British Empire in India - Himanshu

8/4/2019 British Empire in India - Himanshu

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BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA

The first signature of the British Empire in India came in the form of the British East India Company.

British investors staked into the so far alien landscape of the Indian subcontinent in search of

prospective opportunities that would provide ample profits. What at first seemed to be a simple

business transaction between two countries in course of time led to the subjugation or annexation of

territories in which spices, cotton, and opium were cultivated. Many Indian associates, such as the

bankers and merchants under whose supervision laid the intricate credit networks, supported this

rampant British infiltration into the Indian economy.

The British Empire would never have been able to make a mark on Indian ground had it not been for

their Indian counterparts who provided connections between the rural and the urban centers. Outsidethreats, such as the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815) and the Russian extension towards Afghanistan (in

the 1830s), coupled with the desire for inner stability, led to the occupation of more and more territory

in India. At first, political forecasters in Britain expressed some concerns over the costs and the

advantages of waging wars in India, but by the 1810s, as the territorial enhancement ultimately yielded

positive results, the crown in London welcomed the assimilation of new areas.

The British Empire soon stopped thinking about its own enmity with the Portuguese and the French and

allowed them to settle in their maritime enclaves, which they retained even after India got her

independence in 1947. The British continued to expand their territories with over brimming enthusiasm.

A large number of belligerent governor-generals started persistent campaigns against several Hindu and

Muslim rulers. Amongst them were Richard Colley Wellesley (1798-1805), William Pitt Amherst (1823-

28), George Eden (1836-42), Edward Law (1842-44), and James Andrew Brown Ramsay (1848-56; better

known as the Marquess of Dalhousie). In spite of frantic efforts by many Hindu and Muslim rulers to re-

establish their power and keep away the British, many of them (like Mysore, the Maratha Confederacy

and Punjab) lost their territories.

The British tremendously succeeded not only because of their supremacy in strategies and weapons but

also due to their skillful diplomatic relations with Indian rulers through the "subsidiary alliance" system,

introduced in the early nineteenth century. Many rulers traded away their genuine responsibilities by

approving to advocate British dominion in India. In the meantime, they held on to an illusory sovereignty

under the gloss of Pax Britannica.


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Later on, Lord Dalhousie introduced the "doctrine of lapse" and took ready possession of the domains of

the deceased princes of Satara (1848), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Tanjore (1853), Nagpur (1854), and

Oudh (1856). The Europeans, especially the British Empire increasingly began to view India`s past

achievements and glory more with an eye of sweeping condemnation than with the eye of unequivocal

appreciation. Instilled with an ethnocentric sense of supremacy, the British intellectuals, including

Christian missionaries, headed a movement that sought to bring a large portion of the Western

intellectual and technological innovations to the Indians. Many opined that Europe had taken upon itself

the task of civilizing India and holding it as a trust until Indians proved themselves skilled enough for

autonomous rule.

The Parliament of the British Empire ratified a series of laws, among which the Regulating Act of 1773

comes first. It restrained the company traders` uninhibited commercial activities and endeavored to

bring about some order in the territories under the control of the British East India Company.

Restraining the company license to periods of twenty years, subject to appraisal upon renewal, the 1773

act gave the British government managerial rights over the Bengal, Bombay, and Madras presidencies.

Bengal was given supremacy over the rest of the provinces because of its massive commercial vivacity.

Moreover, Bengal was the seat of the British power in India (at Calcutta, now known as Kolkata), whose

governor was raised to the new position of governor general. Warren Hastings was the first to hold

office as the governor general (1773-85).

The India Act of 1784 is occasionally described as the "half-loaf system" because it sought to intervene

between Parliament and the company directors. This act enhanced the authority of the parliament by

establishing the Board of Control, whose members were elected from the cabinet. The Charter Act of1813 acknowledged British moral liability by introducing just and humanitarian laws in India, portending

future social legislative measures, and banning a number of conventional practices such as sati and thagi

(or thugee, robbery coupled with ritual murder).

As governor general from 1786 to 1793, Charles Cornwallis (the Marquis of Cornwallis) made the

company`s administration more professional, more bureaucratic, and more Europeanized. He also

barred private trade by company employees, made a distinction between the commercial and

administrative functions, and payed the company servants with generous graduated salaries. Since

revenue collection became the company`s most crucial managerial function, Cornwallis made a contract

with Bengali zamindars, which were regarded as the Indian counterparts to the British landed gentry.

The Permanent Settlement system, also known as the zamindari system, fixed taxes for a perpetual time

in return for ownership of large estates.

However, the state was debarred from agricultural expansion, which came under the rule of the

zamindars. In Madras and Bombay, however, the ryotwari (peasant) settlement system was set in


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practice, in which peasant cultivators had to pay yearly taxes directly to the government. Neither the

zamindari nor the ryotwari system proved effective in the long run because India was transformed into

an international economic and pricing system over which it had no control, while the number of people

relying on agriculture due to lack of other employment gradually increased. Millions of people

concerned with the greatly taxed Indian textile industry also lost their markets, as they were not capable

of competing profitably with cheaper textiles produced in Lancashire`s mills from Indian raw materials.

The British Empire gradually began to proliferate in India. With the establishment of the Mayor`s Court

in 1727 for civil proceedings in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, internal justice came under the

company`s jurisdiction. In 1772 an intricate judicial system, known as adalat, launched civil and criminal

jurisdictions along with a composite set of codes or rules of procedure and verification. Hindu pandits as

well as Muslim qazis were recruited to aid the presiding judges in deducing their customary laws, but in

other cases, British common and statutory laws became applicable.

The 1850s bore testimony to the introduction of the three "engines of social improvement" that

heightened the chances of the British Empire`s permanence in India. These included the railroads, the

telegraph, and the uniform postal service, launched during the period in office of Dalhousie as governor

general. The first railroad lines were constructed in 1850 from Howrah (Haora, across the Hughli River

from Calcutta) inland to the coalfields at Raniganj, Bihar, and a distance of 240 kilometers.

