Second Part
Q. How would you explain the alliance between the Indian capitalist class and the nationalist leadership?
A. During the colonial rule,the growth of national capital was subjected to serious limitations. There was lot of struggle against British business interests which exercised powerful influence on policy-making in England and also against the unsympathetic British Indian Government. It was a struggle against foreign capitalist domination, textile centers like Manchester and inimical policies adopted by British Indian Government to stop the growth of industrial sector in India . Infrastructural developments particularly the railways and transport system, created conditions of development not only for foreign capital in some sectors (e.g. jute factories, coal mines, tea and coffee plantations) but also for indigenous capital. But due to the policies adopted by colonialists , the progress of Indian
industrial capital was painfully slow and halting. The first mill started in 1854 in India facing criticism and opposition from several imperialist quarters and the development of Industrial sector occurred only during war time or inter war period . This led to the emergence of alliance between the Indian capitalist class and the nationalist leadership who fully supported national capital. The unfavorable British policies towards the Indian business interests that led to a confrontation between the colonial state and the Indian business groups, resulting in the latter joining the Indian National Movement.
Q. Write about the nature of the colonial state.
A. British government cunningly adopted policy of laissez faire (non intervention) to suit the needs of British capital and industries while rebuffing Indian Capital . for example, the heavy governmental support to British private capital in Indian railways, in the form of guaranteed interest irrespective of profit and loss. This was evidently beneficial to British business interests. On the other hand laissez faire was insisted upon in the sphere of tariff policy: refusal to put any significant tax burden on imported Manchester cloth for instance, was good for British interests and bad for all Indian mill owners. Again laissez faire was invoked to absolve the government from any intervention in trade in
'food-grains (including export of grains) during the famines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The political structure in Britain ensured that important business interests could influence policy-making in India through Parliament. Other aspects of colonialism in India were the commercialization of agriculture and a slow and uneven pace of industrialization. Indian economic advance was dependent on the requirements of colonialism and the colonial State played an active role in shaping the Indian economy so as to serve the imperial interests.
FAMINES In India
1853-55 - Bombay ,Madras Presidency , Rajputana
1860-61 - Kutch , Punjab , Rajputana , UP
1862 - Deccan
1866-67 - Northern Madras, Hyderabad, Mysore ,Bihar , Orissa
1868- 70 - CP(MP), Bombay , Bihar , parts of Bengal
1876-78 - My sore, Hyderabad, Madras Presidency ,Bombay , UP
1888-89 - Orissa , Bihar
1896-97 - Rajputana, Bombay Presidency , Gujarat , CP
1905-06 - Bombay Presidency
1906-07 - Bihar
1907-08 - U.P , C.P.
Q. How did the British policies in India affect the Indian economy?
A. The British economic policies in India led to the ruin of Indian economy.
De- industrialization , wealth drain, unemployment of artisans , commercialization of agriculture leading to famines , impoverishment of peasants and other classes were the result of policies adopted by British .
Agriculture -
The British agrarian policy was mainly aimed at drawing out maximum land revenue. It introduced different types of land revenue systems in different places. In the Permanent Settlement areas the land revenue was fixed for the Zamindari (to be paid to the State). The Zamindars kept charging more from the peasants than what they had to pay to the State. Most of the time the peasants had to borrow money from money lenders otherwise they were evicted from land. The money lenders charged exorbitant rate of interest for the money they lent to the peasants. In the Ryotwari system too, the revenue was though temporarily fixed and was subjected to temporary revision, it was still too high
for the peasants to pay. As a result of the British land revenue policy large number of peasants were reduced to landless laborers. The number of landless laborers was as high as 20% of the population (52.4 million with their dependents) in 1901. Due to commercialization of agriculture, large number of cash crops (like indigo, cotton, sugarcane) were grown which were taken by the British on dictated prices to be used as raw materials for industries. Farmers were trapped with loans to grow commercial crops and were not allowed to grow food grains required for survival even during famine. Cotton and indigo cultivators were the worst affected.
