L-35 Colonialism in India

8/3/2019 L-35 Colonialism in India

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35Colonialism in India

35.1 INTRbnuCTIONDevelopment of our Constitutional framework is to a great extent based o-n th e legactesof the British Colonial rule and the Indian National Movement Many of our economic.social 8nd politica1 problems that we seek to solve today, were tb e c re atio n o f the colonialrule of the British. The realisation ofttle true nature of the British colonialism by the Indianpeople provided the basic ground for the National Movement and it was tbe strategies,aims and object ives o f the National Movement tbatstraped out socia l. political and economic!policies and activities after tndependence. It also inspired millions of Asians; Africansand La ti n Ameri cans t o v igorou sl y fight against alien Co lonia l r ule rs in their own coun tr ies.Hence a study of the impact of British. colonial rule is necessary to gain knowledge aboutth e n atu re of the natio na l f re edom s tr ug g le . th e ba sis o f o ur con sti tu tio n anc i" th e tUltOte ofth e present political system of India .35.2. OBJECTIVES.Arter reading this lesson. you Will be able to : recall the meaning of COlonialism; analyse th e nature of British colonialism in. India; identi:fy th e impact of colonialism on Indian economy; -recognise the impact o f c olen ta ltsm o n In dian social system; . analyse tbe impact of British rule on Indian pOlitical system.35.3 MEANING OF COLONIALISM .Colonialism is another fonn of capitalism tbatdevel~mairdy as consequence of industrialrevolution in the western world .SimultapeOus w i d l tile Industrial Revolution. SOBle oftbe manufacturers and traders startedusing better tecb nO log yand SO Ug htcheap raw ma te ria l and an open m arket to sell theirp roduc t. To avo id market Competition and to enhance their marg in o f profit. they tried toestablish t h e i r mo:DQpo ly overt rade. . Fo r this purpo~ they made effOrts to acquire territories.ultimately leading to acquisition of political p ow er. It fu rth es"le d to subjugation and

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expl~on ofthe weak and. bactwardpeople at the bands ofsomesttonger and adv~nitions of~ world: .t!s this way that the m o d e m colonialism came into being. Colonialisma ims a t c rCat lng, o rgan is ing and r Q . h r t . a i n i n g . d o m i n a n c e o f adVanced count ri es over peOpof o1b.er backward countries. Sbcb dominance is mainly for economic gain througexploitation. I~ are many other f a c t o r s which~are responsible for establishment of colonial rule aits expansion. Pride for one's own nation or patriotism is one of them. Similirly, popagationof o.s;ae'sown religion. language and culture promotes people to subjugde others~ Spiritadventure and military enterprise, at times. play isignificant role in establishing colenirulee,The terms 'Colonialism' and 'Imperialism' ;ue used intC.rcbangeably. Many people believthat, colonialism ultimately leadS to imperialisni. But t t f a c t . th&e is n o d iffe re nce b etw eth e two, in so fa ! as their causes and consequences are conceined. Someone has rigbpo in ted o ut that, imperialism is th e state power beyond its borders or it is an extra-territoriapossession. In s.J1ort,colonialism or imperialism is a projection of p oh nc al, e co nomic acultural power o f one nation into the intemallifeof ano~ people. Its interest dQesn'tinweHare of th e dependent people but inits own economic gain. Itmatters little forcolonial rule. whethec the dq)e~t people are of the same race or not. .According tQ th e ~ocialist view, colonialism or imperialism aims at dominance ovmonopoly and finance capital .. It causes export of c _ a p i t a I from the colony to th e rulination. It divides th e world into two, that of th e propertyless and the idle rich, whiultimately results in war.

