General Awareness Impact of British Rule
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Introduction

`color{green} ✍️` The Britishers were instrumental in introducing Western culture, education and scientific techniques. Through those means, they gave traditional Indian life a jolt and galvanised the life and culture of its people.

`color{green} ✍️` Undoubtedly, the Seventeenth Century marked the zenith of Indian medieval glory. It gave way to the Eighteenth century which was a spectacle of corruption, misery and chaos leading to political helplessness. Right from 1498 when Vasco da Gamma set his foot on Indian soil, the European powers entered into Indian scene one after another.

`color{green} ✍️` The Portuguese power had no comparison to French and English. Ultimately in the conflict between the French and English, the latter became successful and planted the victorious banner of England in India in 1757 with the victory of Robert Clive.

The Influence of British Rule

`color{green} ✍️` Western influence became effective in India mainly through the British who were the pioneers of a new technological and industrial civilisation. They represented a new historic force which was later to charge the world and thus were the torchbearers of a revolutionary change.

`color{green} ✍️` India accepted the suzerainty of the British authority coming under its iron grip. Intellectually indifferent, spiritually subdued and psychologically weak at that time, India had to adopt with the British authorities. That is why the British impact was abiding and lasting on the Indian people.

Religious Impact

`color{green} ✍️` Indian response to Western impact was a first noticed in the field of religion. Of course, Christianity was not a new thing in India before the arrival of the British. During rule of East India Company, the Christian missionary activities in India became wide-spread.

`color{green} ✍️` As complicacies in Vedic religion gave way to the rise of heterodox religion and the impact of Islam had given encouragement to the Bhakti Movement in medieval times, the advent of Western civilisation caused the growth of reformation movement in modem times.

Literature

`color{green} ✍️` The influence of English literature, novels, short-stories, essays and modem drama Indian writings developed, Shakespeare became an integral part of Indian study curriculum and his works were translated into several Indian languages.

`color{green} ✍️` Similarly, other Western literature, particularly novels were translated into Indian languages. In the light of Western literature, Indians attempted to write and thus Indian literature was enriched by the Western impact.

Reorganisation of Indian Civil Service

Reorganisation of Indian Civil Service

`color{green} ✍️` The Indian Civil Service was carefully built up during the British rule into a powerful and efficient bureaucratic force. In the last decade of Eighteenth Century, Cornwallis set himself to purity and reorganised the administration and filled all the key posts with men from Britain.

`color{green} ✍️` With the gradual march of time, other more specialised services were established and the Public Works Department, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, Indian Medical Service followed each other in succession. Thus, the British authorities undertook the process of converting India into a modem state. The present Indian administrative system is a legacy of the British rule.

Social Sphere

`color{green} ✍️` In the social sphere British impact proved to be beneficial. The prohibition of Sati, abolition of child-marriage, introduction of widow remarriage, checking of infanticide, polygamy, untouchablity etc. eradicated age old social evils from the Indian society.

`color{green} ✍️` Further, the undermining of caste and sex distinctions were certain other commendable measures of the British which encouraged the Indians to incorporate all these ideas while framing their constitution. Thus, many social evils had come to their logical end long before India became independent. Thus, catholicity was introduced to Indian society by the British authorities.

Economic

`color{green} ✍️` In the economic sphere, the British people were regarded as exploiters from the very beginning.

`color{green} ✍️` Before the British colonialism, India had a flourishing export trade in silk, cotton, salt, sugar etc. However, the British rule ruined the basic economic structure of India. Indian rural economy was transformed to suit the new modes of industrial Britain.

`color{green} ✍️` In industrial sphere, Indian manufacturing skill, in spinning, weaving, ivory, gold and silver works, filigree and luxury goods suffered a set back because of British industrial policy. Indian traditional agriculture was converted to cultivation of cash crops like indigo and tobacco which left stigmas of poverty on Indian peasants.

`color{green} ✍️` The raw materials from India was exported to England what Dada Bhai Naoroji rightly called as The Drain of Wealth.

`color{green} ✍️` The inflow of Western capital, development of a modem banking and communication system, the establishment of textile, jute, sugar, cement, glass and other factories led to rapid industrialization in India which brought modem industries into existence.

Modern Transport and Communication System

`color{green} ✍️` Rapid industrialization brought modem system of transport and communication. During Lord Dalhousies period, the first railway line was built and the train ran between Bombay and Thane in 1853. Then the Calcutta-Raniganj railway line was built and later on the Madras-Arcot railway. Similarly, right from the time of Lord William Bentinck, the highway building activities were carried on. In 1839, the Grand Trunk Road was built, that connected Delhi and Calcutta Later on it was connected with Lahore and Peshawar.

`color{green} ✍️` Lord Dalhousie also galvanized the activity of Postal Department by introducing Penny Postage System in India. Further, he was instrumental in bringing the telegraph system in India.

Education

`color{green} ✍️` The lasting impact of the West on Indian culture was the introduction of English system of education in this country. In the Eighteenth century, India was intellectually stagnant. She was untouched by the new scientific development of the west.

`color{green} ✍️` The historic decision taken by Lord Macaulay in 1835 was a turning point in India history which opened the flood-gates of European thought and literature for Indian intellectuals. This broke the intellectual isolation of the Indian mind and brought it into contact with Western science, literature, philosophy, history and so on.

`color{green} ✍️` The Downward Filtration Theory of Macaulay, Woods Despatch in 1854 and Hunter Commission in 1882 expanded the intellectual horizons of Indians. It eradicated the spell of mythical geography, legendary history and pseudo science from the Indian mind and acquainted them with new scientific knowledge of the west. This was really a lasting impact of the west of Indian culture.

Rediscovery of India's Glorious Past

`color{green} ✍️` The British help in rediscovering the glorious past of India is certainly memorable. The distinct contribution of the European scholars to Indian historiography was ideological studies which began with the foundation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 by Sir William Jones.

`color{green} ✍️` Further, the establishment of the Department of Archaeology by Lord Curzon created another milestone for opening of new horizons in 1921 -22 unearthed the remains of a flourishing culture by their excavations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. This changed the course of Indian history.

Nationalism

`color{green} ✍️` The Western impact on Indians was responsible for arousing nationalism in them. By going through the high ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity of the French Revolution of 1789, Proletarian Revolution of Russia in 1917, and American War of Independence of 1776 the Indians were surcharged with the spirit of nationalism.

`color{green} ✍️` That nationalism, on the other hand, gave birth to Indian National Congress which carried on protracted struggle against the British Raj till it was evacuated from Indian soil.

✓ Points to Remember

`color {purple} ul{"Positive Effects"}`

`color {blue} ●` A huge railroad system was placed in India by the British, making trade much more efficient and brought together regions.

color {blue} ●` The British modernized India by creating telegraph , telephone, bridges, modern roads, canals and improving public health .

color {blue} ●` Schools and colleges are founded. They also helped put an end to local warfare.


`color {purple} ul{"Negative Effects"}`

`color {blue} ●`The British held almost all political and economic power and set restrictions on Indian owned industries.

`color {blue} ●` Many villagers lost self- sufficiency due to the British enforcing cash crops.

`color {blue} ●` Most British carried racist attitudes towards the Indians in the country, and adopted policies which did not abide by many religious practices in India.

`color {blue} ●`Traditional Indian life was threatened due to British superiority.

`color {blue} ●`Policies and Regulation At first the East India Company ruled with little interference from the British government until the `19^(th)` century. The company employed its own army and even had an internal government structure.

`color {blue} ●`The British used India for the gain of Britain’s Economy, and set up restrictions that didn’t allow India to operate on its own.

 
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