Industry -
The artisans were also facing great hardships. Since the British were for years not willing to let India's textiles be imported into Britain and later their export was no longer economical .Restrictions were imposed on import of Indian textiles in Britain while the British could bring their machine-made textiles virtually without any taxes to India. The Indian artisan was not in a position to compete with the goods produced by machines in England. This created a situation where large number of artisans were rendered jobless. The workers in factories, mines, and plantations also suffered. They were paid low wages and lived in extreme poverty.
The newly emerging Indian industrialists also faced hardships due to the government's policies relating to trade, tariff, taxation and transport. The British capitalists who had vast resources were provided with all the facilities. The Indian capitalist class that had just started emerging and needed government patronage, was, on the other hand completely ignored.
Q. Why was it that during the early years of colonial rule the Indian opposition to the foreign rule could not be properly channelized?
A. Almost all the sections of Indian population were suffering under the British rule. However, this discontent could not automatically lead to the development of a new consciousness among the people. This discontent expressed itself at times, in the form of sporadic revolts against some officer, zamindar or a new regulation. There were a number of factors due to which the dissatisfaction with the foreign rule did not generate a proper national consciousness. Vastness of the country with backward means of communication, lack of education, absence of a common language, and differences in the nature of grievances in different regions due to differences in the working of the administrative system were some of the important reasons.
Q. What are the factors responsible for rising national consciousness.
A. Unified system of Administration - For a better exploitation of the Indian resources the British brought large parts of the country under a uniform system of administration. Land revenue administration, police, law and order machinery and judicial system were some of the important measures adopted for bringing about this uniformity in administration. This system unknowingly brought the whole country under uniform administration thus stimulating the sense of oneness among masses .
Communication and Transport Network - Postal services and telegraph services were extended and improved throughout the country as all the major towns were linked with telegraph, it was all done to facilitate trade. After 1853, railway transportation was also improved .The main advantage of Railways for the British was a cheap mode of transport to carry goods to ports and back. But once the railway network developed, passenger traffic also increased,& people living at distant places got new opportunity to interact with one another creating a bond of oneness .
Printing Press - The introduction of the printing press made the transmission of ideas and learning less expensive. A number of newspapers and periodicals in vernacular languages started appearing. Through these publications the problems in different parts of the country could be shared by people. This is how played an important role in the development of national consciousness among the literate sections of the people.
New Education System - The British introduced a new system of education already English
replaced Persian as an official language. The main idea behind this system was to create a loyal section of Indians who would effectively carry out clerical and lower administrative tasks for the British.
However the modern educational system familiarized the educated classes with the ideas of equality, liberty and nationalism, in an atmosphere of growing disillusionment with the colonial rule.So the educated Indians turned towards contemporary nationalist movements in Europe (like German unification, Italian unification and nationalist movement against Turkish empire). The Indians who were studying in England found on their return to India that they were denied all the rights which were taken for granted in the European countries.
British policy of Expansion - The British in their hunger to control more land continued their policy of expansion . They kept extending their territories by annexing Indian states, one after the other, even if those states were not at war with the British. The important among
these were annexations of Sind (1843), Punjab (1849) Rangoon and Pegu (1852) and Awadh
(1856)-Jhansi, Satara and Nagpur were also taken over. The Indian rulers were getting apprehensive of the British policy.
Intellectual Awakening - Nineteenth Century India is marked by a process of social reform and intellectual awakening. The leading intellectuals of the nineteenth century contributed to the awakening of national consciousness. The British, in order to provide a justification for foreign rule had tried to project that Indians had no achievement to their credit in the field of Science and Technology and were incapable of providing a proper government to the masses. The educated Indians countered this thesis by bringing to light the achievements of Indians in art, architecture, literature, philosophy and science.
Racial Discrimination - The attitude of racial superiority adopted by the English also contributed to the growth of Nationalist sentiments. Apart from social behavior this discrimination was carried in judicial matters as well.
