WELCOME TEACHER,

This a timed presentation including animations , which do not need clicking everytime but only ONE time on a slide when the following in Right corner of slide appears and blinks when the slide gets over..

THANK YOU for your co-operation TEACHER

NEXT

PRESENTATION BY

NAME - YASH R CHOPRA STD - 8 –CROLLNO - 12SUBJECT - SOCIAL SCIENCETAUGHT BY -TR. PALLAVI NAIRTOPIC - ENGLISH FA-1 (PROJECT)SUB. DATE - 28-02-2013SEMESTER - 2nd

NEXT

Topics The Revolt of 1857.

Aftermath of Indian Rebellion.

Education in British India.

Starting of Vernacular Education by Some Reformers.

Women and Reforms.

Caste System in British India.

Efforts to Reduce Social Evils by Reformers.

Colonialism And De-urbanisation in British India.

Urban change.NEXT

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plainand central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region.[3] The rebellion posed a considerable threat to Company power in that region,[4]

and was contained only with the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858.[3] The rebellion is also known as India's First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Revolt of 1857, the Uprising of 1857, the Sepoy Rebellion and the Sepoy Mutiny.

NEXT

Causes of the Mutiny

The causes for the revolt of 1987 was can categorized under 1. Economic Causes 2. Political Causes 3. Social 4. Religion 5. Military and 6. Immediate causes.

1. Economic Causes:

The most important cause of popular discontent was the British policy of economically exploiting India. This hurt all sections of society. The peasants suffered due to high revenue demands and the strict revenue collection policy. Artisans and craftsmen were ruined by the large-scale influx of cheap British manufactured goods into India which, in turn, made their hand-made goods uneconomical to produce. People who made a living by following religious and cultural pursuits lost their source of livelihood due to the withdrawal of royal patronage caused by the displacement of the old ruling classes.

2. Political Causes:

The British policy of territorial annexations led to the displacement of a large number of rulers and chiefs. The vigorous application of the policies of Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse angered the ruling sections of the society.

The annexation of Awadh, on grounds of misgovernment, was greatly resented. The Nawabs of Awadh had always been loyal to the British. The annexation was widely seen as a blatant act of back-stabbing by the British. It deeply hurt the sentiments of the Company’s sepoys because most of them came from Awadh. Moreover, even under the new regime, the people of Awadh got no relief from oppression. Peasants had to pay even higher revenue and additional taxes were imposed

NEXT

3. Social Causes:

The social reforms introduced by the British were looked upon with suspicion by the conservative sections of the Indian society. Reforms such as abolition of ‘sati’, legalization of widow remarriage and extension of western education to women were looked upon as examples of interference in the social customs of the country. The social discrimination faced by the Indians due to the British attitude of racial superiority also led to much resentment. Educated Indians were denied promotions and appointments to high office. This turned them against the British.

4. Religious Causes:

A major cause of the outbreak of the revolt was the fear among the people that the British government was determined to destroy their religion and convert Indians to Christianity. The increasing activities of the Christian missionaries and the actual conversions made by them were taken as a proof of this fear. The policy of taxing lands belonging to temples and mosques lent further support to this idea. The belief that their religion was under threat, united all sections of society against a common enemy.

NEXT

Military Causes:

Indian soldiers formed seven-eighth of the total British troops in India. As they were an integral part of the Indian society, they too suffered the consequences of the oppressive British rule. Besides, they had other grievances. The Indian sepoys were looked upon as inferior beings and treated with contempt by their British officers. They were paid much less than the British soldiers. All avenues of the promotion were closed to them as all the higher army posts were reserved for the British.

There were other specific and more immediate causes for the discontent among the sepoys. The annexation of Awadh inflamed their strong feelings against foreign rule. They were also influenced by the general fear that their religion was in danger. The order that forbade the sepoys from wearing caste and sectarian marks hurt their sentiments deeply. So also the Act of 1816 which required the new recruits to travel overseas, if needed. The Hindu sepoys resented this as according to the popular Hindu belief, travel across the sea led to a loss of caste. Another cause of sepoy discontent was the withdrawal of the Foreign Service allowance (‘batta’), which the sepoys were getting for fighting outside the country.

NEXT

6. Immediate Cause:

Discontent and resentment against British rule had been growing among the Indians for a long time. By AD 1857, the stage was set for a massive revolt. Only a spark was needed to set the country ablaze. That spark was provided by as small a thing as a rifle cartridge.

