Raj is the Hindi word for rule. Thus, the British Raj is the British rule of India. The British Raj only comprised about 90 years of British control over India. But that period was still instrumental to India's modern development. When the British East India Company was dealt a heavy military blow in 1858, the Government of India Act transferred its power to British rule in the form of the India Office.
And so, India became a royal possession, beginning direct British rule of the subcontinent. Although the British were trying to gain further wealth and power, they fortified India's government and infrastructure, helping unite all of India and giving them the strength to finally establish themselves as a modern country filled with diversity. Many of modern India's characteristics and struggles emanated from the British Raj. Let's look at this period of British rule to see how it affected modern India and why it still impacts the world today.
How did the British first arrived in India. Although the British Raj was not established until 1858, the British were in India long before that. In the 15th century, the European nations were competing for monopolies in the East, including countries like China and India.
There was a land trade route, but explorers sought a way to access the Indian Ocean. They knew sailing to India would be much more cost-effective, but it was still dangerous and expensive. They needed help.
So in 1599, Explorers, merchants, and artists gathered together to form the British East India Company and asked the queen for a charter. She granted it in 1600, and the British East India Company was born. They immediately set about breaking up the Portuguese monopoly, but they did not have much luck in India until 1620. The Portuguese actively opposed the British presence in the East Indies. The British quickly realized they needed to defeat the Portuguese if they wanted their trade network to grow. they were already fighting over trade in Persia, so the fight in the East Indies grew naturally out of that animosity.
Soon, the British East India Company had its own army, which it used to fight the Portuguese and the local Mughal Empire. They slowly advanced across the subcontinent, taking cities and building forts to protect their interests. By 1720, the company brought in 15% of English imports, which bolstered the economy and allowed Britain to start the Industrial Revolution. The British East India Company continued to grow, taking over French territories. By 1802, they held an almost complete monopoly on trade out of India.
The British used this power to grow their economy and gain additional control over the area, instead of encouraging their soldiers and merchants to learn more about Indian cultures and languages. By 1813, the British East India Company was determined to modernize India by bringing in British and Christian values. Although it may sound great that the British supported schooling and strove to protect widows from being burned to death after their husbands died, they primarily focused on modernizations that improved the company.
Some of these updates included implementing a postal service, adding electricity, and building railroads. At first, these services were not available to everyone. They were limited to cities or businesses connected to the British East India Company.
But they soon became available for all. Even though the British East India Company brought trading opportunities and modernization to India, they were also met with much pushback from the people there. The British wanted to expand the company, and they grabbed political power and increasingly dominated control of the land. By 1818, they completely controlled India, maintaining that power for three decades, while also taking over French and Dutch colonies.
However, when the British began pushing Christianity onto the people, the people revolted. especially the Indian soldiers. The company did not respect or accommodate their Hindu and Islamic beliefs, which led to mutiny and growing distrust between the British and the Indian people.
Although the British East India Company spurred the British economy into the modern age, it also alienated the subcontinent, eventually leading to its downfall. Why did the British Raj form? The British East India Company lost most of its power in 1857 after a substantial rebellion left the Indian people victorious. However, Britain was not ready to relinquish control. It decided to abolish the Company and transfer the rule of India to Queen Victoria, which was completed with the Government of India Act in August 1858. This act started the British Raj, but Britain did not have direct rule over all of India as we know it today.
Instead, the British Raj included most of India and some of Pakistan and Bangladesh. But Britain did not directly rule all of it. There were both provinces of direct rule and over 175 princely states, which local leaders led under British supervision.
Queen Victoria became the Empress of India in 1857, but the British government was more tolerant of Indian culture than the British East India Company had been. Although the people of India were now British subjects, they were not required to convert to Christianity or give up their traditions. Instead, Britain stopped the attempts to make India more like Western cultures.
It even investigated what the company had done wrong. They found the company did not communicate with the local people, and pushing the free market on India forced ordinary people into unhealthy relationships with rulers and merchants. Thus, one of the main reasons of the British Raj was to save the Indian culture and traditions. At least, that was one of the main reasons espoused by Britain.
Still, many people from Britain did explore Indian culture and history, and were excited to share it with the world, saving ancient texts for us to enjoy today. Of course, the British Raj was interested in much more than culture. It also played a vital role in reorganizing the Indian government and social hierarchy.
