The British Rule

East India Company

• East India Company established its first trading outpost,
called a factory, in 1633 at Hariharpur on the bank of the
river Mahananda.
• In 1651 Mughal Subadar of Bengal, Prince Suja, granted the
company the right to trade freely in Bengal in return for an
annual payment of three thousand rupees.
East India Company
• The trade soon expanded so fast that by 1655, the company
was able to pay 40 percent dividends to its stakeholders.

• Company’s grievances against what they called unwarranted

interference and harassment by government functionaries led
to armed confrontation between the two during 1686-89.
East India Company
• The trading activities of the European companies in general
and of the East India company in particular, fostered the
growth of a local comprador “bania” class who often as their
agents/partners came to amass huge fortune.
• As they became one of the most important power broker
groups in the land, making and unmaking of Bengal Nawabs
became their favorite political pursuit ever since the death of
Murshid Quli Khan.
Battle of Palashi (1757)
• Nabab Sirajuddowla, grandson of Alivardi ascended the
throne and ruled. (1756-1757)
• On 23 June of 1756, at the mango orchard of the village
Palashi, took place one of the most important events in the
history of the world.
• The principal local conspirators were Mir Jafar, the Nawab’s
Commander-in-chief, high officials like Rai Durlabh, Rai
Ballabh, Manikchand, Yar Latif, Khadim Hossain and
Nabakrishna, the most powerful banker Jagat Sheth and
Omichand, and Nandakumar.
Fakir-Sannyasi Resistance Movement (1760)
• The Fakir-Sannyasi Resistance movement was organized and
led by Majnu Shah, a Sufi saint.
• The Fakir resistance began in nebulous form in 1760 and
gathered momentum in 1763. Their main target was the
Company kuthi, revenue kacharis of zamindars loyal to the
Company rulers, and the houses of their officials. The rebels
used swords, spear and lances, gun, fire throwing device,
hawai and even revolving cannons.
Fakir-Sannyasi Resistance Movement (1760)
• Among the fakirs only Majnu Shah and some of his lieutenants
used horse while moving from one strategic place to another.
Camels were used for carrying provisions and ammunitions.
Their operations were mainly of guerilla nature.
• In most cases they attacked the Company personnel and their
establishments in surprise. In regular operations and in specific
battle there was often assemblage of five to six thousand fakir-
sannyasis. The number of fakirs and sannyasis rose to around
fifty thousand or more in 1770s. The rebels had their
intelligence agents in the persons of the villagers who earlier
transpired to them the movement of the Company troops.
Dual System
• The failure of the “dual system” under which Company enjoyed power
without responsibility led the court of directors to ask the company to
stand forth as diwan and take over the collection of revenue by its own
agents.
• By a number of commercial reforms Hastings prohibited illegal
private trade by company officials, encouraged fair trading
competition and reduced extortion. Dual system stopped in 1772 and
started the rule of central England.
1770 Famine
• The devastating famine of Bengal was caused mainly due to
lack of insight of the officials of East India Company. The
officials of Company in Calcutta thus understood the
importance of supervising of the revenue earning but the
question of having incentives over the tax was ignored.
Thereby the Governor General Warren Hastings introduced a
system of five-yearly inspections and collecting the revenue.
Permanent Settlement Act (1793)
• Lord Cornwallis concluded the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793.

• Permanent Settlement was a grand contract between the East India

Company and the Landholders of Bengal (Zamindars and independent
Talukdars of all designations).

• Under this act, the landholders and Zamindars were admitted as the
absolute owners of landed property to the colonial state system. Not
only those, the Zamindars and landholders were allowed to hold their
proprietary right at a rate that never changed. Under this contract of
Permanent Settlement, the Government could not enhance the revenue
demands on Zamindars.
Permanent Settlement Act (1793)
• Earlier, zamindars of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa had officials for collecting
revenue on behalf of the Mughal emperor and his representative or Diwan
in Bengal. The Diwan would in turn supervise on them so that there is no
less or excessive pressure for earning revenue.
• East India Company was able to win over Diwani or the right to rule
Bengal following the victory in Battle of Buxar in 1764. The Company
thus had the responsibility of ruling but it lacked the trained administrator,
especially with the persons who knew local tradition and custom.
• The landlords and Zamindars had to deposit the revenue to the corrupted
officials of East India Company. As a consequence the revenue had no
certain amount. There was constant pressure to exceed the amount as well
as the revenue was never used for the social welfare.