In 1851 the initial electric telegraph line was placed in Bengal and soon linked Agra, Bombay, Calcutta,

Lahore, Varanasi, and other cities. The three different provincial postal systems amalgamated in 1854 to

aid uniform methods of communication at an all-India basis. The uniform postal rates for letters and

newspapers enhanced communication between the rural and the metropolitan areas. This along with

the opening of highways and waterways hastened the movement of troops, the transportation of raw

materials and goods to and from the interior, and the barter of commercial information.

So the British Empire brought about major changes in India. However, the railroads did not break the

social or cultural distances between various groups but inclined to create new classes in travel. Distinct

compartments in the trains were set-aside specifically for the British people and also separated theeducated and the prosperous from ordinary people. Interestingly, when the Sepoy Rebellion was

quashed in 1858, a British official commented "the telegraph saved India." He predicted, to be precise,

that the British Empire would continue to remain anchored in India. But that was not to be.


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British Conquest and Dominion of India

British conquest and dominion of India refers to the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent between 1858

and 1947. It also refers to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule. In those days,

India in contemporary included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, as well as the

princely states ruled by individual rulers under the supremacy of the British Crown. After 1876, the

consequential political union was officially called the Indian Empire and provided passports under that

name.

The system of governance was instituted in 1858, when the rule of the British East India Company was

given over to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria who, in 1876, was proclaimed Empress of India.

The association of British conquest and dominion of India lasted until 1947, until the British Indian

Empire was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states, the Union of India (later the Republic of

India) and the Dominion of Pakistan. The eastern half of the Indian Empire became the separate colonyof Burma in 1937, and this regained independence in 1948.

The association of British conquest and dominion of India extended over all regions of present-day India,

Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Moreover, after different conquests, it included Aden Colony (from 1858 to

1937), Upper Burma (from 1886 to 1937), Lower Burma (from 1858 to 1937), British Somaliland (briefly

from 1884 to 1898), and Singapore (briefly from 1858 to 1867). The British Crown directly administered

Burma from 1937 until its independence in 1948. Among other countries in the region, Ceylon (now Sri

Lanka) was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1802 following the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was a British

Crown Colony, but not part of British India. The kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan fought wars with the

British and subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognized by the British as independent

states. The Kingdom of Sikkim established as a princely state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861.

The British conquest and dominion of India consisted of two divisions, British India and the Native States

or Princely States.

After the 20th century, the result of British conquest on dominion of India was classified into eight

provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant Governor. During the partition of

Bengal (1905-1911), a new province, namely Assam and East Bengal was created as a Lieutenant

Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east formed,

including the states of Assam, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. British conquest and dominion of India has

brought about a series of changes in both socio economic scenarios. The enhancement of education

system, improvement of transport and communication and many more prospects of daily life still bear

the advantages of British conquest and dominion of India. Although several battles, mutinies and

bloodshed left the Indians devastated in urge to attain freedom, the nation also witnessed some

beneficial contents in their lifestyle.


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Administration of British Empire, British India

When delineated on the basis of territorial grounds, British Empire prior to and after World War I haddiffered vastly in almost all aspects. Practically seizing everything of all the sections of Asia under its

sway, British Empire had even extended its prolonged arm towards Africa as well as Australia. However,

as one comprehends in present times, British Empire indeed had redefined its territorial and

administrational periphery during its rendezvous in the then India, moving on towards the mid-21st

century. Administration of British Empire upon what is referred to as `British India`, had all begun during

the reign of East India Company, when the Company had decided to transact trade and business ties,

extending towards the eastern civilisation. That was the time during mid-17th century, when Islamic rule

under Mughal Empire was in its last phase, stripped off of all its erstwhile shining glory and pageantry.

As such, British intervention upon Indian administration and governance was readily accepted by

Mughal rulers, deeming Indian trading and merchandise to swell up in the upcoming years to come.

British East India Company had firmly targeted the port cities of India, henceforth bringing in Calcutta,

Bombay, Madras and to some extent, Surat into immense prominence. Flow of business and commerce

began to augment by just some months, with industrial builds coming into focus. Through repeated

voyages to and from England, the East India Company started to bring in skilled workers, with high-

ranking officers also taking a hierarchical position. The so-called `revenue earning` during British India,

was taken up seriously by British administration, who were gradually acquiring the place of the setting

Mughal dynasty. The country could no longer be referred to as the one ruled by Persian Islamic rulers,

who essentially followed an Oriental system of governance; on the contrary, Indian scenario was slowly

and steadily witnessing a change on administrational domain. What was previously known as just a

Company dealing in trade and business of spices, clothes, fineries and everything attractive to English

population, was no longer just a `mere Company`. Taking wholesome advantage of the weaklings like

Mughals or any other restricted ruler of a princely state, East India Company had cleverly and shrewdly

taken over the entire Indian administration. This they had perhaps long planned in their chartered

discussions, with rulers back in England already framing a charter of British Indian administration under

British Empire.

Henceforth, administration of British Empire always had a purpose of its own, with the system of

Governor-Generals coming into force. The princely states were still under the declaration of self-ruling,

however, staying subordinate to Englishmen. Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were proclaimed Presidency

towns, holding in much value of their own, and governing their separate sections of east, north, west

and south. High-ranking men already serving in English administration in Great Britain, were called forth

to take the seat of Governor-Generals. Warren Hastings, the legendary man of both good and dark sides,


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was one of the first in this section. India was declared to be governed separately into various states,

with one single capital to be based in Calcutta. The time being spoken about is the late 18th century,

with the previous years already been fruitfully spent by English to expand their territorial integrity. And

herein comes the gradual beginning of the end, i.e. terrible declination of Indian citizens under the

crushing hands of British generals and the ironical rise of English population in wrongly-captured hands.

Whatever beneficial deeds the British administration had performed, was completely overshadowed

and shunned by the incredible pitiless deeds they had performed and was still in a continual process.

