The Colonial Context
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1 THE COLONIAL CONTEXT (A) A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHMENT AND CONSOLIDATION OF BRITISH POWER BETWEEN 1757-1857 EMPHASIZING THE TRANSFORMED NATURE OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM AFTER 1818. The growth of the British Empire in India for a period of a century from 1757 to 1857 is an interesting phenomenon of Indian history. It is a good fortune of the British that during this period they did not encounter any national opposition of their rule except in 1857 when a large part of India remained aloof. Instead of facing any united opposition of the Indian powers, the British had only to deal with them piecemeal. The deep-rooted jealously among the Indian powers could not be overcome by the aggressive policy of the Company. In the beginning the British had to face the opposition of the Mysoreans and the Marathas but except for a short-lived unity among them in 1780, they were sharply divided between themselves. Hence the British succeeded in securing the cooperation of the Marathas in subduing the Mysoreans in 1790-92. After four encounters the British were freed from the Mysoreans in 1799. The three Maratha wars strained the resources of the Company. But here again the Maratha Confederacy showed utter lack of unity and facilitated the British to establish their sway over them in 1818. The Pindaris were exterminated and the Rajputs, long held under Maratha subjugation, came within the orbit of British imperialism. The warlike Sikhs held their ground under the leadership of Ranjit Singh but could not resist the British dominance for long. Punjab became a British territory in 1849. The British did not neglect the Himalayan frontier and beyond it, Afghanistan. By 1857 with the exception of northern Burma and Afghanistan, they became masters of the vast subcontinent. In establishing their control over the Indian States, the British invented various expedients like the Subsidiary Alliance, the Doctrine of Lapse and the plea of misgovernment. With rare exceptions the Company Government were served by able Governors-General and seasoned diplomats at the courts of Indian powers. They contributed not a little to the building up of Britain’s magnificent Indian empire. ANGLO-MYSORE WARS In the second half of the eighteenth century the small state of Mysore assumed impor- tance owing partly to the genius of Haidar Ali and partly to its central position on the Deccan plateau. The third battle of Panipat (1761) which crippled Maratha power in the north and weakened its hold in the south also contributed to the rise of Haidar Ali. Beginning his 1 2 INDIAN HISTORY (1857-1964) career as a naik in the army, he usurped political power in 1758 and became the unchal- lenged ruler of the state in 1761. First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69) In the beginning Haider looked upon the British power as hostile to him. There was enmity between Haidar and Muhammad Ali, Nawab of Arcot, the latter being a subordinate ally of the English. In 1766 the Madras Government entered into an alliance with the Nizam and offered him military aid to invade Mysore. Haidar detached the Nizam from the British alliance and made peace with the Marathas. He then suddenly made a dash on Madras in March 1769. The English made peace in the next month providing for mutual restoration of conquest and a defensive alliance. Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84) As a realist Haidar felt that the defensive alliance of 1769 must be the basis of his foreign policy. The Nizam was his traditional enemy and the Marathas a dangerous neigh- bour. But he was sadly disappointed. The English gave him no aid during the Maratha invasion of 1769-72. He had come to realise that sooner or later he would have to enter into hostilities with the English. During the first Anglo-Maratha War, Haidar joined the Peshwa, the Nizam and Bhonsle in a common struggle against the English. After varying fortunes in the war Haidar died in December 1782. But his son, Tipu Sultan, continued the war. Since neither side was capable of overpowering the other, peace was signed by them in March 1784. The Treaty of Mangalore restored peace on the basis of mutual restoration of con- quests and release of prisoners. Third Anglo-Mysore War (1789-92) Mysore under Tipu continued to grow as a formidable power. The peace of 1784 had not removed the grounds for struggle between Tipu and the English. The new Governor- General, Lord Cornwallis, from the moment of his arrival, considered that a war with Tipu was inevitable. War began in December 1789 by Tipu’s attack on Travancore, a small state which was in alliance with the Company. Cornwallis, by his clever diplomacy succeeded in forming an alliance with the Peshwa and the Nizam in 1790. He assumed chief command and defeated Tipu. The treaty of Seringapatam (March 1792) deprived Tipu of his territories. The British acquired the districts of Baramahal, Dindigul, Salem, a large slice of the Malabar Coast, including the ports of Calicut and Cannanore and the territory of Coorg. