Paper 3 India

Battle of plassey (1757)

• Bengal was a sought after land of trade due to the fertile lands, regarded as the most promising and influential land in India

• The british began to trade there while being allowed by the nawab (paid taxes)

• The conflict started as the EIC began to refuse paying said taxes to the nawab

• The nawab, angry at the british took this as a sign of angst and attacked british fortifications in bengal

  • Had support of the french asw (demonstrates larger picture of anglo-french tensions in the subconintent)

• Lead by robert clive the british strengthened their naval and military presence in india

• They also bribed Siraj Dauala also known as the commander in cheif for the nawab

  • Put him as the puppet ruler after they won

• The british won desicivley, establshing their prowess in Indian trade

• The implications of thisevent are profound:

• First incident of direct control of the British

• extracted 6 billion pound over six years following the act

  • funded the industrial revolution in England

  Puppet ruler was a strategy essential for further annexation, hence the battle of plassey was essential in laying the groundwork for further colonialism

• gained diwani of bengal (right to collect taxes) 1.2 crore rupees per annum

Permanent Land settlement act 1793

• Brit legally allowed to give officiate land-owners (zamindaris)

  • De facto rulers of the land, allowed to buy/sell land, but most importantly they had to collect taxes from the peasantry and pay fixed rent to the british

  • 2.6 crore per annum to the british raj in india

  • Increased rural discontent in india: exploitation of peasantry

  • However the zamindari’s. also known as the indian elites actually became increasngly loyal to the raj as they gave them status

  • Hence, the permanent land settlement act, while succesful in establshing an enthralling socio-economic framework and gaining the support of the elite, discontented rural populations—> the economic explotiation planting the seeds for discontent at british malpractice

Salt and opium monopolies

• forced cultivation of opium in Bihar and Odisha—>export it to china

• Made up 15-20% of EIC’s revenue at the time

• Markup of 1000% of these products in India gave eic 8 million extra rupees a year

• Increased Indian dependancy on british— need em for essential goods (opium religious and healthcare type shit)

• Solidiefied british standpoint not only in india but in the larger asian picture asw, demonstrates that economic policies gained rev for the british but also created a framework within that influence by colonists was needed

Drain of Wealth

• Enforced extra influence on indian agriculture to be based around cotton and indigo

  • to further increase the British textile industry during the industrial revolution

• At the same time there was an increase in British manufacturers, cutting the indian tradesman out of the picture entirely

• 30 million pound estimation per annum

• Economic thinkers reverberate that the British established an economic system so harsh, that the indian markets would sprial into a ‘free fall’ if there was no British

• highlights the extent to which the British were enforcing extractioanry economic methods in aims to solidify the need for British reliance in India —> inadvertently boosting hegemony

Subsidiary Alliance

Lord Wellesly

A practice in which the EIC maintained indirect control over indian states

• Did not overtake local rulers rather Employed British troops in in order to maintian saftey and control

• Oudh and hyderabad; but later secured 50% of their land through this policy

• ALlowed british hegemony in India as it was not a direct inflitration of terriroties rather a measure that reduced the prospect of rebellion through amability

• Accepted by L and MCs because of the aspect of instated security and saftey within the regions

• Accepted by the elite as they maintained their status while imporving control over their land

Doctrine of Lapse

Lord Dalhousie

• Annexed Satara and Jahnsi through this

• Stated that if a local ruler died and they had no next of kin, the pension title and territory was to be handed over to the EIC

• Much like the subsidiary alliance, this was a motive without direct imposition of power that still gave the british territory

• Essential in gaining hegemony in India as the EIC was essentially able to collect territory without force, establshing their image in India as one devoid of mal-influence rather for the sake of development

Cornwallis Code

Lord Cornwallis

• 48 point regulatory code that aimed to make administration in India much more effeceint

• Eliminated faujdari courts while imposing 4 new provinicial courts under british provision

• created role of tax collector which made tax revenue collection much more effecient

  • could impose taxes wherever they saw fit

• Generally speaking, a political act which made judicial and economic aspects of colonialism more efficient, laying the groundwork for future english developments in India

Mcauly’s minute of enlgihs education

Mcauly

Introduce english education to indian elite

• Made communication and stratigisation easier

• influence and good relations with indian elite ‘trickle down’

Equal rights before law

• regardless of race, gender, class, etc- everyone to be tried through the same process

• Although seemingly progressive, it was regressive in nature

  • englishmen to be tried in English courts and indian to be tried in indian courts

• however indian lower classes were subject to large scale corruption and high costs, hence theyrarley got justice and had to rely on British authorities for help

Codification of laws

Betnick

• By codyfiying the laws the british inherently Diminidhed the power of local authorities and religious leaders

  • Indian citizenry to follow the law based on english judiciary process, centralising the legal process in India rather then an individual based fragmented system

• Weakened Indian traditional power structures, as British power overruled that of local authorities- demonstrating that the local elite where not omnipresent

  • demonstrated hegemony since english measures seemingly took precedent over religion and local authority

Divide and rule policies

Following the 1857 revolt, the british took up divide and rule policies in order to create internal divisions within the indian citizentry. The british took up these policies in order to maintain administrative effeceiny and control as they feared another united revolt

Partition of bengal

• Under lord curzon’s provision

• To seperate Bengal into west-bengal (hindu) and east bengal (muslim)

  • British claimed this was for administrative efficiency “bengal was too big to rule”

  • Nationalists claimed this was a direct attack to divide the indian population

  • Such a stark moment in colonial rule acted as a catalyst for the radicalisation of the INC

  • Nationalists such as chandra pal, rai, called for the swadeshi movement, boycotting british imports into India

  • there were over 25000 swadeshi movements over the span of 3 years

  • Although a divisive policy at face value, the partition of bengal raised a sentiment of solidarity amongst a myriad of religious groups, laying the ground-work for swaraj (self-rule)

Morely Minto Reforms

Following the partition of bengal there was a large-anti colonial sentiment in India, the swadeshi movement worked, brit exports fell by 20%

• partition overruled, increasing incentive to appease hindu nationalists

• added representation, allowing Indian citizens to join english representative councils

  • Although they were allowed to join, Indians had very little power—> they could not complain about British policies

    • Demonstrates the extent to which the mmr were a ‘quick fix’ following the partition rather than a direct engagement to expand colonial rule

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      However the mmr included separate electorates for Muslims

• By institutionalizing divide, it is essential to note that the colonial administration evidently formalised inter-communal dissent— almost warranting tensions communally; worked toward the divide and rule policy

  • only 2 of the 15 of the vr’s cabinet were indian

  • 172 indian delegates

WW2 Impact: Economic

Cost Eng 3 billion dollars during the war, 1.3 billion was given as loan by India

• Used for arms soldiers etc.

• The transformation from India being an economic liability to a creditor nation eroded the economic rationale for english colonial presence in India

As war production increased, there was an increasing dependence on indian industry and agriculture to finance production—> led to inflation crisis, conflict between postwar construction and administration in India

• PM atlee “Economic liability, not efficient to run colony and try to rebuild the homeland”

World War 2: Quit India

World War 2: Atlantic charter and de-colonisation (global)

Amritsar Massacare

Government act 1919

Government Act 1935

Simon Commision