This included creating a middle class to work in the government. The company and the British Raj used a similar dual governance system. with one government based in London and the other in Calcutta. But the Governor-General, appointed by the British monarchy in India, had a different relationship with the Executive Council. Before, the Governor-General had to consult them over various political tasks.
After the Raj was in place, the Council was divided into departments. Each member focused on a specific routine task or issue. The Governor-General only needed to work on important problems, allowing the whole government to function more efficiently. When they needed new laws, the Executive Council expanded to become the Legislative Council, which added 12 new members for two years.
Six of them were from Britain, but the other six were local people who served as advisors. Although the Indian people in the council were not allowed to vote, they still had an important role in helping manage public opinion and assuage concerns about the government. The Indian legislature also made laws that impacted everyone living in the British Raj.
The legislature was bicameral. having two branches, and the Governor General was the head of the upper house. All of these changes in government allowed the local people to learn about self-governance while continuing to develop their desire for freedom.
The British did more than change the Indian government and preserve their culture. They also made dramatic changes in the Indian education system. The British East India Company had opened a few universities in major cities, but they also destroyed the traditional Indian schooling system before the company took over India.
The locals had run village schools that taught literacy and other basic skills. These local schools collapsed when the company took over the land. Under the British Raj, one of the primary people dedicated to education in India was Thomas Macaulay. He was less supportive of the traditional culture than other leaders. He set up an English-style education system, complete with teaching the English language instead of local languages.
The British Raj opened almost 200 universities by 1911. and the 36,000 students who enrolled every year went on to serve the government in administration or legal health. This education system created a new middle class, a well-educated one. Still, citizens inhabited a middle ground between India and British cultures. The education system under the British Raj continues to be a subject of fierce debate today, especially as people try to sort through the impacts of colonialism and British influence.
The British Raj also focused on investing in infrastructure. Agriculturally, they built canals and irrigation systems. But people were planting crops for export instead of building their own food supplies. These crops included coffee, tea, cotton, sugarcane, and opium.
Although the British Raj did increase production and created a growing national GDP, this choice also led to severe famine and general discontent. The British also built the railway system in India, which quickly became famous for its quality and size. This construction began under the British East India Company. When the British Raj took over, they continued the project and hired local companies.
The railroad supported the growing economy, but it quickly fell into disrepair during the world wars. The British were focused elsewhere, and maintenance halted on the infrastructure. It demonstrates that although Britain claimed it wanted to support the cultures and traditions in the subcontinent, actual progress needed independence.
How did the British Raj end? Much like the British East India Company, the British Raj ended with a revolution. Unease had been growing for a while.
When World War II hit, India supported the Allies, but the fight for independence continued. The people soon realized Britain did not want to give India freedom, and Gandhi decided it was time to do something more. He started Quit India, a non-violent movement intended to gain their independence.
The British tried to stop the movement by arresting people, but it only stirred the people up more. Soon, there were protests and attacks on British buildings across the subcontinent. Not everyone maintained the non-violent approach.
Some dropped their university classes and refused to pay taxes. While others blew up bridges and attacked railway stations, some even attacked European citizens, and the violence prompted the British government to retaliate with violence. The reaction was so brutal that it drove the Quit India movement underground.
Still, the desire for freedom was too deeply lodged in the people's minds to be stopped entirely. Protests erupted again in 1943 when Gandhi began his hunger strike in jail, and these protests spread worldwide. People criticized the British Raj and demanded Gandhi's release.
He was released in May 1944 and again devoted himself to gaining Indian freedom. By 1945, everyone could see that all of India wanted freedom, not just one movement or political party. When Clement Attlee became the next British Prime Minister, he immediately began working to transfer political power entirely to India.
The country was split into India and Pakistan to ease religious conflicts. And in 1947, India finally had its freedom. The British Raj ceased, but it left behind consequences that the Indian people are still working through today. Even after becoming independent, the people chose to keep many British institutions, like the universities, democracy, and civil services. Although they gained their freedom, Indians struggled with civil war for several years.
They are still working through the impacts of their religious disputes. Today, India is a melting pot of religions and cultures, a fascinating balance between their traditions and the influences of the British Raj. Even though it is now over, the effects of the British Raj stretch far beyond the subcontinent, reaching every corner of the world.
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