At this time, the Enfield rifle was introduced in the army. Its cartridges were covered with a greased paper cover. This greased cover had to be bitten off before the cartridge could be loaded into the rifle. The news spread that the grease was made of cow and pig fat. As the Hindus consider the cow sacred and the Muslims do not eat pit’s meat, both these communities were enraged at such a blatant attempt to harm their religion. This incident, became the immediate cause of the revolt.

The first soldier to protest against using the greased cartridges was Mangal Pandey. He refused to use the cartridges and was hanged. On 24 April 1857, some soldiers stationed at Meerut also refused to use the cartridges. On 9 May 1857, they were severely punished for this. This incident sparked off a general mutiny among the sepoys of Meerut. On 10 May 1857, these rebel soldiers killed their British officers, released their imprisoned comrades and hoisted the flag of revolt. This was the official beginning of the ‘Great Revolt’. On 11 May 1857, they reached Delhi. Here, they were joined by the local infantry. The rebels seized Delhi and declared the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of India.

This belief was strengthened when the British furnished the soldiers with cartridges coated with grease made from the fat of cows (sacred to Hindus) and of pigs (anathema to Muslims). The British replaced the cartridges when the mistake was realized; but suspicion persisted, and in Feb., 1857, began a series of incidents in which sepoys refused to use the cartridges.

NEXT

NEXT

Aftermath of Indian Rebellion

Shaken by the events of the Indian rebellion of 1857, Britain dissolved the East India Company and transferred ruling power over India to the Crown. The princely states were mostly kept intact, though they lost their private armies and were more closely watched. The all-British units were doubled in number. After the rebellion, the British became more circumspect regarding rapid modernisation. Much thought was devoted to the causes of the rebellion, and from it three main lessons were drawn. At a more practical level, it was felt that there needed to be more communication and camaraderie between the British and Indians—not just between British army officers and their Indian staff but in civilian life as well. The Indian army was completely reorganised: units composed of the Muslims and Brahmins of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, who had formed the core of the rebellion, were disbanded. New regiments, like the Sikhs and Baluchis, composed of Indians who, in British estimation, had demonstrated steadfastness, were formed. The Indian units lost their artillery. From then on, the Indian army was to remain unchanged in its organisation until 1947.The 1861 Census had revealed that the British population in India was 125,945. Of these only about 41,862 were civilians as compared with about 84,083 European officers and men of the Army. In 1880, the standing Indian Army consisted of 66,000 British soldiers, 130,000 Natives, and 350,000 soldiers in the princely armies.

NEXT

Administrative control of India came under the prestigious Indian Civil Service which had administrative control over all districts outside the princely states. At first all-British, it included increasing proportions of Indians, and totalled about 1000 men. They were very well organised, well-educated and professional, and avoided the bribes and inside deals that had made for great wealth among the officials of the defunct East India Company.

British decided that both the princes and the large land-holders, by not joining the rebellion, had proved to be, in Lord Canning's words, "breakwaters in a storm".They too were rewarded in the new British Raj by being officially recognised in the treaties each state now signed with the Crown.At the same time, it was felt that the peasants, for whose benefit the large land-reforms of the United Provinces had been undertaken, had shown disloyalty, by, in many cases, fighting for their former landlords against the British.

NEXT

The agitation unleashed by the acts led to British attacks on demonstrators, culminating on 13 April 1919, in the JallianwalaBagh massacre (also known as the Amritsar Massacre) in Amritsar, Punjab. The British military commander, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, blocked the main, and only entrance-cum-exit, and ordered his soldiers to fire into an unarmed and unsuspecting crowd of some 15,000 men, women and children. They had assembled peacefully at Jallianwala Bagh, a walled courtyard, but Dyer had wanted to execute the imposed ban on all meetings and proposed to teach all Indians a lesson the harsher way.A total of 1,651 rounds were fired, killing 379 people (as according to an official British commission; Indian officials' estimates ranged as high as 1,499 and wounding 1,137 in the massacre.