East India Company ruling during the era of British India for the first time in mid-1800s started to review

resistance in the form of wars by Marathas and Sikhs. Hindu rulers like Shivaji or Rani of Jhansi Lakshmi

Bai had not planned to take such cunning men lying down. As a result, British top-rankers started to

usher in the framing and passing of rules into harsh laws, which further held back Indian rights of

freedom. Indeed, law and order during administration of British Empire is not an aspect that is still

looked at as something much promising and beneficial to natives. Historians and researchers, who have

laid stress on the bright side of British India, however fail to scout any good deed ever performed under

such authoritarian law and order. The Policy of Ring Fence or Buffer state, British Administration in India

however stood in somewhat stark contrast against anti-Indian British law and order. With the arrival of

Lord Wellesley to India, the stringent motive of the Company was pretty reduced, with petty states like

Oudh, Hyderabad and Mysore acceding to British pressure. The high-point of East India Company

resistance was seen during the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, also legendary as the Revolt of 1857. The

magnanimous unity amongst Muslim and Hindu rulers to rise up against such oppressors and nepotists

was a sheer element of wonder and superb strategy. This historic and fate-deciding First Battle of Indian

Independence was one that had nearly alarmed generals back in England, who had since reviewed the

Company incurring huge losses for the administration and trade for both English in India and Britain.Time had once more arrived for India to witness a policy of change for the still-living, as millions had laid

down their lives during the Revolt, dreaming for their motherland.

Administration of British Empire post Sepoy Mutiny, precisely from 1858, began to witness an

impermanent time of crisis, with neither England nor the East India Company coming to a conclusion

about their ruling in India. However, the Company was forever frozen and dissolved as a cohesive

political unit in India, with its administrators returning back to England. Post 1876, the princely states in

India and the political union of India was transferred and annexed under direct ruling from England

under Her Highness, Queen Victoria. Each Indian had to from then onwards accept British paramountcy,

with the Queen vowing to bring in massive changes, facilitating the Indians. However, such words were

only just the tip of the iceberg of colossal destruction. In fact, all those rosy and prim promises made by

Queen Victoria completely were smashed under the ruthless Viceroys to India, who used their position

as a mere tool to be sadistic to native `blacks`. The likes of Lord Curzon during Crown rule, or Lord

Dalhousie, during Company rule, accompanied by the merciless and unforgiving army generals, made an

Indian life comparable to hell, with each passing day. The declarations of equality in all fields of


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economy, politics, career, farming, religious rituals or territorial boundaries were all completely

forgotten, with absolutely the reverses taking place, misery and nightmare filling every native home.

The era of late 1800s, culminating in the mid-1900s was perhaps the most crucial and deciding time

period in British Raj. Administration of British Empire had witnessed an absolute mish-mash of ruling

policies in every sphere of daily life, that included revenue earning through indigo plantation, policy of

Divide and Rule and passing of umpteen laws into acts, to curb down natives against their civil or human

rights. Nationalists, revolutionists, freedom fighters - in whatever name they are respected, arose

against such unruly government from every Indian household. Equipped with educative values,

intelligence and valiance to withstand British guns, these nationalists possessed the prowess to protest

and march into the court houses that had come into force with the dawning of a new century. Supreme

Court or the state High Courts were begun, together with the concept of an Executive Council, wherein,

business of each government department was delegated to and became the responsibility of a single

Council member. This was largely the policy of Lord Canning, first Viceroy to India. In his regard, the

British Parliament was of the habit to interfere in most decisions taken back in India, by the British

Indian administration. The concept of Local Self Government also had come into existence, owing to the

Minto-Morley Reforms Act in 1909 (also known as the Government of India Act 1909). Considered a

milestone under administration during British Empire, this act had only paved way for further restrictive

acts, like the various even-stricter Government of India Acts. These acts had heavily borrowed from the

acts devised by Lord Dalhousie and his ruling acts like Permanent Settlement Act 0f 1793, or the

Vernacular Press Act of 1878.

Administration of British Empire during the dawning of 20th century was indeed defined on the lines ofthese British Indian Acts, regulating and horribly crushing the native press, which had risen its head to

blatantly protest these ruthless clandestine English motives. Policy of Equal Federation, British

Administration in India and Policy of subordinate Union, British Administration in India were some of the

other governing measures that had completely shattered Indian conscience during and after the two

World Wars. Freedom fighters wholly echoed against such divide and rule policy to mother antagonism

within religious factions, which had finally turned into a reality in 1947, with Partition of India, perhaps

forever darkening the wholesome vision of Indian Independence.


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Impact of British Rule in India

British Empire in India and the struggle for every Indian to achieve its own identity through

Independence has perhaps been the most talked-about concept in modern history and in the present

era of globalisation. Indeed, staying lavishly in the modern cosmopolitan Indian society, it is always hard

to comprehend the then pre-independent Indian society, with no such thing as to call one`s own and no

trace of modernity touching any household. British rule in India had tenaciously tolerated for 200

prolonged years, with their everlasting impression been forever etched upon the succeeding Indian

citizens. Impact of British rule in India, in this context, is one that had perhaps emerged forth right from

the 16th century, when British missionaries had sailed to eastern soil to spread Christianity, much

before the East India Company. Although, all is not bad and even worse for the British impact upon

India. There always exists a bright side to every dark silhouette; hence, impact of British rule upon India

and Indians both constitutes superior and appalling elements, still in use in present times.

However, British invasion on India was not the first of its kind; India has prior to British arrival, been host

to pellets of ruthless foreign invasions. During its last 5000 years, the country has been invaded by

Aryans, Greeks, Huns, nomadics from central Asia, Muslims and European Christians. All the former

invaders slowly but surely got assimilated within the Hindu and Muslim dominated Indian society. As can

be conceivable, they just did not come single-handedly; these invaders also brought along with them

their language, culture, architecture and food habits. They, in turn, became `Indianised` in good time.

The British, in this regard, were the last to arrive in the European `take over sport `. However, when it

came to speaking of the `power game`, it undoubtedly was the British and their East India Company,

who completely captured Indian power and people. They surreptitiously and smoothly expanded their

empire with the competent aid of Indian soldiers. Indians however had joined the East India companyarmy solely for the reason that they received salary on the first day of every month, very much unlike

the Indian emperors and their system of reign. As such, impact of British rule in India already had begun

to do its work, with the very first Christian missionaries arriving to India, with the intention to turn a

majority of population into Christians. They tried to cast Christianity in the light of a superior religion

and with economic inducements convinced the poor Indians into Christianity.

