Major-General Charles Stuart
Encyclopedia
Major-General Charles Stuart (c.
1758 – 31 March 1828) was an officer in the East India Company
Army and is well known for being one of the few British officers to embrace Hindu
culture while stationed there, earning the nickname Hindoo Stuart.
, and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet).
His nephews included the diplomat Major Robert Stuart and the naturalist and surgeon James Stuart, and his great-nephew was the clergyman and footballer Robert Stuart King
.
for India
, where he remained for the rest of his life, embracing the Hindu
culture and eventually earning his nickname. Starting as a cadet, he rose through the ranks to become a Major-General. His last command was over his own regiment the Saugor Field Force.
Major V. C. P. Hodson's biography of Stuart mentions that he "had studied the language, manners and customs of the natives of this country with so much enthusiasm, his intimacy with them ... obtained for him the name of Hindoo Stuart".
He is mentioned in William Dalrymple's book White Mughals
(2002). Stuart adopted several Hindu customs, including bathing in the Ganges at Calcutta every morning, amassing a collection of deities as well as Indian clothes. He even encouraged European ladies in India to adopt the sari
(through "frequent and vigorous" contributions to the daily Calcutta Telegraph in the year 1800) and Indian sepoys to wear full mustaches on parade. His commander-in-chief "ticked him off" due to his partiality towards sepoys sporting "Rajput
mustaches or brightly colored caste marks on their foreheads".
for farmers who desperately need new wagon wheels.
Archie Baron says, in his book An India Affair:
In his book Vindication of the Hindoos (1808), Stuart criticised the work of European missionaries in India, claiming that:
In this book he defends Hinduism from assaults by missionaries explaining:
Throughout this book Stuart warns of the dangers of the "obnoxious" missionaries and of attempts to convert Indians to Christianity
, a process he describes as "impolitic, inexpedient, dangerous, unwise and insane". He asks "if their religion is insulted what confidence can we repose in the fidelity of our Hindu soldiers?" presaging, it is said, some of the causes of the Mutiny of 1857.
doctrines as he held the Hindu
deity Krishna
to be the Spirit of God who descends upon earth for the benefit of mankind which he believed was "not very inconsistent with Christianity" and "he was content to be buried in an Anglican cemetery
, albeit along with his favourite idols".
Stuart died on 31 March 1828 and was buried with his idols at the South Park Street Cemetery
in Calcutta, in a tomb which took the form of a Hindu temple.
His collection of sculptures forms the basis of the British Museum
's Oriental collection, known as the Bridge Collection.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1758 – 31 March 1828) was an officer in the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
Army and is well known for being one of the few British officers to embrace Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
culture while stationed there, earning the nickname Hindoo Stuart.
Family
Stuart was allegedly the son of Thomas Smyth (eldest son of Charles Smyth (1694–1783), MP for LimerickLimerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet).
His nephews included the diplomat Major Robert Stuart and the naturalist and surgeon James Stuart, and his great-nephew was the clergyman and footballer Robert Stuart King
Robert King (footballer)
Canon Robert Stuart King was an English international footballer and Anglican clergyman.-Family:Robert Stuart King was born into a family of clergymen...
.
Life in India
In his teens, Stuart left IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where he remained for the rest of his life, embracing the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
culture and eventually earning his nickname. Starting as a cadet, he rose through the ranks to become a Major-General. His last command was over his own regiment the Saugor Field Force.
Major V. C. P. Hodson's biography of Stuart mentions that he "had studied the language, manners and customs of the natives of this country with so much enthusiasm, his intimacy with them ... obtained for him the name of Hindoo Stuart".
He is mentioned in William Dalrymple's book White Mughals
White Mughals
White Mughals is a 2002 history book by William Dalrymple.Its Dalrymple's fifth major book.-Summary:The book is a work of social history about the warm relations that existed between the British and some Indians in the 18th and early 19th century, when one in three British men in India was married...
