A Wind of Change: The New British Colonial Policy in Post-Revolt India (original) (raw)

Britain and the Indian Uprising, MAM Vol II: Introduction

Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857 -- Volume II: Britain and the Indian Uprising, 2013

DESPITE the enduring myth of a nineteenth century Pax Britannica, British rule in India, and across the Empire, was punctuated by revolts, rebellions, insurrection and instability. So endemic were such challenges to British imperial rule that the events of the so-called 'Indian Mutiny' of 1857 have been described as 'unique only in their scale'. 1 1857 was also unique in another way, as the rebellion and its aftermath embedded itself in the British national consciousness in a way unmatched by previous colonial confrontations. One of the fi rst confl icts to be covered by press reporters in the fi eld, the unfolding of events in India in 1857-1858 caught the popular imagination, provoking both virulent debate and a wealth of historical, literary and artistic productions, at the time and since. 2 The sudden, unexpected eruption of violence, the longevity of the subsequent unrest and the atrocities committed against combatants and civilians on both sides, together with the very real threat posed to British rule in India and the perceived challenge to British honour and prestige as an imperial power, set the uprising of 1857 apart from previous confl icts and left an indelible scar on the national psyche. 1857 represented a seminal moment in British imperial history and in Britain's relationship with and attitudes to India. Bringing about fundamental changes in the structure of British power, with the end of East India Company government and the imposition of Crown rule in India, it also impacted in less quantifi able ways on British attitudes to other races and ideas about the potential equality of man, as well as challenging and revealing the fi ssures within Britain's emerging self-perception and identity as an imperial nation. 3 British colonial rule in India can be dated from their victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and their subsequent acceptance of the diwani, or administrative authority, of Bengal in 1765. Over the next century, from footholds in Bengal, Bombay and Madras, the British expanded their territorial control and infl uence via a combination of treaties, agreements, conquests and annexations, until in xvi Introduction 1857 they directly controlled roughly two-thirds of the subcontinent's land and four-fi fths of its population, exercising indirect infl uence over the remainder. 4 Signifi cantly, however, this vast area was not governed by the British crown or Parliament, but by an independent trading concern, the East India Company, which had taken on the administrative control of India in order to secure it as a trade and revenue resource. Its control of the subcontinent was based on a thinly stretched network of British administrators, offi cials and civil servants and a large mercenary army of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. When, in May 1857, sections of this army began to rebel, fi rst at Meerut and then at cantonments across north and central India, they were quickly joined by signifi cant sections of the civilian population and many Britons found themselves stranded and outnumbered in a hostile land. Some were killed at the hands of the rebels, both individually and at infamous massacres such as those at Delhi and Cawnpore. 5 Others fl ed their homes, losing everything, or were besieged in forts and residencies at Agra, Lucknow and elsewhere. 6 The chapter by Ira Bhattacharya in this volume explores some of the diverse experiences of British men and women of different social backgrounds who found themselves under siege, drawing out from their accounts the details of ordinary life under extraordinary circumstances.

Mutiny or Revolution? The Consequences of Events in India in 1857

The focus of this project is on both the nature and consequences, for India, of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Classic British historians have offered a clear simplistic view that events should be classed as a Mutiny. However, I focus on the debate between the Indian historians that emerged in the twentieth century. I conclude that the events of 1857 must be characterised initially as a military Mutiny, but later as a collective conservative rebellion for the protection of religion, and the rejection of British rule. I go on to discuss the short term effects, looking at the social and military reform undertaken by the British, which represents how their attitudes to the culture and native peoples of India was shifted by the uprising against British rule. This shift moves away from legislative reforms imposed from above, to focus on shifting young Indian’s attitudes gradually and naturally, through Victorian style education. Furthermore I discuss the short term reorganisation of the Indian militaries, and how the events in 1857 led to the development of a material race ideology. Lastly, I discuss how the Rebellion, and its consequences led to a national sentiment developing, which leads to the onset of the early Independence Movement.

