In this chapter, we are going to study
the effects of British rule over India.
Establishment of East India
Company : We have seen that due to
geographical discoveries, the European
powers reached the Indian coast. All the
European including Portuguese, Dutch,
French and British entered the race for
capturing the Indian market. When the
British came to India for trade purpose,
the Portuguese had already settled here
and they gave a bitter resistance. Later
friendly relations developed between them.
But, to establish the domination over
India, the British had to face opposition
from French, Dutch and local rulers.
The British and The Marathas :
Mumbai was the main centre of British
in western India. They were trying to
acquire the nearby territories but the
Marathas had strong hold over it. After
the death of Peshwa Madhavrao, his
uncle, Raghunathrao approached for help
from the British due to his greed for
Peshwaship. This led to the entrance of
the British in Maratha politics.
During 1774 to 1818, three wars were
fought between the Marathas and the
British. During the first war the Marathas
unitedly faced the British and hence
proved superior. In 1782, with the Treaty
of Salbai, the first Anglo-Maratha war
came to an end.
The Subsidiary Alliance : In 1798,
Lord Wellesley arrived in India as
Governor General. His objective was to
establish the British Dominion all over
India. For this he signed the Subsidiary
Alliance with many Indian rulers.
According to this Alliance the Indian
rulers were assured of British military
3. Effects of British Rule
help. There were some terms laid on
them. The Indian rulers have to maintain
British army in their court and have to
pay cash or part of their territory to the
company for its maintenance. The ruler
would not have any alliance with any
other power or declare war against any
power without the intervention of the
British. The ruler would accept a British
resident in his state. Some Indian rulers
accepted the system and lost their freedom.
In 1802, Bajirao II signed the
Subsidiary Alliance treaty with the British.
This alliance is well known as the Treaty
of Vasai. But this treaty was not
acceptable to some Maratha sardars. This
led to the second Anglo Maratha war.
After the victory of the British, there was
increased interference of British into the
Maratha state. This became intolerable
and Bajirao II waged a war against the
British. He was defeated in this battle
and in 1818 he surrendered to the British.
In the mean time, the capital of Mughals
was under the control of Daulatrao
Shinde. By defeating the troop of Shinde,
General Lake captured the Mughal
emperor and gained victory over
Hindustan.
Chhatrapati Pratapsingh : Although
the Peshwaship came
to an end, Chhatrapati
Pratapsingh of Satara
was still ruling.
Britishers signed a
treaty with Chhatrapati
Pratapsingh and
appointed Grant Duff
as an officer to assist
him in the state
affairs. But later, the Chhatrapati was dethroned and exiled to
Kashi. He died there in 1847.
Rango Bapuji Gupte, a loyal officer
of the Chhatrapati fought the legal battle
and went up to England but his efforts
were unsuccessful. Later Lord Dalhousie
rejected the adoption policy and in 1848
annexed the state of SatarEffect of British rule on India
Dual Government : Robert Clive, in
1765, introduced the dual government
system in Bengal. The company undertook
the work of revenue collection whereas
the Nawab of Bengal had to maintain
law and order. This was known as Dual
Government system.
The ill effects of dual government
system could be seen after certain time
period. Money in the form of taxes went
into the pockets of the company officers.
The Monopoly of Trade in India was
given to East India Company and hence
many trading companies in England
envied them. The working system of the
company in India received criticism in
England and British Parliament introduced
some important laws to keep control over
the company.
Acts passed by Parliament :
According to Regulating Act of 1773, the
Bengal Governor came to be known as
the Governor General. According to this
act, Lord Warren Hastings became the
Governor General of India. He got the
right to control the policies of Mumbai
and Madras provinces. A committee of
four members was set up to assist him.
In 1784, Pitt’s India Act was passed.
The Act provided for appointment of a
permanent Board of Control for better
regulation and management of affairs of
the East India Company in India. In 1813,
1833 and 1853 new laws were passed by
the Parliament to make certain changes in
the working of the company. In this way
there evolved an indirect control of the
British Government on the administration
of East India Company.
With the emergence of British rule, a
new administrative system got developed
in India. Civil Services, military, police
force and judicial system became the
main pillars of British administration in
India.
The Civil Service : To strengthen the
British rule in India there was a need of
bureaucrats. Lord Cornwallis introduced
bureaucracy. Civil services became an
important part of British government. He
restricted the private trade carried out by
the company officers and for this purpose
he increased their salary.
For the convenience of administration
he divided the British occupied territories
into districts. The District Collector was
the chief of district administration. He
was responsible for collection of revenue, giving justice, maintaining law and order.
The officers were appointed through
competitive examinations known as Indian
Civil Services (ICS).
The Military and Police force : The
duty of military was to safeguard the
British occupied regions in India, acquire
new territories and break down any revolt
against the British in India. To maintain
law and order in the country was the
duty of the police force.
Judicial system : The British
established a new judicial system in India
on the basis of judicial system in England.
Every district had a Civil and Criminal
Court to solve the local cases. For
reconsideration of their judgements a High
Court was established.
Equality before law : In early times,
law in India differred from place to place.