~S.4 NATURE O F BRITisH COLONIALISMb b e era of ~dttsh Colonialism ~an in Is o o A.n .when British East Il)CIiacompanywagranted the C~ to trade wilh Indla and other countries of Asia and Africa. Inbeginning, its ainiw.as to supply t h e products of India an d East Indi~, especially spiccotton and s il k goods ; which were baving a read y m arket in E urope. yielding rich proBui very soon. t J i i s aim was. replaced by a policy of economIc plunder andte:rritOriex pan sio n to g ain monop oiy over trade.The nature of British Coloniansm in India can be properly understood by dividing it inthree phases. These are : ., .t) Mercantile Capitalism (Since inception to 1813 A.D.);2) Free 'ltade Capitalism (From 18i3 A.D. to 1858 A.D.); and3) Fi~aI Capitalism (From 1858 to 1947). ..Let us a n a l y s e each.one of theSe phases of British Colonialism inIndia.1.~ercantile Capitalism (From the .lastdays ofMugbais to 1813A.O"Ibis pbaseof merchant capitalism wu marked by the presence of British mCl"chaD.tIndia a s a part of the Eas t India Company. 1b increase their m a r g l I i of pnlfit in sale apurdiase ofconunodlues, they t s t a b i i s b e d monopoly of tr ade tb tougb tenitOrial 1lIlJleUlioIntile pocess. t l l e y acCumuJatedliUje capital. wbichonly he lped large s c a J e ProducUonlDdustrial goods inEngland. 1be EaStlDdta Company.during ibis period. _aged itseIbuytDa c t a e a p r a w m a t e d , m from the IDdian mir 'kd in ordeI" to sell the sune as f inisheJ O O d s to. tbe lDdlu peoples at a vety i : d g b . priCe. But a Deed .wa felt.by tile B d t i a bCQ DtroI ~ territory for the sake of Secudty ISw e D . ismo;nopoHsatioitoftrade. Nel1b


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CoJonialila ...tbe Company nor the British Government were in a position to invest 'huge resources. inw a g i n g wars f o r the conquest' of Indian territory. Disintegration of Mogbul Empire. however.P r o v i d e d ' ago lden . opportun ity 10 ful fi l their wishes. First. they secured t . h e Diwani rightsor th e right of civil administration in Bengal. Bihar an d Orissa in 1765 .. Besides getting a.huge margin of profit f r o m trade, they resorted to a liJDitless plUlldes' in those areas.. The worst kind of exploitation of Indian people began. when the East India Companyfo llowed an evil design of depriving the artisans, handicrafts men and petty merchants oftheir manufacturing and trade. They were forced to accept very low wages and priceswbichwere below the prevailing market rates.Beonemic exploitation of India resulted in accumulation of wealth in the hands of. theBritish. which in turn helped Industrial Revolution inEngland. During this period. India,an exporter of cotton to the Industrially advanced countries. became the importer ofmanufac tu red co tton textiles. Such trading inb oth w ay s, y ield ed an en ormou s profit to theCompany, On the other hand, a new bourgeois class, which came to power in Englandbecame envious of wealth and authority thatthe executives of the Company enjoyed. Theymade a hue and cry o f Company's misrule in India and accordingly. got the resolutionspassed.by British Parliament against Company's administration.

As a result. certain reform measures were taken up through the Regulating Act of 1773,Pitt's lndiaJ\ctof1784 andtheCbarter Acts of 1793 and 1813. Theserefonhs Inagricultureand industry p ro vid ed for inv estm en t of ca pita l in Indian economic ente rp ris es , s o that,economic development of India would alsO commence. Through a new policy, a new classof loyal supporters of the British Me w as, created . It w as also decided to send English~educated Indian youth to Englaild to train1i1em insupervision of adminstrative work. Aboveall. this was needed for establishing a rapport with the new class of pro~Britisb people inIndia. .During this phase O f Merchant Capitalism, British officials remained busy in enhancementof their economic interests. fo r which they made some impoita nt c ha ng es in e du ca tio n.adminisUition. judiciary. transport and cOmn1unication besides themethods of agriquItureand i~al production. . .2. Free Trade-Capi~m ( 1813A..D. to 1858A.I).) .'I b is phase of free trade capitalism was quite significant from th e point of view of trade andcomn:ierce.Development of indigenous resources and estabUslmient of an efficie'nt systemof administration for secure and stable trade was the hallmark of this period. During thisperiod, a sou nd capital b ase w as created in India to protect the economic lnterest 'of theBnttsh Colonlal rule.This phase of colpniallSm was also marked by man y co nstitu tio na l re fo rm s to strike aW9fbble balance be tween" interes1$ oftbe British imperialism and the demands of (ndiannationalism. During this period. it was realised by the British' that the establishment of astableandefticient:system of governance in IndiB would further the in terest oftbe Empire.English rulers tried to establish peace and develop resources in India so as to fulfil theeconomic Iieeds of their own Country. 1hey provided ttaining to a section of people in'order to enable them to help in running the administration. Instead of only explOitingIndian economy. they wanted to use India as the subprdinite partner i n their industri~ and~comrnercial,ventures. All reform m e a s u r e s . which were taken during''this phase of colonial.rule. were meant to protect: aDd poDlote tbdr own interest. Free trade provided f ree entryto 1 , b e British traders ii0capiiPliSls I n t o India. Agrarian reform iiltroduced a new Zamindar i

