Percival Spear

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(Thomas George) Percival Spear (born November 2, 1901 in Bath , † December 16, 1982 in Cambridge ) was an English historian who devoted himself to the research and presentation of the history of India .

Life

Studied and worked in India

After studying history and theology at Cambridge, Spear went to India in 1924 , where he taught on behalf of the Cambridge Mission to Delhi , an institution of the Anglican Church , at their institute, St Stephen's College . The institution, founded in 1881 and funded from Cambridge, had a focus on social reform from the start and was under the direction of a local from an early age ( Susil Kumar Rudra 1861–1925, principal from 1906 to 1923). The college supported Mahatma Gandhi's movement, promoted Rabindranath Tagore and, later, the efforts for Indian independence .

Dissertation, marriage and research activity

Spear taught not only English and European, but increasingly also Indian history, where he was initially interested in the social life of the British in British India in the 18th century. His doctoral thesis from 1931 dealt with the social phenomenon of the nabobs , the nouveau riche who caused a sensation in India and England with their steep social careers and their openly displayed wealth.

Since 1933 Spear was - childless - married to the librarian Margaret Perkins, with whom he also published his memories of the years in Delhi. His knowledge of the Hindu-Muslim capital was reflected in guides through historical Delhi, which are considered classic and are still available today in an expanded or revised form.

Second World War

During the Second World War , Spear, like his wife, was subordinate to the Ministry of Information and was responsible for counter-propaganda in the press and radio, since 1943 as Deputy Secretary (assistant secretary); in the Legislative Assembly in 1944 he served as a government representative . During this time Spear, although initially skeptical , got to know and appreciate the effective work of the Indian Civil Service (ICS), the British-Indian civil administration. For his work he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Return to England

After his return to Cambridge in 1945, Spear dedicated a book to the Indian uprising of 1857 ( Twilight on the Mughul , 1951), in which, in addition to describing the processes and the environment, he also addressed the question of the legal admissibility of the deposition of the last Great Mogul, Bahadur Shah II. Posed.

In 1958, Spear was responsible for the new version of the third part of the Oxford History of India , a standard work on Indian history that was published as a separate volume in 1965. In contrast to Vincent A. Smith (1848–1920), the editor of the two preliminary editions of 1919 and 1923, Spear placed value on the social background of the events and reassessed the Indian independence movement in view of the changed circumstances.

Until 1969 Spear took on tasks as a lecturer in history; Until his death he worked as a scientific advisor and examiner and, as an author and editor of works on Indian history, he devoted himself to the dissemination of knowledge about the subcontinent.

Anecdotal

Spear was considered witty and agile and - once asked about the subject of "Delhi" - there was hardly any stopping him.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The St.Stephens College was from the beginning of the 1922 founded University of Delhi
  2. ↑ India remembered , 1981. - Compare also the simultaneous recollections of the art historians Mildred and William G. ("Bill") Archer India served and observed (1994) and the Urdu specialist Ralph Russell Findings, keepings (2001), Losses, gains (2010 posthumously).
  3. ^ Delhi. To Historical Sketch , 1937 and 1945; Delhi. Its Monuments and History , 1943 and 1945, 1995, 2009; The Delhi Omnibus , 2002 and 2004
  4. ↑ See Spears foreword to the 1958 edition, SV
  5. ↑ Ballhatchet, Spear . In ODNB p. 760.

Fonts (selection)

  • Twilight on the Mughul , 1951
  • Delhi. An Historical Sketch , 1937, reprinted 1945
  • The Oxford History of India, 1740-1947 , 1958
  • A History of India, Volume 2: From the sixteenth century to the twentieth cenutry , Penguin, 1965, 1990
  • The Oxford History of Modern India , 1965, reprinted 1990 - separate edition of the '' Oxford History of India '' from 1958
  • Delhi. Its Monuments and History , 1943 and 1945, 1995, 2009;
  • Master of Bengal: Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive and his India , 1975
  • India remembered , 1981 (together with his wife Margaret) - memories of the years in Delhi
  • Ghalib 's Delhi . In: Ralph Russell (ed.): The Oxford India Ghalib. Life, Letters and Ghazals . New Delhi: OUP 2003. pp. 262-279

literature

personal data
SURNAME Spear, Percival
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spear, Thomas George Percival (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English historian
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Bath
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1982
Place of death Cambridge