Tuesday, June 05, 2018

History of Constitution of India: Charter Acts and Company Rule in India 1773-1858





The book is free to download until 8 June 2018.


The book is written by Sumir Sharma to fulfil the requirements of the students of the Post Graduate course in History of Punjab University. It meets the need of the Paper HIS 213: Constitutional Development in Modern India 1773 – 1947 Unit I and Paper HIS 211: Modern India Political Process, Unit III.


The content of the book is also relevant to the students of Indian Polity and Indian Constitution pursuing the course of Post Graduate in Political Science. It is also suitable for the students of Law course.


The content of the book is equally relevant to General Studies Main paper II. The content provides material for the first section which reads, “Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution …”
The book is also relevant for undergraduate classes honours course.


It has eight chapters and two Appendix. They are as follows.
Chapter 1: The Brief History of the East India Company.
Chapter 2: The Regulating Act, 1773
Chapter 3: Pitt’s India Act, 1784
Chapter 4: Charter Act, 1793
Chapter 5: Charter Act, 1813
Chapter 6: Charter Act, 1833
Chapter 7: Charter Act, 1853
Chapter 8: Act of Better Government of India 1858


There are two Appendix. In Appendix I, there is an essay on the sources which are used for writing the contents of this book. In Appendix II, the suggestions are provided to make the book more interactive.


The book is developed as a textbook. It is written in a narrative style. On every topic, the content is written in point format. For the point format, it is meant that every paragraph explains its main heading. The paragraph is given a title or a number. It helps in writing the answers in the examination. The purpose is that the readers and the students can quickly develop an answer to any question on the topics explained in the book.


The book explains the Charter Acts as the historical background of the History of the Constitution of India. It is evident that my next volume will be on the legislation during the Crown rule in India. I will soon publish the relevant next volume. I am presently working on that volume.
To make this book interactive, I am going to reproduce some of part of this book on my blog at undergraduatehistory.blogspot.in. I will attend to their queries related to the content of the book. I am ready to provide pdf copies of individual chapters to any reader free of cost who may require it for printing purpose. The relevant instructions are given in Appendix II.


I will also write the Hindi version of this volume and release it in June 2018. The free download of that book will also be made available for five days. Keep in touch. To remain updated, subscribe to this blog. Check for subscription in the sidebar.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Rubik Puzzle of Thought

          The Thought, the Space and the Time are abstract but true. The Real is a mirage. The Real is confined by Time, Space and Thought.

       The Real and the True are not same.

        Now there is an issue. What is the benefit of learning the ultimate truth? If you know it and possess it, then you become ultimate. Do you want it to rule over others? God is ultimate. He rules. Now you want to enact him. Is that the true definition and nature of God?

       The Real is as true as the ultimate truth is.

      Now the paradigm changes.

     There is Space, Time and Thought. Now in changed paradigm the Real pervades. The Real is offshoot of the trinity. But it gets the precedence.

    You need power, money and dominance. But they are not permanent. The change sets in.

The change is the true nature of the Trinity. They are abstract but they change. The change here is not the factor of time and space. Yes.

Does the above observation resolve any of my problem? No.

Any further elaboration on above observations may be a play in verbosity. The cauldron of words arranged grammatically may impart some enjoyment and nothing more. It will be merely an entertainment.

There is a need for substantial act and gain. In ultimate analysis it demands power to effect profitable and fruitful changes. Time, Space, Thought and the Reality are mere smudges of ink on pages. It does not resolve anything in the Real.

For some days, after writing above lines, the relation between four identities that are Thought, Time, Space and Reality continue to reverberate my mind. I did not want to write it but it is giving me sense of such mechanisms that the possibility of 'fruitful and profitable' is seen achievable. On the third or fourth reading, I found that I had enunciated a principle of change pervading all the four.

However, the idea started with the trinity. I remember that while writing the original thought I had first given importance to Thought. In the written piece, I betrayed the perception that all that had been written, is useless. Even the thought was not accepted as ultimate.

Now the actual thought which had made me to write this has made me to continue to write it.

The Time and the Space are mere creation of the Thought. There are many scholars and philosophers and industrial and commercially viable and established faculties, which have worked and thought upon time. Mathematics may define both of them in established terms and may declare an end to the debate. Similarly Physicists may also have their version and command the right over the debate. However, I am exercising the idea of freedom. I do not want research it. I want to reason it out. I want to use the a posteriori approach. I accept that I may get better picture and clarity if I review the existing literature. However, as a process, it is commendable, desirable and practical. But, I find it a fashion,a fad, a hindrance. I want to reveal, whatsoever, I perceive. I can not declare that it is original. I am of the inference that all the knowledge is a discovery. It can not be produced and invented. You merely discover it. All innovations are discoveries.

