The image of India beyond the Seas among the French authors

The Monthly Newsletter of the Department of Human Resource Development
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat
March, 2014
Vol. 4, No. 3
-The second reason is because many eminent
historians from India such as Dr. Anand
Barhan have studied in deeply the issue.
The image of India beyond the Seas
among the French authors
By Koume Ya Ya Outare (MHRD Semester II
Div. B, DHRD, VNSGU)
Email:
-In this present article, we just try to show
the overview of our work. Otherwise, following articles are necessary for more lighting.
In this way, we will develop some topic in relation of the foundation of the representation
of India in French, the contrast between the
representation of India and the interest of
Europeans to India, the rivalries between
French and British in India and the response
of India to the Western…Also, the present
work is an essay of translation because the
original version is done in French medium.
First of all, I thank the authorities of our
Department of HRD for their vision by creating this canal “EXPLORER” which allow
us students to learn how to write next to our
teachers through small publications.
The following article is about a marginal aspect of the India History in relation with Europe before the Modern Time according to
the Historiography of India.
In 24/01/2014, Dr. Anand Barhan, a historian from Delhi University (was invited by
VNSGU) delivered a lecture at DHRD. During his presentation, Dr. Barhan presented
in critical, efficient and brief manner the
Historiography view of the current India
History and the continuity of India culture.
He spoke about the significance of India Culture in foreign countries.
Indeed, our work doesn’t raise a new debate.
It is our desire to share some ideas of our research work that we have done in the History Department at University Felix Houphouet Boigny d’Abidjan. But it appears as a contribution into French’s Indianism.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE INTRODUCTION
The East was a source of wonders and a
place of unattainable desires. It has stimulated the imagination in Western enthusiasm that we understand as much matter for
admiration and envy he aroused for the fear
he inspired in the modern era. Dependent in
earliest memories of the ancient world, the
conquests of Alexander the Great through
the medieval world, the West has always
projected in the East a utopian, mysterious
and wonderful image.
We call this article “marginal aspect of the
India history” for three main reasons:
-The first one is because this work is what
the historians calling Histoire des representations, and this field of History deals with
the “Histoire à la mode” or “Histoire
à
Marge”(Cultural Studies according to the
British Historiography).
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
1
Asia was, according to Guillaume De Malmesbury, "the first part of the world"1. It thus
represented the territory of the "blessed" as
one of the "cursed". According to the imaginary Western, Asia engendered epidemics
and heresies, and housed the Islam religion,
harbinger of the Antichrist.
In 1497, Vasco Gama3 doubles the Cape of
Good Hope and along the east coast of Africa
to Calcutta: an Indian locality. Since then,
this region has continued to be the center of
envy among Europeans. It hosts by turns the
Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, British and
French. These Europeans are in India under
colonial expansion or hope to benefit from
the trade that was going on besides Indians.
Among these European are distinguished
Jesuit missionaries who work for the propagation of the Christian faith. This plurality
of actors leads to consequences at two levels.
These reports rivalries between the various
entities that develop alliances based on geostrategic interests on the one hand and on
the other hand, the difference in look, often
stereotyped, focused on India. Imaginary India knows an evolution from the physical
contact between Europeans and Indians.
India, due to its multidimensional nature
has the advantage of representing the East,
to the West in this case by the French authors. In their writings, the perception of India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries depends on each class of Authors. In
general, these authors focus their written
analyses, comments and criticisms on both
socio-cultural life, economic and political
space of India. After opening the door to Asia
in the late thirteenth through the "Silk
Road" by Marco Polo2 a new era starts in the
relations between India and Europe.
This new vision of India is evident from the
authors of the age of enlightenment and the
European writers who come into direct contact with the Indians.
Marco Polo participated in the momentum of
the great discoveries that would occur in the
fifteenth century to continue and intensified
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
especially in India and the rest of the world.
In addition, the writings of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries in India revolve
around the spread of Christianity and its difficulties with the indigenous religions, rivalries between European and local quarrels,
the attitudes and living conditions of Indians.
1William de Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum,
ed. Trad. by RABMynors, RM Thomas and
M.Winterbottom, quoted by Marc Carrier, Oxford,
Clarendom, Press, 1998-1999, p.601.
2 Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254. He died in
1324. He was merchant Venusians’ party to China at
the age of seventeen years alongside his father. He
was the chief architect of the knowledge of the Far
East to Europe. His stories immortalized in the book
of wonders of the world go around royal courts and
influenced the great explorers such as Christopher
Columbus.
3Vasco de Gama was born in Since in Portugal in
1469. He died in Cochin, India in 1524. After the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus on behalf
of Spain, the King of Portugal load Vasco de Gama
opened the road to India. It starts in July 1497 at the
head of three ships. He manages to Calcutta, India
where he laid the foundation for the establishment of
trade links.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
2
"The image lends itself to think and to make
It is in this context that India's representation fits our study entitled:
think. It is a system of signs that broadcast
the relationship of the individual to the
world. It converts interiority to exteriority, in
the same time it allows a person to incorporate elements from his social experience, his
experience and thus to participate in a process of identification ... "6.
"The image of India according to French
writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries: contribution to the study of stereotyped knowledge’s about India in the Modern
Era."
This study allows us to understand several
regional contexts in India at that time
through the linking of modes of representation, designation and practices concerning
the Other, Indian and their space.
