Lord Cornwallis (1786 – 1793) Introduction Lord Cornwallis, a warrior-statesman. He succeeded Warren Hastings as Governor-General in 1786. He belonged to an influential and aristocratic family which had wider political connections. He was also a close friend of Prime Minister Pitt. Dundas, the most influential member of the Board of Control was also one of … Read more
Lord William Bentick (1828-1835) Introduction Lord William Bentinck assumed the office of the Governor- General in 1828. Born in 1774 he commenced his career as a soldier and later at the young age of twenty two he became a Member of Parliament. He was appointed the Governor of Madras in 1803. He supported Sir Thomas … Read more
Warren Hastings (1773-1785) Became Governor in 1772 and Governor-General in 1773 through Regulating Act of 1773 His four councillors were Clavering, Francis, Monson and Barwell Abolished Dual system(1767-1772) of administration (1772) Auctioned the right to collect land revenue to the highest bidder (1772) Divided Bengal into districts and appointed Collectors (1772) Rohilla war(1774) and annexation … Read more
Lord Cornwallis (1786 – 1793) Introduction Lord Cornwallis, a warrior-statesman. He succeeded Warren Hastings as Governor-General in 1786. He belonged to an influential and aristocratic family which had wider political connections. He was also a close friend of Prime Minister Pitt. Dundas, the most influential member of the Board of Control was also one of … Read more
Lord Wellesley (1789-1805) INTRODUCTION Lord Wellesley became the Governor General of India at a time when the British were involved in a life and death struggle with France all over the world. He soon realized that the political conditions in India were favorable for the expansion of the British Empire in India. Lord Wellesley adopted … Read more
Lord Ellenborough, 1842-44 INTRODUCTION Lord Ellenborough served as the Governor General of India from 28 February 1842 to 15 June 1844. He is credited with bringing the Afghan War to an end. His tenure of office was marked by a successful expedition to Kabul which went a long way in enhancing the prestige … Read more
Lord Auckland, 1836-42 INTRODUCTION Lord Auckland was the Governor-General of India and had decided that Dost Mohammed could no longer be trusted after his invitation of Yan Vitkevich to Kabul in 1837. He sided with the pro-British Ranjit Singh in the border dispute over Peshawar. It was Lord Auckland’s issuing of the Simla Manifesto … Read more
? Hindi and Urdu are two Hindustani Languages; spoken mostly in the northern and Central India and in Pakistan. Hindi and Urdu are two different languages but these languages have many common things. Both Hindi and Urdu are developed in a similar phase and adopted many changes. We will discuss about the … Read more
? , Begar and Reet Social conditions Indian society underwent many changes after the British came to India. In the 19th century, certain social practices like female infanticide, child marriage, sati, polygamy and a rigid caste system became more prevalent. These practices were against human dignity and values. Women were discriminated against at all stages … Read more
? Of all the European East India companies which came to India as traders in different periods of the 15th and 16th centuries, only the British and the French East India companies remained as dominant ones by the beginning of the 18th century. In the first decade of the 18th century, the fortunes of the then … Read more
? Development of Railway:- The romance of train travel in India is legendary, but the task of constructing the railways in the first place was daunting. There were huge problems in dealing with such a vast and inhospitable country. The idea of introducing railways to India had been mooted as early as the 1830s. In … Read more
? Development of Press, Railway, Press and Telegraph, Industries in British India Development of Press:- The first press in India was established by the Portuguese in 1550, first book was published by Portuguese missionaries (1557). The next was established by British in 1684. James Augustus Hickey is considered as the "father of Indian press" as … Read more
? Development of Posts and Telegraph:- Posts Britain’s involvement in the postal services of India began in the eighteenth century. Initially the service was administered by the East India Company who established post offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta (now Kolkata) between 1764 and 1766. East India Company and the British Post Office in … Read more
? Development of Industries:- Industrial Development in India during the British Rule:- 1. Subject Matter of Industrial Development 2. Early Efforts of Industrialization 3. Industries in the Inter-War Period (1919-38) 4. Industries during 1939-47 5. Reasons for Low Industrial Development in India. Subject Matter of Industrial Development: Underdeveloped countries are greatly handicapped by shortage of capital for … Read more
? Depressed Classes Mission, Non-Brahmin movement and Justice Party One, of the earliest lower caste movements, which became the torch bearer for the future caste movements, was founded in Maharashtra in the 1870s by Jyotibha Phule, who with his books Gulamgiri (1872) and Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak and his organisation Satya Shodhak Samaj, proclaimed the … Read more
? Jyotirao ‘Jyotiba’ Govindrao Phule was a prominent social reformer and thinker of the nineteenth century India. He led the movement against the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He revolted against the domination of the Brahmins and struggled for the rights of peasants and other low-caste people. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was also a pioneer for women … Read more
? : Struggle for supremacy The Portuguese From time immemorial India had commercial relations with countries of the west. The commercial route then was not direct by sea. The merchants sailed over the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and reached Europe through Arabia. But in the seventh century when Arabia became very strong as … Read more
? “Two-Nation” theory and Islamic revivalism “Two-Nation” theory Two Nation Theory's phenomenon basically sprigged up with the advent of Islam in the Sub-Continent. The sense was very unique about Pakistan's creation that it was generally based on ideological commitments in the light of Islam. The basic concept behind Two Nation Theory was Muslims and Hindus … Read more
Modern history of Jharkhand after Independence The modern tribal movement for regional autonomy is a phenomena after India got independence. Jharkhand movement too is such a phenomenon. The main aim of the Jharkhand movement was the creation of a separate “Adivasi state”. Before independence, it was the main issue. But after independence, decks were clear … Read more