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) Instead of being crippled by the British, Tipu showed unexpected signs of recovery. He strengthened the fortifications of Seringapatnam, reorganised the army and tried to estab- lish contact with the French. Wellesley, thereupon called Tipu to sever his connections with the French and enter into a Subsidiary alliance with the British. Tipu was not prepared to accept these stern conditions. The war was brief but decisive. By April 1799 Tipu was besieged in Serigapatam which was taken by assault on May 4. Tipu was himself killed in action and his son surrendered. The Company annexed Kanara, Coimbatore and Seringapatam with other territories in the east. A chief of the old Hindu dynasty was made King of Mysore. The new Mysore State entered into a subsidiary treaty (July 1799) with the British which reduced it to the position of a dependency of the Company. THE COLONIAL CONTEXT 3 Causes of the Downfall of the Mysoreans An observation has become proverbial in Mysore that ‘Haidar was born to create an empire, Tipu to lose one’. Tipu has been criticised for his anti-English policy and for his failure to win the Marathas and the Nizam over to his side. But it should not be forgotten that the English were hostile towards him. As Munro wrote on September 18, 1798: ‘Our first care ought to be directed to the total subversion of Tipu’. While Haidar’s strategy had been offensive, Tipu’s had been defensive. Tipu neglected his cavalry which was a ‘terror to Madras’. He fought ‘a campaign of walls and ditches’. He placed too much reliance on the defences of the fort of Seringapatam. While, Haidar was never without allies in his wars against the English, Tipu had to confront the English alone. Moreover, Tipu’s operations in his last war were not characterised by the same dash and brilliance which he had shown in his previous wars. Tipu was handicapped by the treachery of his officers, his poor organisation while the resources of the English were much superior. Unlike Haidar, Tipu had little capacity of taking a broader view of a thing. With his restless spirit of innovation, he was not successful as an administrator. ‘Haidar was an improving monarch and exhibited few innovations. Tipu was an innovating monarch and made no improvements.’ ANGLO-MARATHA WARS The third battle of Panipat (1761) dealt a cruel blow to Maratha supremacy in the north. The situation became worse when the Peshwa’s uncle, Raghunathrao secretly intrigued to become the Peshwa. Madhavarao who became the Peshwa in 1761 surmounted all difficul- ties. First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82) In 1772 the promising young Peshwa Madhvarao died and the Pune government was plunged into a series of succession struggle. In 1773 Madhavarao’s brother and his successor, Narayanrao was murdered with the connivance of his uncle, Raghunathrao. Though Raghunathrao became the Peshwa, he was not destined to enjoy it owing to the birth of Narayanrao’s posthumous son, Savai Madhavrao. Bombay supported Raghunathrao and its army was forced to capitulate at Wadgaon in 1779. The war dragged on for three more years. In October 1781 Warren Hastings was able to detach Mahadji Sindhia and through his mediation concluded peace with the Peshwa at Salbai (May 1782). The Treaty of Salbai gave the British twenty years of peace with the Marathas, the strongest Indian power. The treaty also enabled the British to secure the assistance of the Peshwa to put pressure on Mysore. Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-05) During the post-Salbai period the two towering personalities—Nana Phadnis and Mahadji Sindhia—dominated the Maratha scene. The death of Mahadji Sindhia in 1794 and the young Peshwa Madhavrao in October 1795 weakened the Marathas. After endless intrigue, Bajirao-II, son of Raghunathrao, secured the Peshwaship in December 1796. The death of Nana Phadnis in 1800 was followed by a struggle between Sindhia and Holkar for the control of Peshwa Bajirao II. In October 1802, Yashwantras Holkar defeated the combined troops of Sindhia and Bajirao near Pune. Bajirao fled to Bassein and concluded on the last day of December 1802 a subsidiary treaty with the Company. He acknowledged British Paramountcy and was installed in Pune by the British troops. His action was a shattering blow to Maratha pride. In 1803 4 INDIAN HISTORY (1857-1964) Sindhia and Bhonsle went to war, to be defeated by Arthur Wellesley and Lord Lake. By the treaty of Deogaon (December 17, 1803), Raghuji Bhonsle II gave up the province of Cuttack including Balasore.