History of India

History of India

From Empire to Colony to the world’s largest Free Democracy

Mughal Empire

• Descended from the Mongol Khans, Mughals took power in India in 1526.

East India Company

• British E.I.C. arrived in India in early 17th century• Portugal already had trading colonies in Indian cities;

content to “trade & raid”. No desires for territory.• Other European countries like France, Sweden, and the

Netherlands were already actively trading with India. • By 1639 the East India Company had attained

governmental rights in the Eastern port city of Madras (now Chennai). Thirty years later, in 1669, they came into possession of Bombay (now Mumbai), another important port on the West coast.

• EIC founded the city of Calcutta (eastern India) • East India Company developed armies, naval fleets,

administrators, & tax collectors. • Started producing their own currency and imposing their

own laws in their trading outposts & cities.

E.I.C. takes Power1. During the 1600’s, the

authority of the Mughal rulers had weakened

2. B.E.I.C. became much more involved in the Bengali (N. India) economy and politics.

3. The Company's intent was trade, however their Power threatened Mughal rulers.

4. Insecurity of the Mughal rulers provoked an attack on the EIC in 1757. The governor of Bengal attacked the British;

5. Defeated by Robert Clive of the East India Company.

5. After defeating the Mughals, the EIC was granted the title of "diwan" (collector of revenue) in Bengal and nearby provinces, making the Company the de facto ruler of Bengal.

6. The company later extended its rule throughout India.

Sepoy Mutiny dethrones the EIC• Poor management damaged the

EIC’s ability to govern India• 1857 “Sepoy Mutiny” spread

through part of the Army, included some peasants and Indian Nobles.

• British Royal army intervened and crushed the rebellion.

• British EIC was disbanded, Mughal ruler was replaced permanently with British governor ("Viceroy"); he reported to the Secretary of state for India, a member of Prime Minister's cabinet

On rebellion . . .• "We could subdue the mutiny of 1857,

formidable as it was, because it spread through only a part of the army, because people did not actively sympathize with it, and because it was possible to find native Indian races who would fight on our side. But the moment a mutiny is but threatened, which shall be no mere mutiny, but the expression of a universal feeling of nationality, at that moment all hope is at an end, as all desire should be at an end, of our preserving our Empire." — Sir John Seeley (quoted by Tarling)

Rule of the British Crown

• Gave Hindu Zamindars the status of landlords, even in Muslim dominant territories.

• Zamindars were given the rights to collect tax revenue whether or not they had any knowledge of, or connections to, the countryside. Absentee landlords became commonplace and agriculture was designed to benefit the British and the landlords, not the peasants.

• British favored Hindus over Muslims. A common complaint from Muslims might sound like this:

“The landlord is Hindu, the peasant Muslim. The moneylender is Hindu, the client is Muslim. The jailer is Hindu, thePrisoner is Muslim. The magistrate is Hindu, the accused isMuslim"

Rule of the British Crown

• Britain saw its colonies as suppliers of raw materials for British industry and as consumers of British manufactured goods.

• India became a source of cheap cotton for British textile mills

• Britain then dumped its machine made cloth back into India, destroying India's domestic textile industries.

• Eastern Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) was especially hard hit as cloth was one of its chief exports and the industry was ruined by British machine made cloth.

Rule of the British Crown

• Third, Britain introduced Western religious and philosophical ideas, adopted a British legal code, and instituted a British secular education system with the intent of creating an educated Indian group imbued with British cultural values. This destroyed native religious education and was perceived as an attack on the Bengali religion and way of life.

Gandhi• Indian, born a Hindu• Educated & worked as a lawyer

in England• Began protesting treatment of

Indians in British South Africa in 19??

• Led Indian Independence Movement• Famous for non-violent, non-cooperation;

civil disobedience

World War I

• British promised Indian’s increased self-rule if they fought alongside the British.

• Indian soldiers fought alongside allied powers (British, French)

• Led to the creation of the Indian National Congress in India

Indian National Congress

• Intended to give Indians more “self rule”• Given very little power/control• Frustrated many Indians

Gandhi leads

• Rallies millions of Indians behind him

• Leads by example• Emphasizes non-

violent, non-cooperation– Encourages Indians to

weave their own cloth– Leads Salt March

WWII

• Indian soldiers again fought alongside British.

• British economy & military was seriously damaged by WWII.

• Unable to effectively govern colonies after War.

• Contributed to Indian independence.

Gandhi’s followers are victorious

• British agree to leave India in 1947

• Plan a gradual turnover of power to Indian leaders– Gandhi– Jawaharlal Nehru– Muhammad Jinnah– Others

Jawarhal Nehru

•Gandhi chooses Nehru (not himself) as the 1st Prime Minister of India

•His daughter, Indira Gandhi later becomes Prime Minister; assassinated

•Indira Gandhi’s son, Rajiv, became Prime Minister; assassinated

India vs. Pakistan = Hindu vs. Muslim

• Muhammad Jinnah led the Muslim Indians

• Muslim minority feared mistreatment from Hindu majority after British left

• Against Gandhi’s wishes, Jinnah pushed to create Pakistan; a separate independent country for Muslims.

• Caused rioting & violence between Hindus & Muslims in India