Gandhiji was arrested in 1922 and sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment. The result was the spread of disintegration, disorganization and demoralization in the nationalist ranks. After a defeat of their resolution of ‘either mending or ending’ in the Congress, CR Das and Motilal Nehru resigned and formed the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party in December … Read more
The Akali movement The movement arose with the objective of freeing the Gurudwaras from the control of ignorant and corrupt priests (mahants). Apart from the mahants, after the British annexation of Punjab in 1849, some control over the Gurudwaras was exercised by Government-nominated managers and custodians, who often collaborated with mahants. The government gave … Read more
Non Co-operation Movement Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 1919: Dyarchy In a system called “dyarchy,” the nation-building departments of government — agriculture, education, public works, and the like — were placed under ministers who were individually responsible to the legislature. The departments that made up the “steel frame” of British rule — finance, revenue, and home affairs — … Read more
Gandhi was the first Indian barrister to have come to South Africa. He was faced with various racial discriminations within days of his arrival in SA. He led the Indian struggle in SA. The first phase of Gandhi’s political activities from 1894-1906 may be classified as the ‘moderate’ phase. He set up the Natal Indian … Read more
Lucknow Pact (1916) Nationalists saw that their disunity was affecting their cause Two important developments at the Lucknow Session of Congress The two wings of the Congress were again united The Congress and the Muslim League sank their old differences and put up common political demands before the government. INC and ML passed the same … Read more
Partition of Bengal With the partition of Bengal, Indian National Movement entered its second stage On 20 July, 1905, Lord Curzon issued an order dividing the province of Bengal into two parts: Eastern Bengal and Assam with a population of 31 mn and the rest of Bengal with a population of 54 mn. Reason … Read more
The Split in the Congress: Surat 1907 Moderates were successful to some extent. Moderates failed in many aspects. Why? They could not acquire any roots among common people. They believed that they could persuade the rulers to change their policies. However, their achievement in this regard was meager. They could not keep pace with … Read more
Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909 Increased the number of elected members in the Imperial Legislative Council and the provincial council However, most of the elected members were elected indirectly The reformed councils still enjoyed no real power, being merely advisory bodies. Introduced separate electorates under which all Muslims were grouped in separate constituencies from which Muslims alone … Read more
Muslim League 1906 by Aga Khan, the Nawab of Dhaka, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk It made no critique of colonialism, supported the partition of Bengal and demanded special safeguards for the Muslims in government services. ML’s political activities were directed not against the foreign rulers but against the Hindus and the INC. Their activities were not … Read more
World War I and Indian Nationalism Increasing number of Indians from Punjab were emigrating to North America. The British government thought that these emigrants would be affected by the idea of liberty. Hence, they tried to restrict emigration. Tarak Nath Das, an Indian student in Canada, started a paper called Free Hindustan. The Hindi Association … Read more
After being released in 1914, Tilak sought re-entry into Congress. Annie Besant and Gokhale supported. But finally Pherozshah Mehta won and Tilak was not admitted. Tilak and Besant decided to start the home rule movement on their own. In early 1915, Annie Besant (and S Subramaniya Iyer) launched a campaign through her two newspapers, New … Read more
Disillusionment of the nationalists with moderate policies The moderates thought that the British could be reformed from within Politically conscious Indians were convinced that the purpose of the British rule was to exploit India economically The nationalists realized that Indian industries could not flourish except under an Indian government Disastrous famines from 1896 to 1900 … Read more
Contribution of early nationalists Early nationalists believed that a direct struggle for the political emancipation of the country was not yet on the agenda of history. On agenda was: Creation of public interest in political questions and the organization of public opinion Popular demands had to be formulated on a country-wide basis National unity had … Read more
Rise of Indian National Congress Predecessors of INC East India Association By Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866 in London To discuss the Indian question and to influence the British public men to discuss Indian welfare Branches of the association in prominent Indian cities Indian Association Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose in 1876, Calcutta The … Read more
India in the Eighteenth CenturyBahadur Shah 1 (1707-12) Muzam succeeded Aurungzeb after latter’s death in 1707 He acquired the title of Bahadur Shah. Though he was quite old (65) and his rule quite short there are many significant achievements he made He reversed the narrow minded and antagonistic policies of Aurungzeb Made agreements with Rajput … Read more
Raja Rammohan Roy: RRM Roy was a social reformer and intellectual in the early nineteenth century Bengal. He is most widely known for founding the Brahmo Samaj and his relentless campaign against the practice of Sati and child marriage. Debendranath Tagore: Brahmo Samaj: BS was founded in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy with the … Read more
During the Governor-General Lord Canning May 11, 1857. The Meerut incident. Capture of Delhi. Proclaiming B S Jazar as the emperor. Almost half the Company’s sepoy strength of 232224 opted out of their loyalty to their regimental colours. Kanpur: Nana Saheb; Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal; Bareilly: Khan Bahadur; Jagdishpur (Ara): Kunwar Singh; Jhansi: Rani Lakshmi … Read more
The colonial administrators ended their relative isolation and brought them fully within the ambit of colonialism. Introduced new system of land revenue and taxation of tribal products Influx of Christian missionaries into the tribal areas They could no longer practice shifting agriculture Oppression and extortion by police officials The complete disruption of the old agrarian … Read more
Many dispossessed peasants took to robbery and dacoity. Indigo Revolt of 1859-60 By the end of 1860 indigo cultivation was virtually wiped out from the districts of Bengal A major reason for the success of the Indigo revolt was the tremendous initiative, cooperation, organization and discipline of the ryots. Another was the complete unity among … Read more