Colonial Era in India (Class 8

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### What is Colonialism? - **Definition:** Practice where one country controls another region, establishing settlements and imposing its political, economic, and cultural systems. - **Historical Context:** - Traced back to 1st millennium BCE empires. - Spread of Christianity and Islam in 1st millennium CE also involved colonisation. - **Age of Colonialism:** Refers to Europe's expansion from the 15th century onward (Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Netherlands). - **Motivations for European Colonisation:** - Political competition and territorial expansion. - **Economic Advantages:** Access to new natural resources, markets, trade routes, and plunder. - **Religious:** Converting indigenous populations to Christianity. - **Scientific Inquiry:** Exploring unknown lands and accumulating knowledge. - **Impact on Colonised Peoples:** - Loss of independence, exploitation of resources, destruction of traditional ways of life. - Imposition of foreign cultural values. - Immense hardships, despite claims of a "civilising mission." - **Decline:** Mid-20th century, especially after World War II, leading to decolonisation. ### Europeans in India - **India before Europeans:** - Vibrant economic and cultural powerhouse for over two millennia. - Contributed at least one-fourth of world GDP alongside China. - Noted for manufacturing, diverse agriculture, extensive trade networks. - This prosperity made India an attractive target for colonial ambitions. - **The Portuguese (1498 onwards):** - **Vasco da Gama:** Arrived at Calicut (Kozhikode) in 1498. - **Aggressive Tactics:** Seized, tortured, killed Indian merchants, bombarded Calicut. - **Territories:** Captured Goa (1510, became capital), trading posts along Malabar and Coromandel coasts. - **Cartaz System:** Required all ships in Arabian Sea to buy Portuguese navigation permits, monopolising spice trade for a century. - **Religious Persecution:** Established Inquisition in Goa (1560), forced conversions, destroyed Hindu temples. - **The Dutch (Early 17th Century):** - **Focus:** Primarily commercial dominance, especially spice trade. - **Trading Posts:** Surat, Bharuch, Cochin (Kochi), Nagapattinam, Masulipatnam. - **Decline:** Defeated by Travancore's King Marthanda Varma at the Battle of Colachel (1741), a rare instance of Asian power repelling Europeans. - **The French (Later Entry):** - **First Trading Post:** Surat (1668), then Pondicherry (1674). - **Ambition:** Establish a French empire in India. - **Dupleix (Governor-General 1742-1754):** Pioneered colonial strategies: trained Indian soldiers (sepoys), indirect rule through puppet Indian rulers. - **Carnatic Wars (1746–1763):** Series of conflicts with Britain, leading to French loss of ground, reduced to Pondicherry and small enclaves. - **Intervention:** Limited social/religious intervention, except for destruction of Vedapurishwaran temple in Pondicherry (1748). ### Enter the British - **Transformation:** English East India Company transformed from a trading company to an imperial power. - **Gradual Takeover:** Disguised as commercial enterprise, not military invasion. - **Early Footholds (17th Century):** Surat, Madras, Bombay, Calcutta with minimal resistance, as local rulers welcomed trade. - **"Divide and Rule" Strategy:** - Cultivated political relationships, offered military support to local rulers against rivals. - Exploited rivalries between regional rulers or succession disputes. - Encouraged tensions between religious communities. - **Battle of Plassey (1757):** Robert Clive conspired with Mir Jafar (Nawab of Bengal's commander) against Siraj-ud-daulah, ensuring British victory. Mir Jafar became a "kingmaker." - **Doctrine of Lapse:** (19th Century) Princely states annexed if ruler died without a natural male heir, disregarding Hindu adoption tradition. Led to resentment and contributed to 1857 Rebellion. - **Subsidiary Alliance:** British "Resident" installed in Indian courts, protecting rulers in exchange for maintaining British troops and conducting foreign relations only through British. Transferred real power to British while burdening Indian rulers. ### From Paradise to Hell? - **Devastating Famines:** - After Plassey, East India Company secured revenue collection rights in Bengal, Bihar, Odisha. - **1770-1772 Bengal Famine:** Caused by crop failure and harsh revenue collection (high cash taxes regardless of harvest). Killed nearly one-third of population (10 million). Company increased land tax during famine. - **Great Famine of 1876-1878:** Up to 8 million Indians perished, mostly in Deccan. British administration continued exporting grain. - **British Economic Policy:** "Free market" policy allowing price fluctuations worsened famines. Lord Lytton (Viceroy) ordered "no interference" with food prices. - **Scale:** Famines during British rule were unprecedented in scale, causing 50-100 million deaths. Rural India sank into deep poverty. - **The Drain of India's Wealth:** - **Industrial Revolution:** Scholars like William Digby and Brooks Adams argued Indian wealth (plunder) funded Britain's Industrial Revolution. - **Dadabhai Naoroji:** Authored "Poverty and Un-British Rule in India" (1901), documenting wealth drained from India. - **Estimates:** Utsa Patnaik estimated 45 trillion U.S. dollars (in today's value) drained between 1765-1938. - **Methods:** Taxes, charging Indians for infrastructure (railways, telegraph), and wars. - This wealth, if invested in India, would have made it a very different country. ### Changing Landscapes - **Decline of India's Indigenous Industries:** - Before 18th century, India was renowned