When the British Ruled India · The very idea of the British Raj—the British rule over...

When the British Ruled India

Viceroy Lord Canning (seated, second from left) visits Maharaja Ranbir Singh (seated, third from left) of Jammu and Kashmir

in 1860. The viceroy was the head of the British administration in India. Image from the public domain Image from the public

domain

The very idea of the British Raj—the British rule over India—seems inexplicable today.

Consider the fact that Indian written history stretches back almost 4,000 years, to the

civilization centers of the Indus Valley Culture at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Also, by 1850,

India had a population of some 200 million or more.

Britain, on the other hand, had no indigenous written language until the ninth century (almost

3,000 years after India). Its population was about 16.6 million in 1850. How, then, did Britain

manage to control India from 1757 to 1947? The keys seem to have been superior weaponry,

a strong profit motive, and Eurocentric confidence.

Europe's scramble for colonies in Asia

From the moment the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope on Africa's southern tip in

1488, opening sea lanes to the Far East, the European powers strove to acquire Asian trading

posts of their own.

By Kallie Szczepanski, ThoughtCo.com on 10.19.17

Word Count 1,548

Level MAX

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

For centuries, the Viennese had controlled the European branch of the Silk Road, reaping

enormous profits on silk, spices, fine china and precious metals. The Viennese monopoly

ended with the establishment of the sea-route. At first, the European powers in Asia were

solely interested in trade, but over time, the acquisition of territory grew in importance. Among

the nations looking for a piece of the action was Britain.

The Battle of Plassey (Palashi)

Britain had been trading in India since about 1600, but it did not begin to seize large sections

of land until 1757, after the Battle of Plassey. This battle pitted 3,000 soldiers of the British

East India Company against the 5,000-strong army of the young Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud

Daulah, and his French East India Company allies.

Fighting began on the morning of June 23, 1757. Heavy rain spoiled the Nawab's cannon

powder (the British covered theirs), leading to his defeat. The Nawab lost at least 500 troops,

to Britain's 22. The British East India Company took the modern equivalent of about U.S. $5

million from the Bengali treasury, which financed further expansion.


India under the East India Company

The East India Company traded in cotton, silk, tea and opium. Following the Battle of Plassey,

it functioned as the military authority in growing sections of India, as well.

By 1770, heavy Company taxation and other policies had left millions of Bengalis

impoverished. While British soldiers and traders made their fortunes, the Indians starved.

Between 1770 and 1773, about 10 million people died of famine in Bengal, one-third of the

population.

At this time, Indians also were barred from high office in their own land. The British considered

them inherently corrupt and untrustworthy.

The Indian Revolt of 1857

Many Indians were distressed by the rapid cultural changes imposed by the British. They

worried that Hindu and Muslim India would be converted to Christianity. Early in 1857, a new

type of rifle cartridge was given to the soldiers of the British Indian army.

Rumors spread that the cartridges had been greased with pig and cow fat, an abomination to

both major Indian religions.

On May 10, 1857, the Indian Revolt started, when mainly Bengali Muslim troops marched to

Delhi and pledged their support to the Mughal emperor. Both sides moved slowly, unsure of

public reaction. After a year-long struggle, the rebels surrendered on June 20, 1858.


Control of India shifts to the India Office

Following the Rebellion of 1857–1858, the British government abolished both the Mughal

dynasty, which had ruled India more or less for 300 years, and the East India Company. The

emperor, Bahadur Shah, was convicted of sedition and exiled to Burma.

Control of India was given to a British governor-general, who reported back to the secretary of

state for India and the British Parliament.

It should be noted that the British Raj included only about two-thirds of modern India, with the

other portions under the control of local princes. However, Britain exerted a lot of pressure on

these princes, effectively controlling all of India.


"Autocratic paternalism"

Queen Victoria promised that the British government would work to "better" its Indian subjects.

To the British, this meant educating them in British modes of thought and stamping out cultural

practices such as sati.


The British also practiced "divide and rule" policies, pitting Hindu and Muslim Indians against

one another. In 1905, the colonial government divided Bengal into Hindu and Muslim sections;

this division was revoked after strong protests. Britain also encouraged the formation of the

Muslim League of India in 1907. The Indian army was made up mostly of Muslims, Sikhs,

Nepalese Gurkhas and other minority groups, as well.

