In his 'History of British India' (1817), the Scottish writer James Mill divided Indian history into which three periods?

In his three-volume work "The History of British India" (1817), the Scottish economist and philosopher James Mill divided Indian history into three periods: Hindu, Muslim and British.

James Mill's view:

• Mill had never visited India, and did not know any Indian language; he wrote the book from British records and accounts.
• He believed that all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilisation than Europe.
• He held that before the British came, India was ruled by Hindu and Muslim despots, and that religious intolerance, caste and superstition dominated social life.
• He believed that British rule could civilise India, and that it was necessary to introduce European manners, arts, institutions and laws.
• He supported the utilitarian ideas of Jeremy Bentham.
• He worked as an official of the East India Company in London, and his book became a textbook for officers of the Company.

NCERT on James Mill's periodisation:

• NCERT notes that in 1817, James Mill published "A History of British India" in which he divided Indian history into three periods: Hindu, Muslim and British.
• NCERT notes that this periodisation was based on the idea that the religion of the rulers was the only important historical change, and that other aspects of the economy and society were ignored.

Criticism of the periodisation:

• It treated Hindus and Muslims as separate, unchanging communities, and ignored the many changes within each period.
• It suggested that Indian history was determined only by the religion of the rulers.
• It contributed to the idea of a communal division of Indian history.

Alternative periodisation:

Many historians later divided Indian history into ancient, medieval and modern periods, though this too follows the pattern of European history.

About James Mill:

• He was born on 6 April 1773 in Scotland.
• He was the father of the philosopher John Stuart Mill.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Ancient, medieval and modern is a later periodisation; the other two are not Mill's divisions.