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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

UNDERSTANDING COLONIAL GAZE

Rev. Thomas Jones is an intriguing figure vis-à-vis colonial rule. In the recently concluded lecture series on colonial North East India, Prof. Andrew J. May presented two interesting facets of colonial rule in the Khasi Hills, through archival records, imperial journalism and photographs, drawing interest of faculty and students of NEHU, writes Adity Choudhury.

By Adity Choudhury

Rev. Thomas Jones, the ‘Father of the Khasi Alphabet’ remains an important figure for the people here. Naturally then the two lectures given by his great-great grandson, Prof. Andrew J. May drew curiosity from the faculty and students of NEHU, on March 22 and 23.

May is a professor at the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, whose interests lie in Australian urban history, colonialism in North East India and cultural heritage, among others.

The first session, titled, Three Seasons in Shillong: Staging empire in a British colonial enclave in the late 19th century, was jointly organised by the Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the NEHU Alumni Association (NEHUAA), where those present were taken through a visual journey of colonial rule in North East India.

The second special lecture was organised by the Department of Khasi in collaboration with Khasi Authors’ Society on British Imperial Journalism: The Special Roving Correspondent and the Construction of Remoter India in 1891/2, which showed the colonial perspective of the people in the late 19th century.

Both sessions underscored the importance of archival sources. Faculties of various departments agreed that “this opened a world, given archival records are not easily accessible in this part of the world”.

While we listened to him speak formally as a historian, how did he view his great-great grandfather and the colonial rule, as he traced his ancestor’s footsteps, over a period of time?

“It’s incredibly emotional for me to come to the Khasi Hills. I’ve been here since the first time I came here in 2004. My family connection with this part of the world is personally important to me. My grandmother, Gwenllian Cattell Jones, was born in India. Her father, Thomas Cattell Jones, was the son of Thomas Jones,” he said.

“She was alive when the Great Earthquake happened and told me stories about the Indian origins of the family. To me, coming here is like returning home, even if it may sound uncanny and odd,” he added.

On his perception of colonial rule in Shillong, he pointed out how the word, ‘enclave’ is understood across the British empire in terms of administrative centers, garrison towns and cantonments. “It reflects a particular closed mindset that I think the word interestingly encapsulates, symbolically as well. It is a racially segregated colonial space.”

Accompanying his lecture series was a PowerPoint presentation (PPT).

May presented a world not only through political lens, but a cultural one – how colonial spaces operated through sporting events, theatrical performances and photography.

In his own words, “My method of history is always about micro stories. It’s a deliberate approach. While theoretical and macro history is critical, I like stories with people in it. Individual experiences within bigger historical processes are to be taken into account, otherwise history remains incomplete. We love history because we love stories, and stories are about people. Oral histories and archival records are so important when we try to understand the past.”

One of the images depicted English people in the center of the photograph, with two Khasi gentlemen standing near the window. This particular image drew chuckles from the crowd as May spoke about its relevance.

Looking at the two Khasi people in the window was unusual. To him, it depicted the contradictions of British rule – while they’re “not meant to be in the frame, they’re there in the picture.”

“You see photography is an incredibly interesting and complex genre to explore agency for instance. It reveals yet conceals different layers of colonial rule,” May pointed out.

Rev. Thomas Jones definitely fascinates May. He was always told stories by his family – about his missionary purpose, co-existing with a “double personality” where “Jones had the interest of the people he worked with, foremost in his mind” – resulting in his strained relationship with the empire and eventual expulsion from the mission.

“He was labelled by the British government for inciting rebellion. Finding this in the archives gave me a fuller picture of the person, in spite of my objection to proselytisation at some level. He took honest and good decisions for the people here. That was something I needed to know more about. It made me aware of the dangers of binaries when we think history,” May said.

Both sessions also revealed how stereotypes remained at the heart of British ideology. They were always conscious of the “other”.

Images titled, “Lushai expedition 1871-2”, “Dramatic readings: Dickens, public reading 1867” “Costume Race on foot” and “Whistling Stakes”, among others, revealed their attempts to mimic familiar spaces from England in an alien land.

The session on British imperial journalism highlighted the British need to understand (and construct) an idea about “Remoter India”.

One of the images read, “When people were travelling to Shillong, the entire road was filled with people singing, dancing, eating together. We had never seen such a surreal sight.”

This points towards an ‘exotic gaze’ that consciously or otherwise, created a sense of ‘us versus them’.

Another image said, “Of course Government has no idea of attaching any literary value to the specimens of the non-standard dialects of Khasi. All that is desired is to record their forms, for philological purposes, before they die out, as they are destined to do. Grierson to Roberts. 29 June 1901…”

The assumption in “…as they are destined to do…” showed a certain paternalistic, arrogant tone as “roving correspondents”, constantly on the move and “away from the metropolis” in May’s words. Words like ‘Syiem’, ‘barbarians’, ‘dirty savages’ further pointed towards the civilising mission of the colonial empire.

The audience reaction to the lecture series ranged from discontent at the usage of words like ‘barbarians’ to ‘gratitude’ as it opened up a world.

Interestingly, May pointed out that the journalists of the British empire were not trained.

Both sessions can be summed up in May’s words as he pointed out the importance of such interactive sessions without necessarily justifying the actions of individuals representing the colonial empire. This would open a world of understanding a particular time period beyond binaries.

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