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cal Science8nd RyOtwarl System, Thus . c ame in lo ex is ttre nc e a new intermediary cl_. This classhe lped B r f t i a b not only in conectionof revenues but also inprocurem ent of agricUlturalgoods atm unbelieyably low rate. 'Ibis rich landord class wielded tremendous amount,ofeco nom ic p ow er and poli tic al p at ro na ge . App ar en tl y. itprovid ed m ucb needed Iqitimacy.to tile oolonial rule by painting a benevolent picture of it before Indian masses.

Zamindari SystemZamindars were an Intermediaryclass of ~andJords between thegovernment and the actual cultivators of land: Under Zamindar isystem. estates consisting of villages were assigned to theZamindars for collection of land revenue, A fixed amount wasannually paid to'the Government in respect of each Zamindari.This system was introduced in 1793.Ryotwari systemRYOls were small landowners who were cultivating their landwith the help of landless laboureres. Under this system, BritishGovernment coJIe~ted land revenue directly from the land-owners with an option to~increase the amount of revenue fromtime to time. T hou gh, apparently . it was meant to stopexploitation of landowaing cultivators by Zamindars, it wasreally designed to augment Government revenue.

E xport of raw m aterials from Ind ia and im port of m anufactured goods into In dia n ee de dan efficient system of transport and communication. So. there started development ofr oa ds. c onst ruc ti on of railw ay - lines. b uild ing of steamshipping an d installation o f p os tsand tel~apbs. English language was Introduced to educate Indians to be employed inadministration. . .1bisjmase of c ol on ia l ru le was term inated in 1858 just aftertheruthless suppression QftheFlI'StWar of Indian Independence of 1857.INTEX(QUESTIONS35.1-....,..._----------Fill in the gap w i t h cor rect word lf igu re g iven . below.i) Colonlalism developed mainly as a consequence of revolution h

the W estern W o rld . . agriCultural (b) industrial (c) CapitalistIi) The t erms Co lon ia li sm and are u se d interchangeably.


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(a) British (b) French (c) Dutchreform introduced a newZamindari and Ryo twa ri S y stem in India.

" (a ) Capitalist (b) Agra ri an (cf ln dus tr ia l

Financial Capitalism ( 1858 A.D. - 1947 A.D.)e last phase of colonialism in India was cbaracter ised by huge investtnent of capital bye British indnstrialists. This phase of colonialism began with the replacement of dieby direct imperial rule" of the "British Government. Due to this, the newIy-merged capitalist class of Britain felt it quite safe to mate huge financial lbvestment inn du str ia l v en tu re s in"lndia. During this period, "Indian economy cam e undeI ' com.pJeteminance of the British financial capitaIisIn.

s m entioned earlier; this final phase of the colo~al or im perial ru le started with Britishtaking over admin is tra tion o f Ind ia f rom the Eas t India Company "and after arolong ed freed om s.tru gg le spreading over m ore than half a centu ry , it ended with India

independence in. 1947 . In 1857, the g reat up ris in g of the Ind ian people ag ainste Company's misrule was ruthlessly suppressed by the British with army and weapomy."immediate con sequ en ce was a s tr ong r es en tment among British politicians. This"resul tedIndia becoming a part of the British Empire. Instead of only f l1 e ~ India Company

the benefits, now. the new class of British industrialists started getting hUge profitsrich dividends through massive investment in industrial enterprises in India. Thus,o rmous amooo.t -of w~ of India interms of nnance capital was expor te d to Britain.

lI kinds of reforilis in th e field of ag ri cu lt ur e. i ndu st ry , t ranspo rt , communication, irrigationd ed ucation w ere m ad e to" hoodwink innocent I nd ian peopl e, with th e sole aim toand expand their own economtc interests. The reforms of 1892 and 1909 wereot really made to fulfil the d emand s of Indian nationalists but to adjust Bptisli.

to the changed circumstances in India. "That is why. even Montagueof 1917, pledged progressive realisation of self - go ve rn in g..in stitu tio ns in India.

