History of British rule in India

•The British East India company was given a Royal Charter to pursue trade in the East
Indies. Competing European kingdoms all had subjects trading with the kingdoms of India, these
foreign merchants would befriend kings and serve as a foreign diplomat in their courts.
•The Portuguese were the first major presence in the region and was mostly restricted to the
west coast in Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin in Kerala; Daman and Diu in Gujarat; and Goa,
which became the headquarters of the Portuguese empire in India. But they are known to have
been one of the first to open a factory in India which was on the banks of river Hugli, near
present day Kolkata in 1579.
•The next to follow were the French who settled on the East coast. Their largest trading post was
Pondicherry. Then came the British who also began to acquire land and build factories with
permissions from different Rajas.
•The foreign trading companies used their diplomatic relations with local kings to protect their
interests against traders from other kingdoms. They also helped their patrons overthrow their
enemies in return for privileges over land and commerce in the newly acquired kingdom.
•They expanded their trade from there and invited traders to settle near their factory itself. They
also persuaded Aurangzeb, the Emperor then, to allow them to trade without paying taxes.
After Aurangzeb died, the Nawabs began to assert their authority and refused any concession to
the Company. They accused the Company of deceit while the Company on their part accused the
Nawabs of denying trade to flourish within their own kingdoms.
•In 1756, Sirajuddaulah, the then Nawab of Bengal, was aware that the British intended on
colonising India. He took Fort William of Calcutta and began to shut down English factories and
warehouses. In retaliation, the British sent Robert Clive with forces from Madras to counter
Sirajuddaulah at Plassey.
•This led to the very famous Battle of Plassey in 1757, which the English won because they
bribed Mir Jafar, Sirajuddaulah’s army chief and other top officials of his court.
After the Battle of Plassey, the British realised that they could install puppet kings whom they
could control and eventually dethrone.
•At first the British East India company brought over private mercenaries to help them fight
these battles, even employing native Indians to protect the company’s properties.
But when the Indian soldiers also revolted in 1857, the English monarchy sent in imperial troops.
In 1858 the British monarchy took over supervising the military affairs in the region and by 1874
the British East India Company was nationalised and absorbed by the government.
•In 1876, Queen Victoria was crowned Empress of India. It then went on to become the Jewel in
the Crown of the British Empire and the largest colony under British Raj.
•Indian soldiers fought for the British in both World Wars while India was a large source of tea,
cotton, indigo and spices.
 Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
1. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23 July 1856 .
2. He was born in Ratnagiri, Bombay State, India.
3. He died on 1 August 1920 (aged 64) in Mumbai.
4. Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and an
independence activist.
5. He was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement.
6. The British colonial authorities called him "The father of the Indian unrest.“
7. He was also conferred with the title of "Lokmanya", which means "accepted by the people.
8. Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj and a strong radical in Indian
consciousness.
9. He is known for his quote in Marathi, "स्वराज्य हा माझा जन्मसिद्ध हक्क आहे आणि तो मी मिळवणारच" ("Swarajya
is my birthright and I shall have it!") in India.   
10. Bal Gangadhar Tilak died due to pneumonia.
•After the completion of his education, Tilak rejected the well-paid offers of a government job
and decided to dedicate himself to the bigger cause of national development.
•His legendary declaration “Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it” served as a brainwave for
future revolutionaries during India’s independence movement.
•The British Government had termed him as the "Father of Indian Unrest" and his supporters
bestowed the title of ‘Lokmanya’ upon him
•Tilak was a radiant politician and an idealistic scholar who believed that sovereignty is the
primary need for the well-being of a country.
•To attain his patriotic goals, Tilak published two newspapers -Mahratta' in English and Kesari in
Marathi. Both the newspapers emphasized on making the Indians conscious of the magnificent
past of the country and also egged on the common people to be self-dependent.
•In other words, the newspapers launched by him vigorously propagated the cause of
independence from colonial rule.
•In 1896, when the entire nation was stung by famine and plague, the British government
declared that there was no cause for worry and also declined the urgency to set up a 'Famine
Relief Fund'. The outlook of the imperial government was sternly criticized by his newspapers.
•Tilak intrepidly published reports regarding the mayhem caused by famine and plague and the
complete capriciousness and unresponsiveness of the British Government.
•He joined the Indian National Congress in 1890 and soon started opposing the moderate
outlook of the party on self-governance. He felt that undemanding legitimate campaigning in
itself was fruitless against the colonial government.
•Consequently, this made him a severe critic of well-known Congress leader, Gopal Krishna
Gokhale. He wanted an armed revolt to drive away the British.
•After the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905, he heartily supported the Swadeshi
movement and boycott of British merchandise.