Straight to the Point:

Time has a dimension. Your are on a tread mill. You want to clock 15 minutes. Your body is refusing to persist and continue. You find that machine clock is running slow. You touch 13 minutes. Now 120 seconds are left. The count continues slowly. You have to run merely for next two minutes. However those 2 minutes, those 120 seconds and sometimes the last five seconds are such, you feel as if they would never end. You get the perception of two minutes. You know that how long it is. However, in day to day life, you waste such a chunk of time doing nothing. You wait for numerous things in as many set of minutes. Suddenly you realise that you are living time. But what actually is this time? The Physicists talk about nano seconds. They talk about the one thousand part of a second. The common stop watch clocks 1/100 part of a second. The physicist can tell that how much that time matters. They can demonstrate that time quantity is highly crucial. But what is it? You merely compare a thing with something and suddenly learn that there is a dimension in that comparison and that it time.

On the other hand astronomers measure time in light years. I do not understand the complete implication for my thought process. For me, a light year is basically used for measuring the distance. No doubt, it is a measure and quantity of time. Therefore, it gives an idea of quantity. Similarly a person generally lives for 80 years. He struggles to resolve confusion. He struggles to seek answers to the questions which defy answers. He passes away but the same set of question remain. The answers are sought and acquired but the question remains. The question is , what the time is? But this query comes in thought. A person passes away but the thought remains.

So, time can be light years and nano second. A person experiences it. However, what is it? The person never knows. It remains in thought. The Physicist, Astronomer and Mathematician may have their construct and the stop with that. They continue to show and demonstrate. But they know that they do not know. They do not know what the time is.

A person can not be at two places at the same time. In teleconference, this proposition is dismantled. But if the real nature of the time can be captured, a person can be at multiple places at the same time. For a quantity of nano seconds, he may be at a place A and for another set, he can be at a place B and for other at C and so on. In this way he can be at number of places in a given time. It is like fire. It can be here and it can be there. It is a phenomena but is the actual fire can be at the number of places at the same time? That is the question. Similarly, the time is a perception held and felt in thought.


(to be continued)

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Admiring Triambak

Triambak has a peculiar way of showing his admiration for a new thing. He does not exult in loud manner. First, there is a quite expression. Then a smile appears. He does not speak any word in admiration. If he is asked then he nods and keeps watching the thing for a while. He usually comes with fascinating questions.


Here I was lucky to capture his expressions when I clicked him on my laptop after I had installed the in-built camera software.

The first Expression on Triambak on watching the working of the in built camera on the laptop.


The smile which usually comes on the face of Triambak when he approves it.


The admiring smile persists if Triambak approves it.

New Cartoon by Triambak

New Cartoon by Triambak

This is what Triambak has made after the episode of cartoon making by Triambak. This is what I have found made on the sheet where I had seen his earlier a cartoon made before me. He has not coloured it at all.
However, there is complete proportion in making the figure.

Car by Triambak

Car by Triambak

The boy is crazy about cars also. He does not like the shape of Santro, a model by Hundai. He also does not like the shape of Wagon R, a model by Suzuki. Indica by Tata Motors does not attract him.

He says that when he will have a big house, he will keep good cars. He wants a big house because he wants large number of cars. For him good cars are Corolla by Toyota and Mercedes Ben. He also likes Honda car. But here he has drawn an insipid picture of a car. However, he has coloured it well and there is sense of proportion also.

Episode of Cartoon Making by Triambak



I had left my computer running. When I returned to my table, I found Triambak sitting on the chair and playing with the mouse. He did not even looked at me when I entered the room. I glanced at the monitor. I found that he made two concentric squares with nicely tapered corners. It was definitely a new thing for me. I did not disturb him. I occupied another sitter where I usually read. There was some pending work which I was doing earlier. I continued with that work after occupying the sitter. Just after sometime, I raised my head and again looked at the monitor. The squares had gone. I asked Triambak about the squares he was drawing. He told that he was not satisfied with his graphics therefore, he erased it. I just said in a lamenting voice that if he had saved them, then I would have posted it on the net.

At that time, he was using ink option of the Paint Brush. He was just making a spray of different colours on the sheet. There were no lines or figures on the sheet. It was mere dotted splashes in different colours. I gave a considerate look at his activity. Within short time, Triambak pressed the eraser option of the Paint Brush and started removing the splashes of the colour. At that movement I ventured to suggest him another option. I showed him ‘clear image’ option on ‘View’ on the tool bar. He just hummed but again preferred to use eraser. I did not insist and directed my attention to my own work.

