THE 'MODERN' IN MODERN INDIAN HISTORY 31 they face or create for themselves. 80. Macaulay's 'filtration' theory presupposed a target group, which would, through education, imbibe the virtues of British civilisation, and pass on the same to others. But when such a group emerged it became an object of sneer. British liberalism and bureaucratic attitudes often ran on parallel lines, glancing at each other, but unable to meet. 81. The post-independence dialogue over India's road to independence has accommodated a rich variety of skepticism. The limitations of its class composition, socio-political goals, the locale of its operation are highlighted; the difference between what it claimed to be and what it really was is harped on. But the wizardry of it all is the way cynicism can do the vanishing trick on the phenomenon of nationalism itself. 82. The loyalist refrain in the early nationalist eloquence has been variously explained as pusillanimity, a strategy of stooping to conquer, or as the way of a comprador class. Often the admiration for the British rule was genuinely felt. Though its 'un-British' character was soon revealed, the dilemma of response was not easily resolved. 83. By 1858 the British had both pacified and emasculated the 'native rulers', the Delhi Durbar was designed not only to proclaim the glory of the empire in India but also to co-opt the 'native rulers' to the gravitational orbit of imperialism. They needed each other. For the British it was like collecting antiques; for the 'native rulers' it was a token compensation for the loss of their identity. 84. However, new India has no qualms about encashing the repudiated royalty as a symbol, nostalgia or as a dream. If a palace were not at hand to offer to the customers, even the name would do. It can be anything from aircrafts to auto-rickshaws and bars to barber's shops. 85. Bipan Chandra, Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India (New Delhi, 1966). 86. Ibid. Also his 'Colonialism and Modernization' (Presidential Address, Modern India Section, Indian History Congress, 1970). 87. Nehru's economic ideas lend themselves to a profound sense of betrayal. The capitalists feared his socialist rhetoric and the socialists, his capitalist postures. 88. Percival Spear, op. cit., pp. 214-216. 89. Nehru's tete-a-tete with history is well known. Sometimes his fascination for history is compared with Churchill's. While their fondness for history was real, their attitudes were different. Nehru conversed with history; Churchill explored it. 90. The Saidian idea of 'Orientalism' has been very productive, not withstanding the problems it raises. The construction of the Orient was a project of its inferiorisation. It was also a way of subjugation. 91. O. Mannoni, Prospero and Caliban: the Psychology of Colonization (New York, 1956). 92. The 'imperialism of medicine' has been explained at length by scholars like David Arnold, Poonam Bala, Mark Harrison, D.R. Headrick, I.D. Illich, K.N. Panikkar, Anil Kumar, R. Ramasubban and others. It was a powerful moral stance of a colonial power insisting on doing good to the conquered people of its own terms. 93. Science as a lever of colonisation has also been studied by scholars like Deepak