topic 2 india

• Governance of India up to 1858


  Expansion had been overseen by the British East India Company. It grew increasingly expansionist, provoking the rebellion of 1857 which lasted a year and brought 1000s of deaths. After the rebellion was defeated, Britain thought a change of rule was needed to prevent a reoccurrence. In 1858, the EIC handed control to Britain and the company was dissolved
• The Indian Rebellion of 1857-58 began among sepoys in the Bengal Army due to cartridges greased with animal fat, which was religiously unacceptable for Hindus and Muslims
• The rebellion was also fueled by anger from landlords and nobles deprived of their land, peasants resenting taxation, and concerns about regiments being sent to Burma, which offended caste laws about crossing water
• The British exacerbated the situation by announcing severe punishment for disobedience, leading sepoys to turn on their officers and attack local Europeans, seizing cities like Lucknow and Cawnpore
• During the rebellion, there was an attempt to resurrect the old Mughal emperor, causing immense suffering with Delhi and Lucknow devastated, villages burnt, mutineers tortured, and British officers and their families murdered
• It took 18 months of hard fighting to restore the Raj, which was reinstated in June 1858 after a final battle at Gwalior
• Impact of the

  Rebellion -

  Britain

  The reporting emphasised the savagery of the Indians - ignoring that of the British, contributing to the souring of the relationship between ruler and ruled. The British public demanded blood. Public indifference to India vanished in the summer of 1857. Many Britons believed their rule of India was genuinely liberating for Indians
• Government of

  India Act 1858


  The EIC's territories were passed to the crown. The position of Secretary of State in India was created in the cabinet. An India Council of 15 with experience of Indian affaires was appointed to assist the SSoSfI. The Crown appointed a Viceroy.
• The Viceroy in Indian Administration after 1858 had a legislative council of 5 responsible for finance law, army, economy, and home affairs
• Provincial governors represented the Viceroy in the Provinces and had their own legislative councils
• District Officers oversaw local councils in the Indian Administration after 1858
• Approximately 1000 British Civil Servants were employed in the Indian Civil Service, with virtually all senior posts held by white individuals
• After the rebellion, greater respect was shown for traditional Indian practices and customs in the Indian Administration
• The Queen assured there would be no further meddling with traditional Indian culture
• The Queen became Empress of India in 1876
• From an Indian perspective, very little changed in the Indian Administration after 1858
• The Viceroy in India relied upon native Princes who ruled the 565 nominally independent Princely States
• Until 1858, a 'doctrine of laps' had ensured that Princely States fell under British rule when their ruler's line ended, but this doctrine was removed to ensure the princes' loyalty
• The British had to rely on Indian bureaucracies, and within the civil service, bilingual Indians were recruited as low-level clerks to act as intermediaries between the British and the masses
• A growing number of the middle class in India demanded a greater say in the administration of the country, but British refusal drove them towards nationalism and support for the Indian National Congress (1885)
• Under the British Crown, the East India Company's armies had a ratio of roughly 1 British soldier to 2 Indian soldiers
• Regiments of native Indian troops were intentionally isolated from each other to prevent a sense of unity
• The Indian troops were deliberately mixed in terms of caste and religion
• To replace disloyal Bengali troops, a greater number of Gurkhas and Sikhs, who had been loyal during the rebellion, were enlisted
• All field artillery was under British control, and Indians were denied officer rankings
• Indians were sometimes sent abroad to reduce the risk of rebellion in India
• The growth of railways aided defence by enabling quicker troop deployment, with 3000 miles of track added in the decade following the rebellion
• An armoured gun train was introduced, and Lucknow station was purpose-built for disembarking reinforcements
• A garrison was established in every major city, and the Imperial Police Force was created to reduce reliance on the army for internal security
• In 1858, India passed into direct rule and there was now a single, centralised government under British notions of 'fairness'
• The British tried to act in a more religiously sensitive way post-rebellion, with missionary activity discouraged
• Queen Victoria promised equal treatment for all subjects, upholding the rights of princes and respecting the religious beliefs of India
• The legal system favored the white man and was often too complex/expensive to help the poor
• Despite more educational opportunities for wealthier Indians, those with education were rarely promoted past the lowest ranks of bureaucracy
• Some princes supported the Raj, but the majority regarded it with indifference
• Between 1859-61, Viceroy Canning toured India to win back those dispossessed or alienated by British rule, returning some land titles and introducing the Star of India medals in 1861
• Positions within the Imperial Assembly or Statutory Civil Service were shared amongst the Indian nobility
• Impact of the

  Rebellion -

  Extension of

  Education

  More educational establishments were opened. Universities were established in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta in 1857 while elite schools e.g. Mayo college and Bombay's Cathedral School were set to produce 'westernised oriental gentlemen'. In the 30 years following 1857, 60 000 Indians entered university - 2000 in law. Of the 1 712 Calcutta students to graduate by 1882, 1/3 entered government service and slightly more into the legal profession. These largely only benefitted the richest Indians, illiteracy rates remained widespread.
• Impact of the

  Rebellion -

  Mary

  Carpenter


  Social reformer. Visited India four times between 1866-75. She was concerned with the state of girls' education and women' prisons in India. She set up the National India Association in 1870 in order to promote reforms. She helped establish a corps of British teachers for India, set up girls' schools in Bombay and Ahmedabad and opened a college to train female Indian teachers
• After the Rebellion, there was a growth of investment, particularly in railways, which were built for strategic purposes but also helped stimulate trade and economic growth