Q. What was the nature of early peasant and tribal revolts?
A. The Indians opposed British exploitation and the harmful policies at different levels. Gradually this resistance took the form of a national movement, although the process in the initial stages was rather slow. The Indian resistance may broadly be divided into two forms;
(i) the peasant and tribal movements, and
(ii) the middle class opposition.
The early peasant and tribal revolts were spontaneous and lacked an organized effort. These
revolts were extremely violent, led by traditional elements (dispossessed local chiefs, zamindars or religious figures). These revolts were predominantly of a lower class social character.The most important factor behind all these movements was a combined protest against British policies. At times these were also sparked off by some oppressive policies of a zamindar, money lender or an administrative officer. Some of the tribal n peasant revolts were - Travancore revolt (1800-09), Bhil revolt (1818-31), Ho revolt (1820-21) and Khasi revolt (1829-31) were among important peoples movements. And so were Wahabi movement (1830-69), Kol revolt (183 1). Faraizi movement (1 834-47) and Santhal revolt (1855-56).Indigo revolt (1859-60) in Bengal, Kuki revolt (1860-90) in Tnpura, Kuka revolt (1869-72) in Punjab, Pabna Peasant Movement (1872-73) in Bengal, Vasudev Balvant Phadke's Revolt (1879) in Maharashtra and Birsa Munda's revolt (1899-1900) in South Bihar.
Q. In the above section you read a portion of the proclamation issued by the 'rebels' in Delhi in 1857. List 3 main grievances of the Indian people on the basis of this proclamation.
A. i) The increase in land revenue.
ii) The toll tax (chowkeedaree tax) was increased causing loss to merchants.
iii) The respectable people have lost their position and jobs.
Q. Why did the educated Indian middle class become disillusioned with the British after 1857?
A. Before 1857, the educated middle class thought that the British rule would modernize India and the Indians would enjoy the fruits of this modernization. But after 1857 the British repressive policies kept on increasing and the people were denied all their rights. In the beginning (first half of the 19th century), this class was of the opinion that the means of communication, railways and other industrial enterprises were going to benefit Indians. Under this understanding they therefore supported the British policies but gradually it became clear that the British administrative measures were to help the British rule, and, their economic policies were benefiting the British merchants and capitalists. Once the Indian middle class realized this, they started protesting against the colonial rule.
The middle class worked in two ways-
1) They started writing books, articles and publishing newspapers to critically analyze the British policies and developing consciousness among the masses.
2) The second method adopted by the middle classes was to form organizations, associations and societies for joint programms and activities.
Q. How did the formation of organizations help in the growth of National consciousness?
A. Some of the early organizations were the Landholder's Society (1838), Bengal British India Society (1843), British India Association (1851)in Bengal; the Bombay Association and Deccan Association (1852) in Maharashtra, the Madras Native Association in Madras.
The main aim of these organizations was collective action against the British policies harming
their interests. Their methods were mostly legal actions in courts or petition against the East India Company & British parliament. They wanted reforms to be included in the Company's charter of 1853. But the charter of 1853 failed to satisfy their aspirations.
After the take over of India's administration by the British Crown in 1858, new hopes
kindled among the Indian middle classes. They thought that the British government would stop the economic exploitation and work for the welfare of the country. Soon they realized that the British Crown too was out to exploit India economically. Now the political activities increased and a number of new organizations appeared. In England was formed London India Association which was later merged with the East India Association (1866). In Maharashtra was formed Poona Sarwajanik Sabha (1870) and Indian Association (1876). In Bengal was formed Indian National Conference (1883) and in Madras Mahajan Sabha.
As compared to the earlier organizations formed by middle class elements these organizations were political. Their main aim was to protest against the British policies through petitions and resolutions. They tried to achieve mass awakening through public meetings and statements. They also exchanged views on the national issues. Actually these organizations opened the way for the formation of a strong all India organization, Indian National Congress in 1885.