" " .' Iou w illie am more a bo ut it in le sso n No. 3 7. A lth ou gh the reforms and Government ActsIndians increasing participation in administration. the situation did not change. Itas due to enorm ous pow ers conferred on G overnors and the Governor Genera l a s 'sp ec ia l"

tha~the British Government cou ld protect its own economic interestTh is f in al phase of British colonialism ended in 1947 with th e passage of theof Indian Independence by the British P arliament, " :colonial ru le continued for over tw o centuries in Ind ia. I n d i a n people for th e firstwere e xp os ed to an alien ru le. which, pot only affected Ind ian econom y .its social

political system. but also, " i t s " life style and its expression. This overall impact hasmajor aspects vii. economic. social and political.

the right answer.~ la st jJ b as e of coloDlallsm in Ind ia w as characterised by peacefuldevelopment" "Enonnous amount of wealth of India in ~ offinance-capital was"exported to Britain.Montague Declaratiortof 1917 pledged progressiV e..w tsation of "self govemtng institutions in Ind1a. . . "

Yes/NoYes lNoYesINo

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iT) ,Due. to ~ powersconfer :red on Gow:mors an d tile Govcmor Gmcnl.'!lie Britisb Gova:QlllCllt could not protect ifs'QDomic interest adequately Yes /N

35.5 IMPACT OF COLONIAL RULE ON INDIAN ECONOMIn economic spbeie. milliODl of ruralaitisans~wea'IffB. aaftsmea and agriCU l tu ral wO$ewere ruined due to lo ss o f work. ~y prospm,us tradels and,mercbantS were r e Q u CtotbtJ.lcvel of poVrrty. AgriCUlture aDd manufacturiog of agricultural goods. wliicb weclosely integratedo -were made to fall apart. It was the; British iB1Iuder. wbo broke up tIDdiaB h aD dlo om a nd demoyed the spiDoiag wbeel. Wad. Britisbrule destroyed Iadiafine art and iDdusbies and tben!by the stiuctuJe of old Indian~. Lack of in~_ sc:arciiy of funds f o r c c t d the i n d i g e n o u s i D d u a C r U ; s to close down. -'Ibis. in its tum. ruined th e I~an trading community. Even' British industrialists we~ at the ~ of lDdian iDdustty and prompted British Gov~ to changfiaal, policies to' satCgu.d their i n t e r e S t in India.British Gove rnmen t a do pte d the- polley of free trade ,with open competitio n. whicobstructed1he growth of indigenous industries. The BritiSh policies and actions mentio~above , sy s tema t ica ll y destroy~lndian economy and caused the drain of In dia 's h uRSOUrCeS and wealth t o EDgIaod. 'bnpad ofBrltish ntIe on Indian ecommy bad some silver tiDing which cannot be ovedootcd.ttogether. DUring this period, India was i ldrodu:ced to tbemachine age inindustrial spherWhich imp'oved Ihe method o f work and technology. Colonial rule insUUed a sensepattiotism' among Indian entrepreneurs, who being Unable to compete with Britismonopolists,fdt that their interest could be pmtected only when laws would be madeservetbe oaIional interest of India, and not that of En,glind. Ovenll industrial devel6P,menwas expedited through investtnent of buge imported capital. Improvement of 1he ' S } r s t eOftrinsport. Communication, devdopmeDl of roads, railways. sea ports an d urban markdingcznt.res:npidly iDaeased th e volume. of domestic trade and C9mmerce in India. '

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35.6 .IMPACT OF COLONIALISM ON INDIANSOCIAL SYSTEM

Impac t of British rule on IDdian society is unparalleled. During tbis period. a wavewesternisa t ion oveiwhelmed the IDdian S~.'B rItis h ~ ~ propagated racial superiority of the white people overtbe Indians. Th-bdieved that tbe ir ~ superiority justified their dominance. They considered it the.esponsiblHty to civilize the black people. Even HJndu CulbJre and character wec I e u o u . n c e d . and ridiculed.' " .

