India (up to 1914) Flashcards
What was new ratio of British to Indian troops in 1858
between two to three to one
Why did army regiments in India become mixed
to ensure different religions ethnicities geographic locations were present in units
When was the Indian Council Act
1861
How was the Viceroy’s Executive Council changed in the Indian Council Act
became more like a Cabinet
How did they make the viceroy’s executive council more like a cabinet
- cabinet had six ordinary members who each took chrage of a separate department in Calcutta’s gov (home, revenue, military, law, finance and public works)
- viceroy allowed under provisions of act to overrule council on affairs if he deemed necessary
- viceroy’s legislative council at Calcutta was given extensive authority to pass laws for British India
When did Bombay and Madras lose power to legislate for themselves
1883
What were the main changes to the legislative council in the Indian Council Act
- 3 members appointed by secretary of state for India and 2 by the soverign (after 1869 all 5 members appointed by crown)
- viceroy could appoint between 6-12 additional members
- 45 Indians nominated as additional non-official members from 1862 to 1892 (25 were zamindars and 7 were rulers of princely states and the others were lawyers merchants and journalists)
When was Queen Victoria declared empress of India
1877
When was the Ilbert Bill introduced
1883
What was the nature of the Ilbert Bill
Indian judges could try Europeans
What was the reaction to the Ilbert Bill
there was popular disapproval of the bill by a majority of English Women
How did Lord Ripon amend the bill following the disapproval from British (women)
passed an amendment whereby a jury of 50% Europeans was required if an Indian judge was to face a European on the dock
When did the revised Ilbert Bill pass
January 1884
What changes were there to legislative council in the 1892 Indian Councils Act
- increased legislative members to a minimum of 10 and a max of 16
- now had 6 officials (the ‘cabinet’), 5 nominated non-officials, 4 nominated by the provincial legislative councils of Bengal Presidency
- members were allowed to ask questions in the council but not allowed to ask supplementaries to discuss the answer
- members could discuss annual financial statement under certain restrictions but could not vote on it
Hoe many members of the legislative council were Indian in 1892
5 out of 24
When was the partition of Bengal
16th October 1905
Who partitioned Bengal
Lord Curzon
What were the causes of the partition of Bengal
- admin of Bengal was a problem for a long time- pop of 78 million was twice as large as Britain’s
- Bengal prone to famine when the monsoon failed and due to large pop led to unrest amongst workers
- Bengal famine- 1 mil died and 59.5 mil were affected
- the success and growth of congress and discontent amongst educated Bengalis disturbed the British
What was the unspoken British policy behind the partition of Bengal
divide and rule- create divisions between the Hindus or congress and the Muslims
How was Bengal divided
- Western Bengal (had pop of 54 million including 42 mil Hindus and 9 mil Muslims)
- Eastern Bengal (had total pop of 31 millions including 12 mil Hindus and 18 mil Muslims)
How did Hindus react to the partition
Bengali Hindus were outraged with attempt to divide and rule- partition cut through the unity of Bengali speaking community to create majority Muslim province
How did Muslims react to the partition
in the short term Muslims were delighted with majority in new eastern province- provide them a power base if and when Indians were able to elect provincial governments
What is Swadesh
It is a campaign not to buy something (boycott)
What was the nature of the Swadeshi campaign following the partition of Bengal
included boycott of buying British goods and Lancashire cotton in particular which was publicly burned
What was anniversary of the partition declared as
an annual day of mourning
Give two examples of Indian terrorism following the partition of Bengal
- 1908 two European women were killed when a bomb intended for a local judge was thrown into the wrong carriage
- 1909 official at the Indian office in London was shot in the street by a Punjabi seeking political martyrdom
How did the different forms protest (passive and violent) cause problems for congress
led to growing tension between those who believed in peaceful lawful methods (moderates) and those who wanted more urgent direct even violent action (radicals)
What did Gokhale complain about in terms of the partition
he complained about the lack of consultation over the partition
What did Curzon say about Calcutta
‘Calcutta is the centre from which the congress party is manipulated throughout the whole of Bengal, and indeed the whole of India’
What did Gokhale say about discontent in India following partition
‘Never was discontent in India more acute and widespread’
How did Morely predict Indian discontent would grow as time went on
‘Indian discontent or alienation… will sure to run into the same channels of violence as Italian, Russian, Irish discontent’
shouldn’t be ‘dismissed as mere froth, the sulky whinnings of an unrepresentative Indian elite: it went far beyond the Babu class’
How did Morley get off on the wrong foot in India
they categorically refused to revoke the partition of Bengal
What did Tilak say when Minto refused to reunify Benagl and what did he think it showed
‘I expected nothing better from him’- showed the futility of the ‘mendicant’ approach of the moderates
What did Morley say about reforms in the Raj
‘Reforms may not save the Raj… but if they don’t nothing else will’
How many Indians were appointed to SSI’s Indian Council in London following the Morley Minto reforms and who were they appointed by
Two Indians appointed and nominated by the government
What were changes were made to the legislative council in the Morley Minto reforms
- 68 members in total
- 35 elected members and 25 elected members
- elected members were a cross between Muslims and Hindus of different backgrounds
How did the Morley Minto reforms change the level of responsibility on the provincial councils
In Bengal there were 53 members- meant to more people were involved
Who reunified Bengal
Lord Hardinge
When did was Bengal reunified
1911
What became the new capital of India in 1912
New Delhi
What were the motivations for the Morley Minto reforms
- show reform is happening
- Appease Bengalis (moderates)
- try to stop threat of uprising
- keep radicals at Bay (Tilak)
- divide and rule
Why did Morely and Minto think appeasing to the moderates would be a could strategic
thought if they worked with the moderates (ie Gokhale) they could squeeze out the radicals and nationalism would become a reduced threat again
What was the impact of the Morley Minto reforms
- Muslims and Hindus were both angry
- marginalised extremists
- only 27 out of 60 elected
- British still had all the power
When did Indians attempt to assassinate Lord Hardinge
1912
