INDIA COLONIAL AND NATIVE POLICY Flashcards
difference between colonial and native policy
native:
- the experiences of those being ruled and how they were treated
colonial:
- actual government policy implemented in parliament
examples of colonial subjects being treated well under the british in india 1890-1914 - native policy
- the british launch a 68 million pound relief program from the epidemics caused by monsoons in 1895/1896
- curzon introduces measures to offset the impact of the bengal famine from 1899-1900 (in a later flashcard)
examples of colonial subjects being treated badly under the british in india 1890-1914 - native policy
- there were monssons in India in 1895 + 1896 - over 53 million Indians starved and in April 1897, 33 million entered government labour camps
- in 1907, unrest occurs in the Punjab due to attempted British corruption and low pay of staff
examples of colonial policy which BENEFITTED people in india 1890-1914
- 1909 (Government of India Act) morley minto reforms (increase representation of Indians in gov)
- 1904 Universities Act which allowed for the rebuilding of gov structures including the Taj Mahal
- 1900 - Calcutta University is established (largest university in the world)
- 1892 Indian Councils Act (increase representation + comments)
examples of colonial policy which did not benefit people in india 1890-1914
hint of dates:
1910, 1905
- 1910 draconian press act
- 1905 attempted partition of bengal which separated the population based on religious alignment (hindu and muslim)
what was the 1910 draconian press act
- provided the british with the power to imprison and sentence to death anyone who wrote radical news, against the raj
- fined for rebellious publications
- aimed to create a state of conformity and unanimous opinion
describe the 1892 Indian Councils Act
the british government allowed for local comment and criticism of legislation
- it allowed for 16 Indians to be added to the imperial legislative council
describe curzon’s program to offset the bengal famine of 1899-1900 (3)
- introduction of famine relief works which fed over 3.5 million people
- reduced taxes for local individuals
- increased irrigation work spending so the water could infiltrate crops and allow for a better harvest
describe the partition of bengal 1905 and its reunification (cause, event, consequence)
causes:
- unrest and increasing administrative difficulties for the British, weakening their grip over their key colony, because of increasing famines
- wanted to streamline bureaucracy
- fracture the overarching power of the INC and prevent a rebellion that the british cannot control - claimed that they would force the British to concede unnecessary things
- curzon thought this would be suitable to suppress the demands and outcry of various workers and nationalists
- wanted to prevent a unity of religion, with the common ground being the dislike of the British - this would amplify anti-imperial sentiments - weaken nationalism
(letter from Curzon to Brodrick in 1905)
event:
- curzon does not consult the bodies when partitioning
- east bengal = muslim majority of 6 million more muslims (12m v 18m)
- west bengal = hindu majority (42 million hindu vs 9 million muslim)
- physically split people based on religion and their affiliation
consequence:
- curzon loses all credibility, as he attempted to divide the nation and induce more violence
- only accelerated the bad reputation of Curzon
- accelerates the nationalist movement - swadhesi movement
- key example of different religions uniting against the Raj (eroding their overarching influence)
- Bengal is reunified in 1911 under Hardringe
- led to the White Mutiny of indigo workers
- triggered the work of gokhale and tilak
describe the MORLEY MINTO reforms of 1909 - ie give stats and what was the motivation behind these
- one indian was appointed to the executive council (sinha)
- imperial legislative councils were expanded from 25 to 60
- a separate electorate was made for muslims
- on legislative councils, only 25/68 members were elected, and 12/68 were from provincial councils
- 27 indians were added to the viceroy’s council
- on provincial councils - 26/53 were elected members, proportional to different bodies (muslims elected 4 members, the university of calcutta elected one etc)
*note, sinha was only appointed because of his western education (was actually not as progressive as they hoped)
motivation:
- increase political participation, interest and activity of indians in government
- appease nationalist sentiment within India by providing more political opportunities and access points into government, which would expand its representation and promote co-operation between the two bodies
- to accomodate the demands of the INC to promote a functional society and collaboration with a younger generation of indian nationalists
- to devolve power from westminster to local indian areas
- to expand political avenues for indians and reconcile the british relationship with indians
- hoped to prevent the collaboration between nationalist groups, and instead of the british with these groups
what was the Ibert Bill 1883
- a bill passed in 1883 which allowed indian judges to try europeans - attempt by the British to offset the power imbalance which had been generated by the Raj and remove racial biases in impacting the quality of a judicial trial
- the result was that the european community was outraged, displaying the overarching influence of racial superiority at the time and distrust of colonial subjects in positions of power
- resultantly, in any case which involved a member of the european community, the jury had to consist of over 50% of europeans
what were princely states in India, and by 1900, how common were they
- states which were not directly governed by the British, but by Indian maharajahs (who were aligned with the British crown)