The very foremost impact of British rule on India was the religious impact, as was established by the

missionaries and their establishment of churches in every possible corner of the country. In this regard,

the port cities like Calcutta, Bombay and Madras gained sufficient importance, due to their accessibility

for navigational purposes. They were later turned into the three cardinal Presidency towns. The ardent

attempt of British Christians to turn several bunch of Indians into a complete alien religion was

successful, though only in parts. Some had gladly accepted it, in fear of inviting the wrath of the

Company, while others had turned hostile, in turn giving rise to oft collisions and difference of opinion.

The British rule lasted 200 years and their primary philosophy was to oppose `Indianisation`, yet

assimilate themselves into one out-and-out Indian society. Initially, during the 18th century, they walked


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the native way and branded themselves as nawabs. They dressed like Indians, consumed Indian food

and married Indian women and lived in Indian-styled houses. As such, the socio-cultural impact of British

rule upon India was also another profound impression that had lasted throughout their rule, never for

once losing their significant status. From every field of living, be it in education, art, architecture,

painting, literature, poetry, drama, novels or even Indian religion and philosophy, the whole Indian set-

up had suffered a gradual metamorphosis, still making its mark in society.

After the abolition and termination of the East India Company rule, they chose to erect Europeanised

cantonments far from the òvercrowded` Indian cities or villages. Here they dwelled in spacious British

bungalows in splendid segregation and the local `whites only` gymkhana clubs became their cultural

nerve-centres. Even braving this tropical humid climate, the colonialists struck to European mode of

dressing during the early 20th century. They however went out of their way as much to learn the Hindi

language, which was often satisfactorily presentable for their servants and cooks.

The conventional and ordinary Indian society however respected and dreaded the `white` rulers. British

aristocrats travelled throughout India in separate "Europeans only" first-class railway carriages. They

had for themselves segregated waiting rooms in most of the major railway stations. They also came to

establish elite schools for their children. In most of the theatre halls, the balcony was earmarked for the

whites and the local maharaja. Their significant passionate pastime during late 19th and early 20th

centuries appears to be hunting animals and birds in Indian jungles. As such, the population of tigers,

lions and elephants slumped down because of indiscriminate hunting. Impact of British rule in India

however, not only restricted to spheres like these being noted above, the economic impact was yet

another domain, which practically had drained out the native populace, creating a forever draught in1947. The chief aim of these settlers was to make India an agrarian country that would supply an

industrialised England. As such, the Indian farmers suffered with their land revenue, most of which were

ruthlessly being seized by the hyperbolic zamindar class. Each passing year further tightened the

economy, making Indians go insane to the nerve; Indian local-manufactured products were sold in

tremendously cheap rates in Britain, making the native money-making policy even harder, with the

graph running penniless. The world-over societal degradation also had spilled in India, like the First

World War or the Great Depression of the 1930s. The situation had become so very dire that there could

not be found any out of such an entangled mess.

Amidst all these alarming states and conditions, the imperial rule were compassionate enough to

introduce European education in India. This ground-breaking impact of British rule in India truly has

benefited India in the long run, carving a out a prestigious position of India in the world map. Knowledge

of English was essential to earn a job in the British bureaucracy, in the British trading firms and of course

in the British Army in the officer`s level. Many dignified concepts like `parliamentary democracy`, the

Èuropean scientific ideas`, ìndustrialisation` and `liberal human philosophy` permeated into the Indian


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brain. They had even travelled a step further to introduce the system of railways in a chain method, with

the whole of the country staying witness to placing of railways tracks, railway platforms and railway

carriages. Indeed India`s railways, postal services, legal and judicial systems and other government-

based services have all been derived primarily from the British administration. British rule virtually had

helped unify India, which till then was quite fragmentary.

The `in-built` inferiority complex was the characteristic trademark of the mass of the native population,

till Mahatma Gandhi arrived onto the scene. Most of the people in an almost reflexive manner started to

revere a white man or a woman, looked upon them as a race in equalising terms. The bulk of Indian

students who set sail to England for higher studies were at first profoundly shocked in seeing white men

and women performing lowly jobs in England. Hence, in spite of such harsh impacts of British rule upon

India, they did still try to maintain equilibrium.

Developments During British Regime, British IndiaDevelopments during British regime can be ideally personified as glorious. With detailed eye being kept

on all subjects of educational and technical specifications the British teamed with the Indian

intelligentsias offered diction to the then social scenario. Developments in technical fields like

archaeology, agriculture or meteorology were the domains where the British thinkers delved their

hands. Building of structured framework, buying of sophisticated tools, constructing of institutions for

the concerned subject or publishing of thesis papers became a noble duty in developments during

British regime. One of the significant developmental contributions of British to Indian infrastructure was

the initiation of railways and travelling through trains.

Technological developments in British India started out in the mid-18th century, which would go on to

become an eventful saga in the last years of British regime. At first facing much resistance from

orthodox Indian population, technology did come out a winner gradually. With introduction of railways,

telegraph lines, railway tracks and trains, technological development never seemed much promising

ever before. With further journeys of steam ships, equipped with sophisticated implements British

administration became a household name in rural areas too.

Meteorological developments in British India commenced from the late 18th century, trying to establish

a complete new domain to Indians. Observatories were grounded first-hand, as a primary move.

Astronomical phenomena, weather conditions and its effects on various parts of India could thus be

splendidly observed for a methodical conclusion. And after an extensive period of research in the trial

and error method, study papers would be published to educate the mass.


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Developments in public works during British India began with a solemn promise in the early 19th

century, a time which can already be considered late. Indian villages and cities were not much

developed, with inadequacy speaking from every corner of the country. The unplanned conditions were

hence taken into account, with irrigational standards and constructing of canals becoming the primary

repair measure. A proper water channel would ensure a consequent betterment of public works in the

upcoming years. The major river-sides were also ramped up in this context.

Developments in Archaeology under British Regime commenced pretty late, from the mid-19th century,

with the government hurrying to establish the Archaeological Society of India to study ancient Indian

culture and social life. Times prior to Christ were first taken into account. Thesis papers came into being

by British scholars; surveys were conducted extensively for further knowledge of India`s primeval past.