One of the second reasons lies in our interests for knowledge about India and especially the view of French on India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The History
of India is certainly no more a new discovery.
That is present in many specialists4' works
from all periods including modern history.
For example, the heyday of the mideighteenth century, Indian culture and Indian art have led to a flowering of publications
in France. These are the highlights of Duplex
and Bussy in the Deccan and the Carnatic.
These publications focus on the event at the
expense of the history issue.
It also allows us to identify, in spite of the
major trends in the image of India in the
modern era, a relative evolution within our
study period from the point of view of the circumstances and from the temporally one,
that is to say, discover its permanence and
its mutations.
The concept, the space and the time are
three fundamental elements of the subject's
delimitation in history practices.
We considered it useful to make our contribution to the emergence of a "History Problem" where the deep forces of India are discussed.
First, at the first given, it is essential for the
understanding of our subject.
In fact, the notion of "image" is a complex
word that we sometimes replace by "representation" or "perception".
In addition, difficult periods of India 5 attract
fewer researchers. Shed light on this period
would be a modest contribution to the history
of French expansion in the world. For the
"History of representations" says generally
more about the society that perceives than
the society that is perceived, as supported by
Anthony
Goreau-Ponceaud:
The image is defined by the universal dictionary as "a representation of an abstract or
physical reality in terms of analogy or similarity ... it is also a mental representation of
a previous perception in the absence of the
4Leading experts in India are: Prosper Culture, Alfred
Martineau, Edmond Gaudart, Jacques Weber, and
Christine Maillard.
6 Anthony Goreau-PONCEAUD "image to travel: India on the Silk Road", in Journal of Human Sciences,
geography and cultural
5Periods after 1756
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
3
perceived object "7. Here, the word "image"
What is the place of our work in building this
knowledge about India? Our study appears
as a contribution in the process of enrichment of the Historiography of India.
reveals the prejudices, stereotypes developed
by French writers and their perception on
India. And the "image" appears as an individual or collective representation which
takes into account intellectual, emotional,
objective and subjective components.
The space of our study takes into account the
European space known at that time, namely
Kankon coast to the west coast of Malabar
and South Coast situated mostly in front of
the Bay of Bengal9. It is from these shores
the British pushed their territorial expansion towards the West, Northwest and
South10.
Furthermore, the image is defined in many
cases. For example, when reality is appropriate and internalized by an individual or a
group, it undergoes transformations. We talk
about distorted prism of reality, unconsciously of any subjectivity. In addition, the representation of the other or Otherness is the individual or collective ability to take distance
from a group or a person.
In addition to the spatial boundaries of the
study, a brief presentation of the people in
this space allows a better understanding of
our subject of study. An India seventeenth
and eighteenth century was dominated in its
northern and southern parts, with the exception of Bengal by Muslim populations,
whereas the southern part is dominated by
Hindus.
This look is most often the fear of the unknown human being, disregard and feelings
of superiority or inferiority towards the other.
Here, the image of India is presented in a
way that the French, through their writings,
represent the attitudes, the reports of the
Indian society and space.
The chronological boundaries of our study
are in the period of modern history. According to the French Historiography11, this period begins in 1492 and ends in 1789 with reference to the French Revolution. As for that
of India, Modern Age is between 1756 and
As for the term "contribution of the stereotyped knowledge’s about India," it refers to a
process of establishment and accumulation of
knowledge from scientific research on India.
This expression takes into account, in fact,
the weight of ancient knowledge to our days8.
9 Michel BOIVIN, Histoire de l’Inde, Paris, PUF,
126p.
10Louis Frederic, History of India, Paris, Criterion,
1996, p.525. (This is precisely the coast of Coromandel
and Circars).
7 Dictionnaire Universelle, Paris, Hachette 1995,
p.601.
8 Cf. Pierre SINGARAVELOU « les indianistes Français et le Greater India fin XIXe siècle » in les relations entre la France et l’Inde de 1673 à nos
jours. Symposium under the direction of Jacques
Weber, Paris, les Indes Savantes, 2002, 585p
11The division of the major periods of history is a
matter of "school." For example, in Europe, cutting
Historical periods depends on country. Other European countries consider the Modern Era began in 1453
with reference to the fall of Constantinople.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
4
194712. We deliberately choose as reference
point the French chronology. In order to narrow our study, we limit it between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
end to the Anglo-French conflict after the
war called seven years war. This is the beginning of the French release in India.
After the delimitation of the subject in time
and space, the study of the review of literature is essential to identify the perceived advantage of India by the French in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. But first,
we note that there are few works that we
could identify in the local documentation
centers which address the specific questions
we raise in this study. To do this, the articles
considerably contributed to the development
of this study.
There is no specific date to begin our study.
But the second half of the seventeenth century that we see as the beginning of our
study, is rich in a few scattered events in
France. In 1664, we are witnessing the creation of the French Company of the Indies
which will be followed by the founding of
Pondicherry in 1673 by François Martin, the
first French colony in India. French presence
in the region is enhanced by the installation
of the first French 13Embassy in India in
1687 under the leadership of the institution
Siamese marked the formal commitment of
France for commercial reasons, religious and
strategic ones.
