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Impact of the British Empire in India
Impact of the British Empire in India
Women's position in contemporary india
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There is no denying that the colonization and imperialistic exploitation of India during British rule led to the systematic disenfranchisement of an entire subcontinent. Furthermore, for decades, the people of India were effectively relegated to being secondary class subjects in their own country. The British relied on a strategy of pitting religious sects and ethnic groups against one another in order to divide an effective opposition to the their rule, moreover also relied on a network of regional puppet kings known as the raj to give the image of local autonomy when in reality the power at first laid in the British Indian Company and in the aftermath the Sepoy Rebellion the Imperial High Commission. However, despite these many obstacles …show more content…
Though yet only partial, an inestimable blessing as far as it has gone, and leading gradually to the destruction of superstition, and many moral and social evils. Resuscitation of India’s own noble literature modified and refined by the enlightenment of the West.” Therefore, another reason why the people of India can be seeing as more than just victims in regards to British colonialism, is because the role of women within the margins of Indian society began to greatly changed in so many insurmountable ways. There was this renewed sense of feminism, as well as this assertion of a new consciousness, and identity, that sough to bring women into elevated roles of social standing. Furthermore, by bringing with them Anglicized views of modernity the British banned religious practices that were in their eyes discriminatory to women such as the Hindu practice Sati, which implored that as the basis of marriage fidelity, upon their spouses death the wife had to immolate herself upon her late husbands funeral pyre. Therefore, while the British might have saw this as an affront to Christian “values” through a Eurocentric scope, women were able to use this advantage to gain a foothold through education along with other marginalized and oppressed groups. Naoroji also seemed to argue that his idea of “progress” within his county was based around his own …show more content…
On one hand they like Bahadur Shah, never believed or saw themselves as conquered people, and this sentiment would drive individuals like Gandhi to push for resistance against the their rule. However, those like Ram Mohan Roy who further remarked his letter to Lord Amherst “Our hearts were filled with mingled feelings of delight and gratitude; we already offered up thanks to Providence for inspiring the most generous and enlightened nations of the West with the most glorious ambition of planting in Asia in the arts and science of Modern Europe.” and while this remarked stemmed from a internal Eurocentric belief, that because of their “enlightenment” the British way of life was “superior” then that of Indians. Therefore, under the rule of the British, the Indian people were able to become more than just a conquered people by using education as a way to create a burgeoning professional as well as intellectual middle class. This group of individuals, took the educational setting of the British university system, and used it to their advantage in order to demand their independence and become more than just a colonial state. Furthermore, one of the byproducts of being ruled by the British was that it gave marginal groups such as women and those disenfranchised by the caste system a greater chance of social mobility, something that would be of great value in the aftermath of independence,
British Imperialism in India and China Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance, Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effect on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so.
Not only did the inequality and separation of the Indian society frustrate the citizens of India, but the imperialism Britain had upon them as well. In the early 20th century, Indian nationalists wanted to take a stand against the British rule and make India independent. The British created unfair laws that created a nationalist movement in India to regain their freedom. He believed that there should not be a Caste System because of one’s birth.
Under British rule in India, the British were harshly oppressive and only interested in exploiting products from India for their own use, causing many Indians to become extremely poor. They became so oppressed they were on the verge of violent civil disobedience, when Gandhi appeared to negotiate with the British threw non-violent tactics such as sit-ins and hunger strikes. The people were supportive on Gandhi and were set to become violent if anything happened to him. Things were resolved without violence.
This investigation seeks to discover whether or not the Sepoy revolution in 1857 had a sufficient impact on India’s rise to independence and separation from the British Empire. The Sepoy revolution was a revolution of the Sepoy soldiers in 1857, and complete independence from the British Empire was not achieved by Indians until 1947. Therefore, did the Sepoy revolution catalyze their rise to independence, or was independence inevitable? The impact of the Sepoy Revolution will be found by looking at the effects of the Sepoy revolution and determining whether or not they were key factors in the rise to independence. A variety of sources will be used. Two important sources that will be used during this investigation are Indian Summer by Alex Von Tunzelmann and Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World by Niall Ferguson.
For centuries, India was a country of separate dynasties and kingdoms, which often led to a wide variety of cultural and ethnic tensions and continuous change of power for many of the kingdoms. They viewed each other as enemies, which created an opportunity for countries, such as England, to invade and eventually rule much of the country. Britain colonized the Indian subcontinent (present-day countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) from 1757 until 1947 (Iyer 2). Not all areas were directly under British control, in other cases Indian rulers governed them, and power was split between the two (Iyer 2). For the British, India was strategically placed in terms of geography, manpower, natural resources, and land, as well as many other sectors (Maddison 1).