~-DuriDg Britisb I ' U l e . Chiistian mis$ionar iesCODVerted a lUge nUmba ' of Hindus, Dl8in~ loW -caste and 1ribal people to c b r l s t i a n i t y . DtstiJIction of caste was hlgbUgbtatoCRIte disunity in the socidy. Social $UpefStition an d untouchability became objectsddlcole by the Blit1sh who never.1bougbt of Cl'adicatiDg tbem. They mstilled I:seaseiDferiority in , 1 b e IDiDds of ' 1 D d i a D pple t b ro u 8 b ~ aegreiatiOD. Indians were DIIIowed to travd. dine and us e o I b e i -pubHc facillties with Europeans.- -.Some 'noted social refoiwers aD d aatloulistl like'Raja Ram MoliaJi Roy. -S ~Y~ , SwIlBY Da"...., andM.G....... brougbtdown vllious.oa.& dIsIiDcIio8pavilll way for '~.UDity. BritIIh IdopIcd 1be policy o f dlYide aad r u l e . e v e n . illt".,... oflDdiD. soCidy. 'Iheyh_"_clft'CRDcesbad onreUgloilllld C 8 1 J t e . , CoIgD. - . -.. . .


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rulers created an . inlennediary class Q f Zamindan. wbicb. became tile, s o u n : e of IOlBloppression 8nd expIoitltion inthe runl areas. On the whole. during Brttisb ColoDill rule,a systemat ic e f f o r t was made to degrade and divide the Indian society. .. .However. British colonialism also i 8 d i i e c t l y beDcf i t ted Indian Society incenaiB ~In tro du ctio n o f English language. whidl was intact iDl:eaded to c r e a r c a ClU B of peopleappreciative of the English culture and l if e s ty le . indirectly' helped IDdians to acquire. alink language. Although introduction of English helped.ln.developing an efftcimtbureauaacy'for theBrftish Govemment. it gave In dia ns a n oWOOUn i t y to knoW westernconcept of rights and freedom and th e extent of discrimination practised against tbem. bythe British.. With English la ng ua ge , a national press could b ecom e a reality. ExChange ofkbs among Indians speaking variety of langUBgeS became possible. Indian classics aD dScriptures were translated f rom Sans kr it to Engl iSh language. Indians could read the ~of w estern philosoph ers like Locke. R o usse au . M ill. B tu t: and,Vbltaire and b ec ame f am il ia rwith the French Revolution and American W ar of In~ __A s ba s been aJ ~ mentioned. British C~lonial rule was D o t an u n . m i X e d evil. First. ofall, to avoid a n y kind of friction with Indians~British Government neverQi.edto interferewithsociaJ, norms. Encouraged by nationalists and social reformers, many Englishintellectua1s and adiDinistrators helped to remove different types of social evils andsupecs_tltionsfrom the Indiansocjety. Efforts made by Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samijdiminished idolatry. Laws were passed against the evil practices of stJle~ and hUmansacrifice .:Measu res w ere taken to prohibit child marriage. Efforts at . lJnP.art ing ~cationto women and 'encouraging widow retnaniagewere meant fe r Cman cip atio n of women.While on the one band. th e British Government was apparently trying to reduce sociald istin ctio ns, o n the other ~ it was further dividing the society by awa rd in g title s ofhonour like R ai Saheb etc, to bring th e supporters o f British Rule to prominence, Specialt rea tment was given,to certain, sections of 1 he lildian society. Utenture,on Indian a n .hi~. archaeology etc. w as written by m any British writers. Ind ians were made to lootat t J i e i r own Society and culture through the eyes of th e Westerners. Social d ivi sion , ono cc up atio na l lin es c rumb le d. A kind of SCient if ic and modem a tt it ud e t o l if e wasi ncu lc a te ctamong' people. Social interaction and mobility increased considerably dudng'thisperiod ..35.7 IMPACT OF COLONIALISM ON INDIANPOLITICAL SYSTEMPrior to th e e stab lishm en t of 'C olo nial ru le . th e Princely rulers in India were' close to th epeop le .. Inothet- words, the re la tio ns hip b etw ee n p eo ple .a nd th e kings was dlrect. But ,Brttlsh colonial rule created a cleavage by placing th e administration at a distance from th epeople. Redressal of gricvanres of th e ptq)Ie became difficult. compticated and the publemofconnnunication through a foreign language made it still more difficultThe n ab J re and character of~y alsO contributed u,wards k e eping th e administrationaway' from the people. R.eplacement of Company's rule by that of B rid sb G o v e l 1 l l D C ~ in1858. did not change the c l i a r a c t e r pf~. Giving more an d more ac lmi rds tra tiveresPonsibilities to Indians by the British through various r e tO r m measures, were moreapparent !ban real. 1btse were not meant to train Indius f o r self-govermnem aodPa r li amentary democracy , but to strike a < I e a J bdween interest of 1 b C Britisb. aad demandsof th e Ind ian nationalist leaderS . .BritiSh Go ve rn me nt's e ff orts to aeate various d ivisions am ong Ind ians caused delay inInd ia 's i ndependeDce for m any ye an .. RngUshmen . t D r a c t . were lIalnst the ~ of.Parliamentary (bnocracy inllIdia. They coOsidered1ndiaos U D f i J fo r Su t'h lJ P e of d cI oo alli cgov ern an ce .: Lord Mor ley . .the itcbitect of Morley .MIn~ Reforms, said inIb e House of

