Impact of British rule on Gujarati Literature has been rather immense. In fact, it is a well-known fact that the arrival of the British in India marked the beginning of far-reaching political, economic, social, and cultural changes all over India, and this includes Gujarat. There was seen the introduction of a newer education system which was accessible to wider sections of the population and this gave a boost to the native language known as the vernaculars. The Christian missionaries played a rather crucial role in propagating education among the people. However, in Gujarat, the missionaries could mostly influence the deprived and exploited sections of society. With the spread of English education, the educated sections in Gujarat became acquainted and fascinated by English literature and social and political thought of the West. A reaffirmation of Hindu culture took place simultaneously.
These new trends in the socio-cultural scenario led to the opening of new schools and establishment of institutions like the Royal Asiatic Society,Mumbai, the Elphinstone School and the Elphinstone Institute of Mumbai (1835), Gujarat Vernacular Society (1844), which later became the Gujarat Vidya Sabha, the Buddhivardhak Sabha, Mumbai (1851), and Manavdharma Sabha, Surat (1844). This brought social, religious, and cultural regeneration, with unmistakable impact on Gujarati literature. With the establishment of the University of Mumbai (1857), people with university education became interested in English literature and culture. Some of them felt inspired to try new literary forms in Gujarati and to translate and adapt some literary works from English.
The coming of printing presses and newspapers like the Mumabai Samachar Weekly, later daily (1822), Amadavad Varatman (1849) of the Gujarat Vernacular Society, Amadavad Samachar Weekly (1860), Gujarat Mitra, Surat (1863), and so on, promoted literary activities. More books were written, published, and serialized. Periodicals like the Buddhiprakash and Gujarat Shalapatra, provided further impetus. With more and more libraries opening up, popular interest in literature steadily grew.
Thus the impact of British rule was felt quite prominently in the Gujarati socio-political and cultural sphere which impacted all aspects of life including literary work. Not only was there a revival of the vernacular language but also an increased interest in the literature of the West which was translated and adapted to the Indian scenario.
