INDIA AND THE WORLD – VIII HISTORY – VIII Chapter 1:ModernIndianHistory I. 1. History is the story of man's progress from the distant past to the present. History helps us to know our past. History enables us to gain a knowledge of the continuous development of man's culture and civilisation. History also helps us to understand and appreciate our culture. 2. Modern age deals with some of the events that took place in India in the past two or three hundred years. It has completely changed the world and India as well. This age introduces us to the recent changes in historical phenomenon. 3. The periodisation of history is necessary. Since it is difficult to understand the various changes experienced by mankind in its progress of civilisation, the system of periodisation has been devised to make suchunderstandingmoreconvenient. 4. 18th century is considered to be the starting of the modern times because ofthefollowingreasons: (a) European powers with new technology and imperial ambition subjugatedsmallrulersonebyoneandestablishedIndiaasoneunit. (b) The western ideas had an impact on India's culture, economy, societyanditspoliticalfuture. (c) Indians learnt the British language English which brought many far- reachingchangesinIndia'ssocialandculturallife. (d) In this century, India's ancient culture and values also came in contact with the modern civilisation of the west resulting in cross- fertilisaion of mind and thought. Consequently, there was a spate of reforms, targetting religion and society both at the national and regionallevels. 5. It was the beginning of the eighteenth century, in 1707, when Aurangzeb (1658-1707) died. His death was followed by a succession of weak Mughal ruler who ultimately brought the ruin of the empire. However, in the provinces, there was strong and efficient rulers. But they continuously fought amongst themselves and paved the way for a third party to move in and fill the vacuum. On the debris of the Mughal empire and its political system arose a large number of independent and semi-independent powers such a Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and the Maratha kingdoms. These powers challenged the British attempt atsupremacyinIndiainthesecondhalfofthe18thcentury. 6. The western ideas had an impact on India's culture, economy, society and its political future. Indians learnt the British language English which 82 brought many far-reaching changes in India's social and cultural life, especiallyduringthetimeofLord WilliamBentinck. 7. Satyagraha was the mantra introduced by Mahatma Gandhi to convert the people's desire for freedom to an unprecedented mass movement. It was a non-violent struggle, that finally led to the withdrawal of the BritishandtransferofpowertoIndianhandson15th August,1947. 8. To reconstruct the ancient and medieval history, we use the remains of the past buildings and artefacts which archaeologists have discovered or written records in the form of description on stones, documents, manuscriptsandbooks. Historical buildings, built during the Modern Age, are the live records of the modern history. Books written and printed in this period are also availableinvariouslibraries. 9. For the modern period, enough material is available (a) we have many documents that have been preserved in the National Archives and the State Archives. (b) Books written and printed in this period are also available in various libraries. (c) Historical buildings, built during the Modern Age, are the live records of that period. (d) There are also some other things, that we can still see and read like machines which had first begun to be used during that time and today that are preserved in various museums or are still in use. (e) Many freedom fighters are still alive. They can tell us much about one or another aspect of the modern history ofIndia. 10. Mahatma Gandhi provided leadership of the vibrant nationalism by converting the people's desire for freedom to an unprecedented mass movement with a new mantra called satyagraha. It was a non-violent struggle, that finally withdrawal of the British and transfer of power to Indianhandson15th August,1947. II. 1. progress,present 2. eighteenth 3. western 4. ancient,values 5. non-violent 6. colonial,injustice 7. material 8. freedomfighters III. 1-d, 2-a, 3-e, 4-b, 5-c IV. 1. 1760 2. 1767-69 3. 1803-05 4. 1853 5. 1885 6. 1928 7. 1905 8. 1918 9. 1935 10. 1948 V. LordCanning,LordElgin,LordCurzon,LordIrwin,Lord Wavell Chapter 2: TheEstablishmentofBritishEastIndianCompany I. 1. The main aim of British East Indian Company was to set up their factories in India. They got permission for the same from the Mughal emperor Jahangir. They set up their first factory at Surat. After that they setupmorefactoriesat Ahmedabad,Broachand Agra. 83 Soon the British started spreading their influence to other parts of the country. In 1640, they founded the city of Madras and built Fort St. George. After some years, with the permission of Charles- II, the king of England, the company issued coins, fortified its establishment, maintained an army and exercised jurisdiction over the British subject living in the East. The company was given the right to declare war and make peace with the non-Christian powers. In 1688, the British came into conflict with the Mughal Subedar of Bengal. With the passage of time, the company acquired some land in Bengal which later grew into thecityofCalcutta. So, it can be concluded that the East India company was established in India to set up trade relations with India but with the passage of time it startedconqueringIndiabysettingupbuildingfortsandarmies. 