TOD, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
JAMES.—Of the early life of this distinguished historian of the East we have
been able to glean only a few particulars. Such, however, is frequently the
case with his countrymen. Their talents and enterprise lead them to
eminence, and place them full in the view of the world; but when the general
curiosity is expressed in, Where was he born?—who were his parents? —how was
he trained and educated for the place he so worthily occupies?—the
biographer is compelled to confess his ignorance, or feel his way at
hap-hazard and by conjecture.
With these remarks we judge
it necessary to premise a notice of Lieutenant-Colonel Tod, of the
Honourable East India Company’s Service, and their political agent in the
Western Rajpoot states. He was born in Scotland about the year 1782; but in
what district, or of what parentage, we are unable to ascertain. In March,
1800, he went to India, being then only in his eighteenth. year, and
obtained a commission in the second Bengal European regiment. Although he
commenced his career thus early, he appears to have arrived in India an
unbefriended adventurer; for, instead of waiting for promotion like his
brother officers, who had patronage to back their merits, he volunteered for
the Molucca Isles, was transferred to the marine service on board the
Mornington, and afterwards, to use his own expression, "ran the gauntlet
from Calcutta to Hurdwar." In the course of this run, however, he not only
escaped the dangers that crossed it, but reached the starting-place of a new
and better career. At the close of 1805, when he was nothing more than a
subaltern in the subsidiary force at Gwalior, an embassy was to be sent, at
the close of the Mahratta war, to Sindhia, at that time encamped at Mewar,
in Rajpootana. Tod’s friend, Mr. Graeme Mercer, was sent as ambassador on
this occasion, while Tod himself was to accompany him as assistant. The
country of Rajast’han, of which it formed a part, was thenceforth to be the
"home of his adoption," as he affectionately called it, and the place to
which the best part of his life was to be enthusiastically and usefully
devoted.
On settling down amidst the
official duties with which he was intrusted, Tod, now scarcely twenty-four
years old, resolved to be something more than a mere political resident.
Great capacities, hitherto undeveloped, were struggling within him, which
the new land of his abode was calculated to call forth; and, under this
inspiration, he successively became geographer, historian, and archaelogist.
As was natural, the geography of Rajast’han was the first subject of his
inquiry, into which he threw himself with ardour, almost as soon as he
arrived; and for this there was urgent need—for large and important though
the country was, it was still a mere terra incognita to his
employers, the conquerors of the East. Once a vast cluster of provinces,
that composed an empire extending, in all probability, from the Jumna and
Ganges to the base of the Himalaya, comprehending nearly eight degrees of
latitude, and nine of longitude, it still was a large territory, inhabited
by a variety of interesting races, but who, from the misgovernment of their
own chiefs, and the absence of European instruction, were fast sinking into
hopeless barbarism. He therefore began the survey of the country, which
hitherto, in the maps of India, had been almost a total blank, while the
course of rivers and the position of capitals were in most cases utterly
reversed. All this mass of ignorance and error was superseded by his ample
and accurate map of Rajast’han, which he completed and presented to the
Marquis of Hastings in 1815. To the country itself thus delineated he gave
the name of Central India, and that name it has ever since retained. The
value of the map was fully tested as a guide in the operations of the
government only two years afterwards, as its information was adopted in the
plan of operations, by Lord Hastings, in 1817.
It was not enough for Tod,
however, that he should be the geographer of his adopted country: he
resolved also to be its historian. It was a bold attempt. Hitherto it had
generally been thought in Europe that Indian history was but a myth—a
collection of opium dreams, more unreal than even the Arabian Nights’
Entertainments—and therefore unworthy of a moment’s attention. The names,
indeed, of Alexander of Macedon and Timour, of Mahmoud of Gazni, Baber, and
Acbar, were familiar as invaders and conquerors of India; but the peoples
and heroes whom they slew or subjugated in the lands which they formed into
new empires, were as unknown as if they had been the inhabitants of a
different planet; and yet these people must have had a history of some kind
or other, and, perchance, a history worth reading, if it were only written.
This, he resolved, should be done; but where were the materials? Rajast’han
had abounded in poets and fabulists, and these, too, of the true eastern
stamp; but it had not a Herodotus or a Xenophon, nor yet even a Bede or
Fordun. These were all but insuperable difficulties, let the amount of
research and talent be what it might. All this, however, he overcame. The
labour which he endured in such a task, while it has a startling sound to
European ears, gives a high idea of his indomitable zeal and perseverance.