Moreover, we notice many written report of
the existence of prejudices about India. In
"Indianism and Western bias" by Johannes
Bronkhorst15, mention is made of bias on the
Indian subcontinent. The author shows that
the perpetual nature of preconceptions on
the West India is still noticeable. And despite the works of Indologists to fix most of
these preconceptions as the "great age of India," India, similar to a region of dream, a
fantasy world fueled reflection of authors
like Anthony-Ponceaud Goreau, Samuel
Berthet.
Similarly, the second half of the eighteenth
century in which our study is limited end in
the decade of 1770. After 1760 marked by
peace treaty of Paris14,this legal act put an
12The year 1756 marked the beginning of British rule
in India, while 1947 represents the year of the Independence of India official.
Edward W. Said also looked at a global
study16 on Orientalism by fitting the afore-
131687 marks the beginning of maritime expeditions
sends in India. This momentum was broken by revolutions in Siam.
Cf. Raphael VONGSURAVATANA "GUYTACHARD
or the French navy in the East Indies (1684-1701" in
History, Economy and Society, 1994, No. 2, p. 249267.
eignty of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar returned to the
East India Compagny
15Johannes BRONKHORST « L’indianisme et les préjugés occidentaux » une Etude de lettres, avril juin
1989. PP. 119-136
14The Peace Treaty of Paris in 1763 saw the decline
of France in India by the loss of a large part of his
possessions to keep five counters. By cons, it marks
the rise of British power in 1765 especially with the
treaty between the English and the Great Mughal
Emperor. In this treatise Hindo Columbia, the sover-
16Edward W. SAÏD, L’orientalisme, Vintage Books,
New York 1978. La partie consultée est traduite de
l’Américain par Catherine Malamoud en français. Il
est contenu dans une note de lecture réalisé par le
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
5
mentioned authors when he argue that the
Orient was almost a European invention of
since ancient times: place of fantasy, filled
with exotic beings , haunting memories and
landscapes of extraordinary experiences until today. Unlike the latter, Edward W. Said
raise a relativity to mean that this trend of
the East is now being disappearance17.
Helvetius, Diderot and Rousseau made use
of the concepts of "freedom" of "wild man",
the "noble savage" and "civilized man" in the
context of the Revolution in Europe, and at
the opposite he describes people without history, without writing, without religion and
without morals. In this discourse, it appears
that the negations are mixed with positive
marks to signify that the European hated
and envied the people who lived "without
priests, without law, without masters, without vices or without yours and mine"19 . The
European Enlightenment in France is
emerging with thinkers and champions of
gender equality, protection of freedoms and
the defense of pluralism.
Work on India takes into account the stereotyped ideas on the environment, religion,
daily life and attitudes of the Indians. Alain
Forest shows in the history of Southeast Asia
the different forms of intellectual discourses
and practices produced by the West. These
discourses legitimize the domination of these
and place particular emphasis on the mode
of action of stereotypes and the implementation status of indigenous women in the written production.
The problem of inferiority20 customs and
manners of the Indians is present in the
writings of Jennifer PITT21 which shows instead that the authors of the European enlightenment amounted to breach of moral
standards in the dominions due to their
commitment to universal standards. For
him, all human societies are endowed with
reason and capable of governing themselves.
Claude Markovits became interested in the
"mutual perception of India and the West."
He explains how in a culturalist perception
the Western world had joined India in its
worldview. This study is based solely on the
travelogues. Our study takes into account
submissions and correspondence.
19Idem, p.13
In addition, Michel Duchet is also involved in
these discourses about India. In his Anthropology and History in century’s lights18, he
shows how thinkers such as Buffon, Voltaire,
20At the time of European enlightenment thinkers
favored critical thinking in their work as benchmarks
using reason and logic, even if some remain attached
to Eurocentric discourse. This probably justify the exploitation of other peoples and from there right often
seen as a duty to civilize the European peoples outside
Europe.
« Projet René Guénon » le 26 jantier 2007. La traduction française est éditée en 1980 par les Editions du
Seuil.
21Jennifer PITT, Naissance de la bonne conscience
17Edward W. Said, Op.cit, p.13
Coloniale : les libéraux français et britannique et la
question coloniale (1770-1870), Paris, Ed. L’Atelier,
18Michel DUCHET, Anthropologie et Histoire au siècle des lumières, Paris, Flammarion-Sciences,
1997,446p.
2008 ,380p.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
6
These considerations based on a dynamic vision of progress that each civilization advances at their own pace are present in
Burke and Smith. It is the same in Bentham
and Condorcet22.
At the economic level, the focus is on the
company monopoly. Alain Danielou addresses the East India Company’s monopoly of the
English and French that are installed on the
ruins of pionniers27.*
Moreover, it is necessary to address in this
literature review the work we referring to
the traditional history of the subcontinent,
the literature on the economy and society of
India.
On social life in India, Jacques Dupuis28
showed that the arrival of the Portuguese in
India coincided with the founding of the
Mughal Empire (1526), he was also interested in the ambivalent nature of Indian society, namely wealth and poverty in India. A
society characterized by social divisions
across castes institutions. Starting in the
same vein as Dupuis, Frédéric Louis also addresses economic living conditions and social
India seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Other authors29 address the history of India
in the same angle as the previous idea.
Politically, Crepin Pierre23 shows, in a perspective of the opposition between Duplex
and Bourdonnais, an India climate of political tension and military intrigues that combines both between European and Indian.