(2002). Stuart adopted several Hindu customs, including bathing in the Ganges at Calcutta every morning, amassing a collection of deities as well as Indian clothes. He even encouraged European ladies in India to adopt the sari
Sari
A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...
(through "frequent and vigorous" contributions to the daily Calcutta Telegraph in the year 1800) and Indian sepoys to wear full mustaches on parade. His commander-in-chief "ticked him off" due to his partiality towards sepoys sporting "Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
mustaches or brightly colored caste marks on their foreheads".
Published works
He published his letters extolling the virtues of "elegant, simple, sensible, and sensual" Indian saris vis-a-vis "the prodigious structural engineering Europeon (sic) women strapped themselves into in order to hold their bellies in, project their breasts out and allow their dresses to balloon grandly up and over towards the floor" along with some replies by "outraged" white women in a "deliciously silly volume" entitled The Ladies Monitor, Being A Series of Letters First published in Bengal On the Subject of Female Apparel Tending to Favour a regulated adoption of Indian Costume And a rejection of Superfluous Vesture By the Ladies of this country With Incidental remarks on Hindoo Beauty, Whale-Bone Stays, Iron Busks, Indian Corsets, Man-Milliners, Idle Bachelors, Hair-Powder, Waiting Maids, And Footmen. Some of the reasons he cites for European women to give up iron busks are: Firstly wearing iron busks makes women highly susceptible to lighting strikes (exhorting them with sentences such as "This is no laughing matter ladies for I am absolutely serious"). Secondly by discarding iron busks from their wardrobes, European women would immensely enhance the supply of iron in BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
for farmers who desperately need new wagon wheels.
Archie Baron says, in his book An India Affair:
- "For all this lubriciousness, Stuart should not be regarded as some dirty old man or prototype sex tourist. It was far easier to break into Muslim society than the exclusive and mysterious world of brahminical Hinduism which makes 'Hindoo Stuart' a rarity even among White Moghuls.... His Hinduism was on open display to the whole of Calcutta. As far as one can tell, this does not seem to have set back his career."
In his book Vindication of the Hindoos (1808), Stuart criticised the work of European missionaries in India, claiming that:
- "HinduismHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
little needs the meliorating hand of ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to render its votaries a sufficiently correct and moral people for all the useful purposes of a civilized society."
In this book he defends Hinduism from assaults by missionaries explaining:
- "Wherever I look around me, in the vast ocean of Hindu mythology, I discover Piety....Morality...and as far as I can rely on my judgement, it appears the most complete and ample system of Moral Allegory that the world has ever produced."
Throughout this book Stuart warns of the dangers of the "obnoxious" missionaries and of attempts to convert Indians to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, a process he describes as "impolitic, inexpedient, dangerous, unwise and insane". He asks "if their religion is insulted what confidence can we repose in the fidelity of our Hindu soldiers?" presaging, it is said, some of the causes of the Mutiny of 1857.
Legacy
Though Stuart often spoke of his conversion to Hinduism he had not entirely rejected ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
doctrines as he held the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
deity Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
to be the Spirit of God who descends upon earth for the benefit of mankind which he believed was "not very inconsistent with Christianity" and "he was content to be buried in an Anglican cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, albeit along with his favourite idols".
Stuart died on 31 March 1828 and was buried with his idols at the South Park Street Cemetery
South Park Street Cemetery
South Park Street Cemetery is located on Mother Teresa Sarani, Kolkata, India. The road used to be called Park Street, and prior to that Burial Ground Road....
in Calcutta, in a tomb which took the form of a Hindu temple.
His collection of sculptures forms the basis of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
's Oriental collection, known as the Bridge Collection.
Further reading
- W. Dalrymple, White Mughals (2002)
- V. C. P. Hodson (Major), List of Officers of the Bengal Army, 1758-1834, Part IV (1947)
- Dictionary of National Biography - Stuart, Charles (Vol. 53, pp. 141–142)