Unit 4, CW21 – British India 1845-1947

1. Unit 4, CW21 –British India 1845-1947 Indian Attitudes & Organization From Mutiny to World War Dr Robert Carr

2. History Unit 4 - CW21 India This coursework revolves round 1 or 2 ‘turning points’ i.e. the short- & long-term significance of significant events in 1845-1947 period It involves a (combined) word count of no more than 4,000 words Part A is the short-term, depth study using & criticizing a range of sources which drive debate Part B is the breadth study essay relating the event to the whole 1845-1947 period (i.e. show change-over-time) What can you find out? Perhaps try: www.britishpathe.com/record + www.nationalarchives.gov.uk + www.hansard.millbank

3. Questions of ‘Significance’ Question responses need to show the process of change or contrast the before and after of the selected event Responses should evidence areas of change (political, economic, military, social, attitudinal…) from both British & Indian perspectives where possible Responses should not narrate the event itself, instead look for consequences (comparative terms like ‘more, fewer, less…’ should apply) The next 4 slides look at the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58 as an exemplar event, the first of these is a useful map

5. Indian Mutiny Event sparked by the long-term Westernization of India by the British East India Co. and, in the short-term, by the greased cartridges incident May 1857 saw regiments of the Bengal Army shoot their British officers, set fire to buildings & march to Delhi where they proclaimed its aging King their leader & massacred local Europeans In Lucknow, in June, 50,000 troops drove out the British In July, the Well of Cawnpore atrocity saw the murder of British women & children British counter-offensive ensured towns were re-taken by end of the year – often with brutality - & affirmed wider rule over North India during 1858

6. Significance of Mutiny? Mutiny’s significance depends, partially, on its nature i.e… Mutiny = military revolt War of Independence = conflict for self-government i.e. nationalist event Popular Revolt - i.e. civilian uprising against foreign domination & religious interference Peasants’ Revolt - i.e. uprising against landlords & taxes & an imperial system that supported both Mutiny largely confined to Oudh Province which had little exposure to direct BEI Co rule, instead traditional rulers remained strong. British appeared militarily weak in Oudh. Mutiny was northern-based – Oudh, Delhi, Aligarh, Cawnpore, Gwalior Where the Mutiny occurred depended on particular grievance i.e. military, religious or agricultural Interestingly, the Mutiny is significant not least because it failed to ignite the seditious and troublesome Punjab region

7. Significance of Indian Mutiny Before Mutiny, BEI Co.’s patchy, incremental (unsanctioned!) influence over India Rule involving series of expensive, indecisive wars (Afghan, Gwalior, Sikh, Burma) India largely an economic concern benefiting City of London India subject to unlimited, often insensitive missionary activity British ignorance of local sensitivities & languages, & brutality evident in re-taking of Allahabad & Delhi Post-Mutiny, direct rule by Crown ‘in the Name of Her Majesty’ formally sanctioning BEI Co. conquests, establishing formal control over India i.e. the Raj A Viceroy & a Secretary of State appointed ‘to be paid out of the Revenue of India’ Measure of collaboration & fostering support of sections of Indian society (Congress, Councils Acts…) New moral dimension e.g. 1858’s ‘Better Government of India Bill’, besides measure of control on missionaries & brutality, reduced military campaigns (Indian manpower utilized overseas instead) Greater awareness of empire, of India & of Indians in UK – via Rudyard Kipling, also the notion of ‘savages’ (Well of Cawnpore), and even ‘romance’ with the Raj However, ‘Indian Military & Naval Forces to remain under existing Conditions of Service’ (Gov. of India Bill); Princely States allotted ‘self-rule’. Yet 7 of 15 members of new Council of India to be elected by, & from, BEI Co.