This remains the same for most biographies
having a relationship with India that we
consulted. In fact, almost all authors agree to
assign a common Historiography to
the
events of political history of India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Among
these authors, prefigure Alain Daniélou24
and Louis Fréderic25. These latter emphasize
the Events History of India at the expense of
the problematic history through several topics such as the organization of the Marathas26, and the French situation in South India. They highlight the colonial struggles of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
In view of the foregoing, it is clear that India
is present in the writings of French authors.
Many authors have examined, however, the
problem of the image of India30. The writings
of these are influenced and guided primarily
27The Portuguese werefirst to arrive atGAOin India,followedby the Dutch
28Jacques DUPUIS, Histoire de l’Inde, Paris, Payot,
1963, 385p.
29K.M. PANIKKAR, L’Axe et la domination occidentale du XVIe siècle à nos jours, Paris, Seuil, 418p.
Toussaint AUGUST, Histoire de l’océan Indien, Paris, PUF, 1960, 286p.
Hubert DESCHAMPS, Les Européens hors
d’Europe, Paris, 1972, 188p.
Michel BOIVIN, Histoire de l’Inde, Paris,
PUF, 1996, 126 p.
Bernard COTTRET, Histoire de l’Angleterre
XVI-XVIIe siècles,Paris, Nouvelles Clio-PUF,
1996, 344p.
22Geneviève VERDO « Un empire libéral ? » In la vie
des idées.fr
23Pierre CREPIN, Mahé de la Bourdonnais, Paris,
Ernest Leroux, S/d, 489p.
24 Alain DANIELOU, Histoire de l’Inde, Paris, Payot,
1983,424p.
30 R. KICHENAMOURTY « Pondichéry dans le roman français du XXe siècle », in les relations entre la France et l’Inde de 1673 à nos jours. Colloque tenu à Nantes sous la direction de Jacques
Weber, Paris, Les nids Savantes, 2001, p.249.
25Louis FREDERIC, Histoire de l Inde et des indiens,
Paris, Criterion, 1996,816p.
26Marathas: Hindupeoplewhich has supplantedthe
power of theGreat Mogul.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
7
by events related to the "epic" or” glorious
time" in the middle of the eighteenth century
(1748-1756). This creates a flowering period
of publications such deeds Duplex and Bussy
in the Deccan and Carnatic among French
historians31. Among these, figure Alfred
Martineau from who we identified several
work in academic libraries of Abidjan
(CERAP, CCF, BUC). They prefer the event
and spend much of their work to the beautiful first decades of the eighteenth
ry32compared to the difficult times of the
French in India, which have long been less
explored.
pending on the position and context of its issuer. Our attention is not focused on the relationship between the various actors and
event history. But these considerations are
essential to the situation of the context that
will support an evolutionary approach.
Therefore, we propose to study how the
French represented India in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, from the point of
view collectively and individually through
the writings of the French having lived in
India or not. This objective implies our problem.
In other words, what are the French and Indian elements that have influenced the perception of India among French? How these
authors actually represented India? And
what are the changes in the representation
of the seventeenth century to the eighteenth
century?
In any case, it is the thesis of Jacques Weber
when he writes: "French historians were un-
aware of India after the Seven Years' War as
the Gauls ignored Alesia"33. However, the
literature on India have developed in response to the call in 1727 by Abbé Bignon
officers of the Company and French missionaries working for the acquisition of materials
for the library Oriental Royal interest in India.
Answer to this problem requires the application of appropriate methodology and applied
to the use of sources. What is that methodology?
In view of all this work on India, our contribution won't appear unknown. It will give an
overview of the image of India. And therefore, it will include a facet of the history of
the Indian subcontinent in the light of our
sources.
The history that we study is a history of representations. It is rooted in Cultural History
and especially in the history of mentalities.
It was born of enthusiasm for Cultural History34 with new methods and approaches. It
is a new methodological rigor that reflects
the value of the multidisciplinary field of
study. Syncretism between Anthropology
and History has redefined its historical
method especially its object of study and its
In India, the Modern Age is characterized by
the discoveries and direct confrontations between entities that share this space. Knowing that the image of a people, far from being
uniform, this aspect can be variable and de-
34History representations can influence the Historiography structuring the imagination of people in the
hope of clear their minds, their conception of the
world at that time, their motivations and concerns as
well as their conception of the Otherness.
31Jacques Weber, Relation entre la France et l’Inde,
Op.cit., p.7.
32Idem p.7
33Ibidem, p.7
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
8
theoretical framework. According to new
considerations of this approach, it is no longer limited to the question of factual truths,
but to identify abstract concepts of collective
mentality35. Historian must detach himself
to see the world through the people of the society as its object of study. That is why during the exploitation of sources, we have taken into account the principles raised. So we
took into account the viewpoints both objective and subjective through the names, stereotypes, and recriminatory speeches qualifiers brought on India. It is the same for the
facts, because the factual effect leads to the
moderation36.
In addition, in the development of our work,
we presented the citations of French writers
of all persuasions so we can identify what is
written verbatim on India during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Most of our research corpus consists of travelogues, correspondences, memoranda and essays. These sources are all dated from the
seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and can be grouped into two categories.
The first category consists of all the stories of
lights and Jesuit missionaries. The authors
of scholarly papers, as from the inequality
among peoples38of Jean Jacques Rousseau,
help identify knowledge about India following scientific and ideological approaches
through discourses on non-European peoples.