The Indian Revolt of 1857 : Global Response

Centre for Land Warfare Studies(CLAWS), New Delhi, 2020

The bulk of the writings on the Indian Revolt of 1857 by British authors were guided by their own political and imperial motivations, with an aim to project their racial superiority as well as heroism of their citizens against the Indian rebels. The revolt was highlighted by exceptional leadership of four most prominent military leaders, namely Nana Sahib, Rani Laxmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal and Kunwar Singh, whose combined efforts ensured that the fight continued for almost two years in spite of innumerable odds stacked against them. While the domestic aspect of the Indian Revolt of 1857 has been adequately covered and written about in the Indian academic landscape, not many Indians are aware about the international dimension of this defining historical moment of Indian history. Revolt led to not only public and political debates in numerous countries such as US, Russia, Ireland, Italy, China and the Middle East but also inspired their people to fight against their colonial masters.

The British Raj: Colonial rule in South Asia

Description: (Offered as HIST 377 [AS/TE] and ASLC 377) This course examines the rise, establishment, and decline of British colonialism in India. Originating with the profound transitions underway in the mid-eighteenth century, the colonial state extended its reach over much of the subcontinent over the following century, yet crumbled by the middle of the twentieth. How do we understand these great revolutions in society and politics historically? What did they mean for those whose lives were transformed by them? How does the legacy of colonialism endure? Structured by the most important debates colonial rule generated both historically and historiographically, the course offers the opportunity to ask the old riddle, what was colonialism? In consultation with the instructor, students may choose to write the seminar-paper required for the History major in this course. One class meeting per week.

The British Art of Colonialism in India: Subjugation and Division

Peace and Conflict Studies, 2018

This article utilizes a three-pronged analytical model to examine the mechanics of British colonialism and its socioeconomic and political consequences in India. Those three elements are divide and rule, colonial education, and British laws. The British took some reformative initiatives that ostensibly deserve appreciation such as the development of a predictable legal system, investment in infrastructure development, and education in the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. However, most colonial policies and reforms were against the will and welfare of the people of India. The British took away India’s resources and introduced the English educational system to create an educated and elite buffer class for its own interests. It also introduced positivistic and predictable laws and repressive and discriminatory measures, including force, to control the natives and prevent anti-British agitation, protests, and armed uprisings in India. Although the consequences of British col...

British Interest in the Subcontinent and the Immediate Transfer of Power

Athens Journal of History, 2019

World War II had shaken the bases capitalist yoke. The ever shining sun of British ascendency was on the verge of sinking. The two-edged sword of technological advancement and Machiavellian tactics of statecraft was no more paved her way in the eastern awakening society. British were facing failure in every sphere of politics in the subcontinent. The growing monstrous menace of the communist yoke at the western border and even inside insurgency of workers in India compel the British to transfer power to Hindu bourgeoisie. The capitalist Hindu bourgeoisie incarnated in a socialist garb was the lost ray of hope for the British. All these were possible in united India according to the then tank thank of British, while truncated moth-eaten Pakistan was not perceived as a strong bulwark against communist assault. Although the latter progress in the political history Pakistan has proven the opposite side of the portrayed arena. The purpose of this study is to explore the real cause of British favoritism of Congress and their tendency toward Hindu bourgeoisie. This paper attempts to answer those questions by objectively examining and analyzing the major events of the decade preceding the partition, unquestionably the most critical period to the understanding of the causes of partition.

A History of India, Vol II: From the Break-up of the Mughal Empire to the End of Colonial Rule

2024

This is the second of a three-volume history of India, characterized by three main arguments: (a) Indian history has been crucially conditioned by the manifold and two-way connections linking the Indian subcontinent to the remainder of the world; (b) Indian society was never static, but always crisscrossed by powerful currents of change; (c) colonialism caused both the crystallization of a ‘traditional’ society – which, in that shape, had never really existed before – and, at the same time, the rise of modernity. This volume examines the history of India from the collapse of the Mughal Empire to the end of colonialism in 1947. It analyses the features of the most important pre-colonial Indian states and the role played by the British colonialism in their destruction or reduction to political irrelevance. Second, the volume highlights the contradictory role of the colonial order in freezing a previously evolving society, causing the coming into being of a ‘traditional India’ and, at the same time, somewhat unwittingly, triggering the rise of a new modern India. Furthermore, the volume analyses the role of India in supporting the British Empire both economically and militarily, and how the implementation of the liberal economic policy by the colonial rulers resulted in the loss of millions of Indian lives. Finally, the volume closely examines the rise and evolution of Indian nationalism, the reasons that forced for the British to end their rule, and, last but not least, the causes of partition and the responsibilities of the parties and political leaders involved.