British Raj in India: How Did It Start and What Are the Consequences?
India and Britain: How did it start?
Do you know that for more than three centuries India was under the rule of the British Empire? Of course, it had a profound influence on the development of this country as a state but even now the burden of being a colony has an impact on the Indian people as a nation. How did it start? And what were the causes which put Indians under the British Raj for centuries?
In order to understand the influence, we need to know the precise meaning of “colonization” — control by one power over a dependent area or people. It is the violent invasion of a country’s territory, taking control and claiming the land as its own, sending people — “settlers” — to live on that land.
East India Company and three waves of colonization
Nowadays, if somebody asks about the most powerful and influential companies in the world we will without hesitation refer to FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google). But imagine that over the centuries ago there was such an authoritative and strong company that almost conquered a whole subcontinent and had an influence greater than every transnational firm. Yes, you’ve guessed right, it is the East Indian Company — the most famous corporation in history that held the power over the whole trade system now seen as the quintessence of British Tea.
In the 17th century, the Indian subcontinent was acknowledged as the home of spices, fabrics, luxury goods, and cheap labor, good agriculture, and opium trade which were appealing to the Europeans. So, it was viewed as the land of endless potential.
The East India Company, ruling between 1600 and 1874, established for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, beginning as a monopolistic trading corporation it slowly involved politics and acted as an agent of British imperialism in India.
The Origins of the British India Company
In late 1500 after the defeat of the Spanish Armada seized Spanish and Portuguese ships enabled English voyagers to potentially travel the globe in search of treasures. London merchants asked Queen Elizabeth I to sail to the Indian Ocean, where the main purpose was to destroy the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of Far Eastern Trade.
Now the two main players were — Dutch and English. There was great concern about the Dutch who took control of new trading routes, so the British tried to regain primacy. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth gave 200 English merchants the right to trade in the East Indies. One of these groups of traders called themselves “Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies” which later became the East India Company.
Three waves of British conquest
The East India Company started with trade but soon they took every aspect of Indian’s life until eventually the British government officially started to create colonies and set full control over resources.
In the first stage of the beginning of colonization, the British were considered as princes-nabobs of various regions and viewed by much of the Hindu population as just as bad as each other. Initially, the British were respectful and had an interest in Indian culture and traditions, they tried to learn the Indian language and wore traditional clothes to mix with the local population.
It was common for the British to “go native”: they married Hindus and their offspring were included in their wills. Some settlers gained a higher status after arriving in India, the Hindus saw them as Kshatriya, a new type of warrior horseman.
After 1757 there was an unexpected twist in the relationships of the two countries because of the declining politics of Mughal India — which Brits saw as a great opportunity, so they slowly started to establish themselves by taking permission from the local rulers to expand their factories.
The Change of Attitude. The second stage of the Invasion
The Black Hole of Calcutta
The Black Hole of Calcutta — this event defined the fate of India. Horror, screaming, the unbearable pain of people who were imprisoned in a tiny room in Fort William in Calcutta resulted in devastating consequences for victims of the incident.
In the 1690s British established a port and trading base at Calcutta. It caused the resentment of the new Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daula, who sent orders to the governor of Calcutta to stop the work on the fortifications. However, the decree was not paid any attention, so the nawab decided to attack Calcutta. He marched with a huge army, approximately 50,000 men with 500 elephants and fifty cannons.
It resulted in the surrender of the nawab’s army and the imprisonment of 146 people of which only 23 survived. This incident was viewed as evidence of British heroism and the nawab’s callousness. The British attitude to India had shifted and the Brits used this incident for the imposition of a direct rule.
The second and the third wave of colonization — the imposition of direct rule
1813 was a turning point in the history of India. The growth of the evangelical movement in England forced the Company to allow missionaries to India, changing its previous policy of patronage and protection of local religion
The Indian Mutiny or the First War of Independence 1857–1858
In 1857, Indian soldiers rebelled against the British commanders, thousands of people took part in this event. It was a struggle, the first breath of independence that presented a real threat to the British Colonial Power.
The beginning was associated with the 10 May 1857 when 85 members of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry (they were in jail for refusing to use cartridges) were freed from prison by their comrades. They almost destroyed the nearest military station and killed everyone on their path.
After that, the situation took another turn, more violent and serious. Next was Delhi which fell over the control of mutineers. These provoked similar movements across the whole subcontinent. People joined the rebel because they wanted to escape the unbearable burden that was imposed by Britain. It was hard to confront these forces, reinforcement came only after months. Fortunately for the British, only soldiers of the Bengal Army mutinied.
Financial and political crisis caused the reorganization of the Indian Administration and made India a protectorate of Queen Victoria. This incident made the British think about how the missionary activities were dangerous.
From 1858 India was officially called British Raj until it gained its independence in 1947.
The Implications of the British Raj in India
Of course, these colonial years are controversial to estimate. The British Raj implemented a proper educational system in India, establishing schools and colleges to raise a more literate population and teaching them English.
There were significant improvements in the transportation system — railways and steamships were introduced, proper roads were built. There were changes in traditional Indian practices which open the issue of human rights. the Sati system —a religious tradition, when a woman would burn herself after her husband’s death — was abolished, and remarriages supported. After the Industrial Revolution, there were significant changes in communication system-telegraphs and posts emerged.
But, unfortunately, the colonial years also had devastating consequences and put a black stain over Indian History. In 1700, India was counted as the world’s richest country but under the British Raj when India achieved independence in 1947 the total GDP had declined from 27% to 3%. The thriving industries were destroyed by the imposition of taxes, which were taken by torture, cruelty, violence; tariffs.
Moreover, the British caused massive suffering of Indian people, some policies caused damage to hundreds of Indians citizens, for example, policy in the succession of famines. A massive massacre like the Amritsar massacre which provoked the movement to independence had taken the lives of millions of people, living children on the verge of extinction.