Those speeches are also present in the literary collections of seventeenth and eighteenth
century39
Concerning the Jesuit missionaries, they
have produced interesting information on
India. Information that comes mostly from
letters collected in "Edifying and curious Let-
We also use several methods of social sciences to better decipher the thoughts of various
authors. It is the semiology from Ethnology,
and Anthropology and stylistics from Romanism37.
ters of the Jesuits about India in the eighteenth century"40. These letters are written by
French missionaries who were obliged, once
in territories outside of Europe where they
are assigned, to inform their superiors remained in France. They are valuable evidence in many ways over India.
35Cf.aux articles de Nicole EDELMAN « Pour une
approche de l’Histoire » in Revue de recherches Contemporaines, n°4, 1997, et de Pascal Orry, « L’Histoire
The establishment of the Jesuits in the Indian subcontinent has lately started by Siam
kingdom which was the real purpose of their
missions. But in 1688, the Jesuits were
Culturelle des sociétés Contemporaines : principes,
méthodes, recherches » in file://I: histoire repret ;
méthode 2. Html depuis le 20/07/2009 (Pascal Orry est
professeur d’Histoire Contemporaine à l’Université de
Paris I)
ty through its pluralistic and diachronic reading. Cf.
Pascal Orry
38Jean Jacques Rousseau, De l’Inégalité parmi les
hommes, Paris, Librio, 1775, 127p.
39Collection littéraire XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, les
Grands auteurs Français, paris-Montréal, Bordes,
1970,439p. Et 409p.
40Isabelle, Jean Louis VISSIERE, Lettres édifiantes
36Edward Saïd W. « L’orientalisme » in projet René
GUENON, Janvier 2007.p.8
37Semiology is a science that studies signs, sign systems in social life. While the style allows us to study
how authors express: their style preference. These two
sciences, one can add sociology and ethnology. Because the dialogue with the cultural history Ethnology
and Sociology: sociology based on the investigation by
focusing on contemporary and Ethnology practice participant observation. History and retains its specifici-
et curieuses des jésuites sur l’Inde au dix-huitième
siècle, Saint-Etienne, Université presse de SaintEtienne, 2000, 203p
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
9
forced to flee the kingdom to land in Pondicherry. They did because they faced the rivalry of the Capuchins settled before them
and populated environment that are strongly
rooted in their beliefs. Correspondences deals
with the difficulties encountered by the Jesuits in their'' mission'' religious conversion,
including recurrent persecution. They also
deal with aspects of Indian society and their
mentalities.
M.G.Vallée41 from a set of letters discovered
in cardboard of "Fond Labbée", the library of
Poitou. These letters are all signed by the
Renault as brothers, nephews or son of Renault Montié42.
The authors worked for the most part, as
mere employees in the French East India
Company when they occupied subordinate
positions in the "sword" or "pen" with the exception of Renault Saint-Germain who has
served as director of a box. The interest of
his correspondence is of paramount importance. It allows us to build an evolutionary picture of India. It also allows studying
an image of the Self and the Otherness projected on the objective reality: it is the representation of the French and British in India;
a competitive environment in which the intrigues and wars occupied a prominent place
in the writings of the French.
The second category includes travel stories
and correspondences. These are the writings
of the French who lived in India. Thus,
travelogues are to raise awareness of the nature of the region and its inhabitants. They
can bring out phantasmagoric images that
are reported and frighten or encourage based
on geopolitical and commercial interests of
those who wish to try an adventure in India.
We mention, in this regard, two travelogues
of Victor Jacquemont. One is devoted to the
political and social state of South India in
1832 and the other is dedicated to the social
policy of the State of North India in 1830.
The context of writing these letters back to
the beginning of the British conquest in 1752
and the gradual decline of the French in India. When the Renault wrote these letters,
the Great Mughal, who lived in Delhi, was
still the nominal ruler of the whole of India.
The Soubab of Bengal and Nizam43 of Hyderabad in the Deccan were the two princes
with whom Europeans should count. Because, close their frontiers or their states,
Europeans had establishments. In Bengal,
Aliverdikhan44 was the dominion. While in
the Deccan, pretenders to the throne went to
Certainly, the writings of Victor Jacquemont
fall outside the chronological frame of our
study, but they allowed us to draw some
static information about the vegetation, climate, wildlife and customs of the Indians. In
addition to travelogues, we use correspondences that were of a definite contribution in
the development of this study. They include
official correspondence and private letters
found in the appendices of general books we
consulted. Regarding private letters, we consulted a large collection of private letters
from a family of Poitou written from 1752 to
1773. This collection is titled "Serving the
41MGVALLEE was a teacher in high school of Angoulême in France.
42Renault Montie is a wealthy merchant and trader
who Châtelleraudais to other family members being
accountable for territories outside France.
43Nizam appoints Hindu king, ruler. And Soubab is a
Mughal governor of a province.
44Aliverdikhan usurped power in 1727.
East India Company: unpublished letters of
a family of Poitou in the eighteenth century:
Saint Germais Renault." It is made by
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
10
war after the death of Nizam Oul Moulk45.
Finally, we have focused on the processing
and use of sources, an approach that is both
comparative and complementary in order to
study a total history in light of the views
that emerge from the correspondences, travel
stories and writings of Jesuits and French
scientists.
terposed conflict. Then we will look at an image of India under a climate of tension from
1756 to 1763. And finally, we will end our
analysis by presenting the image of India
under British rule from 1763 in India.
