Life in India during the 19th Century [10 Startling Facts]
Here is an Infographic I created on ‘How was Life in India during the 19th Century’ [1870-90 CE to be more specific].
I gathered this information in the audiobook, ‘A Glimpse of India’ by Clara A Swain, an American Medical Missionary to India, and the first person to start a hospital for women and children at Bareilly.
She later went on to live with the Royal Family of Khetri at Rajasthan for medical support, due to which I was able to get an idea about Royal Life in British India, too.
![Startling Facts about Life in India during the 19th Century [1870 - 1890 CE] from the book, 'A Glimpse of India' by Clara A Swain](https://i0.wp.com/destinationinfinity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/infographic-3.png?resize=640%2C960&ssl=1 "Life in India During 19th Century [Infographic]")
Actually this book is a collection of private letters written by the author to her sister in America. So we can assume that the details are fairly accurate. But these inferences are mine.
The above infographic shows 5 Startling Facts about India in 19 CE. I will repeat them again with more insights. The remaining five facts are below that.
10 Startling Facts about Life in India during the 19th Century
- Betrothal was done for 3-Year old Girls. They were married at 10 or 12. [Not always, but mostly. Add a couple of years to these numbers for boys]
- While shifting homes, many people could fit all their belongings in one wire-bed. [This was mentioned by the author in the book, but the upper-middle class and royalty had much more possessions]
- Except for the husband, other men were not supposed to see a woman’s face. [So they didn’t want to visit a male doctor and that necessitated women medical professionals and hospitals, the first of which was built by the author]
- Birds, Insects, Reptiles, Monkeys were commonly found inside Homes [Due to the heat and lack of electricity, they had to have large windows and keep them open for ventilation]
- Elephants, Horses, Camels, Oxen and People (who carried others in palanquins) were used extensively for transportation [Although Rail and Ships were there, there was no motorized transportation available yet. The huge no. of people employed to carry others on mountains, deserts, etc. would startle you!]
- In addition to cash, people paid for services with fruits, veggies, flowers, etc. [Barter was common.]
- It was normal for local people NOT to be familiar with the English. Although the latter exercised central authority and collected taxes, people were still ruled by the local Kings. [Contrary to the movies today that depict the English forcing people to pay taxes – directly]
- Female infanticide was sometimes practiced when the no. of girl infants exceeded a certain number in some families. [There is only an indirect reference to this in the book as the author is requested by the Rani of Khetri to speak to and convince a group of women that this practice was wrong.]
- In Royal Families, boys were separated from their mothers at the age of 3 to be educated and trained in the arts of warfare.
- Royal Weddings were grander affairs than we could ever imagine. It involved thousands of people/animals, and millions of rupees even back then.
The book is quite amusing, do read when you get the time. It offers a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors almost 150 years ago – during the British Raj. Here is the link to the book on Amazon.com
Below are some insights from another book written during the Mid 19th Century British India – Ramblings and Recollections of an Indian Official by W H Sleeman.
Interesting points.
Thanks SG.
Destination Infinity
Very interesting tidbits …
In many ways, society and practices have changed. But there are many places where women still cover their face and show it only to their husband or close relatives.
While the audio version is available, Amazon.com says they don’t ship this book to India, and on Amazon.in, it says the book is not available.
Yeah, I too noticed that. The LibreVox audio version is good and it’s free. This may be the best option for this book, for now.
Interesting facts and you well brought out here. Keep sharing
thnx jeevan 🙂
Destination Infinity
Those days inheritance rules were different. If there were no male heir, the deceased’s property would go to the deceased’s brothers, including cousin brothers, not his surviving widow or her daughters. That’s why no one wanted to die without leaving a male heir. And this was even more important if the person was rich.