Permanent Settlement Act (1793)
• The Permanent Settlement Act had definitely some objectives
in view, which can be summarized as :
 Earning revenue could be made certain.
Ensuring a minimum amount of revenue.
The system needed less supervision, so officials could be engaged
in other spheres of administration.
Forging an alliance between Zamindar class and British Colonial
rulers.
Consequences of Permanent Settlement
• The Government tax demand was inflexible and the collectors
of East India Company refused to make any adjustment during
the time of drought, flood or other natural calamity.
• This was the drawback of the Permanent Settlement Act, that
caused many Zamindars to fall into arrears. The Company`s
policy was to put the land in auction, whose taxes are not
fulfilled.
• This created a new market for the land. Many Indian officials
of East India Company purchased this land. Thus a new class
of bureaucrats was created who purchased lands those were
underassessed and profitable.
Consequences of Permanent Settlement
• This led to two possibilities- one, to manipulate the system to bring
to sale the lands they wanted specifically and the other was that the
officials could be purchased by bribing them in order to get
possession of a certain land.
• Thus this bureaucrats class became rich by unfair means. Thus, the
Permanent Settlement Act led to commercialization of land, which
did not exist in Bengal before. This in consequence created a
change in social background. Those who were "lineages and local
chiefs" turned to "under civil servants and their descendants, and to
merchants and bankers." The new landlord class was generated
who had no connection with their lands but managed the property
through the managers.
Consequences of Permanent Settlement
• There was some obvious influence of Permanent Settlement
Act. The company hoped that Zamindar class would be their
revenue generating machine as well as they would serve as
intermediaries for the political aspect of their rule and would
protect British Government in all their interests. However, in
course of time it acted both ways. Zamindars were the natural
protectors of the British rulers but when the British policy
changed during mid -nineteenth century that interfered with
social reform, some Zamindars put themselves in opposition.
Consequences of Permanent Settlement
• The agreement of permanent Settlement Act only included
the revenue earning but there was no mention of the use of
the land. Thus to earn more money from the land, the
Company officials and Zamindars insisted on planting Indigo
and cotton rather than wheat and rice. This was the cause of
many worst famines of the Bengal. Another disadvantage was
creation of absentee Zamindar class who did not pay
attention in the improvement of land.
• Bad side of this system was the appointed tax farmers
absconded with as much money as they could earn within
this five years of period. The consequences were disastrous.
Revolt of 1857: Course, Failure and
Impact
• After the East India Company established British rule over the Indian territory, disappointment and anger started to
thrive in the hearts and minds of the Indians. There were several reasons like the introduction of a permanent
settlement system, widow remarriage act of 1856, subsidiary alliance and the doctrine of lapse, overseas wars in
Burma, and more.
• However, the main incident that caused the breakout of revolt of 1857 was the introduction of greased cartridges.
It was made from the fats of pig and cow that violated Muslim and Hindu religion.
• The sepoys refused to use those cartridges and it initiated the revolt.
• The Course of the Great War of Independence
• To understand the causes of the 1857 revolt, it is essential to understand the course of Mutiny that can be dated
back to 1857, on 29th March. Mangal Panday rejected operating the cartridges and killed the deputy on this day.
With him, 85 other enthusiasts at Meerut rejected the use of the same.
• However, the significance of the revolt of 1857 provided a charge of imprisonment on the soldiers, which the other
soldiers strongly opposed. In 1857, on 10th May, the soldiers killed the officers and headed towards Delhi. They
requested the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II to take back the throne and help them fight against the British.
• The revolt engulfed other cities like Lucknow, Delhi, Kanpur, Jagdishpur, Allahabad, Benares, Jhansi, and Kanpur.
It further praised each cantonment of Bengal along with Bombay. Nevertheless, the Madras armies were devoted.
Revolt of 1857: Course, Failure and
Impact
• Reasons for the failure of the sepoy mutiny in 1857
1. The revolt of 1857 was widespread indeed but it failed to bring together the entire country.
Southern India never participated in the mutiny. In fact, many rulers who first contributed to the
war backed out when they saw the defeat of the sepoys.
2. The sepoy mutiny was more localized. Due to the lack of any central influence, it became easier
for the British to suppress the revolts.
3. No one was there to lead the sepoys and make them understand about the game plan. On the
other hand, the British army was led by governors and expert military persons.
