Sepoys, British Raj, and Change
The Sepoy Rebellion
Sepoys (local Indian soldiers) eventually rebelled against being used as soldiers against their own people. They resented British efforts to make them adopt Christianity and Western customs. British leaders were trying to control more land by taking over states when a prince died without a direct heir. The immediate cause of this Sepoy Rebellion was the rumour that the bullets used were coated with pig fat or beef fat. The sepoys were either Hindu or Muslim. According to their religions, Hindus could not touch beef fat, and Muslims could not touch pork. As a result, many Hindu and Muslim soldiers fought against the British regime, but other groups, including most Sikhs, remained loyal to the British. In the end, because of their military power and superior strategies, the British and their followers won.
The Sepoy Rebellion was considered the first movement towards independence by the Indian people. It showed the British government that more intervention was needed. This led to direct rule by the British government rather than by the trading company.
The British Raj (Rule)
About the same time as the Sepoy Rebellion was quashed, the Age of Imperialism began. Under the New Imperialism, the British government took over from the British East India Company, establishing full colonial rule of India. A British cabinet minister in London had responsibility for Indian affairs, and a British viceroy maintained control in India. By the end of the 1800s, more than 1,000 British officials ruled over 280 million Indian citizens.
Famine and Economic Change
Most Indians were farmers working small plots of land. Initially, imperialism had little impact on their lives. However, effects of the Industrial Revolution brought changes to everyone. Britain saw its colony in India as a market for goods. Although textile production in India was thriving, the domestic system was far less productive than the large mechanized textile mills of Britain. The British discouraged local industry in India and encouraged farmers to grow cotton rather than food as one of many cash crops. Indian cotton was exported to Britain, manufactured there, and sold back to the Indians as finished products. The British also seized local farmland and converted it to plantations. They heavily taxed Indian citizens to support unsuccessful expeditions into other countries. They increased the prices of food and exported staple crops to Britain.
The Industrial Revolution, coupled with imperialism, also brought health care improvements to India, controlling epidemics and increasing the birth rate. The population explosion, coupled with British intervention in food production and distribution, led to massive famines that killed millions of Indians. Some estimates claim that just one of these famines killed nearly 30% of the country's population.
Cultural Imperialism and the Rise of the Middle Class
The British government had an official policy of cultural imperialism. They believed the caste system was unacceptable. As they had done in Canada, they worked to change the existing values and beliefs of the local people with the idea that they were less civilized. Their Eurocentric attitudes held that the local people would be better off if they adopted Western ways. They established British schools. Parents who wanted their children to succeed enrolled their children at these schools. This led to a new middle class of British-educated Indian professionals who became doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and professors. These people were very much acculturated to British ways, and the British relied on these people to implement their policies.
Middle Class Uprising
However, the rising middle class soon realized that they did not want their nation governed by another country. They began a nationalist movement and encouraged Indians not to purchase foreign-made goods. They published books restoring pride in their Indian heritage. Mohandas Gandhi encouraged independence by telling the people they should be free. Nonetheless, independence was not easy to achieve. The Indian population of Hindu and Muslim citizens were unable to form a united front against colonialism. India did not gain independence from Britain until after World War II.
Moving On
India's experience with imperialism was very different from that of Canada and other settler colonies. Because the country was largely settled already, large numbers of immigrants did not move to India. Instead, imperialism took the form of political and economic domination. The Indigenous people of India were able to continue their traditional lifestyles despite economic hardships. Imperialism brought many changes to their society, including improved technology that led to better transportation and health care, and new political and economic structures that still exist.