SOME CONCLUSIONS OF OUR WORK
The image of India among French writers of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is
plural. It is forged through the prism of deep
forces from both the Indian subcontinent and
France and even Europe. This is double vision, which is characterized firstly by a culturalist view, and secondly, a perception
based adaptive reports geostrategic, economic and military cooperation between the different entities present in India.
Presently, it behooves us to start developing
our study focusing on three chapters.
The first divided into two sub parts will address the foundations of the representation
of India and its spatial image among French
writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. This chapter provides an understanding of the ideological origins in a historical perception and the factual elements that
contributed to the image of India. It also
takes into account the perception of geographical space seen as a hostile environment.
On the culturalist view, the authors suggest
several aspects that characterize this region
of the world such difficult conditions of travel
related to the austery of climate and flora
that has a plethora of wild animals. In general, the French describe a frightening and
unattainable India, an India that pushes the
minds wishing to try an adventure. These
authors project, in fact, a negative image of
India because of the wind regime, source of
disturbance of smooth travel.
In the second chapter, we will examine the
question of the image of India in a perception
of otherness among missionaries, scholars
and officials of the East India Company. It is
the place to present on the one hand, the
types of representation and on the other
hand, the persistence of stereotypes about
India among French authors.
In addition, the representation of India differs according to the category of authors.
Each of them evokes India in egocentric perspective. While French merchants, guided by
the desire of profit, prefer an India dominated by political and military conflicts. The
Jesuits apprehensive India in terms of Christianity. If religious belief leads them to
maintain their business of evangelization,
the Jesuits felt an attitude of disregard for
local beliefs. Judgments beyond superstition
beliefs they attributed to indigenous peoples,
the Jesuits regarded the religious organiza-
The third part will deal with the variation of
the image of India in the Franco-British rivalry in a changing angle of the seventeenth
to the eighteenth century to determine its
continuities and ruptures. Firstly, we present the image of India from 1673 to 1756;
an India marked by relative stability and in45Ould Mulk Nizam Deccan is. He imposed Anaverdikhan head of the Carnatic and received a kind of
investiture in its sphere of influence.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
11
tions as social and community rather than as
religions. For cons, the philosophers of the
Enlightenment like Voltaire and Rousseau,
described an ambivalent India under the influence of relativistic ideological movements.
Thinkers proclaimed lights, humanity Indians and denounced the greed of Europeans
although basically they do not call into question
the
superiority
of
Europeans.
Moreover, it should be remembered that,
generally, the authors attribute a common
denominator mentality of Indian people
within the Indians are deeply rooted in their
traditions, it was difficult to change their
worldview because of the rigidity of caste.
The second phase covers the period known as
the "Seven Year's War: 1756-1763." During
this period, India was marked by armed confrontations for its domination. The main protagonists are the French, the English and
the Indians. The French were at war especially against the English, through the tragic
adventure and fall of their army. This period
also marked the loss of the reputation of Indian princes after the defeat of their army at
the Battle of Plassey and of Monghir against
the British. Finally, for English is the annihilation of the French and Indian influences
in Bengal and the Deccan. Therefore opens a
period of conquest supported by the city, this
is the era of British rule in India.
For the image of India's evolutionary point of
view, we note that it is returned in the imagination of Europe since antiquity. In India
fabulous and monstrous mixed the real and
improbable representation of India passed a
mythical perception a realistic trend thanks
to the proliferation of European sources on
India.
The final phase starts from 1763 with the
official recognition of British rule in India in
the Treaty of Paris. From this agreement,
the French authors show an image of India
rather marked by the imprint of British rule
over the other pretenders to control the Indian subcontinent. This is the beginning of the
exploitation of the vast riches of India and
the gradual decline of the powerful Indian
states.
For the vision of India by the French of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there
are three phases in the light of our sources.
LIMITATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES
The first part starts to the construction of
their first counter in Pondicherry in 1673 by
François Martin to the declaration of the
Seven Years' War in 1756. This period is
marked by a possible cohabitation between
French and English. Thus, in a peaceful India through the development of economic activities, the French spend an India dominated by latent conflict until 1750. From this
date, the Europeans interfere in local conflicts until 1756 when belligerences between
French, English and Indians become imminent are related by the authors.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the
experience we have just completed partially
restores the image of India in the French
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the
light of our corpus study. The limitations of
our work are related to difficulties relating to
the documentation mentioned in the introduction. Our efforts to organize the state of
the debate around the image of India have
not been successful due to the absence of
specific works on our theme in the research
centers of Abidjan. This would allow us to
clearly highlight the results of our study in
relation to the issues already discussed by
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
12
other authors. In addition, the time lag between the dates written sources we have
consulted cannot give a full view of the
changing image of India among French authors.
Saint-Germain, Paris, Librairie Larose, s. d,
175 p.
This is why extensive studies are assets
came to address the issues raised in this
study. These include studying the eye
crossed between India and Europe in a sociocultural and religious history. We will understand the shock but also the dialogue and
the resistances between Western and Eastern civilizations by extension. We might introduce Africa to investigate mutual perceptions between Europeans, Indians and Africans, Comparative History, which will include the shift of certain realities between
the three.
versité de Saint-Etienne, 2006, 195 p.
