History of the British Raj facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The British Raj was a time when the British government ruled over a large part of the Indian subcontinent. This period lasted for about 89 years, from 1858 to 1947. It started after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when the rule of the East India Company was taken over by the British Crown, led by Queen Victoria.

The British Raj ended in 1947. At that time, the British areas of India were split into two new independent countries: the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Many smaller princely states then chose which of these new countries to join. Later, the Dominion of India became the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The eastern part of Pakistan later became Bangladesh in 1972. Before all this, the province of Burma had already become a separate colony in 1937 and gained independence in 1948.

The East India Company was a British company that started to trade in the Indian Ocean region. It first traded with Mughal India and the East Indies, and later with China. Over time, this company took control of large parts of India. It also colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong after a war with China.

British Rule and India's Economy

In the late 1800s, the British government directly ruling India and new technologies from the Industrial Revolution in Britain brought India and Britain's economies very close. Many big changes in transport and communication had already started before the 1857 rebellion.

New Technologies and Trade

India saw quick development of new technologies, just like Britain. Railways, roads, canals, and bridges were built fast. Telegraph lines were also set up quickly. This helped move raw materials like cotton from India's inner regions to ports like Bombay. From there, these materials were sent to England. In return, finished goods from England were brought back to India to be sold in its growing markets.

However, there was a difference. In Britain, private investors took the risks for building these new things. But in India, the taxpayers, mostly farmers, paid for these projects. This cost about £50 million. Even with these costs, not many skilled jobs were created for Indians. By 1920, after 60 years of railway building, only 10 percent of the top railway jobs were held by Indians.

Impact on Farmers and Famines

New technology also changed farming in India. By the late 1800s, a lot of raw materials and even some food were being sent to faraway markets. Because of this, many small farmers depended on these markets. If the markets were bad, they lost their land, animals, and tools to money-lenders.

Sadly, the late 1800s also saw more large-scale famines in India. Famines were not new, but these were very severe. Tens of millions of people died. Many critics, both British and Indian, blamed the British government for these terrible events.

Long-Term Economic Effects

The British Raj had lasting effects on India's economy. Investment was mainly focused on transport, like railways and canals, to move goods and workers. This led to uneven economic growth across India. Some urban areas benefited, becoming more production-based. However, most of Indian society, especially in rural areas, faced negative impacts. This was because investment focused on transport instead of healthcare and basic education.

Steps Towards Self-Government

In the late 1800s, the first steps were taken for India to govern itself. Indian advisors were appointed to help the British viceroy. Provincial councils were also set up with Indian members. The British later allowed more Indians to join these councils with the Indian Councils Act 1892. Local governments, called Municipal Corporations and District Boards, were also created, and they included elected Indian members.

Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)

The Indian Councils Act 1909, also known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, gave Indians limited roles in the central and provincial law-making bodies. Before this, Indians were appointed to these councils, but after these reforms, some were elected. In the central council, most members were still government officials, and the viceroy did not have to listen to the lawmakers. At the provincial level, elected members and unofficial appointees outnumbered the officials, but the governor was not responsible to the legislature. The British government made it clear that full self-government was not their goal.

Even so, the Morley-Minto Reforms were an important step. Slowly, the idea of electing members to Indian councils was introduced. However, only a small group of upper-class Indians could vote. These elected members increasingly became an "opposition" to the government. The system of "communal electorates," where different religious groups voted for their own representatives, became a big part of Indian politics.

World War I and Its Impact

World War I (1914-1918) changed the relationship between Britain and India a lot. About 1.4 million Indian and British soldiers from the British Indian Army fought in the war. News of Indian soldiers fighting alongside British soldiers spread around the world through newspapers and the new radio. This raised India's international profile. India even became a founding member of the League of Nations in 1920 and took part in the 1920 Summer Olympics. In India, especially among leaders of the Indian National Congress, this led to stronger calls for Indians to have more self-government.