- introduction of a more federalist structure
in 1900, they included over 72 million people
give some statistics about the swadesh movement / nationalist movement triggered after the attempted partition of bengal in 1905
- 150,000 pieces of Lancashire cotton are burnt
- production of cotton declines by 40%, and cloth production declines by 25%
- attempted assassinations 1909 and 1912 of curzon wylie and hardringe
- establishment of Shivaji festivals
- various political leagues are established (ie All India Muslim League in 1906, Indian Home Rule Society 1905 etc)
examples of colonial policy which did BENEFIT people in India from 1857-1890
- introduction of the Ibert Bill in 1883 - would attempt to address critical imbalances of power by allowing Indians to try Europeans
- 1858 Government of India Act which attempts to make a more transparent government and promotes religious laissez faire
examples of native policy which positively impacted Indian people from 1857-1890
- government began schemes to increase the number of development projects in India, and raised government revenue for re-investment (15,000 pounds before, 24,000 pounds after)
- the government cultivated over 10 million acres of land, of which 1/8th of the population depended on in 1878
- formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 and Indian National Association - allows for increasing political affiliation and amplification of indian demands - opportunity to voice disagreement
examples of native policy which negatively impacted Indian people from 1857-1890
1887 - establishment of the Chenab canal scheme, worth 3 million pounds (despite establishing a stable agricultural community and fertile region, Indians are forced to pay 10 rupees per month - British reliance on Indians to continue their schemes (limit employment too)
reliance on the Doctrine of Lapse - would allow British to take the land of there was no male heir to indian land - gradually assert superiority
1877 - Richard Temple Famine Relief Programmes, forcing people to survive on one pound of grain/day and simultaneously required hard labour, causing over 3.5 million people to die (mirrored programmes in the Punjab)
spreading of cholera programmes, with 170,000 cases of Cholera and Malaria, yet the government refused to intervene and adopted a laissez faire approach, as they thought this would destroy discipline
how did India’s population change from 1871-1901
1871 - 255 million people
1901 - 285 million people
*stark increase
describe the indian civil service under the raj
- became a prominent elitist institution, which was extremely selective and lacked inclusivity
- the number of indians in the indian civil service only just doubled from 30-60 between 1890-1914, despite much more representative legislation being passed in that time frame
describe the ‘divide and rule’ policy under curzon
- a policy practiced through the indian civil service which aimed to increase local divisions between indian people to prevent a swell of nationalist support and amplification of nationalist demands
- it amplified the divisions based on race, class, education etc
- the intention was to keep the indian population divided to maintain British imperial power and influence
list the colonial administrators / govenor generals of india from 1880-1914
- Ripon 1880-1884
- Landsdowne 1884-1888
- Dufferin 1888-1894
- Elgin 1884-1899
- Curzon 1899-1905
- Minto 1905-1910
- Hardinge 1910-1916
examples of press acts under the British raj which limited free speech and imposed censorship
- suppression and stopping of the publishing of the Indian Sociologist newspaper in 1909 (it accused the British of being hypocritical, given that they encouraged freedom of speech and press, yet were encouraging dominant classes to suppress lower classes
- 1910 vernecular press act
- 1908 press freedom act
- 1904 Official Secrets Act - prevent leaks and disclosure of information
examples of LIBERAL positions, concessions and policies taken by the british government from 1882-1914 in policy, and catagorise these in terms of:
- social
- political
- technology / architcture
- media
- healthcare
social:
1. open to supporting the Ibert Bill
2. reunification of Bengal in 1911 - under Hardinge (appease religious divides and nationalist sentiment)
3. 1904 Universities Act - improving the quality of education
political:
1. morley minto reforms of 1909 - increased local representation and political affiliation
2. co-operation and supporting the formation of the INC in 1885
3. indian councils act 1892 - would allow for policy to be criticised
4. creation of a West Frontier province by Curzon in 1901
5. 1906 Simla Delegation = a campaign to Minto to promote further muslim representation – amplified through the morley minto reforms
tech:
- Indian archaeological society - promoted the restoration of the Taj Mahal in 1909
media:
- repeal of the vernecular press act in 1882 - expanded political expression
healthcare:
- bengal famine 1899 - relief works, lower tax and irrigation schemes to feed over 3.5 million people
examples of CONSERVATIVE and REPRESSIVE positions and policies taken by the british government from 1882-1914 in policy, , and catagorise these in terms of:
- social
- political
- media
- healthcare
social:
1. partition of bengal 1905 - attempt to divide india - lacked consultation with the indian people, example of forced separation to prevent unity and political activity
political:
2. morley minto reforms 1909 - power is still massively centralised with the British - lacks inclusivity, doing it because they need to
draconian media policies:
1. draconian press act 1892
2. indian sociologist was suppressed in 1909 – lack of media freedom
3. vernecular press act 1910 - threatens freedom of speech and expression powers, increasing an insular state
