What is British India?
The period in which India was under the control of the British is referred to as the British raj. The British rule in India was from 1858 to 1947. For about two hundred years the British ruled India. At the end of British rule in India, the Indian subcontinent was divided into two dominant states namely, India and Pakistan. To manage the entire Indian subcontinent, the British raj set up the British East India Company. At that time, Indians started having general distrust and dissatisfaction with the company leadership.
As a result, in 1857, the mutiny of sepoy troops spread across the Indian subcontinent. This revolt made British India restructure and reconsider its governance in India. Later, British India established its power throughout the subcontinent. This article will give the complete history of British India with the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and the actions of the British against the Mutiny in detail.
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History Of British India
In ancient days, Europeans mainly concentrated on India for making the trade. Likewise, the British also entered India to make the trade. The long distance between India and European countries gave them potential obstacles and obfuscations from middlemen. Also, they started feeling that trade making was unsafe, unreliable, and expensive. The popular trade route, the Silk Road was also blocked, when the Mongol empire collapsed and the Ottoman Empire rose. This action made the Portuguese and other Europeans explore maritime navigation routes. To simplify the trade market in India, European countries started setting up their trade company in India and establishing their territories.
Likewise, British India established the East India Company with the proper permission from local authorities to own land and to fortify its holdings. Also, they conducted duty-free trade for maintaining mutual relationships between India. Meanwhile, the British raj became a supreme power in its territory, as they were involved in hostilities, sidelining rival European companies. In 1757, British rule in India started overthrowing the Nawab of Bengal and installed puppet rulers in their territories. In the 1770s, the entire Bengal came under the control of British rule and Warren Hastings overviewed the nawab’s administrative offices to Calcutta (now Kolkata).
The British parliament began to regulate the East India Company of the British raj. They started creating India Acts and indirectly brought Bengal under the control of the British government. British Rule involved in various wars, treaties and annexations for extending their company across the Indian subcontinent. Meanwhile, they captured most parts of India and appointed governors and merchants to control it.
Later, the British government started imposing direct rules in India and increased its participation in Indian governance. This action decreased the power of Indians and triggered Indians to become involved in the adamant national independence movement and to fight against the British.
The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857
In late March 1857, an Indian soldier from the East India Company named Mangal Pandey attacked British officers at the military garrison in Barrackpore. In early April, British rulers found him and arrested him. In April, the sepoy troopers at Meerut heard rumours about the cartridges, which is the grease of cartilages made up of pigs and cows. As the Indian Hindus believed cows as gods and Muslims believed pigs as ugly animals. They refused to fill cartridges. But British rulers forced them and gave them long prison terms, fettered, and put them in jail. This created a huge conflict among the Indians and British India. This became the great reason for the initiation of the 1857 Revolt. On the 10th of May, the Sepoy targeted the British officers and marched to Delhi as no European troops were found.
Meanwhile, the local sepoy garrison joined with Meerut men. The tumultuous soldiery made the British government fall overnight and nominated Mughal emperor Bahādur Shah II to power. The capture of Delhi attracted the focus of northern Indians and set the whole mutiny pattern. Likewise, the Mughal emperor and his sons and Nana Sahib adopted the deposed Maratha Peshwa. On 08th July 1859, the Sepoy Mutiny came to an end.
Impact of the Sepoy Mutiny
The Sepoy mutiny acquired the concentration of the British and made them clean the Indian administration. Then, the East India Company abolished all flavours of India and brought the whole Indian subcontinent to the direct rule of the British government. They introduced a more personal note into the government. Also, the British government removed the unimaginative commercialism, which delayed the court of directors. The sepoy mutiny created the financial crisis to reorganize the Indian administration in a modern way. They also reorganized the Indian army in an extensive way.
The British government also began the policy of consultation with Indians as the result of mutiny. In 1853, the British government created the legislative council, which contained only Europeans and behaved as a full-fledged parliament. So, this created a huge communication gap between the Indians and the British government. In 1861, the new council was created to nominate the Indians. British raj also created a little interruption in the educational and public works programs in roads, railways, telegraphs and irrigation. All these public works helped the troops' transportation. Also, the British raj imposed many social measures, which affected Hindu society.
