Imperialism in India

Battle of Plassey

1757 - a victory by the British East India Company led by Robert Clive, start of British rule in India

Robert Clive

East Indian Company commander who led the company in a decisive victory, gaining control of India

“jewel in the crown”

India was Britain’s most valuable colony as it was a major supplier of raw materials and had a large population, making for a good market

sepoys

Indian soldiers who fought for the East India Company

Sepoy Mutiny

May 10, 1857 - sepoys rebelled against British superiors for disrespecting their customs and unequal treatment

unsuccessful due to superior strength of East India Company and disunity among different religious groups

Rowlatt Acts

law passed by the British government allowing administration to jail protesters for several years without trial → sparked widespread protests and fueled Indian independence movement

Amritsar Massacre

1919 - 10,000 Hindus and Muslims gathered in a square in Amritsar, Punjab to pray and listen to speeches

British troops saw peaceful gathering as a protest and opened fire for 10 minutes

more than 400 dead and 1,200 injured, British soldiers involved left unpunished and inspired Gandhi to lead independence movement

Mohandas K. Gandhi

leader of Indian independence movement, deeply religious (Hindu) with millions of followers → called “Mahatma” (great soul)

assassinated by Hindu extremist in January 1948 who believed he was too sympathetic to Muslims

civil disobedience

Gandhi and Congress Party endorsed refusal to obey unjust laws and nonviolence to achieve independence

Salt March

protest against Salt Acts - forbade Indians from making and selling their own salt

Gandhi and his followers marched 240 miles to the coast and made their own salt by collecting seawater and letting it evaporate

won worldwide support but 60,000 including Gandhi arrested

British Raj

1858 - British government established direct rule on India until their independence after the Sepoy Mutiny believing that the East India Company couldn’t rule India

Ram Mohan Roy

a well-educated Indian who pressed for modernization so that India would not be controlled by foreign powers

advocated against arranged child marriage and caste system

Congress Party

India’s national political party founded in 1885, first modern nationalist movement in the British Empire

It had mostly Hindu members with some Muslims, fought for Indian representation in the government

Muslim League

political party founded in 1906 by Muslim members who left Congress Party → believed Congress Party only favored Hindus

favored Muslim-led independent state and ultimately the Partition, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

leader of Muslim League

urged all Muslims to resign from the Congress Party, stating he would never accept a Hindu-dominated India

Partition

Aug 15, 1947 - India divided into Hindu and Muslim state → northwest and east became West and East Pakistan respectively

10,000,000 people scrambled to relocate in the summer of 1947 → violence erupted among different religious groups and 1,000,000 died

British House of Commons gave India one month to prepare for this event

Jawaharlal Nehru

India’s first prime minister

reorganized states by language, pushed for industrialization and social reforms, and helped lower castes and women gain rights

Indira Gandhi

Nehru’s daughter, elected prime minister in 1966

opposed by Sikh extremists who wanted their own independent state

assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards in June 1984 after ordering Indian troops to destroy their Golden Temple

Mughals

dynasty of Muslim rulers who set up a vast empire in India

ruling family of India in 1600s before East India Company

Mustafa Kemal

Turkish commander who led nationalists against Greek and British invaders in 1922 → became president of Turkey in 1923

separated religion and state, gave women the right to vote and hold office, and launched government programs to industrialize

Reza Shah Pahlavi

officer who deposed Shah of Persia in 1925 and took over, changed Persia to Iran in 1935

established schools, built roads and railroads, industrialized, and expanded women’s rights

Ibn Saud

once part of a prominent family, he began a campaign in 1902 to unify Arabia, renamed Saudi Arabia after his family in 1932

kept strict religious practices and greatly limited modernization (no democracy)

Benazir Bhutto

Ali Bhutto’s daughter, elected prime minister of Pakistan twice after General Zia’s death

first woman to head a democratic government in Pakistan and was controversial due to modernizing agenda

removed from office in 1996 and assassinated in 2007

Sati

historical practice of a Hindu widow burning herself on her deceased husband’s funeral pyre → thought to preserve a woman’s honor but they were also forced into doing this

outlawed by British in 1829

Thuggee

a cult of criminals that specialized in cunningly and deceptively strangling victims for religious rituals and profits

suppressed and eradicated by British in 1830s