Agricultural developments in British India can be traced from the early years of 20th century, with thegovernment implementing every possible measure to enhance crops production and harvesting. Schools

and institutions were established, head surveyors were created to look into matters, as well as creating

a complete separate administration. Soil tests were conducted to make it rich for future use.

In all, developments during British regime with its stray hindrances, did happen to its fullest. A special

mention needs to be made as a conclusion to developments programme. Science was the most

interesting and innovative field that received a warm and full-hearted welcome form every class of

society. Such were its reach that even lower stratum of natives became involved in the endeavour. As

such, scientific developments during British regime contains a long list of progress, encompassing

medicine, geography, forestry, astronomy, mathematics, botany, zoology and geology. These mentioned

subjects outshone every possible development during English supremacy, augmented with an all-round

development in science and sophistication.


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British Military Monuments in India, British India

British military monuments in India under English domination were an extraordinary theme, which grew

by every year. The guiding factor was hostilities in relationships amongst Indians and Britons, as time

passed. For example, things were not the same in the phase of 20th century, as it was in the early 18th

century. Quite naturally Englishmen needed to safeguard themselves by fortifications. To accomplish

such factors, bastions, fortress started coming up. Post-death military monuments were also an

overriding factor during British rule in India.

As the British East India Company`s military forces increased in size and as more wars ensued,

monuments devoted to the military far outnumbered all others. Frequently executed in memory of a

particular slain officer, it was common for them to be funded by fellow officers. The visual theme of grief

predominated and rarely did they possess a visual sense of India.

During the 1810s, John Flaxman`s monument at St. Mary`s Church, Madras, dedicated to General Sir

Barry Close (1756-1813), uniquely includes the auxiliary use of a cast of Indian mourners. Later this

theme would appear again in J.G. Lough`s monument of Sir William Hay MacNaghten (1793-1841)

located at St. Pauls Cathedral, Calcutta.

A second theme regarding the British military monuments in India during this period addressed the

factor of group death. In St. John`s Church, Calcutta, a monument is dedicated to the memory of Captain

Charles Lionel Showers and his two lieutenants who died in 1814 while leading a charge of the Bengal

Infantry during the Nepal War of 1814-16. In another work, Robert William Siever executed a relief to

four captains, a lieutenant and a physician who had died of fever in the course of the First Burma War of

1824-26. It is located in St. John`s Church, Madras.

During the 1820s, John Bacon, Jr. created one of the first monuments using the weeping sepoy for his

officer, rather than the lone weeping women. In this instance, the tribute is to Lieutenant Peter Lawtie

whose monument resides at St. John`s, Calcutta. A second example is associated with John Hinchchlift`s

monument to Lieutenant-Colonial Charles Barton Burr (d. 1821) of the Bombay Native Infantry, locatedin St. Thomas`s Cathedral, Bombay.

British military monuments in India bear even some more significant examples, when in 1834,

addressing the theme of service to India, Francis Chantrey`s equestrian monument of Sir Thomas Munro

(1761-1827), Governor of Madras was erected. The monument exudes the sense of Munro`s military


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and civilian authority. Placed on a fifteen-foot high pedestal, the sculpture symbolically elevated Munro

above the people he served.

Military Administration in British IndiaMilitary administration in British India necessarily entails those very factors which were associated with

the armed forces wings and other martial forces that had acted heart and soul during British Raj.

However, this does not strictly mean that military administration during British India was confined only

to the establishment of the British India Army during the late years of 19th century. Indeed, a piece of

information that can be stated in this context is that the very first English instance of victory under army

was the Battle of Plassey in 1757 under the infamous Lord Clive. Travelling down a prolonged line of

military ruling and armed forces, contemporary India has stayed a telling witness to uncountable armed

services instances during British India. The intensification of British military administration and political

upper-hand during British India perhaps possesses no parallel in British Indian history. Sailing by sea asmere traders in the Orient land, the Britishers secretly had infiltrated into the political domain through

their clandestinely institutionalised so-stated military forces. Beginning from the first ship Hector under

Captain William Hawkins which touched Surat in 1607, almost all the English ships which pursued were

in essentiality of the kind of battleships and carried along cannons and other warlike resources supplied

by the British Board of Ordnance for their safety on the way and safeguarding of their factories in the

then India.

British administration in India has always essentially been termed a military rule. Naval forces indeed

had founded the British Empire in India, with the succeeding army power maturing and consolidating it.

Rendering evidence before the Parliamentary Select Committee (1832), Major General Sir John Malcolm

had stated: "The (Indian) Empire has been acquired and must be maintained by the sword. The military

plans for the government of our eastern empire must ever be entitled to primary consideration. The

local army of India, but above all, the native branch should always be preserved in a condition of

efficiency and attachment. Our means of preserving and improving our possessions through the

operation of our civil institutions depend on our wise and politic exercise of that military power on

which the whole fabric rests." This fiery and blood-boiling statement from an invading power very much

states the status of military administration in British India and what the Indian natives were to witness

and suffer in gradual gathering times.

Military administration means a rigorous and out-and-out arrangement of the army into a competent

and resourceful one, so that it turns into a potential force and champions the nation at each time of its

crisis. Hence, the survival of a country relies very much upon its defence strategies. A military or military

force is a combination of men, machines and equipments that lends life to an army. While it can pertain


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to an armed force, it by and large pertains to a permanent, professional force of soldiers or guerrillas -

trained absolutely for the function of sabotaging warfare. The doctrine that avows the primary

importance of a military with in a society is referred to as militarism. As such, military administration in

British India was strictly followed by these mentioned guidelines, at times resorting to dire measures of

cruelty or treachery, backing the Englishmen and overlooking the native hapless soldiers.

