European contacts impacted local societies: Mullappally

January 18, 2010 07:43 pm | Updated 07:43 pm IST - THALASSERY:

Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran has said that European contacts with India has exerted a significant influence on the local society in terms of social, economic, cultural and educational activities.

Inaugurating a seminar on European maritime activities in Peninsular India organised by the Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities (IRISH) here on Monday, the Minister said that though the main objective of the colonial Europeans in the past was to accumulate profit through maritime trade, in the course of time, Indo-European relations reached new dimensions and mutual understandings that contributed to the modernisation of the local societies. A process of give and take between the Europeans and Indian had come into existence during the period from 1500 and 1800, he said.

There had been several areas of intellectual dialogue and cultural exchanges between the Indians, the Portuguese, the French, the Dutch and the British, he said adding that this had also involved the transfer of plants, animals, foods, people and culture between India and the Western hemisphere in one of the most significant global developments concerning ecology, agriculture and culture.

The three-day seminar was being held in association with the Instituo Camoes, Lisbon, and the Ajith Balakrishnan Foundation here.

Historians from universities and research institutions in the country and Europe would be presenting research papers on various aspects of the theme.

Observing that most of the historical studies and researches on the maritime contacts between India and Europe focussed on the political and economic aspects, he said that history of social, cultural and intellectual interactions through maritime engagements between the country and Europe remained largely an unexplored area of research. The European exploration in the long run had led to the Europeans shipping out a part of the wealth of India, he said. When much of Asia and Africa had been forced into a state of unprecedented poverty and misery, Europe and North America witnessed astonishing developments in science, technology, he said.

Mr. Ramachandran said that imperialism and colonialism were dragged into every conversation as the root cause of all the ailments of the country. "Where we stand now and where we go from here rests entirely on us alone and not on the faint shadows of the countries that left these shores 62 years ago" , he said. Though the era of imperialism had come with a long period of economic exploitation, the interaction of the two cultures had impacted India's present day societies, he added. The centuries of European contacts and factors such as the Indian Railways, Postal services and English language had contributed immensely to the formation of the present day India.

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