•Due to this deep difference in viewpoint, Tilak and his followers came to be known as the
extremist wing of the Congress. His activities were supported by Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal and
Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab. The trio came to be popularly known Lal-Bal-Pal.
•During 1908-1914, Tilak had to endure six years of rigorous imprisonment in Mandalay Jail,
Burma (Myanmar).
•Following his mounting reputation and fame, the British government also endeavored to
impede the publication of his newspapers.
•Tilak returned to India in 1915 when the political situation was rapidly changing under the
gloominess of the World War I. There was an extraordinary celebration after he was released
from prison.
•He then returned to active politics with a placid and soft outlook. Making a decision to reunite
with his fellow nationalists and supporters, Tilak founded the All India Home Rule League in
1916 along with, Annie Besant Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Joseph Baptista.
•After some time although he rejoined the Congress, he was unable to reconcile the two
opposite-minded groups.
•Tilak was one of the greatest social reformers of India and throughout his life, he preached for
the cause of women education and women empowerment.
•Not only that, he educated all of his daughters and did not marry them until they were over 16
years of age
•In order to inculcate the spirit of nationalism among his countrymen, Tilak also proposed the
celebrations of ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ and ‘Shivaji Jayanti' in a grand manner.
•He envisaged that these kinds of celebrations inflame a feeling of unity and arouse nationalist
feeling among the common people.
 Partition of India
1. Causes
Causes of the partition of India:
•The partition of India was the most significant event in the history of India. But the
circumstances under which it occurred made it one of the saddest events of the history of India.
•No doubt, the Hindus and the Muslims were living together since long but they failed to
inculcate the feeling of harmony and unity among themselves.
•As a result, the partition of India and formation of Pakistan took place. The following factors
contributed to it.
1. Activities of the Muslim League:
•The English Govt played a significant role in the formation of Muslim League. The English
wanted to create dissensions among the people India in order to consolidate their own position.
•The chief aim of the Muslim League was so spread the poison of communalism and the Muslim
leaders had their own axe to grind through the medium of this organisation.
•In the beginning the Muslim League did not prove to be an influential organisation due to its
narrow and negative approach. M. A. Jinnah's two nation theory was actually a slogan for the
formation of a separate nation for the Indian Muslims.
 Partition of India: Brief
•The Partition of India split British India into the countries of India and Pakistan in 1947. This
partition was part of the end of British rule over the Indian subcontinent, called British Raj. The
partition was caused in part by the Two-nation theory presented by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, due
to religion issues. Pakistan became a Muslim country, and India became a mainly Hindu country.
•The main spokesperson for the partition was a Muslim called Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He
became the first Governor-General of Pakistan.
•Millions of people moved across the new Radcliffe Line between the two newly formed states.
The population of undivided India in 1947 was about 390 million.
•After partition, there were 330 million people in India, 30 million in West Pakistan, and 30
million people in Bangladesh.
•Once the lines were established, about 14.5 million people crossed the borders to what they
hoped was the safety of their religious majority. The 1951 Census of Pakistan showed the
number of displaced persons in Pakistan at 7,226,600. They were presumably Muslims who had
entered Pakistan from India.
• Similarly, the 1951 Census of India showed 7,295,870 displaced persons, apparently Hindus
and Sikhs who had moved to India from Pakistan. The two numbers add up to 14.5 million.
Other people came from China as they took advantage of the open border.
•The newly formed governments were unable to deal with migrations of such huge numbers of
migrants. Massive violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the border. Estimates of the
number of deaths vary, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates at 2,000,000
 Partition of India: Impact
1. Partition in communities:
•Partition triggered riots, mass casualties, and a colossal wave of migration. Millions of people
moved to what they hoped would be safer territory, with Muslims heading towards Pakistan,
and Hindus and Sikhs in the direction of India. As many as 14-16m people may have been
eventually displaced, travelling on foot, in bullock carts and by train.
2. Refugee Camp:
•Estimates of the death toll post-Partition range from 200,000 to two million. Many were killed
by members of other communities and sometimes their own families, as well as by the
contagious diseases which swept through refugee camps. Women were often targeted as
symbols of community honour, with up to 100,000 raped or abducted.
3. Dangers of the partition:
•Many of the people concerned were very deeply attached not just to religious identity, but to
territory, and Britain was reluctant to use its troops to maintain law and order. The situation was 
especially dangerous in Punjab, where weapons and demobilised soldiers were abundant.
 Objectives and Function of UN
1. The objectives of UN are:
• To maintain international peace and security and to take adequate steps to avert
wars.
• To develop friendly relations among nations on the basis of equality.