8. Popular Post-Mutiny Raj? • Calcutta society figure KC Sen declared Queen Victoria: “an instrument in the hands of Providence to elevate this degraded country in the scale of nations” (1877) • SA Khan (left), prominent North Indian Muslim, established the United Patriotic Association to help spread loyalty to the Raj (1885) • A Lahore newspaper declared that ¨Punjab considers it an act of heresy to take part in politics.¨(1917) • MK Gandhi expressed admiration for British institutions & their spirit of fair play (1918)

9. Indian Grievances • Foreign rule – and presumed superiority or racism (“Asiatics”, “Wog”…) • 1850’s inheritance law enabling Hindu conversion to Christianity • Imposition of English institutions – language & Christianity- & legal proceedings conducted in English! • India held back i.e. rural economy (to feed industrial Britain) & unable to compete without protectionism • Indians denied King’s commissions in Indian Army • Expensive Government i.e. taxation & its rise – 1/3 increase between 1872 & 1892 to 500m.Rs • Late C19th saw 40% taxes divided between army & police yet only 10% on welfare, utilities, health & education • Viceroy & ICS salaries & pensions

10. ‘Congress is tottering to its fall’ • In the face of popular grievances, the viceroy from 1898, Lord Curzon, sought to calm India • He released the famous Natu brothers (unproven terrorism), punished regimental acts of racist violence, restored the Taj Mahal & intervened to save the Indian lion from extinction • By late 1900 he believed he’d restored faith in the Raj & undermined Congress

11. Indian Grievances • However, Curzon limited Indian entry into the Indian Civil Service • He interfered in the domain of Indian middle classes with the Universities Act • And oversaw the partition of Bengal in 1905 – in doing so, creating a Bengali minority in Bengal & a Muslim-dominated East Bengal • Curzon’s partition brought a Bengal backlash - but such unrest was not uncommon...

12. Anti-British Outbursts • Unrest (or nationalism perhaps) was evident in 1871’s murder of Viceroy Mayo (left) by a Muslim fanatic • 1897 murder of Bombay’s Plague Commissioner, Rand, in Poona by a Brahmin • From 1906, small terrorist cells (samiti) established • 1907 murder of District Magistrate of Dacca, BC Allen • 1908 bomb killed Mrs & Ms Kennedy • Stonings of Europeans in Bombay, July 1908 • Student Lal Dhingra shot dead Sir William Wyllie of the India Office in London, 1909

13. Anti-British Organization • Opinion was evident in Bangabasi nationalist paper which sold 20,000 weekly copies in 1895 Calcutta • Congress member BG Tilak’s Kesari paper denounced measures taken by British against bubonic plague epidemic – charged with incitement following Plague Commissioner Rand’s murder (1897) • In Bombay a hartal was conducted, a hospital burned down & soldiers killed in October 1897 • 1900 saw mob destruction of a Cawnpore hospital & lives lost • Revolutionary Yugantar & Bande Mataram papers encouraged protests across Bengal

14. Political Organization • Organized response to the Raj was also evident with Surendranath Banerjee’s formation of the Indian Association of Calcutta in 1876 – first, modern nationalist organization – established as a consequence of official discrimination against locals • 1885 establishment of Congress (INC) – an elite political forum designed to influence, & cooperate with, British rule • Tilak´s New Party (1907) picketed government offices & boycotted British goods in response to Bengal Partition • Swadeshi (economic self-sufficiency) campaign similarly grew out of Bengal

15. Political Agitation • Further Indian response included the formation of the Ghadr (Revolt) Party by Punjabi Sikhs • Punjabi popular agitation evident in response to Ibbetson’s irrigation laws (i.e. new charges & regulations) • Commander-in-Chief Kitchener (left) fearful so Viceroy Minto (top left) quashed the regulations, May 1907 • Rallies, boycotts & talk of mutiny (amongst Punjabi garrisons typically) evident in early twentieth century India

16. Pre-War Organization • Local government reforms & 1892 Indian Councils Act provided elected Indians with powers of decision-making & fund-distribution at local level • However, this served to align Indians into caste or religious groupings • Oriya speakers demanded separatism in 1903 as did Telugu speakers • Raj framework & politics saw communities organized into religious bodies e.g. Anjumans & Sikh Sabhas (left) to protect communal interests • Also evident in the Urdu Defence Association (1903) & All India Muslim League (1906) • Arguably, Congress had limited its influence by not taking up popular concerns such as peasant rights or even cow-killing. Division too between Congress moderates & radicals (like Tilak)

17. World War • In August 1914 Britain declared war on India’s behalf & did so without consultation! • India provided generously in military, industrial and economic terms • Indeed, Gandhi believed: “The liberty-loving English will surely yield when they have seen that we have laid down our lives for them” • Not surprisingly, Indian expectations of reward, if not freedom, were raised by such war-time efforts • The events of the war, post-war dynamics & raised expectations ensured World War I proved a catalyst for change &, arguably, a turning-point… But how?