He began with the sacred genealogies contained in the Puranas, examined the
Mahabharat, studied the historical poems of Chund, Jesselmer, Marwar, and
Mewar, and the bardic lays containing the history of the Kheetchies, and
that of the Hara princes of Kotah and Boondi. He also procured and carefully
studied a large portion of the compilations of Jeysing of Amber or Jeypoor,
the learned rajah of modern times, illustrating the history of his race. For
ten years he was occupied with this mountain of recondite matter, being
assisted in his labours by an erudite scholar of that eastern sect called
the Jains, who made copious extracts from the above-mentioned mass, and
translated them into those more familiar dialects of the East with which Tod
was acquainted. He also mingled in frequent conversation with the most
intelligent of the people; and having made himself master of their language,
he extracted from them the knowledge of their historical traditions, whether
in tales, allegories, or poems, and questioned them about their religious
opinions, and their daily habits and usages. His ardent enthusiasm, and the
Asiatic character that was rapidly ingrafting itself upon his Scottish
temperament, admirably fitted him for such a task; and seated amidst the
ruins of ancient cities, with a group of these story-tellers around him, he
listened for hours to their stirring tales of the wild chivalry of the East,
and the patriotic deeds of their ancestors, until he felt as if he was a
Rajpoot, and that the bleak northern country in which his boyhood had been
spent was nothing more than a dream of the night. But still his hereditary
caution—canniness if you will—did not desert him under such tempting
circumstances; and, therefore, independently of such sources of information,
he studied every authentic monument, inscription, and architectural relic,
by which he tested the innumerable legends that solicited his notice; and
the result was his "Annals and Antiquities of Rajast’han," of which the
first volume was published in London in 1829. This splendid work at once
demonstrated that India has actually a native history, while it became the
text-book and authority of our most distinguished Oriental scholars. It also
gave an irresistible impulse to that study of Indo-Grecian antiquities which
has since been so extensively prosecuted, and by which so much new light has
been thrown upon ancient history, by revealing the connection between the
European and Asiatic races.
And worthy, indeed, were the
past achievements of the Rajpoots of such a commemoration. Proud of our
northern chivalry of ancient days, and the national liberties which it
established, we are too apt to lose sight of other nations that have
struggled as bravely, though not so successfully, as ourselves. But
Rajast’han, through the labours of Colonel Tod, has now a chronicle to
unfold to the world, in which a patriotism as devoted, and sacrifices as
great, and valiant deeds as illustrious are to be found as adorn the pages
of Greece and Rome, or even our own Britain. "What nation on earth," he
exclaims triumphantly, "could have maintained the semblance of civilization,
the spirit or the customs of their forefathers, during so many centuries of
overwhelming depression, but one of such singular character as the Rajpoot?
. . . Rajast’han exhibits the sole example in the history of mankind, of a
people withstanding every outrage barbarity could inflict, or human nature
sustain, from a foe whose religion commands annihilation; and bent to the
earth, yet rising buoyant from the pressure, and making calamity a whetstone
to courage. . . . Not an iota of their religion or customs have they lost,
though many a foot of land." That so noble and gallant a people should have
been overcome, and that in the midst of such achievements the country should
still have continued to diminish, so that it became the very Poland of the
East, can be easily explained, as in the case of Poland, by the defective
nature of its government. Wherever the patriarchal system of rule
predominates, the bravery, the devotedness, and patriotism of its people
have been unavailing. They have furnished, indeed, a glorious and
spirit-stirring history; but decay and downfall have been the inevitable
close. Such was the fate of Rajast’han, a land of many tribes and many
princes. The Parthians, by whom they were overrun, and the Tartars, by whom
they were finally subdued, were united nations; and that single advantage
made them victorious over a people braver perhaps than themselves, but
divided by the feudality which prevented a united and universal resistance,
and insured a piecemeal destruction.
Such was the nature of Tod’s
labours till 1817, when he was appointed political agent of government over
that extensive country, comprising the five principal states of Rajast’han,
viz., Mewar, Marwar, Jessulmer, Kotah, and Boondi. It was a high
office for one holding his subordinate military rank although scarcely too
high for his service and merits, and the confidence which the
Rajpoots reposed in him. But the appointment seems to have given umbrage to
those who perhaps thought themselves better entitled to promotion,
irrespective of their fitness for such a peculiar office. The sympathy also
which he felt for the people, and the influence which he possessed among the
native princes caused him for a short time to be regarded at head-quarters
with suspicion and jealousy. But these unseemly feelings, although they
annoyed him at first, he soon refuted by his conduct, while the excellence
of his administration endeared him more and more every day to the people.