4. One of the main reasons for the failure of the revolt of 1857 was the characters of the Bengal
soldiers. They were hated everywhere and the uprisings were crushed down by the locals
themselves.
5. Even though they were a strong and united reason for the uprisings, the sepoys didn’t know
whom to put in power if they were able to overthrow the British.
6. The sepoys lacked unity and discipline unlike the British soldiers who were highly disciplined.
Revolt of 1857: Course, Failure and
Impact
• The impact of 1857 revolt are as follows:
• End to the East India Company
• One of the main impacts was the ending of the East India Company’s regime. The crown believed that to rule
such a vast country with varied religions, a mere company won’t be enough. In fact, they feared that if the East
India Company was there, then another uprising would happen sooner. So, the control was evoked and India
was brought directly under the control of the British crown.
• New intentions of the British
• Even though the sepoys were defeated in the revolt of 1857, the Indians had hatred against the British
government. That’s why the crown declared the government would not annex any more Indian states under the
rule. In fact, new roles and titles were bestowed on the Indians like sanads, etc. They also declared that the
main intention of the British government was to rule India with an eye for the good of the people.
• Reorganization of the military
• The military was completely reorganized. More Indians were included in the army and the ratio of British to
Indians was increased. However, the new and advanced weapons were reserved only for the British troops.
People with different religions were included in the same troops to pacify the idea of nationalism in the minds
of people.
Revolt of 1857: Course, Failure and
Impact
• Queen Victoria’s proclamation post revolt of 1857
• No interference would be made with the religious aspects of the
Indians
• All the Indians would receive equal opportunities as compared to the
British subjects
• An official pardon was initiated to all Indians who didn’t murder
British. However, those Indians who were directly responsible for the
crimes were declared as guilty
• No distinction of creed, caste, and religion will be tolerated
• The reign of governors was put to an end and viceroys were appointed
First Partition of Bengal (1905)
• The Partition of Bengal in 1905 was made on October 16 by
Viceroy Curzon.
• The former province of Bengal was divided into two new
provinces:
1. "Bengal" (comprising western Bengal as well as the province of Bihar
and Orissa)
2. "East Bengal and Assam" with Dacca (Dhaka) being the capital of the
latter.
• According to Curzon, as the eastern region was neglected and
under-governed, splitting the province could improve
administration in the east and the population would benefit from
new schools and employment opportunities.
First Partition of Bengal (1905)
• The partition was greatly supported by the Muslims of East
Bengal.
• Poor economic situation of Muslims in East Bengal.
• The perceived dominance of the Hindu businessmen and
landlords of West Bengal.
• Bengal was severely centralized in the capital Calcutta, in all
aspects. Most of the factories and mills in Bengal were
established in and around Calcutta even though the major
sources of the raw materials for these factories were in East
Bengal.
First Partition of Bengal (1905)
• Dacca began to transform into a major city and regain its past
glory.
• Construction of Curzon Hall, High court bearing the heritage
of British architecture.
• A number of educational institutions were established
throughout East Bengal and Assam which resulted in an
increase in the literacy rate of the region.
First Partition of Bengal (1905)
• Bengali Hindus were in the forefront of political agitation for
greater participation in governance.
• Hindus tended to oppose partition.
• Partition eventually stimulated an anti-British movement that
involved non-violent and violent protests, boycotts and even
an assassination attempt against the Governor of the new
province of West Bengal.
First Partition of Bengal (1905)
• Partition sparked a major political crisis along religious lines.
• Hindu resistance exploded as the Indian National Congress
began the Swadeshi movement that included boycotting
British goods and public institutions, meetings and
processions, forming committees, propaganda through press,
and diplomatic pressure.
• Rabindranath Tagore wrote Banglar Mati Banglar Jol as a
rallying cry for proponents of annulment of Partition.
Swadeshi Movement
• The proposal of partition of Bengal became publicly known in
1903. This phase is marked by moderate techniques of protest
such as petitions, public meetings, press campaign, etc. to turn
public opinion in India as well as in Britain against partition.
• It involved the boycott of British products. Western clothes were
thrown onto bonfires.
• Leaders of the anti-partition movement decided to use only
Indian goods and to boycott British goods.
• People gathered at the cross roads and burnt the imported clothes
that they had. People picketed the shops selling foreign goods,
and imported sugar was boycotted.
Re-unification
• Due to the political protests, the two parts of Bengal were
reunited in 1911.
