Summary of India's History: From Company Rule to Independence

Arrival: The East India Company (EIC) acquired a charter from Queen Elizabeth I in $1600$ , granting it the sole right to trade with the East.
Competition: European powers like the Portuguese (Vasco da Gama reached India in $1498$ ), the Dutch, and the French competed for cotton, silk, pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon.
Bengal Expansion: The first English factory was established on the river Hugli in $1651$ . By $1696$ , the EIC began building a fort and acquired zamindari rights for three villages, including Kalikata (Kolkata).
Battle of Plassey ( $1757$ ): Robert Clive defeated Nawab Sirajuddaulah after commander Mir Jafar defected. This was the EIC’s first major victory in India.
Battle of Buxar ( $1764$ ): Followed the defeat of Nawab Mir Qasim; the EIC was appointed Diwan of Bengal in $1765$ , allowing it to use local revenues for trade and military expenses.
Expansion Policies:
- Subsidiary Alliance: Rulers paid for EIC-maintained forces or lost territory; used by Richard Wellesley (e.g., Awadh in $1801$ ).
- Tipu Sultan: Known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’; fought four wars; killed in the Battle of Seringapatam in $1799$ .
- Paramountcy: Lord Hastings claimed EIC authority was supreme over Indian states.
- Doctrine of Lapse: Lord Dalhousie annexed states if a ruler died without a male heir (e.g., Satara, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhansi).

Permanent Settlement ( $1793$ ): Introduced by Charles Cornwallis; revenue fixed permanently for zamindars. Failure to pay led to loss of land title.
Mahalwari Settlement ( $1822$ ): Devised by Holt Mackenzie for North Western Provinces; revenue was revised periodically and collected from the village (mahal).
Munro System (Ryotwari): Implemented in South India; EIC dealt directly with cultivators (ryots).
Indigo Cultivation: Driven by European industrial demand. Two systems existed:
- Nij: Planters produced indigo on directly controlled lands.
- Ryoti: Planters forced ryots into contracts (satta) via loans.
Blue Rebellion ( $1859$ ): Bengal ryots refused to grow indigo and attacked factories. The Indigo Commission ( $1860$ ) later declared the system unprofitable for ryots.

Livelihoods: Tribes practiced jhum (shifting) cultivation, hunting, gathering, and pastoralism.
Birsa Munda: Led a movement in Chottanagpur to restore a ‘Golden Age’ free from dikus (outsiders). He was arrested in $1895$ and died in $1900$ .
Key Revolts: Kols ( $1831-32$ ), Santhals ( $1855$ ), Bastar Rebellion ( $1910$ ), and Warli Revolt ( $1940$ ).

Causes: Resentment over land annexations, religious interference (greased cartridges), and poor pay/service conditions for sepoys.
Outbreak: Mangal Pandey hanged in March $1857$ ; sepoys mutinied in Meerut on $10$ May $1857$ and marched to Delhi to proclaim Bahadur Shah Zafar as leader.
Key Figures: Nana Saheb (Kanpur), Rani Lakshmibai (Jhansi), Begum Hazrat Mahal (Lucknow), and Kunwar Singh (Bihar).
Outcome: The British Crown took direct control via the Government of India Act of $1858$ . The Governor-General became the ‘Viceroy’.

Orientalism: William Jones and Henry Thomas Colebrooke promoted the study of ancient Sanskrit and Persian texts.
Anglicists: James Mill and Thomas Babington Macaulay advocated for European learning. The English Education Act of $1835$ made English the medium for higher education.
Wood’s Despatch ( $1854$ ): Emphasized practical benefits of European education for trade and administration.
Reformers:
- Raja Rammohun Roy: Founded Brahmo Samaj; helped ban Sati in $1829$ .
- Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar: Campaigned for widow remarriage (Act passed in $1856$ ).
- Jyotirao Phule: Founded Satyashodhak Samaj; wrote Gulamgiri ( $1873$ ) against caste inequality.
- B.R. Ambedkar: Led Temple Entry Movement in $1927$ .

Indian National Congress: Established in $1885$ at Bombay with $72$ delegates.
Partition of Bengal ( $1905$ ): Partitioned by Viceroy Curzon, leading to the Swadeshi and Vandemataram movements.
Arrival of Mahatma Gandhi ( $1915$ ): Introduced non-violent satyagraha. Key events include Rowlatt Satyagraha ( $1919$ ), Non-Cooperation Movement ( $1920-22$ ), and Civil Disobedience/Dandi March ( $1930$ ).
Independence: After the Quit India Movement ( $1942$ ) and post-war negotiations, India gained freedom in $1947$ but was partitioned from Pakistan.

Constitution ( $1950$ ): Introduced universal adult franchise ( $21+$ years initially), equality before law, and reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
Linguistic States: Potti Sriramulu’s fast led to Andhra being the first linguistic state in $1953$ . State Reorganisation Commission report followed in $1956$ .
Economic Planning: Planning Commission set up in $1950$ using a ‘mixed economy’ model. Second Five Year Plan ( $1956$ ) focused on heavy industry and dams.

Nawab complains ( $1733$ ): The Nawab of Bengal argued that English traders, initially humble, built forts, looted subjects, and carried them into slavery.
Robert Clive’s Defense: Clive told the British Parliament he was ‘astonished at his moderation’ given the gold and jewels available to him after Plassey.
Warren Hastings’ Impeachment: Edmund Burke impeached him in the name of the ‘people of India’ and ‘human nature itself’ for misgovernment in Bengal.
Indigo Commission Interview ( $1860$ ):
- Q (W.S. Seton Karr): Are you now willing to sow indigo?
- A (Hadji Mulla): I am not willing to sow… I would rather beg than sow indigo.
Sepoy Memoirs (Sitaram Pande): Noted that the seizure of Oudh (Awadh) and the greased cartridges filled the sepoys’ minds with distrust and rumors of religious conversion.