• To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an
economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character.
• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these
common ends.
•Decolonise, Disarm and Develop is the function recently adopted by the UN council.
2.  Principles of the UN:
•The principles are the means to achieve the objectives of the UN.
FUNCTIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS TODAY
As it was in the past, the main function of the UN today is to maintain peace and security for all
of its member states. Though the UN does not maintain its own military, it does have
peacekeeping forces which are supplied by its member states.
On approval of the UN Security Council, these peacekeepers are often sent to regions where
armed conflict has recently ended to discourage combatants from resuming fighting. In 1988,
the peacekeeping force won a Nobel Peace Prize for its actions.
In addition to maintaining peace, the UN aims to protect human rights and provide
humanitarian assistance when needed. In 1948, the General Assembly adopted the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a standard for its human rights operations. The UN
currently provides technical assistance in elections, helps to improve judicial structures and draft
constitutions, trains human rights officials, and provides food, drinking water, shelter, and other
humanitarian services to peoples displaced by famine, war, and natural disaster.
Finally, the UN plays an integral part in social and economic development through its UN
Development Program. This is the largest source of technical grant assistance in the world. In
addition, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis,
and Malaria, the UN Population Fund, and the World Bank Group to name a few play an
essential role in this aspect of the UN as well. The UN also annually publishes the Human
Development Index to rank countries in terms of poverty, literacy, education, and life
expectancy.
For the future, the UN has established what it calls its Millennium Development Goals. Most of
its member states and various international organizations have all agreed to achieve these goals
relating to reducing poverty, child mortality, fighting diseases and epidemics, and developing a
global partnership in terms of international development by 2015.
 Role and Function of UNHCR
1. ROLE
•Protection responsibilities have remained at the core of UNHCR’s work over the years.
• These include continuing efforts to promote and extend the international legal framework, to
develop and strengthen asylum systems, to improve protection standards, to seek durable
solutions, and many other activities designed to ensure the safety and well-being of refugees.
•In 2001, the most important global refugee conference in half a century adopted a landmark
declaration reaffirming the commitment of signatory states to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
•Through a process of global consultations, UNHCR drew up an “Agenda for Protection,” which
continues to serve as a guide to governments and humanitarian organizations in their efforts to
strengthen worldwide refugee protection.
• In addition to this work for refugees, UNHCR was mandated by the UN to monitor and protect
stateless persons worldwide, assisting states and individuals - for whom statelessness can have
devastating consequences.
• The current year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons, which along with the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, form
the legal framework for this important work. UNHCR is also a key player in the UN’s “cluster
approach”, involving a wide range of agencies that help millions of internally displaced people
who, unlike refugees, have never had a single agency wholly dedicated to their well-being.
• With its proven operational expertise, UNHCR / S. RICH UNHCR plays a prominent and more di
 2. FUNCTION
•UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 and succeeded the earlier 
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
• The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and
resolve refugee problems worldwide.
•Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure
that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, with
the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
•UNHCR maintains a database of refugee information, ProGres, which was created during the 
Kosovo War in the 1990s.
• The database today contains data on over 11 million refugees, or about 11% of all displaced
persons globally.
• The database contains biometric data, including fingerprints and iris scans and is used to
determine aid distribution for recipients.The results of using biometric verification has been
successful.
•When introduced in Kenyan refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab in the year 2013, the 
UN World Food Programme was able to eliminate $1.4m in waste and fraud.
•To achieve its mandate, the UNHCR engaged in activities both in the countries of interest and in
countries with donors. For example, the UNHCR hosts expert roundtables to discuss issues of
concern to the international refugee community.
 Bibliography
1. Role and Contribution of Lal Bahadur Shastri:
• https://askopinion.com/the-legacy-of-lokmanya-tilak-in-indias-freedom-struggle
•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_Gangadhar_Tilak

2. Role and Function of UNHCR and also case study:

•http://www.unhcr.org/509a836e9.pdf
•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Refugees

3. Background and British Rule in India:

•http://mocomi.com/british-rule-in-india/

4. UN function and causes :

• https://www.thoughtco.com/the-united-nations-p2-1435441

5. Partition of India:
• https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India