Education in British India English Education Act - The English Education Act was a legislative Act of the Council of India in

1835 giving effect to a decision in 1835 by William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, the then Governor-General of British India to reallocate funds the East India Company was required by the British Parliament to spend on education and literature in India. Formerly, they had supported traditional Muslim and Hindu education and the publication of literature in the native learned tongues (Sanskrit and Arabic); henceforward they were to support establishments teaching a Western curriculum with English as the language of instruction. Together with other measures promoting English as the language of administration and of the higher law courts (replacing Persian), this led eventually to English becoming one of the languages of India, rather than simply the native tongue of its foreign rulers.

In discussions leading up to the Act Thomas Babington Macaulay produced his famous Memorandum on (Indian)Education which was scathing on the inferiority of native (particularly Hindu) culture and learning. The Act itself however took a less negative attitude to traditional education, and was soon succeeded by further measures based upon the provision of adequate funding for both approaches. Vernacular language education, however continued to receive little funding.

NEXT

British support for Indian learning

When the British Parliament had renewed the charter of the East India Company for 20 years in 1813, it had required the Company to apply 100,000 rupees per year “for the revival and promotion of literature and the encouragement of the learned natives of India, and for the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories.” This had gone to support traditional forms (and content) of education, which (like their contemporary equivalents in England) were firmly non-utilitarian.

NEXT

By the early 1820s some administrators within the East India Company were questioning if this was a sensible use of the money. James Mill noted that the declared purpose of the Madrassa(Mohammedan College) in Calcutta and the Hindu College in Benares set up by the company had been “to make a favourable impression, by our encouragement of their literature, upon the minds of the natives” but took the view that the aim of the company should have been to further not Oriental learning but “useful learning.” Indeed, private enterprise colleges had begun to spring up in Bengal teaching Western knowledge in English (“English education”), to serve a native clientele which felt it would be more important that their sons learnt to understand the English than that they were taught to appreciate classic poetry.

Broadly similar issues (‘classical education’ vs ‘liberal education’) had already arisen for education in England with existing grammar schools being unwilling to give instruction in subjects other than Latin or Greek and were to end in an expansion of their curriculum to include modern subjects. In the Indian situation a complicating factor was that the ‘classical education’ reflected the attitudes and beliefs of the various traditions in the sub-continent, ‘English education’ clearly did not, and there was felt to be a danger of an adverse reaction among the existing learned classes of India to any withdrawal of support for them.

NEXT

Macaulay’s “Minute Upon Indian Education”

To remove all doubt, however, Macaulay produced and circulated a Minute on the subject Macaulay argued that support for the publication of books in Sanskrit and Arabic should be withdrawn, support for traditional education should be reduced to funding for the Madrassa at Delhiand the Hindu College at Benares, but students should no longer be paid to study at these establishments.Themoney released by these steps should instead go to fund education in Western subjects, with Englishas the language of instruction.

NEXT

Sir Charles Wood’s Dispachon Education

Wood`s Despatch on Education in 1854 laid the foundation on which the educational system has since developed. Various problems related to education in India had become one of the key concerns of the British government by 1853. In order to provide a solution, the secretary of state of that time, Sir Charles Wood, presented a despatch to the directors of the British East India Company. The despatch expressed that education in English as well as Indian local languages should be enhanced and encouraged through out the nation. According to Charles Wood, the English institutions could serve as the useful model for education. In 1854, Wood prepared his comprehensive despatchon the scheme of the future education in India. The despatchcame to be considered as the Magna Carta of English education in India. The Scheme of education, as proposed by Wood`s Despatch, envisaged a co-ordinated system of education through out the country.

NEXT

Universities under Wood`s DespatchDepartment of Public Instruction was set up under the Charge of a Director, in each of the five provinces of the Company`s territories. This Department was entrusted with the charge of reviewing the progress of education in the province and submit an annual report to the government. Universities, based on the model of London Universities, were proposed for Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. Even the administrative body of the University followed the models laid down by the London University. Moreover, a University might set up professorship in various branches of learning. The Wood`s Despatchgave support for the promotion of the women education in India.

The ideals and methods advocated in Wood`s Despatch had dominated the educational scenario of India for a protracted period of time. During this period India witnessed a period of complete westernisation of the educational system. The Western system of education gradually replaced the indigenous methods of education and learning. Most of the educational institutions during this time were run by the European teachers, who were the part of the Education Department of the Government of India.