• A new partition which divided the province on linguistic,
rather than religious grounds followed, with the Hindi, Oriya
and Assamese areas separated to form separate administrative
units: Bihar and Orissa Province was created to the west, and
Assam Province to the east.
• The administrative capital of British India was moved from
Calcutta to New Delhi as well.
The First Non-cooperation Movement
• At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, Gandhi
convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation
movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj (self rule).
• The first satyagraha movement urged the use of khadi and Indian
material as alternatives to those shipped from Britain.
• It also urged people to boycott British educational institutions and law
courts; resign from government employment; refuse to pay taxes; and
forsake British titles and honors.
• Although this came too late to influence the framing of the new
Government of India Act 1919, the movement enjoyed widespread
popular support, and the resulting unparalleled magnitude of disorder
presented a serious challenge to foreign rule.
Other Anti British Movement
• From 1763 to 1856 there were more than 40 major rebellions
apart from hundreds of minor ones.
Peasant Movements
• The Faqir and Sanyasi Rebellions (1770–1820s)
• Farazi Movement (1838-1848): This was the first ever no-tax
campaign against the British Government, led by Shariatullah Khan
and Dadu Mian, brought together all the cultivators of Bengal against
the landlords.
• Wahabi Movement (1830’s-1860’s): Syed Ahmed Barelvi was greatly
influenced by the teachings of Abdul Wahab of Arabia and Shah
Waliullah, a Delhi saint. The movement was primarily religious in its
origin. It soon assumed the character of a class struggle in some
places, especially in Bengal. Irrespective of communal distinctions,
peasants united against their landlords.
• The Indigo Rebellion (1859-1862)
Tribal Revolts and others
• Chakma Resistance in Southern Chittagong (1777-1787)
• Paglapanthi rebellion in Mymensingh(1825-1833)
• Titumir’s rebellion in Jessore and Nadia (1830-1831) was a
rebel against the Zamindars and British colonial system. He
built a Bamboo fort (Bansher-Kella) and put up armed
resistance. After the storming of the fort by British soldiers,
Titumir died of his wounds on November 19, 1831.
Sepoy Mutiny (1857)
• A sepoy called Mangal Pandey was the first soldier who openly disobeyed orders.
• He killed two English officers at Barrackpore near Calcutta on 29 March 1857.
• He was arrested, tried and executed.
• The news of Mangal Pandey very soon reached other parts of the country and
resulted in open revolts.
• 85 sepoys of the cavalry regiment were sentenced to 2-10 years imprisonment for
refusing to use greased cartridges. The very next day, on 10th May 1857, three
regiments broke into open mutiny.
• They killed British officers and broke open the prison to release their comrades.
They began to march towards Delhi, where they were joined by the local infantry
and the common people.
• The rebels captured Delhi and killed many British officers. They declared the
Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah as the emperor of India.
Other measures the British take to exploit India
• To buy raw materials and sell their finished goods they
introduced steamships and railways. The railways opened a
vast market to the British and facilitated export of Indian raw
materials abroad. The railways connected the raw material
producing areas with the exporting ports. As a result British
goods flooded the Indian market.
• In 1853, Dalhousie opened the first telegraphic line from
Calcutta to Agra. They also introduced the postal service to
India.
Other measures the British take to exploit India
• The British were not very sensitive to the feelings of the vast
mass of Indian people. Social reforms against sati, female
infanticide, widow re-marriage and education of woman,
made many people unhappy.
• With an objective to convert people the Christian
missionaries opened schools and college.
• They also needed a population which was educated and
modern enough to buy their goods, but not enough to prove
detrimental to British interests.
Tebhaga Movement
• The Tebhaga movement was a militant campaign initiated in Bengal by
the Kisan Sabha (peasants front of Communist Party of India) in 1946.
• At that time share-cropping peasants (essentially, tenants) had to give
half of their harvest to the owners of the land. The demand of the
Tebhaga (sharing by thirds) movement was to reduce the share given to
landlords to one third.
• In many areas the agitations turned violent, and landlords fled villages
leaving parts of the countryside in the hands of Kisan Sabha.
• As a response to the agitations, the then Muslim League ministry in the
province launched the Bargadari Act, which provided that the share of
the harvest given to the landlords would be limited to one third of the
total. But the law was not fully implemented.
