The Role of Indians in Imperialistic India as portrayed in Amitav Ghoshs’ The Ibis Trilogy

Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis Trilogy is a saga of the Opium War and the imperialistic monopoly of Great Britain over almost half the world. The British conquered India and ruled over the sub-continent with an iron hand, but at the same time being flexible with certain practices of the Indians. The Indians on the other hand, apert from sporadic outbursts, supported the British in their rule, with money and men. The symbiotic relationship of the British rulers and the Indian subjects was complex and incomprehensible to outsiders. The British through careful manipulation made the Indians do their bidding and this is reflected by Ghosh in his trilogy.


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long-lasting impact of Imperialism. He takes this theme further in the Ibis Trilogy where through the span of three novels, three major countries and many unforgettable characters create a saga of Imperialism and 'Free Trade' which has very little presence in recorded history. Imperialism is when a nation by lieu of force occupies another country and enforces its authority on it, implementing its policies and rules. The conquering country not only imposes its political and economic policies but also asserts its cultural hegemony thereby creating an imbalance of power for decades to come.
Ghosh talks about colonialism, "It arrived in the form of trade, and the trade was a beachhead for land-acquisition, first peacefully obtained by grants, and then by force" (Ghosh 10).This leads to the occupied country suffering in an incomprehensible manner. The drain of wealth is a major theory propounded by Dadabhai Naoroji whereby he put forth the idea that the British were draining the wealth from India since all their military, civilian and expansionist expenses were paid from the Indian treasury.
One of the lesser-known facts about the colonial rule in India was the impact of the growth of poppy seeds, its manufacture into opium and subsequent export to countries like China where there was a great demand for opium. India reeled under the onslaught of the British greed as they targeted the very heart of the Indian economy-agriculture. Conniving with the British in this endeavour were the local zamindars, rajas and landlords. The British were so thorough in their control over the gullible rulers of India-national as well as local, that it was just a matter of time that the British rule spread through India. They slowly took control over all the aspects of Indian life even dictating what the poor farmers could grow in their fields. The Ibis Trilogy portrays this aspect of the British rule and the concept of Free Trade which they used, to justify their imperialistic monopoly on the other countries of the world. They are responsible for driving fear in the minds of the poor coolies and indulging in violence to prove their point.
It is always a possibility that the coolies will jump ship when they cross over from the familiar river to the uncomprehensive and vast sea. The prospect of going to a foreign land hits them hard when they see the immense waters in front of them. The silahdars on the orders of the English Captain, bully the men and women into submission. They shout curses and hit the coolies in order to instill fear and submissiveness in them. In spite of all these violent acts, two men manage to jump from the ship in a bid to escape but unfortunately are sucked into the tumultuous waters and lose their lives in the most pathetic manner.
Desertions are not only common among the coolies but also among the sepoys. The senior Indians are responsible for keeping an eye on the young sepoys as the prospect of military duty in a foreign country puts them at flight risk. Once caught the sepoys are put in front of a firing squad. All these acts are carried out by the Indians at the behest of the English. The Indians follow the orders of their superiors unquestioningly. They forget that During the Second World War and after the inclusion of educated Indians, the questioning began in the Indo-British army. Till then they just transferred their loyalties from one master to another. Neel's Chinese friend questions him on this aspect and asks how the Indian sepoys are unlike mercenaries, who do not fight for a cause or country but for money.

This question is raised by Ghosh through his characters in both the Ibis trilogy and The Glass
Palace. Neel is asked why the Indians do not rebel against the English rule. Neel is unsure how to answer this and says that many are unhappy with the foreign rule. "But it is also true that many people have become rich by helping the British: they will go to great lengths to The British cement their hold over the Indians by not interfering in their social and religious affairs. They provide them full freedom in respect of customs and practices of caste and creed. In the army, the sepoys are allowed to cook separately so that they do not sully their castes. The soldiers show deep loyalty to the paltan as it is also made of members belonging to the same clans. The attachment comes more to the paltan leader who commands the undisputed loyalty of his sepoys as they belong to the same caste. Bhyro Singh praises the Englishmen as the custodian of the rigid Indian caste system. People had become degenerate for hundreds of years but the Angrezi company is putting everything right. Only the high castes are allowed to join the army and the sepoys are also given leeway to conduct their own enquiries regarding personal disputes. "They are making everything pure again, just like it was in the days of the earliest sages and rishis. Under the sahibs' guidance every caste will once again become like an iron cageno one will be allowed to move one finger's breadth, this way or that" (FF 69). The British though inwardly contemptuous of the Indians and their practices, supported them outwardly. They realized the necessity to emphasize the differences The British entered India on the pretext of trade and slowly took over every aspect of the Indian life, dictating their own terms and draining the immense wealth of India and its natural resources. None of this would have been possible without the help of the Indians. The British slowly convinced the Indians that their policies were better than the Indian Kings and made them believe in the might of their Empire.
It took more than centuries of British rule to make the Indians realize their abject dependency and slavery to a foreign power. Even though sporadic outbursts of defiance did exist, there was no organized effort to send the British away. The sepoys, especially were in near-constant rebellion against the British but it was constrained to foreign travel or relating to their caste or religion. It took almost a little less than three centuries to send away a handful of British by a million Indians, but eventually it did happen.
Ghosh is of the view that imperialism is not dead and it was the Opium War that inaugurated the era of free-trade imperialism which is not yet over. In an interview to Amrita Dutta of the The Indian Express he says: The baton has been handed over from England to the United States. And it is the same project. The rhetoric that accompanied the first Opium War was eerily reminiscent of that of the Iraq War: that this was a fight for freedom, that the Chinese would welcome the British with open arms when they overthrew the tyranny of the Manchu despots. (Ghosh)