Q. How would you explain the alliance between the Indian capitalist class and the nationalist leadership?
A. During the colonial rule,the growth of national capital was subjected to serious limitations. There was lot of struggle against British business interests which exercised powerful influence on policy-making in England and also against the unsympathetic British Indian Government. It was a struggle against foreign capitalist domination, textile centers like Manchester and inimical policies adopted by British Indian Government to stop the growth of industrial sector in India . Infrastructural developments particularly the railways and transport system, created conditions of development not only for foreign capital in some sectors (e.g. jute factories, coal mines, tea and coffee plantations) but also for indigenous capital. But due to the policies adopted by colonialists , the progress of Indian
industrial capital was painfully slow and halting. The first mill started in 1854 in India facing criticism and opposition from several imperialist quarters and the development of Industrial sector occurred only during war time or inter war period . This led to the emergence of alliance between the Indian capitalist class and the nationalist leadership who fully supported national capital. The unfavorable British policies towards the Indian business interests that led to a confrontation between the colonial state and the Indian business groups, resulting in the latter joining the Indian National Movement.
Q. Write about the nature of the colonial state.
A. British government cunningly adopted policy of laissez faire (non intervention) to suit the needs of British capital and industries while rebuffing Indian Capital . for example, the heavy governmental support to British private capital in Indian railways, in the form of guaranteed interest irrespective of profit and loss. This was evidently beneficial to British business interests. On the other hand laissez faire was insisted upon in the sphere of tariff policy: refusal to put any significant tax burden on imported Manchester cloth for instance, was good for British interests and bad for all Indian mill owners. Again laissez faire was invoked to absolve the government from any intervention in trade in
'food-grains (including export of grains) during the famines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The political structure in Britain ensured that important business interests could influence policy-making in India through Parliament. Other aspects of colonialism in India were the commercialization of agriculture and a slow and uneven pace of industrialization. Indian economic advance was dependent on the requirements of colonialism and the colonial State played an active role in shaping the Indian economy so as to serve the imperial interests.
FAMINES In India
1853-55 - Bombay ,Madras Presidency , Rajputana
1860-61 - Kutch , Punjab , Rajputana , UP
1862 - Deccan
1866-67 - Northern Madras, Hyderabad, Mysore ,Bihar , Orissa
1868- 70 - CP(MP), Bombay , Bihar , parts of Bengal
1876-78 - My sore, Hyderabad, Madras Presidency ,Bombay , UP
1888-89 - Orissa , Bihar
1896-97 - Rajputana, Bombay Presidency , Gujarat , CP
1905-06 - Bombay Presidency
1906-07 - Bihar
1907-08 - U.P , C.P.
Q. How did the British policies in India affect the Indian economy?
A. The British economic policies in India led to the ruin of Indian economy.
De- industrialization , wealth drain, unemployment of artisans , commercialization of agriculture leading to famines , impoverishment of peasants and other classes were the result of policies adopted by British .
Agriculture -
The British agrarian policy was mainly aimed at drawing out maximum land revenue. It introduced different types of land revenue systems in different places. In the Permanent Settlement areas the land revenue was fixed for the Zamindari (to be paid to the State). The Zamindars kept charging more from the peasants than what they had to pay to the State. Most of the time the peasants had to borrow money from money lenders otherwise they were evicted from land. The money lenders charged exorbitant rate of interest for the money they lent to the peasants. In the Ryotwari system too, the revenue was though temporarily fixed and was subjected to temporary revision, it was still too high
for the peasants to pay. As a result of the British land revenue policy large number of peasants were reduced to landless laborers. The number of landless laborers was as high as 20% of the population (52.4 million with their dependents) in 1901. Due to commercialization of agriculture, large number of cash crops (like indigo, cotton, sugarcane) were grown which were taken by the British on dictated prices to be used as raw materials for industries. Farmers were trapped with loans to grow commercial crops and were not allowed to grow food grains required for survival even during famine. Cotton and indigo cultivators were the worst affected.