Also, Indians started facing many other effects of the mutiny. Indians also started a protest against the incoming alien influences in the traditional society. British raj also started to break the structure of traditional structure and imposed the Westernized class system. Meanwhile, these helped to strengthen the middle class of Indian nationalism.
This article described the complete information about the history of the British raj and sepoy mutiny and its impacts in detail
FAQs on British Raj
1. What was the British Raj and for how long did it last in India?
The British Raj refers to the period of direct rule by the British Crown over the Indian subcontinent. This period officially began in 1858, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and ended on August 15, 1947, with India's independence. While direct Crown rule lasted for 89 years, the British presence and control, established by the East India Company, began much earlier in the mid-18th century, making the total period of British dominance approximately 200 years.
2. What is the main difference between the rule of the East India Company and the British Raj?
The main difference lies in the governing authority. The East India Company's rule (c. 1757–1858) was a form of corporate colonialism where a commercial entity governed vast territories, primarily for profit. In contrast, the British Raj (1858–1947) was direct sovereign rule by the British government, with a Viceroy appointed by and accountable to the British Parliament. The transition occurred because the Indian Rebellion of 1857 proved the Company was incapable of managing the territory, prompting the Crown to assume direct control.
3. Who is considered the founder of British power in India?
Robert Clive is widely regarded as the key figure who laid the foundation for British power in India. His victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 was a pivotal moment that transformed the British East India Company from a trading body into a dominant political force. While the company itself was established much earlier for trade, Clive's military and strategic successes secured the political groundwork for future British expansion.
4. How was the vast territory of the British Raj administered?
The administration of the British Raj was complex and hierarchical. Key components included:
- The Viceroy: The highest-ranking official in India, who acted as the representative of the British monarch.
- The Indian Civil Service (ICS): Known as the 'steel frame' of the administration, this elite corps of officials managed various government departments and districts.
- Division of Territories: The Raj was divided into 'British India', which consisted of provinces directly governed by the British, and the 'Princely States', which were indirectly ruled by local monarchs who had accepted British suzerainty.
5. What were the major economic impacts of the British Raj on the Indian economy?
The British Raj had profound and often detrimental economic impacts. A primary consequence was the 'drain of wealth', where resources and capital were transferred from India to Britain. Other significant impacts include the de-industrialisation of traditional sectors like textiles due to competition from British manufactured goods, the imposition of high land-revenue demands, and the commercialisation of agriculture which prioritized cash crops for export over food crops for local consumption, often contributing to famines.
6. Why did the British government take over from the East India Company in 1858?
The single most important reason was the Indian Rebellion of 1857. This large-scale uprising exposed the severe administrative and military failings of the East India Company and the widespread discontent its policies had caused. The British government concluded that the Company's rule was no longer tenable and a source of instability. To secure its valuable colony, the British Crown abolished the Company's ruling powers through the Government of India Act 1858 and established direct control.
7. How did the British policy of 'Divide and Rule' function in India?
The policy of 'Divide and Rule' was a strategy to maintain control by exploiting and exacerbating existing social, religious, and political divisions within Indian society. The British implemented this by:
- Creating separate electorates for different religious communities, most notably through the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909, which sowed the seeds of political division.
- Favouring certain communities or princely states over others with administrative posts or titles to create loyal groups and prevent a unified opposition.
- Using census data to categorise and solidify caste and religious identities, making them more rigid and politically significant.
8. What were some important social reforms introduced during the British Raj?
Despite its exploitative nature, the British Raj did introduce several significant social reforms, often driven by Indian reformers. Key examples include:
- The abolition of Sati in 1829, which prohibited the practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband's pyre.
- The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856, which legalised the remarriage of Hindu widows.
- Efforts to suppress female infanticide and thugee (ritualised robbery and murder).
- The establishment of a uniform legal code and modern educational institutions.
9. How did the British Raj finally come to an end?
The end of the British Raj on August 15, 1947, was the culmination of several factors. The most crucial was the decades-long Indian independence movement, led by figures like Mahatma Gandhi, which employed methods of non-violent civil disobedience. Additionally, Great Britain was severely weakened economically and militarily after World War II, making it difficult to maintain its vast empire. Finally, growing international pressure, particularly from the USA, favoured decolonisation, leading the British to negotiate the transfer of power, which resulted in the partition of the subcontinent and the creation of India and Pakistan.