NEXT

Starting of Vernacular Education in Some Reformers

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Vidyasagar in Calcutta and many other reformers in Bombay set up schools for girls. When the first schools were opened in the mid nineteenth century, many people were afraid of them. They feared that schools would take away girls from home and prevent them from doing their domestic duties. Therefore, most educated women were taught at home by their liberal fathers or husbands.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Roy believed education to be an implement for social reform. In 1817, in collaboration with David Hare, he set up the Hindu College at Calcutta. In 1822, Roy founded the Anglo-Hindu school, followed four years later by the VedantaCollege, where he insisted that his teachings of monotheistic doctrines be incorporated with "modern, western curriculum"; Vedanta College offered courses as a synthesis of Western and Indian learning. Roy supported induction of western learning into Indian education. He advocated the study of English, science, western medicine and technology. He spent his money on a college to promote these studies.

NEXT

Sir Syed Ahmed KhanSir Syed began promoting Western-style scientific education by

founding modern schools and journals and organising Muslim

entrepreneurs. Towards this goal, Sir Syed founded the Muhammedan

Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 with the aim of promoting social and

economic development of Indian Muslims.

Mahatma GandhiGandhi's model of education was directed toward his alternative vision

of the social order: "Gandhi’s basic education was, therefore, an

embodiment of his perception of an ideal society consisting of small,

self-reliant communities with his ideal citizen being an industrious, self-

respecting and generous individual living in a small cooperative

community.Gandhiji established Nai Talim Schools. Nai Talim is a spiritual

principle which states that knowledge and work are not separate.

NEXT

Women and Reforms

Women`s reforms in British India were the outcome of the commendable role played by various reformers who took up the cause of women`s oppression with passion. They did a commendable of job of taking up the cause of women`s freedom from traditional modes of bondage. Indian society at the time was a completely oppressive one as far as women were concerned. There were myriad issues faced by Indian women for centuries and they served to keep the women in a submissive role. Various outdated and harmful practices such as child marriage, Sati, female infanticide, polygamy, lack of women`s education and many more such evils were rampant in society and required an urgent redressal. It was with an aim of resolving these various issues that the campaign for reforms was undertaken..Issues like child marriage as well as raising the marriageable age of women, widow remarriage, women`s education and Sati were some of the burning issues that were taken up at the time. A major surge in reform activities came about with the coming of the British in India as they were able to provide a boost to the works of the Indian reformers who were championing women`s cause.

NEXT

Across India, there is a long list of reformers who undertook major efforts on women`s behalf. Reformers were found throughout India and among all communities. They addressed a number of issues, most of them relating to marriage and the importance of female education. What is especially interesting about these nineteenth-century reformers is their activism.

In Bengal, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed female education and led the campaign to legalize widow remarriage, and Keshab Chandra Sen, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, sought to bring women into new roles through schools, prayer meetings, and experiments in living. By the turn of the century, Swami Vivekananda, the leader of an activist order of Hindu monasticism, was arguing that women could become a powerful regenerative force. In North India, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj, encouraged female education and condemned customs he regarded as degrading to women. These included marriages between partners of unequal ages, dowry, and polygamy.

NEXT

In western India, Mahadev Govind Ranade founded the National Social Conference to focus attention on social reforms. At the same time, the Parsee journalist Behramji Malabari captured the attention of the British reading public with his articles in `The Times` on the evils of child marriage and the tragedy of enforced widowhood for young women. Dhondo Keshav Karve offered a practical solution with his institutions in Pune to educate young widows to become teachers in girls` schools. In South India, R. Venkata Ratnam Naiduopposed the Devadasi system while Virasalingam Pantulu worked for marriage reform. Both sought to increase opportunities for female education.

Thus mentioned were some of the major social reformers in different parts of India who played a rather important role in bringing about awareness regarding the disparaging condition of women in society. It was this increased awareness and constant campaign for social change which ultimately led to a change in women`s position in India. The social reformers` ideas on gender were rooted in personal experience, and during their lives they attempted to change those with whom they lived and worked.

NEXT

Caste System in British India

`Varna` literally means group in Sanskrit. With the advent of the Aryans the ancient Indian society got divided into four sections-Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. The reference to the Varna System can be traced back to the religious texts of the land. In Mahabharata (Anusasana Parva, Chapter 163) it is said: "O Devi, if even a sudra is actually engaged in the occupation and pure behavior of a brahmana, he becomes a brahmana. Moreover, a Vaishya can become a Kshatriya. Therefore, neither the source of one`s birth, nor his reformation, nor his education is the criterion of a brahmana. The vritti, or occupation, is the real standard by which one is known as a brahmana." So it is not birth but one`s karma that decided his class. The class system gave way to caste system. The caste of an individual was decided by his birth. Hence, a rigid one replaced the flexible Varna system. The caste system in ancient India divided the masses and brought in inequality and suppression.