This Bishop Heber found afterwards, in his Episcopal tour, when he passed
through the province of Mewar. On this occasion, the inquiries of the people
as to the welfare of their "Tod Sahib" were incessant, and whether they
should ever see him again. It is not often that the deputy who rules in the
name of foreign masters is thus endeared to a subjugated, but still
high-spirited people. The nature of his administration, his attempts for the
restoration of Rajpootana, and the estimation in which his labours were
held, can be best understood from the following letter to a
friend—"Regarding Bhilwana, the work of my hands, in February, 1818, there
was not a dog in it; in 1822 I left 3000 houses, of which 1200 were bankers
and merchants; an entire street, arcaded, was built under my directions, and
with my means. The merchants from Calcutta, Jessulmer, Delhi, Surát—from
every mart in India—had their correspondents; and, in fact, it was becoming
the chief mart of Rajast’han. The affection of these people a thousand times
repaid my cares. The females met me at a distance, with vessels of water on
their heads, singing the Sohaloh, and the whole of the merchants and bankers
advanced in a body to conduct me through it. The streets were crowded;
brocades of gold silks were suspended from the shops—it made me proud, not
vain. It was with difficulty I checked the determination to call it Todgunge;
but whatever I did was in the Rana’s name. My conscience tells me I deserved
their love. How health and comfort were spurned in their behalf! I have lain
on my pallet with high fever, my spleen so enlarged as to be felt in every
part of my ribs; fifty leeches at work, left to a servant to
superintend, whilst I had the whole of the territorial officers of the
district of Mondelgurh, consisting of 250 towns and villages, at the other
side, taking the whole of their accounts, and separating the fisc and the
lands of the chiefs even to a beegah—all the while half-dead with inanition.
But I had the principle of life strong within me. It appears now a dream.
But a week before I was at the point of death; but it was vain to tell me to
desist from work. A short time after I was knocked off my elephant in going
to restore to the chief of the Megawats twenty-seven villages, alienated for
forty-five years, which I recovered from the fangs of the Mahrattas. The
animal ran off, crossing the wooden bridge of his moat, and the arch, being
too low, carried me fairly off. That I was not crushed was a miracle.
That night the triumphal arch of the Megawats was levelled to the ground!
These are the men without gratitude! It was worth a broken limb, yet I
escaped with bruises. But my head burns as did my heart for my Rajpoots."
In this short account we have
the secret of that wondrous spell by which we retain the empire of the East.
Compare Colonel Tod with a Roman praetor or pro-consul! It is only when
Britain will impose rulers upon her Indian dependencies who will pillage,
rather than protect and benefit the people, that her rule over India will
pass away into other hands, and leave nothing behind it but the glory and
the shame of a historical remembrance.
The rest of Colonel Tod’s
proceedings among the Rajpoots may be briefly told. In 1819 he completed the
circuit of Marwar, and visited its capital, Joudpoor, by the route of
Komulmer, and returned to Oodipoor by the way of Mairta and Ajmer. In 1820
he visited Kotah and Boondi, and on the following year he revisited the
latter province, in consequence of the death of his friend, the Rao Rajah
Ham Sing, who bequeathed to the colonel the guardianship of his son, the
prince of the Haras. It was now time that his personal connection with India
should cease, as after a residence of twenty-two years of incessant
occupation in that climate, his broken constitution could withstand it no
longer. He was accordingly released from his duties as British political
agent of Rajast’han, which he had discharged during five years, and allowed
to return to England. But instead of instantly availing himself of the
opportunity, by hastening to embark when he left the valley of Oodipoor in
June, 1822, he crossed the Aravalli to the sacred mountain of Aboo, and
explored the remains of that district, so venerated in the religious
traditions of Hindoostan. His interest in Rajpootana and love of travel
being still unabated, he continued his journey of research, in which he
discovered the ruins of an ancient city in the borders of Marwar, explored
the ancient capital of the Balhara kings, and crossed the peninsula of
Saurashtra, visiting in his way the towns, temples, and shrines that
illustrated the ancient history of the country. This journey was so replete
with interest that he drew up a full account of it after his return to
England. He finally embarked at Bombay in the early part of 1823, and
arrived in England the same year.
On returning home, Colonel
Tod by no means abandoned himself to a life of rest or recreation. His
Indian studies and discoveries, carried over so long a period, and involving
such important subjects, were to be arranged and prepared for the press, and
to this duty he turned his attention with all his wonted ardour. And how
well he discharged his task the "Annals of Rajast’han" will sufficiently
attest, independently of his other writings. It opened up new paths in the
study of the history, philosophy, and religion of India, which subsequent
scholars have entered with the happiest results. But these efforts, upon a
constitution already all but exhausted, accelerated the process of decay;
and a complaint in the chest obliged him to take up his residence in Italy,
where he chiefly abode during the last twelve months of his life. Still his
studies were continued, and during the winter while he staid in Rome, he
employed himself daily in a work entitled, "Travels in Western India,"
containing his observations during a journey to the Peninsula of Guzerat,
which he had made before his departure for Britain. From Italy he returned
to England in the beginning of September, 1835, and on the 14th of November
he came from his mother’s residence in Hampshire, to London, ready to
publish his work on Western India, and retire for the rest of his life to a
property which he had lately purchased. But on the 16th, the anniversary of
his marriage, while transacting business at his banker’s, he was suddenly
struck with apoplexy, under which he continued speechless and insensible for
twenty-seven hours, when he expired on the afternoon of the 17th, 1835.
Annals and
Antiquities of Rajasthan
Or the Central and Western Rajput States if India by
Lieut-Colonel James Tod in 3 volumes (1920)
Volume 1 |
Volume 2 |
Volume 3
Tod's
Annals of Rajasthan
The Annals of Mewar
Abridged and Edited by C. H. Payne
|