An era of darkness : The british empire in india

Establishment of British Empire in India

In the 18th century, India grew into a number of federal political centers. To take advantage of this, by the middle of the 18th century, by the time the British started moving in an effective manner towards imperialism. By the end of the 18th century, he had made direct or indirect invitations till the sessions of Kerala, Madras, Karnataka, Hyderabad and Bengal. In the early years of the 19th century, Lord Wellejali took many kings of Awadh, Maratha and Rajputana under his influence through his plan of subsidiary treaty. In 1803 AD, the British took over Delhi when Lord Wellesley ended in 1805, by which time the British had established their direct / indirect influence between Calcutta to Madras, Madras to Bombay, Bombay to Delhi, Delhi to Kolkata.

Subsidiary treaty of Lord Wellesley

Under Lord Wellesley's policy of empire expansion, he adopted a policy of subsidiary treaty with the Indian kings. Under which the kings of India entered into a treaty with the British, they got their protection from the British Company.In return, these kings used to pay for the British troops formed for their safety and also with any other state, with the help of the company, a war or a deep treaty.These kings did not appoint any European without the help of the company and an English officer (resident) also lived in their court. Among the Indian kings who made such treaties: -

• Nizam of Hyderabad
• Nawab of Awadh
• Peshwa and other Maratha chieftains etc. of Maratha are notable

This gave rise to the spread of British dominance and they were directly or indirectly influential among Kolkata, Madras, Bombay, Delhi, Kolkata.

Lord Hastings

It was a long-time Governor General in India, whose tenure is notable in the following matters: -

• At the same time, the Anglo-Nepal War took place in 1814–16; In this, Amar Singh Thapa of Nepal had to surrender. The Anglo-Nepal War came to an end in March 1816 through the Treaty of Sangoli between the British and the Gorkhas.
• During this time the Pindaris were suppressed. Prominent leaders of the Pindaris were Vasil Mohammad, Cheetu and Karim Khan.
• This ultimately destroyed the power of the Marathas.
• It ended the ban on the press and made rules to guide the press. At the same time, Tenancy Act or Tenancy Act of 1822 was implemented.

ACT OF 1813:-

The salient features of this act are:-

• The company's monopoly of doing business with India was taken away. But it had a monopoly for 20 years in relation to trade with China and tea trade with former countries.
• The company's charter was extended for 20 years.
• Trade with India was opened to all British citizens under certain limits.
• Prior to 1813, Christian priests were not allowed to come to India, but by the act of 1813, Christian priests got permission to come to India by getting permission.

Lord William Bentick: -

William Bentick's period is known for economic, administrative, educational, social reform apart from imperialist expansion. The major reforms during its period were as follows: -

• Was the Governor of Madras in 1803 AD; At the same time, in 1806 AD, the soldiers of Vellore revolted for not putting ethnic symbols on the forehead and not wearing earrings in the ears.
• The Governor General of Bengal was made the Governor of India by the 'Charter Act' of 1833 AD, thus becoming the first Governor General of India, Lord William Bentick.
• Bantik, in collaboration with Raja Rammohan Roy, abolished the practice of Sati in 1629 AD. Bantik enacted a law against this practice in 1729 AD and declared the sati of widows illegal by section 17.
• Bantik, with the help of Colonel Sleepman, abolished the practice of cheating by 1630 AD. The thugs used to worship Goddess Kali.
• In 1835, Bantik established Kolkata Medical College in Kolkata.
• At the same time, on the recommendation of Macaulay, English was made the medium of instruction. Law classification was also done by Macaulay.
• The Bantik annexed Mysore in 1831 and Kurg and Madhyaccher in 1634 AD.
• It appointed Indians to responsible positions. During this time, the highest rank given to Indians was that of 'Sadar Amen' which was paid ₹ 700 per month.
• At this time it was decided by the Charter Act of the Company 1833 that no person would be prevented from entering the service of the company on the basis of religion, caste, color or birth.
• It also banned the killing of the infant girl.

Lord Dalhousie:-

• The Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848 -1849) and the merger of Punjab with British rule (29 March 1849), the famous diamond of the world-famous Sikh state was sent to Kohinoor Queen Victoria.
  
  
  
• Three wars were fought during the Second Anglo-Sikh War - First Battle of Ramnagar - November 16, 1848 drawn, Second Battle of Chilliwala - January 13, 1849 drawn,
• The third war took place on 12 March 1896 at a place called Gujarat (on the banks of the Chenav river), in which the Sikhs were badly defeated.
• In the Second Anglo-Burma War and in 1852, Lower Varma and Pigu were merged into the English state.
• Dalhousie accused Sikkim of misbehaving with two doctors and captured him in the year 1850.
• An Inam Commission was established in 1852. Its purpose was to find landless landless and snatch them.
• Dalhousie's reign is remembered more because of his lapsed theory. The merged states in the British Empire under this policy were-
• First Satara in 1848, Jaitpur (Bundelkhand) and Sambhalpur (Orissa) in 1849, Baghat (Himachal Pradesh) in 1850, Udaipur (Madhya Pradesh) in 1852, Jhansi in 1853, Nagpur in 1854.
• In 1856 AD, alleging the misrule of Awadh, it was merged into the English state. At that time the Nawab of Awadh was Wajid Ali Shah.
• In 1856 AD it shifted the artillery headquarters from Kolkata to Meerut and established the army headquarters at Shimla.
• In education related reforms, Dalhousie implemented the Wood Dispatch of 1854 AD. According to this, Anglo-Vernacular schools in districts, government colleges in major cities and three presidencies in 1857 AD, one university each in Kolkata, Madras and Mumbai were established and simultaneously appointed directors of education in each state.
• Dalhousie is considered the father of railways in India. At the same time, the first train in India was run between Mumbai to Thane (34 km) on 16 April 1853.
• The new Post Office Act was passed in 1854 AD and the first postage stamp began to be introduced in India.
• So separately set up the Public Works Department in India for the first time. It established the Public Service Department in 1854 AD as an independent department.
• At the same time, in 1853 AD, electric wire service started between Calcutta and Agra for the first time.
• This made Shimla the summer capital.
• The right to appoint administrative officers of the company was withdrawn from the governing board of the company by the Charter Act of 1853 AD and competition examinations were made for the appointment of officers from 1853 AD, for which the age limit was kept 1823 years.
• Dalhousie also tried to stop the practice of male sacrifice.