NEXT

The Indian caste system was primarily divided into four main sections: -

1. Brahmin : At the top of the social hierarchy were the Brahmins. The sages of Indian culture are all Brahmins.They were wise men who imparted knowledge and wisdom to the society. They were highly respected in the ancient Indian society. They were the advisors in the royal courts. In the post Vedic Age they became oppressive and exploited and misguided the society.

2. Kshatriya : The warrior or the ruling class ranked second in the Varna System. They were the protectors of the society. The Kshatriyas were depicted as gallant, courageous and intelligent. They were the true patriots. With the evolution of the caste system their position in society more or less remained the same.

3. Vaishya : This was the merchant class. The caste system had little effect on them. They were the moneyed class and contributed a great deal in the economic growth of the nation. The Vaishyas were also responsible for introducing Indian culture to the other nations. The Brahmins kept them in good humor as Vaishya community constructed temples and other buildings for social cause.

4. Sudra : The worst hit by the caste system in India were the Sudras. Though they were looked down as dasas and dashyus, yet they are not discriminated. In the post Vedic ages there evolved a new section of sudras known as the Untouchables. They were social outcasts because they could not belong to any caste and did menial jobs. They were denied entry into the mainstream.

NEXT

Efforts by Social Reformers to reduce Social-Evils

In British India , there were many social (Orthodox) Evils which literally misguided and exploited our country.Social-evils like sati,childmarraige,polygamy, lack of women`s education,caste system,untouchability and discriminations were common in India society.

To reduce and then remove this from society many british officers shown some kindness and made many norms against this evils.

Indian Reformers also fought against this evils to uplift India and women’s poor condition in society.

Let us now see about them in brief.NEXT

British Response to Indian Orthodox

In 1835 English was made the medium of instruction in India's schools. Western-educated Hindu elites sought to rid Hinduismof controversial social practices, including the varna caste system, child marriage, and sati. Literary and debating societies established in Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay(Mumbai) became forums for open political discourse.

Even while these modernising trends influenced Indian society, many Indians increasingly despised British rule. With the British now dominating most of the subcontinent, they grew increasingly abusive of local customs by, for example, staging parties in mosques, dancing to the music of regimental bands on the terrace of the Taj Mahal, using whips to force their way through crowded bazaars (as recounted by General Henry Blake,and mistreating Indians (including the sepoys).In the years after the annexation of Punjab in 1849, several mutinies broke out among the sepoys; these were put down by force.

NEXT

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (may 22, 1772 – September 27, 1833) was a founder of the Brahma Sabha in 1828 which engendered the BrahmoSamaj, an influential Indian socio-religious reform movement. He is best known for his efforts to abolish the practice of sati, the Hindu funeral practice in which the widow was compelled to sacrifice herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. It was he who first introduced the word "Hinduism" into the English language in 1816. For his diverse contributions to society, He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the Indian Renaissance. Ram Mohan Roy's impact on modern Indian history was a revival of the pure and ethical principles of the Vedanta school of philosophy as found in the Upanishads.

Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) (Father of the Nation, Rashtrapita, was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of 'satyagraha'—resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non violence—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end untouchability, and increase economic self-reliance.

NEXT

Annie Besant (October 1, 1847 – September 20, 1933) was a prominent theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self-rule. In 1908 Annie Besant became President of the Theosophical Society and began to steer the society away from Buddhism and towards Hinduism. She also became involved in politics in India, joining the Indian National Congress. When war broke out in Europe in 1914 she helped launch the Home Rule League to campaign for democracy in India and dominion status within the Empire which culminated in her election as president of the India National Congress in late 1917.

Swami Vivekananda (January 12, 1863 – July 4, 1902) was the founder of Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda was also known as a great scholar. His real name was Narendra Nath Dutta. Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He was considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America. He introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.

NEXT

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891) was a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bangla prose were significant. Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in India, particularly in his native Bengal. Unlike some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he sought, however, to transform orthodox Hindu society from within. Vidyasagar introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. In earlier times, remarriages of widows would occur sporadically only among progressive members of the Brahmo Samāj. Vidyasagar took the initiative in proposing and pushing through the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 (26th July) in India. He also demonstrated that the system of polygamy without restriction was not sanctioned by the ancient Hindu Shastras.