British India in World War I

During World War I, Britain declared war on Germany on India's behalf, without consulting

Indian leaders. More than 1.3 million Indian soldiers and laborers were serving in the British

Indian army by the time of the Armistice. A total of 43,000 Indian and Gurkha soldiers died.

Although most of India rallied to the British flag, Bengal and Punjab were restive. Many Indians

were eager for independence; they were led by a political newcomer, Mohandas Gandhi.

In April 1919, more than 5,000 unarmed protesters gathered at Amritsar, in the Punjab. British

troops fired on the crowd, killing an estimated 1,500 men, women and children. The official

death toll of the Amritsar Massacre was 379.

British India in World War II


When World War II broke out, once again, India contributed hugely to the British war effort. In

addition to troops, the princely states donated substantial amounts of cash. By the end of the

war, India had an incredible 2.5 million-man volunteer army. About 87,000 Indian soldiers died

in the combat.

The Indian independence movement was very strong by this time, though, and British rule was

widely resented.

Some 30,000 Indian POWs were recruited by the Germans and Japanese to fight against the

Allies, in exchange for their freedom. Most, however, remained loyal. Indian troops fought in

Burma, North Africa, Italy and elsewhere.

The struggle for Indian independence

Even as World War II raged, Gandhi and other members of the Indian National Congress

(INC) demonstrated against British rule of India.

The earlier Government of India Act (1935) had provided for the establishment of provincial

legislatures across the colony. The Act also created an umbrella federal government for the

provinces and princely states and granted the vote to about 10 percent of India's male

population. These moves toward limited self-governance only made India impatient for true

self-rule.

In 1942, Britain sent the Cripps mission to offer future dominion status in return for help

recruiting more soldiers. Cripps may have made a secret agreement with the Muslim League,

allowing Muslims to opt out of a future Indian state.

Arrests of Gandhi and the INC leadership

In any case, Gandhi and the INC did not trust the British envoy and demanded immediate

independence in return for their cooperation. When the talks broke down, the INC launched

the "Quit India" movement, calling for the immediate withdrawal of Britain from India.


In response, the British arrested the INC's leadership, including Gandhi and his wife. Mass

demonstrations burst out across the country but were crushed by the British army. The offer of

independence had been made, however. Britain may not have realized it, but it was now just a

question of when the British Raj would end.

The soldiers who had joined Japan and Germany in fighting the British were put on trial at

Delhi's Red Fort early in 1946. A series of 10 courts-martial were held, trying 45 prisoners on

charges of treason, murder and torture. The men were convicted, but huge public protests

forced the commutation of their sentences. Sympathetic mutinies broke out in the Indian army

and navy during the trial, as well.

Hindu-Muslim riots, and the Partition

On August 17, 1946, violent fighting broke out between Hindus and Muslims in Calcutta. The

trouble quickly spread across India. Meanwhile, cash-strapped Britain announced its decision

to withdraw from India by June of 1948.

Sectarian violence flared again as independence approached. In June 1947, representatives

of the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs agreed to divide India along sectarian lines. Hindu and Sikh

areas stayed in India, while predominantly Muslim areas in the north became the nation of

Pakistan.


Millions of refugees flooded across the border in each direction. Between 250,000 and

500,000 people were killed in sectarian violence during the Partition. Pakistan became

independent on August 14, 1947. India followed the next day.


Quiz

1 Which sentence BEST summarizes how British forces affected the Indian people?

(A) They improved their circumstances by properly controlling their land.

(B) They provided funding for the Indian government to have a more powerful

army.

(C) They forced them into poverty and caused many of them to die of starvation.

(D) They took over control of the region in a series of agreements that still persist

today.

2 How does the author describe the British over the course of the article?

(A) deceitful and manipulative

(B) knowledgeable and wealthy

(C) powerful yet peaceful

(D) power-hungry and forceful

3 How might a person from India use the images to teach someone more about British control?

(A) They might use them to represent the valuables that were lost in the war.

(B) They might use them to show how both sides appeared during battles.

(C) They might use them to show why the Indians were successful at resisting the

British.

(D) They might use them to give context about past British rulers and monarchies.

4 What limitations do the images have that the text does not have?

(A) They do not show how the British forced the Indians into poverty and starvation.

(B) They do not accurately show what some of the leaders from both sides looked

like.

(C) They cannot give any context about agreements that occurred between both

sides.

(D) They cannot show how territories were divided between different empires.


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