Industry -
The artisans were also facing great hardships. Since the British were for years not willing to let India's textiles be imported into Britain and later their export was no longer economical .Restrictions were imposed on import of Indian textiles in Britain while the British could bring their machine-made textiles virtually without any taxes to India. The Indian artisan was not in a position to compete with the goods produced by machines in England. This created a situation where large number of artisans were rendered jobless. The workers in factories, mines, and plantations also suffered. They were paid low wages and lived in extreme poverty.
The newly emerging Indian industrialists also faced hardships due to the government's policies relating to trade, tariff, taxation and transport. The British capitalists who had vast resources were provided with all the facilities. The Indian capitalist class that had just started emerging and needed government patronage, was, on the other hand completely ignored.
Q. Why was it that during the early years of colonial rule the Indian opposition to the foreign rule could not be properly channelized?
A. Almost all the sections of Indian population were suffering under the British rule. However, this discontent could not automatically lead to the development of a new consciousness among the people. This discontent expressed itself at times, in the form of sporadic revolts against some officer, zamindar or a new regulation. There were a number of factors due to which the dissatisfaction with the foreign rule did not generate a proper national consciousness. Vastness of the country with backward means of communication, lack of education, absence of a common language, and differences in the nature of grievances in different regions due to differences in the working of the administrative system were some of the important reasons.
Q. What are the factors responsible for rising national consciousness.
A. Unified system of Administration - For a better exploitation of the Indian resources the British brought large parts of the country under a uniform system of administration. Land revenue administration, police, law and order machinery and judicial system were some of the important measures adopted for bringing about this uniformity in administration. This system unknowingly brought the whole country under uniform administration thus stimulating the sense of oneness among masses .
Communication and Transport Network - Postal services and telegraph services were extended and improved throughout the country as all the major towns were linked with telegraph, it was all done to facilitate trade. After 1853, railway transportation was also improved .The main advantage of Railways for the British was a cheap mode of transport to carry goods to ports and back. But once the railway network developed, passenger traffic also increased,& people living at distant places got new opportunity to interact with one another creating a bond of oneness .
Printing Press - The introduction of the printing press made the transmission of ideas and learning less expensive. A number of newspapers and periodicals in vernacular languages started appearing. Through these publications the problems in different parts of the country could be shared by people. This is how played an important role in the development of national consciousness among the literate sections of the people.
New Education System - The British introduced a new system of education already English
replaced Persian as an official language. The main idea behind this system was to create a loyal section of Indians who would effectively carry out clerical and lower administrative tasks for the British.
However the modern educational system familiarized the educated classes with the ideas of equality, liberty and nationalism, in an atmosphere of growing disillusionment with the colonial rule.So the educated Indians turned towards contemporary nationalist movements in Europe (like German unification, Italian unification and nationalist movement against Turkish empire). The Indians who were studying in England found on their return to India that they were denied all the rights which were taken for granted in the European countries.
British policy of Expansion - The British in their hunger to control more land continued their policy of expansion . They kept extending their territories by annexing Indian states, one after the other, even if those states were not at war with the British. The important among
these were annexations of Sind (1843), Punjab (1849) Rangoon and Pegu (1852) and Awadh
(1856)-Jhansi, Satara and Nagpur were also taken over. The Indian rulers were getting apprehensive of the British policy.
Intellectual Awakening - Nineteenth Century India is marked by a process of social reform and intellectual awakening. The leading intellectuals of the nineteenth century contributed to the awakening of national consciousness. The British, in order to provide a justification for foreign rule had tried to project that Indians had no achievement to their credit in the field of Science and Technology and were incapable of providing a proper government to the masses. The educated Indians countered this thesis by bringing to light the achievements of Indians in art, architecture, literature, philosophy and science.
Racial Discrimination - The attitude of racial superiority adopted by the English also contributed to the growth of Nationalist sentiments. Apart from social behavior this discrimination was carried in judicial matters as well.
