India CCOT

Mullin Underwood, Hannah Flanagan, and Anh Thu Nguyen

Beginning Situation: 1850● By 1850 most of India was under British control, thanks to the influence of the East India

Company. The EIC fortified its rule in India by using sepoys, Indian soldiers, and “company men” to establish political and economic centers such as Bombay.

● The Sepoy Rebellion in 1857 was caused by growing discontent among Indian soldiers. They were against certain practices that violated religious customs, such as tearing off ammunition cartridges that were greased with pig and cattle fat.

● Britain eliminated the last traces of the Mughal and Company rule in India in 1858. A new secretary of state and governor-general were appointed and Queen Victoria was declared “Empress of India”. British viceroys put on durbars (pageants) that display great wealth (theatre-state).

● The Indian Civil Service administered the government of India, with its elite members holding senior administrative and judicial posts. At first the system excluded Indians, but it gradually

Beginning Situation: 1850added more qualified Indians.

● Government investments allowed India’s economy to grow rapidly. Engineers built irrigation systems and farmers were encouraged to grow cash crops. Indian exports of cotton, tea, silk, and sugar increased 400% and British exports of manufactured goods increased 350%.

● New technologies such as railroads, telegraphs, and steamboats were introduced to India. The railroads mixed people of different castes, faiths, and ethnicity, and Indians made an extensive use of it. This also promoted the spread of cholera and other diseases.

● The idea of Pan-Indian nationalism became popular with the educated class. The first Indian National Congress was convened in 1885, with the members calling for improvements in the government, military, and society.

End Situation: 1975 ● Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, demanded an independent country for

Indian Muslims in 1940. In early 1947 the Indian National Congress accepted the partition of India into two states, one dominated by Hindus and the other Muslim. The Indian National Congress, led by Nehru, formed the first government of India, whereas Jinnah and the Muslim League established a government in Pakistan.

● The relationship between Muslims and Hindus tensed when India split into nations. Hindus fled from predominantly Muslims, and Muslims fled from Hindu areas. Thousands of refugees were attacked and massacred, and within a few months about 12 million were displaced and a half- million were dead.

● Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948 by a Hindu fanatic. A constitution was adopted in late 1949 and on January 26, 1950, the Republic of India was born. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to end social inequalities caused by the caste system and promoted

End Situation: 1975gender equality.

● Over time India struggled with Pakistan and China over territories such as Kashmir and Nepal. Kashmir and Jammu was a princely state from 1846 until India annexed it in 1947. This resulted in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Another war broke out between the two countries in 1965 after Pakistan send troops into Kashmir and Jammu, although no permanent territorial changes were made. India and Pakistan were also involved in another war in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War; it was during this conflict that the nation of Bangladesh was created from Pakistan. India fought a war with China in the Sino-Indian War in 1962 over the Himalayan border.

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Change: India becomes more modernized● Under the British Raj, India had improvements in infrastructure, railways, canals and irrigation,

and mining. The British encouraged these technologies because they increased India’s foreign trade and strengthened British control (861).

● Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras were built up and had some of the finest museums and universities

● Within 25 years, 10,000 miles of railroad track were laid joining distant parts of India. By 1870, India had the fifth largest rail network in the world. This allowed Indians to travel great distances, but this also promoted the spread of cholera (726-727).

● Spread of the English language allowed for communication between people from different backgrounds and allowed for an advanced english education system.

Change: India becomes more modernized

● By 1914, the Indian mining industry, which was built up by the British, had produced 16 million tons of coal per year.

● Many Indian nationalists came from the middle class, which prospered from India's modernization and expansion of trade and manufacturing. They believed that advancement was slowed by British policies and prejudices (727).

Change: India’s Independence from Britain● Some Indians believed that in order to free India from British control India has to reduce its

social and ethnic divisions and promote Pan-Indian nationalism. The first Indian National Congress was convened in 1885 by Indian nationalists, who wanted to make changes in the government, military, and society (726-727).

● The success of the steel-producing town, Jamshedpur, became a symbol of Indian national pride, and it also promoted Indian nationalists to question why India needed foreigners to run its government while it could produce its own steel (862-863).

● On April 13, 1919 in Amritsar, General Richard Dyer ordered his troops to fire into a crowd of 10,000 Indian protesters. At least 379 were killed and 1,200 injured in the Amritsar Massacre (863).

● Mohandas Gandhi led the Indian independence movement and promoted nonviolent resistance. He was educated in England and returned to India to join the Indian National Congress in 1920, becoming its leader. He attracted the poor and the illiterate, and promoted

Change: India’s Independence from BritainHindu-Muslim unity. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 after India gained its independence (863-866).

● In the 1920’s, the British slowly handed over control of some of the “national” areas, (education, economy, and public works) to Indians. Positions in the Civil Service and military corps became more open for Indians (863).

● Indian politicians enforced tariff barriers to protect India’s industries from foreign competition. Indian entrepreneurs built plants to manufacture iron and steel, paper, textiles, sugar, and other products. This industrialization created a class of wealthy Indian businessmen who supported the Indian National Congress (864).

● In early 1947 the Indian National Congress accepted the partition of India into two states, one dominated by Hindus and one by Muslim. On August 15, 1947, British India was split India and Pakistan (865).

Change: Muslims become minority ● Muslims rulers dominated northern and central India until they were displaced by the British in

the eighteenth century. Muslims consisted one-fourth of the Indian population but are dominant in western and eastern Bengal (861).

● To protect the interest of India’s Muslim minority, Muslims created the All-India Muslim League in 1906. Its members petitioned the government for access to higher administrative positions and a say in officials decisions (862).

● Indian Muslims on average were poorer than Hindus, for many poor and low-caste Hindus converted to Islam to escape discrimination. To deepen the division, the British established separate representation and different voting qualifications for the two groups. The British decision to move the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi raised Indian political awareness, and politics became concentrated in the hands of Hindus and Muslims (862).

Change: Muslims become minority ● The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, demanded a separate state for Indian

Muslims in 1940. As India moved towards independence and the relationship between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress became tense, violent rioting between Hindus and Muslims broke out. The Indian National Congress accepted the partition of India in 1947, and India was divided into the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan (865).

● Indian Muslims continued to endure discrimination after the Partition of India. The creation of Pakistan created new problems for the declining Muslim population in India, as Muslims became less than 10% of the population. Hindu-Muslim relationship were damaged also due to the perception of Muslims as anti-Indian or anti-national.

Continuity: The Caste System● Indians divided into many classes. Peasants, always the majority, paid rent to landowners,

interest to lenders, and taxes to the government. This resulted in them having little to no money left to raise their standard of living or improve land (860).

● The majority of Indians who practiced Hinduism were subdivided into hundreds of castes, each affiliated with an occupation. Also, intermarriage was discouraged between different castes and religions (861).

● Many poor/low caste Hindus converted to Islam in order to escape caste discrimination. The British took advantage of the religious divisions and installed separate representation and voting qualifications for the two religions. These changes disturbed the Indians of different classes and religions and raised their political awareness level (862).

Continuity: British Rule 1858-1947● The system of government was instituted in 1858 when the rule of the EIC was transferred to

the British crown (Queen Victoria). This lasted until 1947, when the British provinces of India were split up into the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.

● In the second half of the 19th century, the British began to rapidly industrialize India. Railways, canals, roads, and bridges were built and telegraph links were established so raw materials could be transported more efficiently to England and other trading ports.

● At the turn of the century, most Indians (especially the lower castes) accepted British rule. However, the Europeans’ racist ideas and attitudes toward darker skinned people offended Indians who had learned and adopted English ideas of freedom and representative government. (861-862)

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