VISSIERE Jean Louis et Isabelle, Lettres
édifiantes et curieuses des Jésuites de l’Inde
au dix-huitième siècle, Saint Etienne, Uni4-Essais
COLLECTIONS LITTERAIRE du XVIIè
siècle et du XVIIIè siècle, Les Grands Auteurs Français (extraits), Paris, Montréal,
Bordas, 1970, 439 p.
ROUSSEAU (J.J.), De l’Inégalité parmi les
hommes, Paris, Librio, 1775, 1278 p.
A-SOURCES EN LIGNE
LE LAN (J.Y.), « La présence française en
Inde au milieu du XVIIIe siècle » in
www.wikipédia.org. Mis en ligne le 1er juillet 2008.
SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
SOURCES
SAINT PRIEST (A.), « Etude diplomatique
sur
le
XVIIIe
siècle »
in
SOURCES IMPRIMEES
www.wikisource.org./wiki%89tudediplomatiq
uesurledixhuiti%3%A8me
1-Récits de voyages
JACQUEMONT (V), Etat politique et sociale
de l’Inde du nord en 1830, Paris, Leroux,
1933, 469 p.
II – BIBLIOGRAPHIE
DOCUMENTS DE REFERENCE
Idem, Etat politique et sociale de l’Inde du
sud en 1832, Paris, Leroux, 1934, 168 p.
CALLOIS (R.), Approches de l’imaginaire,
Paris, Gallimard, 1974, 253 p.
2-Mémoires
Dictionnaire Universel, Paris, Hachette, Edi-
LAURISTON (L.), Mémoire sur quelques affaires de l’empire Mongol : 1756 – 1761, Paris, Champion, Société de l’histoire coloniale,
1913, 588p.
cef, 1995, 1508 p.
DUBY (G.), Atlas historique Larousse, Paris,
Librairie Larousse, 1978, 324 p.
DUCHET (M), Anthropologie et Histoire au
siècle des Lumières ; Buffon, Voltaire, Helvetius, Rousseau, Diderot, Paris, FlammarionScience, 1977, 446 p.
3- Correspondances
VALLE (G.M.), Au service de la Compagnie
des Indes, lettres inédites d’une famille de
Poitier au XVIIIe siècle: Les Renault de
Le Petit Robert, Paris, le Robert, 2000, 284 p.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
13
Le Petit Larousse, Paris, Larousse, 2003,
Idem, Le Général Perron : Généralisme du
Scienda et du Grand Moghol, 1753-1834, Paris, Société d’édition géographique, maritime
et coloniale, 1931, 302 p.
1818p.
MOREL Yves, Maîtriser la langue Française,
Abidjan, Les éditions du CERAP, 2009, 126
p.
Ibidem, Duplex : sa vie et son œuvre, Paris,
Société d’Edition Coloniale, 1931, 367 p.
A- OUVRAGES GENERAUX
Ibidem, Bussy et l’Inde Française : 1720 –
1785, Paris, Société d’histoire coloniale, Leroux, 1935,318 p.
AUGUSTE (T.), Histoire de l’océan indien,
Paris, PUF, 1960, 286 p.
BOIVIN (M.), Histoire de l’Inde, Paris, PUF,
2001, 128 p.
Idem, Duplex : sa vie et son œuvre, Paris,
Société d’Edition Coloniale, 1931, 367 p.
COTTRET (B.), Histoire de l’Angleterre XVIè
– XVIIè siècles, Paris, Nouvelle Clio, PUF,
1996, 344 p.
Ibidem, Tableau de l’expansion européenne à
travers le monde de la fin du XIIè siècle au
XIXè siècle, Paris, Société d’histoire colo-
CREPIN (P.), Mahé de la Bourdonnais :
niale, Leroux, 1938, 369p.
Gouverneur Général des Iles de France et de
Bourbon (1699), 1753, Paris Leroux, S.d., 488
Ibidem, Les origines de Mahé et de Malabar,
Champion, 1917, 319 p.
p.
MEILE (P.), Histoire de l’Inde, Paris, PUF,
1965, 128 p. cartes (QSJ ?)
DANIELOU (A), Histoire de l’Inde, Paris,
Fayard, 1983, 424 p.
NOORANI (A. G.), India political Trials
(1775 – 1947), New Delhi, Oxford University
press, 2005, 316 p.
DESCHAMPS (H.), Les Européens hors
d’Europe : 1434 – 1815, Paris, PUF, 1972,
188 p.
PANIKKAR (K.M.), L’Asie et la domination
occidentale du XVIè siècle à nos, Paris, Seuil,
1957, 418 p.
DUPUIS (J.), Histoire de l’Inde, Paris, Payot,
1963, 386 p.
DURAND (D.F.), Géographie de l’Inde, Paris,
PUF, 1997, 95 p QSJ ?
PANOKAR Raymond, Lettre sur l’Inde, Madrid, Casterman, 1963, 132 p.
FREDERIC (L.), Histoire de l’Inde et des indiens, Paris, Critérion, 1996, 816 p.
PERROD (P.A.), L’Affaire Lally Tolendal,
Lille, Service de reproduction des thèses, vol.
2, 1976, pp. 412-435.
Idem, Akbar le Grand Moghol, Paris, Ed.
Denoël, 1996, 816 p.
WEBER Jacques(S.dir.), Les relations entre
l’Inde et la France : 1673 – 2000, Actes de
colloque International de Nantes, Paris, Les
Indes savantes, Maison de l’Inde, 2002, 585
p.
