The Sepoy Mutiny
Mistrust and cultural differences between the British and Indians led to violent conflict.
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The Sepoy Mutiny (cont.) • As the power of the Moguls declined, a commercial company, the British East India Company, was given the right to become actively involved in India’s political and military affairs. • To rule India, the British East India Company hired its own soldiers, including sepoys, and built forts.
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Figure 6
1 The Sepoy Mutiny (cont.) • In 1857, a growing distrust of the British and rumor that the rifle cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat led to a rebellion of the Indian sepoys. • Atrocities were terrible on both sides as evidenced at Kanpur, where Indians massacred 200 defenseless women and children.
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The Sepoy Mutiny (cont.) • Within a year, the British and Indians loyal to Britain suppressed the rebellion. • As a result of the mutiny, the British Parliament transferred powers of the East India Company directly to the British government. Queen Victoria took the title Empress of India in 1876.
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British Colonial Rule
The British brought order and stability to India, but they also hurt India’s economy and degraded the Indian people.
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2 British Colonial Rule (cont.) • To aid in directly ruling India, the British appointed an official known as a viceroy. • Positive Effects of British Colonization – Colonization brought order and stability to India. – An efficient government bureaucracy was established.
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Figure 7
British Colonial Rule (cont.) – A new school system was set up using the English language. – Roads and railroads were built. – A telegraph system and a postal service were introduced.
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3 British Colonial Rule (cont.) • Negative Effects of British Colonization – British economic pursuits brought poverty and hardship to Indians. – Access to resources and local industries were destroyed. – Local tax collectors increased taxes and forced peasants to become tenants.
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Figure 7
British Colonial Rule (cont.) – Farmers were encouraged to switch from food production to cotton production, limiting the food supply for the growing population. – British rule was very degrading and insensitive to Indian culture.
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4 Indian Nationalists
The British presence in India led to an Indian independence movement.
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Indian Nationalists (cont.) • The first Indian nationalists were upper-class and English-educated, and came from urban areas such as Madras (Chennai), Calcutta (Kolkata), and Bombay (Mumbai). • Although most preferred reform to revolution, the slow pace of change convinced many that they would have to rely on themselves for change.
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Indian Nationalists (cont.) • In 1885, a small group of Indians met in Bombay and formed the Indian National Congress (INC). The goal of the INC was a share in the governing process. • In 1915, a young Hindu named Mohandas Gandhi used his experiences in British South Africa to become a leader in the Indian movement for independence.
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5 Indian Nationalists (cont.) • Gandhi utilized a non-violent method of resistance to attain his goals of improving the lives of the poor and gaining independence for India.
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Colonial Indian Culture
British rule sparked renewed interest among Indians in their own culture and history.
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Colonial Indian Culture (cont.) • One facet of British colonialism was a cultural awakening in India. • The British opened a college in Calcutta and a local publishing house. Soon books became more available to the population of India. • Indian novelists and poets began writing historical romances and epics.
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6 Colonial Indian Culture (cont.) • Newspapers, written in regional Indian languages, provided an effective means of conveying nationalist ideals to lower-middle- class Indians. • The most influential Indian author was Rabindranath Tagore, who was a successful writer, poet, social reformer, educator, singer, painter, spiritual leader, and spokesman for the moral concerns of his age.
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Colonial Indian Culture (cont.) • Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 and put music to a poem that became Indian nationalism’s first anthem.
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The End Section 3
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