First World War
• When the First World War began India contributed massively to the
British war effort by providing men and resources. About 1.3 million
Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa and the Middle
East, while both the Indian government and the princes sent large
supplies of food, money and ammunition.
• Bengal and Punjab remained hotbeds of anti colonial activities.
Nationalism in Bengal, increasingly closely linked with the unrests in
Punjab, was significant enough to nearly paralyze the regional
administration.
Nationalist Response to War
• In the aftermath of the First World War, high casualty rates, soaring
inflation compounded by heavy taxation, a widespread influenza
epidemic and the disruption of trade during the war escalated human
suffering in India.
• The pre-war nationalist movement revived as moderate and extremist
groups within the Congress submerged their differences in order to
stand as a unified front. They argued their enormous services to the
British Empire during the war demanded a reward, and demonstrated
the Indian capacity for self-rule.
• In 1916, the Congress succeeded in forging the Lucknow Pact, a
temporary alliance with the Muslim League over the issues of
devolution of political power and the future of Islam in the region.
Heroes of Anti British Movement
• Surya Sen, along with other activists, raided the Chittagong armory on
18 April 1930 to capture arms and ammunition and to destroy
government communication system to establish a local governance.
• Pritilata Waddedar led an attack on a European club in Chittagong in
1932, while Bina Das attempted to assassinate Stanley Jackson, the
Governor of Bengal inside the convocation hall of Calcutta University.
• Following the Chittagong armory raid case, Surya Sen was hanged and
several others were deported for life to the Cellular Jail in Andaman.
Khudiram Bose (1989-1908)
• Attempted to kill Kingsford.
• At the time of his hanging, he was 18 year old.
• Dozens and dozens of brave young men—many of them still in their
teens like Khudiram, became inspired and fearless for a cause greater
than themselves and gave themselves up one after the other as
sacrificial offerings at the British gallows
Bharat Chhodo Andodolon
• The Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo Andolan) or the August
Movement was a civil disobedience movement in India launched on 8
August 1942 in response to Gandhi's call for immediate independence
of India and against sending Indians to World War II.
• He asked all teachers to leave their schools, and other Indians to leave
their respective jobs and take part in this movement. Due to Gandhi's
political influence, his request was followed by a massive proportion
of the population.
Dyarchy in Bengal
• Dyarchy is a form of government in which two individuals, the
diarchs, are the heads of state.
• Some areas like education, agriculture, infrastructure development,
and local self-government became the preserve of Indian ministers and
legislatures, and ultimately the Indian electorates, while others like
irrigation, land-revenue, police, prisons, and control of media
remained within the purview of the British governor and his executive
council.
• The great bulk of the voters came from the rural areas a large portion
of whom were Muslims.
The Second Partition of Bengal
• The forces of Hindu and Muslim communalism in Bengal had become
so powerful that there were too few persons in either community to
fight communalism.
• Before 1920s Bengali Hindus dominated the political institutions.
• Emergence of Muslim leadership.
• From 1926 Hindus lost control of many local bodies and also of the
provincial legislature.
The communal Award 1932
• British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald published his Communal
Award.
• On the basis of this award, the Government of India Act 1935, when
applied in Bengal, enlarged the electorate by almost 600 percent,
enfranchising four new Muslim voters to every three Hindus, and
drastically reduced urban weightage, favoring the Muslims.
• Out of total 250 members in the Bengal Legislative assembly, 119
were Muslims, 58 were Hindus, 30 scheduled castes, and 25 British.
Bengal Ministry
• First Bengal Ministry (1937-1942), formed with Fazlul Huq as the
Chief Minister. Recommended abolition of permanent settlement act.
• Khwaja Nazimuddin (1943-1945)
• H. S. Suhrawardy (1946- 1947)
• The state of Hindu-Muslim relation has reached the point of no return.
Great Calcutta Killing(16 August, 1946)
• Jinnah declared Direct Action Day.
• Four months of virtual civil war in Bengal.
• Hindus and Muslims butchered one another.
• In Bengal Legislative Assembly, Bengali Hindus unanimously voted
for partition.
Independence of India and Pakistan
• On 3 June 1947, Louis Mountbatten, the last British Governor-General
of India, announced the partitioning of British India into India and
Pakistan. With the speedy passage through the British Parliament of
the Indian Independence Act 1947,
• At 11:57 on 14 August 1947 Pakistan was declared a separate nation,
• At 12:02, just after midnight, on 15 August 1947, India also became
and Independent nation.
Thank You