LADONNE (C.), L’Economie Indienne, Paris,
la documentation française, 1967, 842 p.
MARTINEAU (A),Les origines de Mahé et de
Malabar, Champion, 1917, 319 p.
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
14
ZELLER (G.), Histoire des relations interna-
l’Inde, Paris, Ambassade de l’Inde à Paris,
tionales : les temps modernes de 1400 à
1789, Paris, Hachette, 1955, 377 p.
mis en ligne depuis le 08/09/2006, file : //H:\
representation de l’Inde. Httml.
III-REVUES ET PERIODIQUES EN LIGNE
ORY (P.), « L’Histoire culturelle des sociétés
contemporaines,
méthodes,
recherches :
l’exemple de la France » in histrepret.methoed2.html depuis le 20/07/2009.
BERTHET (S.), « Introduction au contexte
historique pour l’Inde des relations entre la
France et l’Inde au Moyen Age » in Synergies
Inde n°2-2007, pp. 321-328.
VERDO Geneviève « un empire libéral » in la
vie des idées.fr
CHRONOLOGIE
INDE-CLIO-VOYAGE
CULTURE, « De la tradition à la modernité »
in Chronologie-inde-qsp.htm depuis le
9/12/2009.
VONSURAVATANA Raphaël « Guy Tachard
ou la Marine Française dans les Indes orientales (1684 – 1701) » in Histoire, économie et
Société,
1994,
n°2,
pp.249-267,
http://www.persee.fr
EDLMAN (N), « Pour une autre approche de
l’Histoire » extrait de la revue Recherches
contemporaines n°4, 1997.
Department News
GOREAU-PONCEAUD (A), « De l’image au
voyage : l’Inde sur la route de la soie » in Revue des sciences humaines, consulté depuis
le 31/08/2009.
HR Fest
Department of Human Resource Organization had organized, HR Fest-2013-14 on 22nd
March, 2014, Saturday at Convention hall of
University. In this function Dr. Dakshesh
Thakar (Hon’ble Vice chancellor of VNSGU)
was invited as a chief guest and Shri Govindjibhai Dholakiya (Chairman & Managing Director of Shree Ramkrishna Export,Surat)was invited as a special guest.
Registrar of VNSGU, Dr. J R. Mehta, HODs
from different departments, Syndicate members, Senate members, directors of different
colleges and principals of different colleges
were also present in this annual function.
KATZENLLEN BOGEN (S.), « Femme et
Racisme dans les colonies européennes » in
Histoire,
Femmes
et
sociétés
in
www.nouvelle Clio, depuis le 22 mai 2006.
LAFITTE (S.), « Histoire, la Voie du milieu »
in L’Actualité Religieuse : Le défis du
Bouddhisme, hors série N° 10, Octobre 1997,
p. 14.
LENOIR (F.), « La découverte : la fascination
de l’Orient », interview in L’Actualité Reli-
gieuse : Le défis du Bouddhisme, hors série
N° 10, Octobre 1997, pp. 16-18, propos
The main objective of this function was to
provide platform to students to show their
hidden talents and to interact with Alumni
and recruiters also. It was very good opportunity to make interaction between faculties
and parents also.
recueillis par Serge Lafitte.
MARKOVITS (C), « L’Inde Britannique ou
‘’le Joyau de la couronne’’ » in Clio, tous
droits réservé depuis mai 2002.
OLIVIA et GEOFFROY « La représentation
de l’Inde et son évolution » in Nouvelle de
Students had performed and enjoyed different cultural dances of India. International
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
15
students of VNSGU also enjoyed programme
and it was very good chance for them to
know about Indian culture. They also shared
their experience.
March at Shri Sanjivkumar Memorial Auditorium, Surat. The purpose of function was
“Empowering youth” of India. Many eminent
guests from Politics, Bollywood were present
in the function. Question-Answer session
was held in the function where audience had
asked questions to the speakers related to
different fields.
According to Dr.Kiran Pandya (Head of
DHRD), this function will act as a valuable
link between students and recruiters for development of students’ bright future.
The entire function was organized and managed by students of the department.
Faculty Conference/Seminars
Dr Kiran Pandya chaired a session at the
National Seminar on ‘Economic Development
Across Sectors – Discourses on Theories, Issues and Policies’ by the Department of Economics, M.K. Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar held during 7-8 March, 2014. Dr Kiran
Pandya delivered lectures on Qualitative and
Quantitative Research in the Refresher
course at the Academic Staff College, Vallabh Vidyanagar on March 13, 2014.
Dr Kiran Pandya delivered lectures on Qualitative and Quantitative Research in the Refresher course at the Academic Staff College,
Ahmedabad on March 14, 2014.
Dr Smruti Bulsari presented a paper on "A
Quick Review of Agriculture Growth in Gujarat" at the National Seminar on ‘Economic
Development Across Sectors – Discourses on
Theories, Issues and Policies’ by the Department of Economics, M.K. Bhavnagar
University, Bhavnagar held during 7-8
March, 2014.
Off campus department news
22 students from DHRD participated in the
National Youth Conclave 2014 on 23rd
March 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
16
Editorial Team
Student Team
Dr. Madhusudan Raj (Chief Editor)
Ms. Khyati Bhatt (Assistant Editor)
Ms. Foram Shukla
Ms. Mitali Pandya
Mr. Jigar Pandit
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