B. R. Ambedkar (14 April 1891 — 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, revolutionary and the revivalist of Buddhism in India. He was also the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna — the Hindu categorization of human society into four varnas — and the Hindu caste system.

Colonialism And De-urbanisationin British India

By the middle of the century, the British had already gained direct or indirect control over almost all of India. British India contained the most populous and valuable provinces of the British Empire and thus became known as "the jewel in the British crown".

Colonialism

I n the late eighteenth century, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras rose in importance as Presidency cities. They became the centres of British power in the different regionsof India. At the same time, a host of smaller cities declined. Many towns manufacturingspecialized goods declined due to a drop in the demand for what they produced.Old trading centres and ports could not survive when the flow of trade moved to newcentres. Similarly, earlier centres of regional power collapsed when local rulers were defeated by the British and new centres of administration emerged. This process is often described as de-urbanisation. Cities such as Machlipatnam, Surat andSeringapatam were deurbanized during the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century, only 11 per cent of Indians were living in cities.

NEXT

Taxes in India decreased during the colonial period for most of India's population; with the land tax revenue claiming 15% of India's national income during Mogul times compared with 1% at the end of the colonial period. The percentage of national income for the village economy increased from 44% during Mogul times to 54% by the end of colonial period. India's per capita GDP decreased from $550 in 1700 to $520 by 1857, although it later increased to $618, by 1947.

The Indian economy grew at about 1% per year from 1880 to 1920, and the population also grew at 1%. The result was, on average, no long-term change in per capita income levels, though cost of living had grown higher. Agriculture was still dominant, with most peasants at the subsistence level. Extensive irrigation systems were built, providing an impetus for switching to cash crops for export and for raw materials for Indian industry, especially jute, cotton, sugarcane, coffee and tea. India's global share of GDP fell drastically from above 20% to less than 5% in the colonial period

NEXT

Urban change

While British supremacy did not change the fact that India was becoming rapidly urbanized, it did lead to new alignments and priorities, since the controlling power was now different. A number of new towns and new suburbs were built to house the British, and the pattern of new town planning changed. India was still divided into administrative districts as under the Mughals, and the towns which functioned as district headquarters were the ones where most of the new architecture was built.

The planning and urban design policies of the British followed certain principles – (a) their perceptions of the nature of the Indian city, (b) the fear of further revolts along the lines of the Mutiny of 1857,, and (c) planning techniques already in use for Britain’s industrial cities.

NEXT

The economic boom of the later half of the 19th century translated into frenetic building activity in British India. The application of urban design guidelines resulted in the unified character that old British settlements in India still possess. These urban design projects could not fail to be influenced by precedents in Britain: the Royal Crescent at Bath by John Wood, and the Quadrant in Regent’s Park, London by John Nash were particularly influential, translating into Elphinstone Circle in Bombay. British architecture progressed from single buildings set in open surrounding to more densely packed urban schemes.

In addition to major urban design schemes, it was the civil lines and the cantonments which remain today a major evidence of 19th century British presence, and which in turn have influenced much middle-class housing development in modern India. The cantonments and civil lines both were generally laid out as gridiron planned communities with central thoroughfares (the famous ‘Mall Roads’), with tree-lined streets, regularly divided building plots and bungalows as the main housing type. Churches and cemeteries, clubs, race and golf courses, and other trappings of an easy civil life were soon to follow.

NEXT

Urban Design-The Cantonment

The Cantonment was a British military settlement which was to spread out all over India wherever the British were present in sizable numbers. Originally conceived as a military base for British troops, the cantonment also began to house civilians who were associated with servicing the military, and developed into a full-fledged mini-city of its own. The second half of the 19th century saw this transformation complete. Bangalore cantonment had, for example, a population of 100,000 by the early 20th century and consisted of public offices, churches, parks, shops and schools. It was an entity distinct from the old city – traffic between the two had to stop at a toll-gate and pay entry tax. The cantonment thus developed into a European town in India, whose main house type was the bungalow.