To begin with, one must find a peaceful approach to defeat discrimination. According to the text, on “from Letter to Viceroy, Lord Irwin”, Gandhi stated “My ambition is no less than to convert the British through non-violence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India.” This evidence shows that Gandhi wants to be heard without using violence. Another example is on lines 17-24 which says “It has impoverished the dumb millions by a system of progressive exploitation…reduced politically to serfdom…sapped foundations of our culture…degraded us spiritually.” This evidence reveals that Gandhi is showing the effect the British is having a right now in India.
One could approach this topic from two points of view; the British and the Indian. One could choose either party and find very different opinions. When British colonizers first arrived in India, they slowly gained more and more control in India through many ways, the most prominent being trade and commerce. At first, they managed India’s government by pulling the string behind the curtain. However, soon they had acquired complete rule over India, converting it into a true British colony. The British considered Indian civilization to be inferior and implemented their western ways overriding ancient Indian customs. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that British imperialism in India resulted in both positive as well as negative reforms in political, economic and social aspects of its new colony.
Imperialism in India British imperialism in India had many positive and negative effects on both the mother country, Britain and the colony, India. Many people would argue which effects were more prominent in these countries, and some would agree that they were equal. But in both cases, there were actually both. In India, the British colonization had more positive effects than negative. For instance, when the British colonized India they built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway.
There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. From positive affects to negative affects, British colonized India. It all started around the 1600’s when the British East India Company entered India only as traders, they entered what was known the Mughal Empire. Around the 1757 Battle of Plassey the Mughal empire fell (Carrick) and it was only a matter of time until the British Raj took their once in a lifetime chance. Economically, Britain imposed very high tariffs even though they provided modern technology and increased the production of goods. Britain created famine in India, although because of Britain education was brought to a higher level. Politically, Britain had most of the control in the Indian government, although they created a much more stronger one than the one that was in use before the British came.
There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. India, having previously been an group of independent and semi-independent princedoms and territories, underwent great change under British administration. Originally intended to consolidate their hold on India by establishing a population that spoke the same language as their rulers, the British decision in the 1830s to educate Indians in a Western fashion, with English as the language of instruction, was the beginning of a chain of events, including a rise in Indian nationalism, that led to Indian resentment of British imperialism and ultimately to the loss of British control over India.
The decision to grant independence to India was not the logical culmination of errors in policy, neither was it as a consequence of a mass revolution forcing the British out of India, but rather, the decision was undertaken voluntarily. Patrick French argues that: “The British left India because they lost control over crucial areas of the administration, and lacked the will and the financial or military ability to recover that control”.
The history of tribal oppression in India is an old one. “The Sanyasi Revolt”, “The Wahabi Movement”, and “The Naxalbari Rebellion”, are evidence of the tribal outcry that appropriately foregrounds their requirement for fundamental rights as citizens of the country. Even after sixty six years of independence, India’s rural poor and tribals are lamenting under the curbing effects of destitution, unemployment, undernourishment, illiteracy and human trafficking. For these people, the notions of liberty, equality and democracy have no meaning at all. Though the country is free from the bondage of foreign rule, their repression and prejudices still continue leaving them dependent on their new masters.
The British invasion formed into a historical development of British colonialism in India. Despite India under the British rule, Mahatma Gandhi played an important role in gaining Independence. He not only changed India but also strongly fought for India's independence, using various strategies. The British Empire ruled as long as they could to reform India both politically and socially.
When the Indian nationalists were revolting against the British Empire, it changed the way of life in India. It let women have a more active role in everyday activities. Mehta’s father played a very active role in the revolutions; he used his house as a place for Indian nationalists to hide out for this he was placed in jail for several years. Her uncle was sentenced to seventeen years in a torture camp for different charges. Yet when asked what their worst memory of being under British rule was, they simply provided a simple story with not much significance. Now instead of being under British rule, the India people are under the rule of leaders that view themselves as being the person who drove the British out of India. One thing remains the same though, the people of India view their land as being their own, and that is what is important to them.
The caste system in India is elaborately structured to have an Indian touch to it, clearly distinguishing it from social structures worldwide. Caste is a word often used to describe a cluster of people who have a specific rank in the society. Each caste system is elaborately crafted to suit the needs of the society and they vary from group to group; each has its own rules and customs. Different chaste systems are planned in a hierarchical manner to become part of any of the four basic colors; varnas (a Sanskrit word for color). These include; the varna of Brahmans, identified with the learned class and priests; varna of Kshatriyas, which is encompasses warriors, rulers and property owners, the varna of Vaishyas, which attracts traders ; and lastly the varna of Shudras, who are servile laborers (Bayly, 1999).