Q. What was the nature of early peasant and tribal revolts?
A. The Indians opposed British exploitation and the harmful policies at different levels. Gradually this resistance took the form of a national movement, although the process in the initial stages was rather slow. The Indian resistance may broadly be divided into two forms;
(i) the peasant and tribal movements, and
(ii) the middle class opposition.
The early peasant and tribal revolts were spontaneous and lacked an organized effort. These
revolts were extremely violent, led by traditional elements (dispossessed local chiefs, zamindars or religious figures). These revolts were predominantly of a lower class social character.The most important factor behind all these movements was a combined protest against British policies. At times these were also sparked off by some oppressive policies of a zamindar, money lender or an administrative officer. Some of the tribal n peasant revolts were - Travancore revolt (1800-09), Bhil revolt (1818-31), Ho revolt (1820-21) and Khasi revolt (1829-31) were among important peoples movements. And so were Wahabi movement (1830-69), Kol revolt (183 1). Faraizi movement (1 834-47) and Santhal revolt (1855-56).Indigo revolt (1859-60) in Bengal, Kuki revolt (1860-90) in Tnpura, Kuka revolt (1869-72) in Punjab, Pabna Peasant Movement (1872-73) in Bengal, Vasudev Balvant Phadke's Revolt (1879) in Maharashtra and Birsa Munda's revolt (1899-1900) in South Bihar.
Q. In the above section you read a portion of the proclamation issued by the 'rebels' in Delhi in 1857. List 3 main grievances of the Indian people on the basis of this proclamation.
A. i) The increase in land revenue.
ii) The toll tax (chowkeedaree tax) was increased causing loss to merchants.
iii) The respectable people have lost their position and jobs.
Q. Why did the educated Indian middle class become disillusioned with the British after 1857?
A. Before 1857, the educated middle class thought that the British rule would modernize India and the Indians would enjoy the fruits of this modernization. But after 1857 the British repressive policies kept on increasing and the people were denied all their rights. In the beginning (first half of the 19th century), this class was of the opinion that the means of communication, railways and other industrial enterprises were going to benefit Indians. Under this understanding they therefore supported the British policies but gradually it became clear that the British administrative measures were to help the British rule, and, their economic policies were benefiting the British merchants and capitalists. Once the Indian middle class realized this, they started protesting against the colonial rule.
The middle class worked in two ways-
1) They started writing books, articles and publishing newspapers to critically analyze the British policies and developing consciousness among the masses.
2) The second method adopted by the middle classes was to form organizations, associations and societies for joint programms and activities.
Q. How did the formation of organizations help in the growth of National consciousness?
A. Some of the early organizations were the Landholder's Society (1838), Bengal British India Society (1843), British India Association (1851)in Bengal; the Bombay Association and Deccan Association (1852) in Maharashtra, the Madras Native Association in Madras.
The main aim of these organizations was collective action against the British policies harming
their interests. Their methods were mostly legal actions in courts or petition against the East India Company & British parliament. They wanted reforms to be included in the Company's charter of 1853. But the charter of 1853 failed to satisfy their aspirations.
After the take over of India's administration by the British Crown in 1858, new hopes
kindled among the Indian middle classes. They thought that the British government would stop the economic exploitation and work for the welfare of the country. Soon they realized that the British Crown too was out to exploit India economically. Now the political activities increased and a number of new organizations appeared. In England was formed London India Association which was later merged with the East India Association (1866). In Maharashtra was formed Poona Sarwajanik Sabha (1870) and Indian Association (1876). In Bengal was formed Indian National Conference (1883) and in Madras Mahajan Sabha.
As compared to the earlier organizations formed by middle class elements these organizations were political. Their main aim was to protest against the British policies through petitions and resolutions. They tried to achieve mass awakening through public meetings and statements. They also exchanged views on the national issues. Actually these organizations opened the way for the formation of a strong all India organization, Indian National Congress in 1885.
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