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Lords: .....,...~. a parl.i.amentary system in India is not the goal to which I. for one moment,would aspire."1b.erefore, the reform s of 1909, 1919 or G overnm ent of Ind ia A ct of 1935 were a s yS tema ticetJort of the British G overnm ent, based on asb rew d pollcy of defusing the s it ua ti on t hroughlapse of time to curb the growth. ofIndian nationalism . ..H owev er. th ere is a p os itiv e aspect of the impact of British rule on India's political system.Under the colonial rule, India achieved political unity and administtative unification to anextent. which could not be secured under Mughals . For tbeir administrative convOOienceand control. the British Government established a well ordered society aDd a centralisedstate that helped in the growth of nationalism inIndia. for the first time p e o p l e : oftbis vastsub-contine.nt were governed by a common rule of law. under a single 'political authQritywhich established unity amidst diversities. .One of the most important contribution of the British rule is tbe introduction ofParllamentalydemocracy inIndia. Itm ad e free expression of political will of allCitizens pos si b le . . I n ta ct .'political training of In dia ns in self.government was initiated by 1he British. Througb th eGovernment of Ind ia A ct of 19 35 . fed eralism w as adopted in ord er to maintain regienallinguistic and cultural identity of various sections of the people, To prevent separatism andother trends towards disintegration. certain dominant unitary fe atu re s w ere in cO I pO f ate d.Prominent am ong them w as a strong A ll-Ind ia bureacracy. W hile itwas acting as a sttongpillar of the B .ritish ~ before Independence. it is still continuing as the most importantinstitution ofour democratic setup after 1Ddependence. SioW.arly.a single integrated jgdicialsystem with the Supreme C o U I 1 : at. the apex was eyolved during the British rule withcountrywide jurisdiction. As has already been mentfoned, introduction ofEnglish languaged u r i n g British ru le; not only gave Ind ia a strong national press, an enlightened nationaloutlook but an exposure to the ou tsid e W orld and a universal m eans of communication.However. under conditions of suppression an d exploitation, an unprecedented nationalawakening took place, giving rise to a stiff resistance to the alien rule. Gainful economicactivity of th e British came to an end under such n atio na l r es is ta nc e f rom Indians. UltimatelyY a w i n g " demandS of Indian nationalism, made th e British to c on ve rt th eir divide and ru lepolicy into divide 'and quit Thus a, long chapter of colonial domination ended on 15thA ugust 19 47 .

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INTEXTUESTIONS5.3-------...------Fill inthe blanks with appropriate w ord s :i} Under Colonial mle. millions of rural artisans. weavers an d agricultural w o r k e r sw e r e ruined due to .