There was difference in judgement on the
basis of casteism. Under the leadership of
Lord Macaulay, a committee was setup
to create the code of law. The Indian
Penal Code was enforced all over British
India with British principle of equality
before law.
But there were some defects in it.
There were seperate courts and different
laws for the Europeans. New laws were
difficult to be understood by common
people. Legal cases became an expensive
affair for the community and the cases
remained pending for years together.
Economic policies of the British :
Since ancient times there were invasions
in India. Many invaders settled in India
and were absorbed in the Indian culture.
Even though they ruled here, they never
made any changes in the basic Indian
economic system. The Britishers were an
exception.
England was a modern nation. Due
to industrial revolution, capitalist economyprevailed. Hence they inculcated an
economic system in India which was
conducive to economic system in England.
Due to this Britishers gained economic
benefit, but India started facing economic
exploitation.
Land revenue policy : Before the
British rule, the village economic system
was self sufficient. Through agriculture
and related services the needs of the
village were fulfilled in the village itself.
Land revenue was the main source of
income of the state. During the Pre British
period, revenue was based on the type of
cultivated crop. The farmer was exempted
from taxation in case of loss of crops.
Revenue was mainly collected in the form
of grains. Even in case of late payment
of tax, the farmer’s land was not
confiscated.
To increase income, the British made
important changes in the revenue system.
Land was measured and as per the area
of the land, the tax was fixed. Payment
of tax was made compulsory in the form
of cash. If the farmer failed to pay tax
in time, then his land would be confiscated.
The British system of land revenue
collection differed from place to place
which led to exploitation of all farmers.
Consequences of new Land revenue
system : There were undesirable effects
of the new land revenue system on the
rural life. For payment of taxes, Indian
farmers started selling the crops at
whatever price it received. The merchants
and brokers started purchasing their goods
at minimum rate. At certain times the
farmer had to mortgage his land to the
money lender for arrangement of money
to pay the tax. Farmer became bankrupt.
In case of non repayment of loan, the
farmer had to sell his land. The farmer
was exploited by the government,
zamindar, money lenders and merchants. Commercialisation of agriculture :
Initially food grains were cultivated by
the farmers. It used to fulfill their domestic
needs as well as the needs of the village.
The British Government started giving
more encouragement to cash crops like
cotton, indigo, tobacco, tea etc. The
process of giving stress on cultivation of
profit giving cash crops instead of food
grains is known as the commercialisation
of agriculture.
Famine : From 1860 to 1900, India
faced great famine but the British rulers
did not take much efforts to overcome it.
Similarly not much expenditure was made
on provision of water supply.
Development in transport and
communication system : For increase in
trade and convenience of administration,
the British developed modern facilities
like transport and communication in India.
In 1853, first Railway ran on the route
of Mumbai to Thane. In the same year
British started Telegraph system in India.
Due to it all cities and military stations
got connected to one another. Similarly
the British also started the Postal System.
Decline of traditional industries in
India : The British government obtained
huge taxes on goods exported from India
to England. On the other hand very less
tax was imposed on goods imported from
England to India. Also the goods
manufactured in England were machine
made and hence there was maximum
production at minimum cost. To compete
with such cheap products was difficult for
the Indian artisans. Eventually it led to
closing down of traditional industries and
many artisans became unemployed.
Development of new industries in
India : Due to the lack of British support,
experience of management and capital,
the Indian businessmen could not come
forward in large numbers. Yet some of
them built up their business by overcoming
these problems.
In 1853,
Kawasjee
Nanabhoy Davar,
started the first
textile mill in
Mumbai. In 1855
the first Jute mill
was started at
Rishra in Bengal.
In 1907 Jamshedji
Tata established the Tata Iron and Steel
company at Jamshedpur.
In India coal, metals, sugar, cement
and chemical Industries came to be
started.
Social and cultural effects : In the
19th Century Europe, a new era took
shape on basis of values like
humanitarianism, democracy, nationalism,
liberalism etc. This change in west led to
obvious repurcussions on India. For
carrying out administration the British
had to understand the Indian society. For
this purpose they started studying the
Mumbai-Thane Railway (1853)
Jamshedji Tata
Due to all these developments, there
was a long term impact on the social life
of the Indians. Due to this there was
increasing sense of unity among them. tradition, history, literature, as well as
music, flora-fauna of India. In 1784, Sir
William Jones, an English officer
established the ‘Asiatic Society of Bengal’ at Kolkata. Max Mueller, a German
thinker was a devout scholar of Indian
religion, language and history. Due to
these examples, there aroused feelings
among newly educated Indians to study
Indian religion, history and tradition.
The British introduced many laws in
India. In 1829, Lord William Bentinck
passed the Sati Prohibition Act. In 1856
Lord Dalhousie passed the widow
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Prepare detailed information with pictures
about the development by British in
administration, education, transport and
communication in India.
remarriage act. These acts were responsible
for social reforms.
For carrying out administration in
India, the British required English educated
Indians. According to recommendation of
Lord Macaulay, in 1835, English education
started being imparted in India. Through
new education Indians were introduced to
western thoughts, modern reforms, science
and technology. In 1857, universities were
established at Kolkata, Mumbai and
Madras (Chennai). The Western educated
middle class Indians led the social reform
movement in India.
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