After some time, I again raised by eyes and looked at the monitor. He had drawn an oval. While I was watching, he drew two perfect circles on the upper side of the oval. I guessed in this manner he would make a frog or something like that. Then he placed a circle right within center of one of the circle. It became clear that he was going to make a figure of a man or a frog. It was what going on in my thoughts. I kept watching. He drew another circle within the second circle. It was not perfectly placed within the circle. They boy showed some expression of exasperation and activated the option of eraser. Now I jumped into his activity. I stopped him. I looked at me with some confused expression. I told him to save the sheet first. Suddenly a gleaming grin returned to his face. He turned his head to monitor, went into the file option in the tool bar and clicked the ‘Save’ option. When the sheet of ‘Save’ option opened, I asked him about the name which he was going to give to the sheet.


"Cartoon", he said.


Then he spoke, "Papa, Spellings".


I said, "Caaar and tooone. Toooone is t o o n."


The boy typed the right word and saved it. I asked that why he was going to erase it. He said that he was not satisfied with the second eye. Now I was satisfied that the sheet was saved.

The boy afterwards continued with the job. He again picked the eraser and rubbed off the second eye. Then he again placed a circle within the circle. The picture, which emerged, had started making a sense. I was satisfied and directed my attention to my activity. He suddenly asked me to look at the figure. He had made a cute nose and a fascinating mouth. Now I was fully attracted towards his creation. He started colouring it. He picked a colour for the face. Then he tried to colour his eyes. On the colour panel, there were lesser numbers of shades. I ventured to give him some tips. I showed him how he can find more colours. I used the edit colour option from the tool bar. He picked some colours. After that, he framed the colours of the eyes and placed some straight horizontal lines below the eyes. There was now a weeping cartoon. The picture had really turned up as a good artistic creation. He coloured half of the eyes below in blue colour and rest of it as red. It was really an attractive picture. He then tried to make arms. He was not satisfied with the form. He rubbed it off. He then made the legs. He wanted to rub them off. I stopped him from doing that. He retained the legs and then coloured it. The whole picture had developed into a very attractive work. He then shyly said that he could open the edit colour option by directly double clicking the colour panel. I felt humbled. The boy knew how to edit colours. But when I had tried to show him, he just listened and allowed me to demonstrate. There, he was telling me about the alternative of editing the colours. Well, he is a smart guy.

I asked him to save the work and requested him to let me work on the computer. I told him that I would soon upload it. He left. I saved the cartoon but did not convert it into a jpg file.

We had to visit Ludhiana. Therefore, after finishing my job on the computer, I left the room planning that I would post his cartoon after returning from Ludhiana. However, I did not get time to log on to Internet after returning from Ludhiana. In the morning today, I started writing this detail of making cartoon by Triambak. I started writing the above material. In between I thought to look at the cartoon once more. I opened the file. There was no cartoon.

The boy had sat at computer in my absence. He had made another cartoon. He had demolished the previous cartoon. It was a great loss, as I understand. He has drawn another cartoon but that is not all that attractive. Alas, I could not show what he had actually made.

It is difficult to understand the mind of a child. You may think that he likes a thing in particular way. But you are wrong. The young ones have their own mind and liking. You may not understand it. However, now I have decided that I will save jpg files of his work. Earlier I had been deleting his work. Now he himself has deleted it. It was really a good work but it is now lost.

Second Hut By Triambak

Second Hut By Triambak
The boy is really crazy about having his own BIG house. However, he makes the traditional pictures. With Blocks, he sometimes really makes fascinating models. I am not going to suggest him to copy his Block Models on Paint Brush. I am waiting that he may get the idea on his own. On the other hand, he does not like his first hut. He has asked me to delet (Dismantle it) it.

Inlaid Squares By Triambak

Inlaid Squares by Triambak

Well the boy feels really encouraged. He keeps an eye on me. He is always in watch out for when I am out my room. Movement, I come out, he asks innocently, "Papa May I sit at computer".

He is also coming out with his secrets. He says that he had seen his friend Kartick making the chequered squares.

Similarly, in case of the Design, it was taught to him by his Madam, Ms. Navroop Kaur. He emphasized that the bubble forms, which was made on my suggestion was his own idea. He called them flowers. I suggested that to me they looked like clouds. He consented to my view.

In case of the star, he revealed his source of inspiration. He apprised me that he had virtually copied the star from one of his book.

Squares by Triambak

Squares by Triambak
The boy has strong likes and dislikes.

Earlier he made a design full of circles. He was making it nicely. I left him on his own. He came to me to help him save his document. But when I reached the monitor, I found the above drawn chequered design. I enquired about the earlier designs. He showed his dissatisfaction with his earlier design and apprised me that he had deleted the earlier one. Then he asked me the spellings of 'squares' so that he could save the design. It is now displayed above.

Star by Triambak

Star by Triambak


Today Triambak sought permission to use the computer. I was reading newspaper so I permitted him.

I checked the My Document and found this new file in the folder. The boy himself has saved the file and named it. So, he was right that he knew how to save. This time he has given a file name also.