Lord Canning:-

• It was the last Governor General appointed by the company in India and the first Viceroy of India appointed under the British Empire.
  
• The most important event of its time was the historical revolt of 1857 AD. After this rebellion, under the administrative reforms, the rule of India was directly taken under the control of the British government by the company.
• At the time of canning, the High Court Act was enacted in 1861 according to which the old Supreme Court and the Sadar courts were abolished and one High Court each was established in Kolkata, Madras and Mumbai.
• The Widow Remarriage Act came into force independently in 1856 AD at the time of Canning. The first legal widow marriage in India took place in Kolkata on 7 December 1856, under the inspiration and care of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
• According to the law made in ancestral property in 1856, according to the law, it was decided that a person will not be deprived of his ancestral property after conversion.
• At the same time of canning in 1857 AD, the post of Auditor General was created, which after independence was called Comptroller and Auditor General.
• The post of Mughal Emperor was abolished under the Government of India Act 1858 AD.
• The Model Penal Code was made law in 1858 by Macaulay and the Criminal Legislative Code was implemented in 1859 AD.
• The lapsed principle ie the state-merger policy was abolished.
• Indian Council Act and portfolio system were implemented in 1861 AD.

Lord lawrence:-

• In 1865, Bhutan invaded the British Empire.
• In relation to Afghanistan, it adopted a policy of non-cooperation, known as 'spectacular inaction'.

• At the same time, there was a severe famine in Orissa in 1866 AD and in Bundelkhand and Rajputana in 1868-1869 AD.
• It formed a Famine Commission under the leadership of Henry Campwell.
• In 1865 AD, it launched the first maritime telegraph service between India and Europe.

Lord Liton:-

• It was a famous novelist, essay-writer and litterateur. In literature, it was known as Oven Meredith.
• During this time, there was a terrible famine in Mumbai, Madras, Hyderabad, Punjab, Central India etc.
• Litton appointed a Famine Commission in 1878 AD under the chairmanship of Richard Strachey.
  
• The Delhi Durbar was organized on 1 January 1877, to honor Queen Victoria of Britain with the title of Saffron-e-Hind.
• In March 1878, Litton passed the Indian Newspapers Act (Vernacular Press Act) and imposed a strict ban on Indian newspapers. There was a provision in this law that if anything objectionable is published in a newspaper, then the government can confiscate all the assets including its printing press.
• At the same time, in 1878 AD, the Indian Arms Act was passed, under which the license to keep and trade arms was made compulsory.
• It reduced the maximum age limit for admission to civil services examinations from 21 to 19 years.
• Litton established a Muslim-Anglo oriental college in Aligarh.

Lord Rippon:-

He was a representative of the Liberal Party of England. Even in his book "Duty of the Age", his rule expressed only liberal ideas. His rule of India is known for its reformist and liberal towards Indians.

• On the advice of Prime Minister Gladstone, Ripon first abolished the Vernacular Press Act in 1882, restoring the independence of newspapers, and newspapers published in Indian languages ​​were given the same facilities as other newspapers.
• It increased the maximum age limit for admission to civil service from 19 years to 21 years.
• It introduced local self-government. On May 18, 1882, a law on local self-government was enacted on the basis of which local self-government laws were made between 1883 and 1885 in various provinces.
  
• At the same time, the first regular census was conducted in India in 1881 AD. Since then, census is done at an interval of every 10 years.
• "First Factory Act" was brought in 1881 by Ripon. In this, a child under 7 years of age was banned from working and for workers of 7 to 12 years, more than 9 hours of work was banned. This act was not applicable to tea, coffee and indigo cultivation.
• On 2 February 1883, the Ilbert Bill was introduced for the trial of the trial by the Indian judges against the European, but it was withdrawn due to strong opposition from the Europeans. The rebellion made by the British against this bill is known as white rebellion.
• Florence Nightingale called Ripon the "Redeemer of India".Some people say that Ripon opened the door of India's exit from the British. But it is also worth remembering in this context that Ripon was also engaged in fulfilling the imperialist objectives. The only difference is two things. First, Linton's repressive attitude was considered to reduce the age of the empire.Secondly, there was a difference of opinion between him and the liberal government of England on the question of which program of reform should be adopted in the conditions of India.

Lord duffering-

• During this time the Third Anglo-Burma War (1885– 88 AD) took place and Burma was finally annexed into the English state.
• At the same time, Bengal Tenancy Act, Awadh Tenancy Act and Punjab Tenancy Act were passed.
• The most important event of its time was - 28 December 1885 ko A.O. Hume Establishment of the Indian National Congress