The growth and development of military administration and power in British India is a surpassing

account, details of which can be devoted into pages after pages. The early and first time settlements of

the British East India Company, strongly asserted to be solely mercantile, had almost their

commencements in a few European artillerymen, who constituted a portion of the guard preserved for

the protection of the factories newly erected. Soon after, with a rather bolder policy, a number of

artillery parts were kept handy and prepared in the reinforcement built by the coastline. With time, the

East India Company got involved in scuffles and skirmishes with European antagonists and the native

vassal chiefs. Henceforth, the quandary of everyday supply of arms, transport, food, clothing and other

warlike resources to the Company troops gradually began to witness an escalading scale. The

arrangement and administration of the expanding army became a vital and pressing crucial factor for

guaranteeing victories in the upcoming combats. The decisive step thus taken by the Company in this

regard was the establishment and constitution of regular companies of artillery, ordinance service and

the organisation of ammunition factories in the year 1748.

Military administration during British India however was not an all-encompassing and too promising and

rosy an affair; umpteen hardships had to be tackled and overcoming them appeared to a knotty

troubled one. And precisely in this context, the natives had gradually begun to enter the scenario, withBritishers recruiting mercenaries against their own wish. The first Indian Sepoy levies engaged by the

East India Company possessed meagre discipline and were fortified with appalling ingredients like

matchlocks, bows and arrows, spears and swords. There was, however, no deficiency of first-rate

fighting material from amongst the natives. As time passed by, these sepoys were conditioned and

disciplined on the European lines, corrected, armed with muskets, equipped with sophisticated weapons

and also interwoven into first class fighting units. The men came to acquire and admire the notions of

drill and discipline and private military qualities, those rigorously imparted to the trainee sections.

Indian soldiers began to be referred to as `Native Troops`, who were badly armed and `although drilled

in the use of the musket were chiefly armed with sword, the spear and the shield, wore their native

dress and were commanded by native officers `. By this time, precisely the 18th century, the three

Presidency towns comprising Bengal Presidency, Madras Presidency and Bombay Presidency, had

already been enforced into prominence, possessing a separate military wing of their own. As such,

military administration of British India was already acknowledged as one of the most strongly cohered

one in the world, with strategical measures assisting in their every rendezvous. In the Madras Army


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armed servants, guard and peons named as Telingas (from Telengana, in present day Andhra Pradesh),

were an unsystematic and muddled mob who "had no discipline, nor any idea that discipline was

required." They were armed with matchlocks, bows and arrows, spears, swords, bucklers, daggers, or

any other weapon they could get, practically unarmed against the rising British military prowess. They

consisted of bodies of diverse strength and potential, each under the directive of its own chief, who, in

turn, earned from government the pay of the whole body and circularised it to his subordinates.

A historical retrospect of military administration of India can conveniently be classed into the following

periods:

First Period - The initial phase of 1600 - 1708, when the forces of the East India Company were almost

detached and an unorganised body .

Second Period - The Presidency Armies under the Company from 1709 to 1857.

Third Period - The Presidency Armies under the British Crown from 1858 to 1894

Fourth Period - The period of the British Union, after the abolition of the Presidency Armies of 1895 -

1920

Fifth Period - The period of consolidation from 1921 to the present times.

However, this significant division can be summarised into a rather humble one, primarily concentrating

on the British Indian period, which had remained a forever telling witness to the two World Wars in

much later periods, after the establishment of British Indian Army, and the much previous Anglo-Sikh

Wars or the Anglo-Maratha Wars. However, the most deciding and now-legendary instance of

dichotomous and haywire military administration during British Indian times was witnessed in the First

Battle of Indian Independence - the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The Sepoy Mutiny indeed had set the tables

turning against British brittle pride, gradually shattering towards final crumbling.


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Conditions Of Peasants During British Rule

The condition of the peasants under the British rule had been a prime cause of sepoy mutiny in India.

During the early part of the nineteenth century, land was of major importance to almost all the people

of the Indian soil because most of them depended on cultivation for their subsistence. The main reason,

which led to a deep-rooted dissatisfaction within the farmers, was that they had to pay a tribute in the

form of rent to the British government for the land, which they tilled themselves. An important feature

of the British period was that there was more of agricultural land than the number of cultivators to

cultivate it.

During this time that is in the year 1833, the British Government had decided that it would extract two-

thirds of the economic rental value of the land with the help of settlement officials. As a result, the land

proprietors were ready to give land on rent to the non-proprietors at the same rate of the revenue that

they paid to the government officials. Moreover the condition was such that major portions of the landwere transferred to the moneyed class who came to be known as Mahajans. On the other hand the

mediocre or the ordinary landlords found it difficult to match with the demands of the British and

consequently they had to carry forward their interest payments till the next harvest which escalated in

leaps and bounds with passing time. Moreover it can be said that during the British reign the conditions

of the farmers were such that they experienced an alienation from their land and the source of their

alienation was the uprising of a new class known by the name moneylenders. At the same time it can be

said that it was during the British rule agriculture started becoming commercialized. Interference of the

money lenders made the backward agricultural regions commercialized in nature. Some historians are of

the opinion that the emergence of the new money lending class was the route to all the uprisings that

took place in the Indian soil in and around 1857.

None of the agriculturalists wanted to give revenue to the British governments and they protested

accordingly. For instance, sixteen large Jat villages of the Naultha district protested against the revenue

system. They forcefully ousted the government officials from the village. The members of the villages

had joined the disturbance of the Rohtak district and had visited Delhi. They had also threatened that

continuation of such an activity will make them attack the Collectors Office. Nineteen other villages from

the Bhalsi and the Korana district also rioted and attacked the government establishments. All these

happened because the majority farmers refused to pay the rent. Even the Gujjars were not far behind

and they plundered about in the country.

Not only the revenue system did originate massive protests against the British but it also created an

enmity between the Jats, the Gujjars and the other classes. The clash which had taken place between

the two communities was mainly due to the rivalry regarding the ownership of land. Especially, the


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zamindars, of various regions could not easily accept the fact that the ownership of their lands would be

bestowed on the British government in reality.

Discontentment within the peasant class gradually took a huge size and a number of rebellions took

place in various regions of the Indian sub-continent. The peasant class had brought about rebellion

against the British because they wanted to protest against the alienated conditions to which they were

subjected to by the British government. They wanted to maintain the ownership of their land and could

not accept the supremacy of the money lenders.