for textiles (cotton, silk, wool, jute) and other manufactures (iron, steel, paper). - **British Policy:** Imposed heavy duties on Indian textiles imported into Britain, forced India to accept British goods with minimal tariffs. - **Impact:** Ruin of Indian textile industry, sharp decline in exports, skilled artisans reduced to poverty, forced into subsistence agriculture. - India's share of world GDP declined from high levels to hardly 5% at Independence. - **Dismantling Traditional Governance Structures:** - India had well-organised local self-governance (village councils, regional kingdoms). - **British Action:** Systematically dismantled indigenous systems, replaced with centralised bureaucracy focused on tax collection and order, not welfare. - **Legal System:** Introduced British codes, disregarding customary laws, creating expensive, time-consuming courts in a foreign language. - **Transforming Indian Education: Creating 'Brown Englishmen':** - **Traditional Systems:** Pāṭhaśhālās, madrasās, vihāras, apprenticeship learning. - **Macaulay's Minute (1835):** Thomas B. Macaulay argued European knowledge was superior to Indian/Arabic. - **Objective:** Create a class of Indians "Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect." - **Outcome:** Traditional schools disappeared, English became language of prestige, creating divisions. Served colonial objectives by providing cheap clerks and sidelining traditional knowledge. - **Reshaping Economic Structures to Serve Imperial Needs:** - India transformed into a supplier of raw materials for British industry and a market for British goods. - **Railway Network:** Built primarily to move raw materials to ports for export and distribute British manufactured goods. Also used for military movement. - **Funding:** Paid for by Indian tax revenue, serving British strategic and commercial interests, not primarily Indian needs. - **Administrative Costs:** Colonial administration, military, and British officials' lavish lifestyles funded by Indian taxation, meaning Indians funded their own subjugation. ### Early Resistance Movements - **"Jewel in the Crown":** India was an enormous source of wealth for the British. - **The Sannyasi-Fakir Rebellion (Bengal, post-1770 famine):** - Groups of Hindu and Muslim ascetics whose movements were restricted by British policies. - Attacked British treasuries and tax collectors for three decades. - Inspired Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel *Anandamath* and "Vande Mātaram." - **Tribal Uprisings:** - British expansion into forests disrupted traditional tribal life. - Restrictions on forest access, land acquisition, cash taxes, debt traps, replacement of tribal councils, encouragement of missionaries. - "Criminal tribes" law unjustly harassed communities. - **Kol Uprising (1831–1832):** In Chota Nagpur, against land policies favouring outsiders. - **Santhal Rebellion (1855–1856):** Led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu against moneylenders and landlords. British brutally repressed it but it inspired other tribal resistance. - **Peasant Uprisings against Economic Exploitation:** - Unfair revenue collections, loss of land to moneylenders/landlords. - **Indigo Revolt (1859–1862):** Peasants in Bengal forced to grow indigo for European planters, poorly paid, trapped in debt slavery. Uprising led to British authorities restricting abuses. - **The Great Rebellion of 1857:** - **Background:** Sepoys (Indian soldiers in East India Company's army) faced severe discontent. - **Vellore Mutiny (1806):** New uniform regulations violated religious practices of Hindu and Muslim sepoys. - **Triggers:** Rumours of rifle cartridges greased with cow and pig fat offended religious sensibilities. - **Events:** Mangal Pandey attacked British officers (Barrackpore). Sepoys in Meerut killed officers, marched to Delhi, proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as leader. - **Spread:** Quickly spread across northern and central India (Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi). - **British Response:** Systematic and brutal repression, house-to-house massacres in Delhi, mass executions in Kanpur, burning villages. - **Outcome:** Failed due to lack of unified command. However, it marked a turning point, sowing the seed for future freedom struggles. - **Aftermath:** British Crown took direct control (1858), initiating British Raj. Indian Army reorganised to prevent future resistance. - **Heroines of the Rebellion:** - **Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi:** Fought bravely against annexation, captured Gwalior fort, died on battlefield. - **Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh:** Resisted British, led defense of Lucknow, warned Indians not to trust British assurances. ### The Legacy of European Colonialism in India - **Nature of Rule:** Subjugation and exploitation, with brutal repression. - **Unintended Consequences:** - **Opening India to the World:** British meticulously documented geography, ethnic groups (though flawed by "race" notions), monuments. - **Archaeology:** Initiated the discipline of archaeology, restoring some ruined monuments. - **Cultural Theft:** Stole thousands of artefacts (statues, paintings, jewels) to European museums/collections. Debates continue on repatriation. - **Sanskrit Studies:** British scholars published first translations of Sanskrit texts into European languages, followed by French, Germans. - **Impact on Europe:** Indian texts had a great impact on European philosophers, writers, poets, artists, and statesmen. - **Cultural Influence:** A reminder that while political domination flows in one direction, cultural influence can flow in the opposite.