) The cultural creativity and intellectual efflorescence that were the hallmarks of the European Renaissance were conspicuous by their absence in the Indian situation. Comment. (250 words)
Directive word
Comment- here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to express our knowledge and understanding of the Indian renaissance and express our opinion as to whether or not, cultural creativity and intellectual efflorescence that were the hallmarks of the European Renaissance were absent in Indian renaissance.
Structure of the answer
Introduction- write a few introductory lines about the western renaissance. E.g The European Renaissance was characterised by the discovery and triumph of humanism and the re-emergence of man to the centre of history with sensitivity to his creative ability, reflected in his achievements in the past.
Body-
Discuss about the cultural and intellectual aspect of the renaissance and form an opinion as to whether they were a part of Indian renaissance as in Europe, or not. E.g
- The social and religious reforms witnessed in 19th century India were neither a continuation of past efforts nor their reinvocations to face contemporary challenges.
- While the pre-colonial movements were trapped in feudal ethics, the 19th century regeneration occurred in the context of an emerging middle class which mainly developed its social vision, political beliefs and cultural ethos from the history of Western societies, received through the medium of the ideological apparatuses of the colonial state.
- Modernity in India had a different trajectory. Its origin was not in indigenous intellectual and cultural churning but in the influences disseminated by the colonial state and its agencies.
- The relationship between the traditional and the “colonial-modern” was not dialogical but mainly one of domination. Restricted by prevailing caste and religious practices and attracted by the “colonial-modern” life, this new breed of Indians experienced the tension between what was possible in the new world and what was practised in the traditional.
- The changes in the social and cultural life they sought to materialise emerged out of this tension.
- The participation in the colonial order demanded a refashioning of the social world of the colonised, at the same time there was considerable social pressure to maintain traditional social practices.
- The social and religious reform witnessed in 19th century India, which was an attempt to reconcile the cultural world of the middle class with the demands of the new way of life, emerged out of this dynamic.
- As a result, unlike in Europe, reformation took precedence over renaissance in India.
Conclusion- based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