British Administration During Second World War

The year 1939 was a period of international tension. The future of Europe as well as India was extremely

perilous. Moreover, on 11th August, 1939 Congress Working Committee passed a resolution and

declared that it opposed any kind of imperialist war. Furthermore, the working committee was also

determined to oppose any attempt of forcing a war on India. Other issues which were condemned by

the Working Committee included the sending of troops to Egypt and Singapore and it also protested

against the extended life of the central Legislative Assembly. The main aim of the Congress was to

condemn the British Administration during Second World War. Thus, a resolution was passed in which

all Congress members of the Central Assembly refrained from attending its next session. In spite of the

resolution passed, certain prominent Congressmen supported the British Policy and were prepared to

co-operate in the war effort.

According to the British Administration during World War II, Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy, wanted that

the Government of India should be vested with certain authorities so that it can co-coordinate the

activities of the central and provincial governments. Thus, a Bill through Parliament was passed to the

His Majesty`s Government. As a result, under the Government of India (Amendments) Act of 1939, the

Central Government was empowered to make laws conferring executive authority in respect of

provincial subjects on the central Government and its officers. However, in 1939, the Viceroy announced

that India had declared war. The Indian Assembly had not been consulted. Although, according to theGovernment Act of India the Viceroy should have consulted the Executive Committee before making

decisions about defence or foreign affairs. On the other hand Congress and the Muslim League fell out

regarding this issue and it further deteriorated their relation.


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The Congress did not support the war and various divergent views prevailed within the party. Gandhiji

desired that whatever co-operation was given should be given unconditionally. At the other end,

notably, Subhas Chandra Bose openly declared that the difficulty faced by Britain during this war would

bring opportunity to India and improve its chances for independence. As a result the Congress members

did not support the policy of the British. In fact all the Congress leaders resigned from the Assembly in

protest.

On the other hand, the Muslim League supported the British Administration during Second World War.

It backed Britain concerning the war on Germany. Thus, during the war the Muslim League became

increasingly powerful in India. The resignation of the Congress ministries became a preferred issue for

Jinnah. In the month of December, Jinnah and the Muslim League observed 22 December 1939 as a day

of deliverance and thanksgiving. He marked the day as deliverance from the `tyranny, oppression and

injustice` of the Congress regime in the provinces.

In 1940 the Muslim League held its annual session in Lahore towards the end of March. Jinnah declared

in this session that democracy was unsuited to India and the Muslims must have own their homeland,

their territory and their State. The resolution which was passed came to be known as the `Pakistan

Resolution`. The session held by the Muslim League at Lahore aroused widespread concern. Its

proceedings shocked many sections of public opinion and even angered the Hindus and other minorities

were displeased as well.

The Congress laid down a condition in the year 1940 that Indian support for the war would come with a

National Government. The Viceroy however refused, and a movement, known as, Civil Disobedience was

launched by the Congress. About 1700 Congress members were arrested in 1940. Thus, the position of

Congress was weakened as many Congress members were imprisoned between 1940 and 1945. The

Congress also held an open session in Ramgarh.

On 23rd November, the All-India Congress Committee met in Allahabad. They passed a resolution and

declared that neither the claims of the minorities nor those of the Princes were a genuine obstacle for

the Congress`s demand of national independence. It also declared that it was the British Administration,forming irrelevant issues in order to maintain imperialist domination in India. The resolution put the

Constituent Assembly in a position of the Congress programme which would be only a democratic

method of determining the constitution of a free country. Moreover, the Constituent Assembly should

be the only adequate instrument for solving the communal and other difficulties. The Congress laid

down that the Assembly should be elected on the basis of adult suffrage.


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After the Congress passed the Ramgarh resolution and with its threat of civil disobedience, the Viceroy

turned its back on the Congress. On the other hand, the Muslim League gained confidence of the

Viceroy. According to the Viceroy, there was no possibility of cooperating with the divergent claims of

the Congress, the Muslim League, the Depressed Classes and the Princes. However, in this regard the

policy according to the British Administration during World War II was to adopt the principle of wait and

watch.

On 10 April, a detailed report on `India and the War` was issued. It featured the events leading to the

resignation of the Congress ministries and the resolutions of the Congress, the Muslim League and the

Chamber of Princes. The report concluded that, in view of the deadlock, the Government had no option

but to seek the approval of Parliament for the continuance of the Section 93 proclamations in the seven

provinces. On 18 April Parliament approved their continuance. The Secretary of State concluded that a

substantial measure of agreement amongst the communities in India should come. Accordingly, the

Viceroy sent a letter to Jinnah on 19 April 1940 where he assured Jinnah that no declaration would be

made and that no constitution would be enforced by His Majesty`s Government, or enacted by

Parliament, without the approval and consent of the Musalmans of India. Thus, the British

Administration during World War II was formulated with a far- sighted view by the British.

British impact on Indian Law & Administration

The most abiding impacts of the British rule in India is manifested in the fields of administration. The

British Rulers introduced Rule of Law in their territories. Even the meanest subject enjoyed personal

liberty according to the Rule of Law. The principle of habeas corpus provided that no person could be

arrested or kept in prison without a written order from the local executive or the judicial authority, even

if the viceroy when desired. Even the Government servant, if the acts done in their official capacity could

be sued in the court of Law. The natural upshot of the Rule of Law was the Equality before the Law,

which subsequently followed the Rule of Law. The Equality before the Law appeared as a novel feature

in the caste-ridden society.

The British rulers further established a codification of law. The Code of Civil Procedure, the code of

Criminal Procedure laid down in clear, precise and in exact terms, the law applicable to all citizens, highand low breed and irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The British rulers also set up a gradation of

courts, civil and criminal for the trial of the petty and heinous crimes with the right to appeal at the high

Courts ands even an appeal to a Committees of Privy Council in civil suits.


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The legal system introduced by the British Government in India had several shortcomings. It was very

expensive and the rich had the opportunity to wear out the poor and uneducated. The British legal

system stimulated the growth of the falsehood, chicanery, and deceit. The inordinate delay in the

decision of the case was one of the significant negative feature of the Legal system of the British. The

lawyer class in the British legal system was interested in delaying and prolonging cases and pleading for

clients who could afford to pay them. Even the Governments of independent India, later was not be able

to remove all the shortcomings of the British legal system. The worst aspects of the legal system in the

British time were the special procedures for the trial of the European in the criminal cases. The Ilbert Bill

highlighted the injustice involved in the racial discrimination in judicial matters but no remedial

measures were provided.