2. TheBattleofPlasseywassignificantbecauseofthefollowingreasons: (a) Siraj-ud-Daulah had no absolute right on the throne of Bengal. Ali Vardi Khan died without any male issue. Therefore, he declared one of his grandsons Siraj-ud-Daulah as his successor. The English found it a golden opportunity of use the situation of their advantage. (b) The English succeeded in winning over prominent Hindu merchants and bankers like Raj Ballabh, Seth Anim Chand and Rai Durlabh againsttheNawab. (c) Calcutta (Kolkata), after its capture from the English, was put under weakandcorruptofficerslikeMankaChand. (d) No effort was ever made to help the French of Chandernagar against theBritish. (e) MirJafar'sconspiracyprovedquitedisastrous. (f) The Nawab took no strong action against Mir Jafar in spite of his handindifferentconspiracies. (g) Siraj-ud-Daulah lacked confidence and lost courage in the face of difficulties. 3. The policy of subsidiary alliance proved to be very useful for the British as it indirectly helped Britishers to control the defense and foreign affairs of the Indian rulers who had signed the alliance and could even annex theterritoriesifneededbe. 4. Lord Dalhousie extended the boundaries of the British empire by annexing various states on the basis of the Doctrine of Lapse. It meant that if the ruler of a dependent state died without a natural heir then the state would pass into the hands of the company and not to the adopted son. Doctrine of Lapse was applied to the states of Surat (1842), Satara (1848), Jhansi (1853) and many other territories including Udiapur (1853), Nagpur (1854), Sambhal (1850), Jaitpur (1850) and Mandavi 84 (1850). Berar and Awadh were annexed by Dalhousie on the charges of mal-administration. Similarly, he annexed Karnatak and Tanjore by abolishingthetitleandpensionsoftheirrespectiverulers. 5. The First Mysore War began in 1767. The English defeated Hyder Ali and took possession of one of his fertile provinces. But he won over the Marathas and the Nizam to his side. Hyder Ali's troops reached as far as the neighbourhood Madras. The English were frightened, a treaty was signed in 1769 and all conquests made by either side were restored. Moreover, the English promised to help Hyder Ali in case he was attackedbyanotherpower. In 1771, when Hyder Ali was attacked by the Marathas, the English did not come to his rescue. The Second Mysore War broke out in 1780. Hyder Ali died in the middle of the war in 1782 leaving his son Tipu Sultantocontinuethestruggle. In 1784, the war came to an end with the Treaty of Mangalore by which territories conquered were restored. After the second Mysore war Tipu spent the next few years in strengthening his own kingdom. Lord Cornwallis took charge of the British forces. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas also binned in to destroy the power of Tipu. It led to the Third Mysore War. The war continued for two years and ended in the defeat of Tipu Sultan. The war was concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Seringapatnam. By this Tipu had to give away half of his kingdom to victorious armies, British took over the parts of Coorg, Malasar etc. The Marathas and the Nizam also got their share of the conquered territory in the north of Mysore. A large sum of money was given as war indemnity to the British. It also resulted in the supremacy of the British in this region. 6. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, there was choose and anarchy everywhere in the Punjab. Many royal princes were brutally murdered one after the other. During this time, the Khalsa became powerful. It was difficult to keep them under control. The corrupt chiefs realised that the army would deprive them to their power, position and possessions. So they incited the army to cross the Sutlej and attack the English. The political instability offered an ideal opportunity to the British to conquer Punjab. Finally, when the Sikh army was offered to cross the Sutlej in December1845,thefirst Anglo-Sikh Warbegan. The Sikhs were defeated. The British army marched on to Lohore. The treaty of Lahore was signed in March 1846. It resulted in the loss of independence of Punjab state. The Sikh territory between the Satluj and theBeaswasannexedbytheEnglish. The revolt in Multan on the issue of succession duty, which its governor. Mulraj could not afford to pay, gave Dalhousie the opportunity, in the opinion of Dalhousie, it was the Sikh nation's call for war.