6

NEXT

Urban Design-The The Bungalow

The bungalow’s design evolved as a type over a hundred years. While the actual model for a bungalow remains controversial, it appears to have dual origins: the detached rural Bengal house sitting in its compound (from the word root bangla – from Bengal), and the British suburban villa. It was a fusion of these two types that led to a building form which would later become an enduring symbol of the Raj.

NEXT

The first bungalows inhabited by the East India Company agents were initially the same as the kutcha local ones, but gradually outstripped their origins to become an accurate reflection of hierarchy amongst the English community. The typical residential bungalow for the wealthy.The British showed a hierarchical system no less developed than the complex caste system which they ascribed to India.

The early bungalows had long, low classical lines and detailing. The Gothic revival in England brought about a corresponding change in bungalow design – spawning buildings with pitched roofs and richly carpentered details including such features as the ‘monkey tops’ of Bangalore. The Classical bungalow with its Doric, and later, in New Delhi for instance, Tuscan orders became a symbol not only of an European heritage but also of the military and political might of Britain. That the bungalow continues to evoke associations of wealth and power is evident from its continued relevance as a building type in India today.

NEXT

Bungalow

The Indian economy under British rule underwent a phase of arrested development. This was so, inspite of the fact that most pre-requisites for economic development were met by India even prior to the British advent. These were; a prosperous agriculture, significant indigenous industry, sizable exports, abundance of minerals and ores, and above all, a surplus which could be invested. Thus, India had the potential for economic growth. With the advent of the British came modern business, technology, capital, and the political institution. The obvious question that follows is that, why did not India experience any significant economic progress. The answer to this lies in the nature of colonial relationship between Britain and India.

NEXT

Urban Design-The Railways

India built a modern railway system in the late 19th century which was the fourth largest in the world. The railways at first were privately owned and operated. It was run by British administrators, engineers and craftsmen. At first, only the unskilled workers were Indians.

The East India Company (and later the colonial government) encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would provide land and guarantee an annual return of up to five percent during the initial years of operation. The companies were to build and operate the lines under a 99 year lease, with the government having the option to buy them earlier.

Two new railway companies, Great Indian Peninsular Railway(GIPR) and East Indian Railway (EIR) began in 1853–54 to construct and operate lines near Bombay and Calcutta. The first passenger railway line in North India between Allahabad and Kanpur opened in 1859.

NEXT

Soon several large princely states built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The route mileage of this network increased from 1,349 kilometres (838 mi) in 1860 to 25,495 kilometres (15,842 mi) in 1880 – mostly radiating inland from the three major port cities of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. Most of the railway construction was done by Indian companies supervised by British engineers. The system was heavily built, using a wide gauge, sturdy tracks and strong bridges. By 1900 India had a full range of rail services with diverse ownership and management, operating on broad, metre and narrow gauge networks.

The railway companies purchased most of their hardware and parts in Britain. There were railway maintenance workshops in India, but they were rarely allowed to manufacture or repair locomotives.

India provides an example of the British Empire pouring its money and expertise into a very well built system designed for military reasons (after the Mutiny of 1857), and with the hope that it would stimulate industry. The system was overbuilt and too expensive for the small amount of freight traffic it carried

NEXT

Telecommunication

The history of Indian telecom can be started with the introduction of telegraph. The Indian postal and telecom sectors are one of the worlds oldest. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department,[11] at that time.

Subsequently, the construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines connecting Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawarin the north along with Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south, as well as Ootacamund and Bangalore was started in November 1853. William O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered the telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department, and worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period. A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public.

NEXT

Industry The entrepreneur Jamsetji Tata (1839–1904) began his

industrial career in 1877 with the Central India Spinning, Weaving, and Manufacturing Company in Bombay. While other Indian mills produced cheap coarse yarn (and later cloth) using local short-staple cotton and cheap machinery imported from Britain, Tata did much better by importing expensive longer-stapled cotton from Egypt and buying more complex ring-spindle machinery from the United States to spin finer yarn that could compete with imports from Britain.

In the 1890s, he launched plans to move into heavy industry using Indian funding. The Raj did not provide capital, but aware of Britain's declining position against the U.S. and Germany in the steel industry, it wanted steel mills in India so it is did promise to purchase any surplus steel Tata could not otherwise sell.The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), now headed by his son Dorabji Tata (1859–1932), opened its plant at Jamshedpur in Bihar in 1908. It used American technology, not British and became the leading iron and steel producer in India, with 120,000 employees in 1945. ][ NEXT