British in India (Essay Sample)

British in India
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British in IndiaIntroduction
British entered India in the early seventeenth century as traders before waging war on the Southern and Eastern India. The conquest began in mid 1750s through the formation of political alliances. It attracted a chain of intermittent wars that took the British government around fifty years. The debates on widow marriage, female education and consent in marriage were some of the issues that attracted many Indians to the service of the British government. The growth of the Indian National Congress (INC) that was composed of elites such as lawyers proved to the Indian fraternity that they were capable of self rule. The main event that led to the Indian uproar was the British attempt to partition Bengal. Their response led to the unrest and the transfer of the capital city to New Delhi from Calcutta. British dominated India for at least two decades and served as the industry's leader in the empire. Indian nationalism needed unity to stop the expansion of Britain in their territory. On the other hand, Britain was struggling to secure India as its political empire and become the central administrator in the entire Southern Asia.[Trautmann, Thomas. 2004. Aryans and British India. New Delhi: Yoda Press.]
The rise of Indian nationalism and the political principles of Britain made it difficult for it to execute full control over India. Although its activities were the precursor to the Indian empowerment, they were able to gain significantly from the South Asian resources. Political analysts argue that the British interests were not solely selfish, but were driven by the need for a joint gain. However, many elites could brand the manner in which British imperialism functioned in India as being exploitative. The modern infrastructure and the current productivity in India was a creation of the British colonizers. The reforms that the British Raj instituted in India express an economically and socially symbiotic relationship. If one compares India's condition before the British Raj, they note a positive impact both economically and infrastructure wise.
The Rise of Indian Nationalism and the Subsequent Struggle for Freedom
The colonial era in India lasted a long time because the Indian citizens had weak organizational capacity and their political strength was limited. The fact that Britain had long settled in their land meant that they lived there in significant numbers. They had solid interests among them economic ones that drove it towards colonization. However, Indians rebelled following the injustice that the British government enforced unto them. They recruited them into forced labor with little or no pay and grabbed their resources. British held political dominion over India during the infamous colonial era. The Indian Independence Movement gathered various philosophies and political associations to help in the fight against colonial dominion. However, the British Imperial Authority had spread to other parts of South Asia; a factor that made it stronger in its conquest of the territories in the southern Asia. The independence movements engaged in both violent and peaceful campaigns to agitate for freedom and self-rule.[Barker, Ernest. 1969. The Ideas and Ideals of the British Empire. New York. Green Wood Press.]
Militant movements started in the Bengal region although they later adopted a policy of mainstream activities in association with the Indian National Congress (INC). However, the main aim of their leaders was solely to qualify to take the examinations from the Indian Civil Service. They also had underlying economic interests that were similar to those of other freedom activists. Some of the radical leaders who proposed a more violent approach to the struggle for freedom include twentieth century Indian political leaders such as Aurobindo Ghosh and Lal, Bal, Pal. The last quarter of the struggle for independence and the emancipation of India were more goal oriented. The congress adopted civil resistance and non-violent approach proposed by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in the late 1920's. The congress also backed up Muhammad Ali Jinnah's struggle for the constitutional rights of the Indian minorities. The support from revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose who advocated for armed resistance contributed to attainment of independence.
Literary moguls and poets such as Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore raised the awareness of the political situation through literature. Most of their works contained literature that had close association to the political heat that swept across India. Many of their literary themes revolved around political freedom and the evils of colonization. Similarly, it called upon the people of India to rise against political and social oppression and fight for the freedom of their motherland.
Feminists too had their contribution towards the attainment of the independence. Some such as Begum Rokeva and Sarojini Naidu were the pioneers of the campaign for the emancipation of the Indian woman. Additionally, they called them to take part in campaigning for a better political India. Others such as Babasaheb Ambedkar raised the attention of the marginalized Indian society to the independence movement. Therefore, all parts of India boasted of political representation to the political pioneer.
The events that preceded the Second World War brought the independence campaigns in India to the peak under the leadership of Quit India Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. His leadership in conjunction with that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who chaired the Indian National Army (INA) led to the untimely withdrawal of the colonial power; British. The conjunction of the various independence movements bred the Indian Independence Act in the wake of 1947. The act gave birth to the independent Indian and Pakistan dominions. India dominated the Crown until the promulgation of the Indian constitution in 1950 which gave birth to the republic of India. However, Pakistan remained a dominion until it adopted a republican constitution in 1956. Later in 1971, Eastern Pakistan gained its independence and became the modern day Bangladesh state. The Indian Independence Movement encompassed various ideologies from the society. It went through various reforms, but its main ideology was related to anti-colonialism. It enjoyed the support of all the supporters of an independent democracy. The socialist orientation that emanated from the influential power of the left-wing of the Indian National Congress increased the command of the Indian Communist Party.
In 1906, the All Indian Muslim League came into existence with a sole aim of protecting the basic rights of the Muslims who resided in India and had joined the Indian National Congress. Additionally, it served as a voice of the Muslims in the British government. Many Indians were not happy with the British rule; thus, they supported the independence campaigns both morally and socially. The brutality of the Britons led to innate hatred from the Indian civilians. They were notorious for whipping and mistreating Indians; a trend that lead to the sprouting of various independence groups. The Paik rebellion of 1817 set a path to other independence rebellions in India. Bakshi Jagabandhu led the Odisha militants to dare the British army. The confrontation between the British Sepoys and the Paikas became very severe because the latter had a competitive advantage over the former who had little knowledge of the land's geography.
The increased political awareness prompted Indian elites to form the Indian National Congress. The partition of Bengal raised controversy because many Indians viewed it as an effort by the British to divide the growing influence of the Bengal national movement. The division infuriated the people of Bengal because the government did not consult them. This led to massive complaints and agitation among the public and the media. They congress called on the public to boycott th...