The organization of an Indian Civil Service, which worked according to the codified rules and with

efficiency and impartiality, was a striking features of the administration. The administrative system

established by the British was completely different from the personal rules and regulations of a dictator

monarch. The ICS officers, under the British administrative system worked as collectors, Magistrates,

Judges and maintained a high standard of impartiality and integrity.

However highly applauded system of Indians civil Services, had several drawbacks. In spite of the

repeated resolutions of the British Parliament and announcements by the British crown about the

recruitments to the ICS on the basis of Competitive Examination irrespective of racial discriminations.

The British system of Indian civil Service was completely aimed to constitute as a close preserve of the

Europeans. In this way the British Government wanted to strengthen their own position in the politics

and administrative field of India. Various measures like holding of examination in London, reducing theaverage age limit of the examination etc.were adopted to keep the Indians out of the Civil services or to

participate in the administrative system directly. Therefore the British impact on the law and

administration was immense and was directed to fortify the British administration in India.

Socio Cultural Impact Under The British Rule

The British era is considered one of the most eventful eras in the history of India. The era brought about

a lot of changes in almost every aspect of the Indian society. The socio cultural impact under the Britishrule was probably the most prominent one amongst them. The rational and scientific outlook of the

British way of life influenced the Indian society from the very beginning of the British imperialism. The

art, architecture, painting, literature, poetry, drama, novels and even Indian religion and philosophy

were greatly influenced by the western thoughts. However, most of the changes were not brought

about by the British people. The English educated Indian people like the journalists, teachers, lawyers,


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doctors, etc. took the responsibility of leading movements for making the significant socio cultural

changes.

The socio cultural impact under the British rule started with the establishment of various English schools

in different cities of India. The British rulers first studied the Indian languages, literature, religion and

social structure and then educated the Indians in English to establish a new administrative structure.

The British Governor, Warren Hastings (1772-85) was a supporter of `Orientalism` and during his tenure,

the British rulers demonstrated linguistic proficiency, a deep understanding of India and a sense of

benevolent responsibility in regard to the Indian people. He established the Calcutta Madrassah for the

Muslim officials of the East Company and the students were taught in Persian in this institution. The

Orientalist dream of Hastings was taken forward by Lord Wellesley, who established the Fort William

College to train the civil servants.

The scholars at the Fort William College in Calcutta started to translate the ancient texts, write

grammars, compile dictionaries and collect manuscripts to research further on India. On the other hand,

the Baptist missionaries in Serampore became successful to print works in the Indian vernacular

languages like Bengali, Urdu, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese and Marathi. Many individuals and

organisations also started to study literature in both classical and vernacular languages during that

period. As a result, the importance of the vernacular languages increased. The demand for the use of

English as the language of administration and education was also increased during that time. The

scenario was similar in Bombay, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and other parts of India.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, the British rulers decided to make English as the primary

medium of education in India. They also envisioned the creation of a class of people in India that would

act as a link between the rulers and ruled. The class would also become a source of inexpensive

manpower for the lower levels of the administration. With the efforts made by the British, knowledge in

English soon became a key to get government services for the Indians. It also became a key to make

successful careers in the fields like law, medicine, teaching, business, journalism, etc. The Indian people

started to learn English to get advantage in professional and other fields. With the establishment of

various educational institutions, the number of English educated Indians increased significantly.

Indian response to new opportunities created by the British was determined largely by their place in

pre-British society. At the height of the Orientalist period, scholars of Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and of

South Asian learning were hired by such Indian educational institutes. With the shift to English

education those castes that were already literate became students to master this new language; in

practice this meant primarily Bengali Hindus of the Brahman, Baidya, and Kayastha castes. Earlier


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individuals from these groups learnt Persian to gain employment under the Mughal and post-Empire

Muslim rulers. With the influence of the British on the mode of education they switched to English.

By the late nineteenth century, new anglicized elite began to establish institutions to serve their own

interests. For instance in 1816, the Hindu College in Kolkata was founded. On the other hand in 1825 the

Elphinstone Institute was established in Bombay (Mumbai). These educational institutes were primarily

responsible for producing the core of English educated elite. A trend toward English education and the

acceptance of western knowledge appeared in Poona. In 1832, the government founded an English high

school. To counter this socio-cultural impact of the British ways several associations were formed across

India to revive the ancient Indian traditions.

Besides education western models and English pattern were followed in the social etiquette, dress,

eating habits, dwelling units, awareness in the public and hygiene, new modes of entertainment etcwere penetrated deep into the Indian way of life and society. Although the traditional Indian habits

were dominating in the countryside, the western outlook influenced the inhabitants of the urban India.

With the arrival of the British people in India, the rapid changes took place in the mainstream of Indian

society. The international currents influenced the Indian pattern of social outlook, dress, food habits and

even fashion with the British rule in India.

The British rulers built town hall after the Renaissance palazzi style, railway stations in the Gothic

cathedral style, government building and secretariat offices in the western style blended with the

traditional Mughal style. However, the socio cultural impact under the British rule was more prominent

in the urban areas rather than the rural areas, where the traditional Indian habits were in dominance.

The socio-cultural influence was prominent in the field of painting as well. The eminent Indian painters

like Ravi Verma, Abanindranath Thakur, Jamini Roy, etc were greatly influenced by the Western style.

Apart from them, the great literary figures like Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo Ghosh, Sarojini Naidu,

Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayanan, etc. were also influenced by the English pattern and the spirit of

Renaissance.

With the course of time, the way of learning in India was also influenced by the English style and theEnglish words and idioms were penetrated into the vernacular languages. As a result, even the illiterate

rural people in India were acquainted with the English terms and idioms. In this way, the socio cultural

impact under the British rule completely spread through the Indian society and changed the courses of

Indian pattern of socio-cultural life.


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Documents

British Empire in India - Himanshu