healthcare:
- bombay plague and cholera epidemic of 1896 – use violence to exert authority and create a climate of fear
- bengal famine of 1899 - over 1 million people died
give examples of colonial policy in india purely promoting elitism
- imperial cadet corps established in 1901
- the indian civil service (and the divide and rule policy)
- could be argued that the morley-minto reforms did (ie sinha in the executive council)
describe the 1901 imperial cadet corps
- established by curzon
- hoped to give military training to elite and wealthy indians
- the result, would be a disparity in skill and military ability, which would widen the class divide and generate loyalty for the British
- was disbanded in 1915
british educational policies in the raj working and failing
working:
- indian universities act 1904 - increased British controls over private colleges and university bodies - idea of appealing to the middle classes
- 1882 = punjab university established
- 1882 = 209 schools in bengal, by 1900, calcutta uni was the largest
- Indian Universities Commission (Raleigh Commission) in 1902, for more investment in indian universities
- calcultta university = 526 graduates into public service
not working:
- the literacy rate only increased from 3% to 5% from 1872-1911 (displays the british did not put adequate emphasis on literacy policies)
- in 1912, there were only 270 doctors in the central india agency, out of 9.3 million
actions of British in burma
- british make a military expedition into burma in 1882 to counter french influence in the region
- the british establish a border commission
limitations and criticism toward MM reforms - in what ways was this policy not helpful for the raj
- level of class bias by the British in electing members (ie Sinha) in the executive council
- power was still very much centralised with westminster
- limited representation and political voice - candidates to be representatives were from upper classes
- whilst indians were in these political bodies, their advice for legislation was sidelined
describe the 2 key healthcare problems within India and how they were dealt with
- Bengal Famine 1899-1900 - curzon
- curzon introduced famine relief works, which irrigated land and fed over 3.5 million people, despite affecting over 59 million people and reducing taxation schemes
- over 1 million people died - Bombay Plague epidemic
describe the reunification of bengal
- reunified in 1911
- the aim was that it would allow for a coalition and unity of religion again
- pursued under Hardinge - more liberal stance and need to appease local Indians
- Hardinge adds Gokhale into the ISLINGTON COMMISSION - it symbolised the British formally recognising indian nationalism and conceding their level of power
describe the railway and irrigation projects continued under Curzon
- in 1881, there were 9800 miles of railway, by 1900 there were 24,000 miles
- 30 million acres of land had been irrigated, out of 197 million acores
- 37,000 miles of metalled roads
describe Curzon’s creation of a West Frontier province
- gave local warlords and maharajas increasing powers in districts, and devolved power away from the central westminster body
- occured in 1901
list the development schemes under the British in this time period
- railway expansion
1859 = 432 miles
1896 = 5000 miles
- in 1900, Curzon introduced measures to double the railway in length to 25,000 miles (5,000 miles in 5 years) - canal schemes
1887 - establishment of the Chenab canal scheme, worth 3 million pounds.
what was the 1906 Simla Delegation
- a delegation of muslims who campaigned to minto for greater political representation
- formed the all india muslim league
what was the Indian archeological society
a society promoted by curzon which aimed to rebuild archaelogical sites in india
- ie the Taj Mahal in 1909
when does burma become a part of india
1886
- rangoon = capital
britain’s policies to india’s defence in the 1880s
- created an army of 70,000 british and 125,000 native troops by the late 1880s
- british adopted a policy of training native troops, but leaving them separated from one another (in terms of religion, caste etc) to prevent unity
- to prevent rebellion, the number of british officers increased
- indian soliders were denied officer ranking and high positions
ie 1882 - indian soliders are shipped to egypt from portsmouth dock yard
what were the brussels and berlin conferences
1876 + 1884/1885
- representatives from countries negotiated their claims to specific territories within Africa
- established the ‘scramble for africa’ and created competition among european powers about their dominance over the african region
- asserted the idea of ‘effective occupation’
- led to the signing of the General Act - countries must mark out their dominance and ruling of an area
what was the delhi durbar, and what significant occurance was declared
- 1911
- a celebration which marked king george taking the throne - aimed to promote continuity and induce enthusiasm in empire
king george declared the movement of the indian capital from calcutta to delhi - aimed to appease nationalists
- wanted britain to have a constant government presence and oversight
what event occured in 1905 todo with tilak and gokhale and the unity of the INC
also, describe the ideological divisions between gokhale and tilak
- there was stark polarization between moderates and radicals
- in 1905, tilak and his supporters formed the extremist party
divisions and differences:
- gokhale promoted more constitutional methods, which operated around political procedure
- tilak wanted swaraj and immediate self rule and complete removal of british policies
what was the White Mutiny
a response to the Ibert Bill and its lack of enforcement, it was a rebellion by indian colonial subjects against the raj and its policies