(a) . LOw investment (b) Loss of work (c) Scarcity. of capitalll} It was the British intruder who broke up th e Indian handloom and destroyed the

. (a> Social structure (b) p olitica l fte ed om (e) spinning wheel-ill) Du ri ng B r itis h rule, ovetall i n d u s I r l a I d ev elo pment wa s e x pe di te d tb ro ug hJ n ve stm e rto f hu ge imported -,


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Colonialism iD l(a) . reality (b) burden (c) bottleneck.

vi) Social interaction and __ ...-- '- _ Increased considerably duri:ng the period.(a) transport (b) self respect (c) mobility

vii) T h e nature and charactec of bureaucracy also. contributed towards keeping theadministration away : f r 6 l n the _---' __(a) people (b) state (c) nationalists,

viii) Englishmen considered Indians unfit for democratic _,(a) Institutions (b) governance (cjexpenment .IX ) Reforms of 1909. 1919 and Government of India Act of 1915 were a systematiceffort .of the British to curb the growth of Indian ---'- .

. (a)p atriotism (b) challenge (c) nationalismx) Ferthe first time. people of this vast sub continent were governed by a common rule

.of law. under a single political authority which established unity amidst _(a) disturbances (b) diversities (c) movements

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNTIn this lesson, you have read about the nature of British Colonialism and its impact on. .India's economic. social and political life. You have seen that Colonialism is a form of.capitalism which developed mainly as a result of industrial revolution in thewestern world.Its establishment leads to the imposition of religion, language and culture of the rulingnation over its people.The nature of Britls., Colonialism in India has been divided into three phases.a) Mercantile Capitallsm is marked by entry and expansion of British East lndia

Company and establishment of it s monopoly through territorial annexation.h) Free Trade Capitalism created a sound base fo r British economic interest and

established a stable and efficient system of governance. Free trade provided freeentry to British traders and capitalists into India.

c) Financial Capitalism began with the repJacement of the company rule by directimperial rule of the British Government. During this period, Indjan economy cameunder complete dominance of the British financial capitalism. Besides hugeinvestment of foreign capital and export of pronts, this "phase is marked by variousreforms and Government Acts which aimed but failed in progressive realisation of.self governing institutions inIndia.

Impact of British rule on Indian economy had its dark aspect as itdestroyed Indian agricultureand industry and reduced rural artisaqs, craftsmen and agricultural workers to. the level ofpoverty. However, the method of work and technology in industries gradually improved.Improvlsed-mcdes of transport. communication which helped in th e progress ofinteflla{trade and commerce .

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SciC8(;e:J b e impact of imperialist ruleon the Indian social system was also unparalleled. A waveof westernization overwhelmed th e Indian society. Propagnation of English language andlarge scale oonversion to'dlristianity commenCed during British rule. An intennediazyclass of ZariJindars was created, which caused social oppression and exploitation in~aIareas.

1. What do you mean by Colonialism?2. What was the nature Of British Colonial rule during the phase of Mercantile

Capitalism'!3. What is Zamindari system?4. What were the positive aspects of British rule ~ecting Indian economy?S. Briefly lI.1ate the social reforms that were initiated during the British rule in India?6. Which British political and administrative institutions are still functioning 'i n

independent India?

You have also seen that th e British nders Infactdidnot train Indians for self governm.emand parliamentary democracy. All refonn measures were actually meant to delay India'sindependence. However, during the colonial rule, India achieved political unity anduniformity in administration. Other significant features of this rule included. an AU-Indiabmeaucracy and single integrated judicial system.Hence, it may be summcrisedup that the British impCnalism and' colonial rule had itsnegative and:positive aspects.

TERMINAL EXERCISE


11/11

Colonialism in India

Y TO INTEXT QUESTIONi) Industrial ii) imperialism iii) ] 7 6 5iv) 1773 v) British vi) agrariani) No ti) Yes iii) Yes iv) N\I.i) Loss of work li) spinning wheel iii) capitaliv) indians v) reality vi) mobilityvii) people vi ii) governance ii) Nationalismx) diversities.

NTS FOR TF.RMINAL QUESTIONSQ. No.1 page 3 & 4 ( 1.3)

page 6 para 2 (l.4.1)page 7 para I & 2 0.4.2)page 10 para 2page 17 para I (1.5)page 19 para 2 ( 1.6)page 23'(1.7)

Q. No.2

Q . No.3Q.No.4

,; Q.No.5Q.No.6

L-35 Colonialism in India

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