History of the Indian Subcontinent: 1857 to the 1920s

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key historical figures, events, policies, and acts from the 1857 War of Independence through the Khilafat Movement in the 1920s.

Doctrine of Lapse

An annexation policy enforced in 1852 by Governor-General Lord Dalhousie under which any Indian princely state whose ruler died without a natural male heir was annexed by the East India Company.

Mangal Panday

The Indian sepoy who became the first soldier to refuse to use the greased cartridges for the Enfield rifles in March 1857, triggering the spread of the revolt across India.

Bahadur Shah II (Bahadur Shah Zafar)

The last Mughal emperor who was declared the emperor of Hindustan by rebel sepoys during the 1857 War of Independence, and later exiled by the British to Rangoon (Myanmar/Burma) for life.

Nana Sahib

The leader of the 1857 revolt in Kanpur who held a grievance over his stopped pension, attacked British forces on barges killing 300 women and children, and was never captured.

Allahabad Declaration of 1858

The official declaration through which the British government abolished East India Company rule, brought India directly under the British Crown, and ended annexation policies such as the Doctrine of Lapse.

General Services Enlistment Act (1856)

An act passed in 1856 that imposed an obligation on Indian sepoys to serve wherever required, offending caste Hindus who believed overseas travel caused loss of caste to Sudra.

Thuggee

A secret society of armed highway robbers in central and upper India who practiced ritual murder in the name of the goddess Kali, suppressed by the East India Company in 1830 under Colonel Sleeman.

Suttee (Sati)

The Hindu custom of burning a widow alive on the cremation pyre of her deceased husband, outlawed by the East India Company in Bengal in 1829 under Governor-General Lord Bentinck.

Thomas Babington Macaulay

The British official who masterminded the introduction of English as the official language and education system in India, asserting that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the entire native literature of India and Arabia.

The Loyal Mohammedans of India

A pamphlet authored by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan shortly after the 1857 War of Independence to record instances of Muslim loyalty to the British and protect Muslims from colonial hostility.

Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental School (MAOS)

An educational institution established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1875 at Aligarh modeled on British public schools, which elevated to college status in 1877 and university status in 1920.

Hindi-Urdu Controversy (1867)

A linguistic conflict that began in 1867 when Hindu groups demanded the replacement of Urdu by Hindi written in Deva Nagari script as the official language at lower levels.

Two-Nation Theory

The political concept formulated by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan asserting that Muslims and Hindus are two separate and distinct nations with incompatible cultures, religions, and traditions.

Partition of Bengal (1905)

The administrative division of Bengal into Muslim-majority East Bengal & Assam and Hindu-majority West Bengal in October 1905 under Viceroy Lord Curzon.

Swadeshi Movement

An anti-partition boycott movement starting in 1905 that urged Indians to boycott British-manufactured imports, make public bonfires of foreign cloth, and support indigenous goods.

Delhi Durbar (1911)

The royal imperial assembly where King George V formally announced the reversal of the Partition of Bengal and the relocation of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi.

Simla Deputation (1906)

A delegation of 35 prominent Muslim leaders led by Sir Agha Khan and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk that met the Viceroy Lord Minto at Simla to demand separate electorates and political representation.

All-India Muslim League

A political party established on 30 December 1906 in Dhaka at the residence of Nawab Salimullah Khan to safeguard the political rights and distinct identity of Indian Muslims.

Arya Samaj

An extremist Hindu movement active in the early twentieth century aimed at purifying India of non-Hindu elements through the forcible conversion of Muslims and other minorities.

Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)

The Indian Councils Act of 1909 that expanded the membership of central and provincial legislative councils and formally granted separate electorates to Indian Muslims.

Satyendra Prasanna Sinha (S.P. Sinha)

The first Indian appointed as an official member of the Viceroy's Executive Council under the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909.

Defence of India Act 1915

Emergency wartime legislation enacted during the First World War providing special powers to suppress terrorism, conspiracies, and anti-British opposition through imprisonment and death penalties.

Lucknow Pact (1916)

A historic constitutional agreement negotiated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah between the Congress and the Muslim League, agreeing on joint demands for self-rule, separate electorates, and one-third Muslim representation in the central assembly.

Diarchy

A system of dual governance introduced in the provinces by the Government of India Act 1919 that divided responsibilities between transferred subjects held by Indian ministers and reserved subjects held by British governors.

Rowlatt Act (1919)

Colonial legislation termed 'Black Bills' that authorized the British government to arrest suspects without a warrant, conduct trials without juries, and detain individuals indefinitely without bail.

General Dyer

The British commander who ordered troops to fire without warning upon an unarmed crowd of approximately 20,000 Indians in Amritsar on 13 April 1919.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

The 13 April 1919 shooting in Amritsar where British troops fired 1,600 rounds into an enclosed public gathering, killing roughly 400 people and wounding about 1,200.

Nehru Report (1928)

A constitutional framework drawn up by Pundit Motilal Nehru that proposed dominion status and a unitary government while rejecting separate electorates and reserved seats for Muslims in the central legislature.

Fourteen Points (1929)

A charter of political demands formulated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1929 in response to the Nehru Report, advocating for provincial autonomy, a federal structure, and a one-third Muslim quota in the central assembly.

Treaty of Sèvres (1920)

A post-World War I agreement that dismantled the Ottoman Empire, split its lands among Allied powers, and placed restrictions on Turkish military forces.

All-India Khilafat Conference

A joint political conference founded in Delhi in November 1919 by leaders including the Ali brothers and Mahatma Gandhi to oppose Allied partition plans for Turkey and preserve the Ottoman Caliphate.

Chauri Chaura Incident (1922)

A violent clash in eastern U.P. during the Non-Cooperation Movement where a mob burnt a police station and killed 22 policemen, leading Mahatma Gandhi to immediately suspend the movement.

Hijrat Movement (1921)

An offshoot of the Khilafat Movement where roughly 18,000 Indian Muslims declared India Dar-al-Harb, sold their assets, and marched to Afghanistan, only to be turned back at the border.

Moplah Uprising (1921)

A peasant revolt by Muslim Moplahs in Nilambur against oppressive British-backed Hindu landlords, which led to widespread fighting and the suffocation of 66 prisoners in the Moplah Train Tragedy.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The Turkish nationalist leader who established a secular democratic government with an elected parliament in Turkey and formally deposed and abolished the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924.