Promises of Reform

In 1916, with growing strength from Indian nationalists, the new Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, said that the government needed to listen more to Indian opinions. After talking with the government in London, he suggested that Britain show its good intentions because of India's help in the war. This included giving titles and honors to princes, allowing Indians to become army officers, and removing a disliked tax on cotton. Most importantly, Britain would announce its future plans for India and take concrete steps towards them.

In August 1917, the new British Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, announced Britain's goal. It was to "increase the involvement of Indians in every part of the government" and to "gradually develop self-governing institutions." This meant giving more responsibility to educated Indians, who were seen as "intellectually our children." Britain would decide the speed of these changes based on how well Indians "earned" them. This plan was the first time Britain proposed any form of representative government in a non-white colony, even if it was limited at first.

Wartime Powers and Rowlatt Bills

At the start of World War I, most of the British army in India was sent to Europe and Mesopotamia. This made the previous Viceroy, Lord Harding, worry about India's safety. There were already concerns about revolutionary violence in British India. So, in 1915, the government passed the Defence of India Act 1915. This law allowed them to imprison politically dangerous people without a proper trial. It also added to their power to jail journalists and censor the press.

As talks about constitutional reform began, the British also thought about how to bring moderate Indians into politics. But they also feared a return of revolutionary violence. So, they considered extending some of their wartime powers into peacetime.

In 1917, a committee led by British judge Mr. S. A. T. Rowlatt was set up. Its job was to investigate wartime revolutionary plots and their links to Germany and Bolsheviks. The hidden goal was to extend the government's wartime powers. The Rowlatt committee reported in July 1918. It suggested that the government use emergency powers, like its wartime authority, to fight rebellious acts. This included trying sedition cases without juries and detaining suspects without trial.

Economic Hardship and Protests

After World War I ended, the economy changed. By late 1919, 1.5 million Indians had served in the military, and India had given £146 million for the war. Increased taxes and problems with trade caused prices in India to almost double between 1914 and 1920. Returning soldiers, especially in Punjab, faced unemployment. High prices after the war led to food riots in Bombay, Madras, and Bengal. A bad monsoon season in 1918-1919 and people making unfair profits made things worse. The global flu epidemic and the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 also added to the general worry.

To deal with what it saw as a coming crisis, the government turned the Rowlatt committee's suggestions into two Rowlatt Bills. Even though Edwin Montagu allowed them to be considered, he did so unwillingly. All Indian members of the Imperial Legislative Council opposed the bills. But the Government of India used its "official majority" to pass a weaker version of the first bill in early 1919. This new Rowlatt Act allowed extrajudicial powers for three years to fight "anarchical and revolutionary movements." When it passed, it caused widespread anger across India and brought Mohandas Gandhi to the forefront of the nationalist movement.

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms (1919)

Meanwhile, Montagu and Chelmsford presented their report in July 1918 after a long trip through India. After more discussions, the Government of India Act 1919 (also known as the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms) was passed in December 1919. This new Act made the provincial councils larger and changed the Imperial Legislative Council into a bigger Central Legislative Assembly. It also stopped the government from using its "official majority" to win votes.

Some government departments, like defense, foreign affairs, and income tax, stayed with the Viceroy and the central government. But other departments, like public health, education, and local self-government, were given to the provinces. The provinces were now run under a new system called dyarchy. This meant some areas, like education and agriculture, were managed by Indian ministers and lawmakers. Other areas, like irrigation and police, stayed under the British governor. The new Act also made it easier for Indians to join the civil service and become army officers.

More Indians could now vote, but at the national level, they were only 10% of adult men, and many were still illiterate. In the provincial legislatures, the British kept some control by reserving seats for special groups they thought would cooperate. For example, rural candidates, who were often more supportive of British rule, got more seats than urban ones. Seats were also saved for non-Brahmins, landowners, businessmen, and college graduates. The idea of "communal representation," where seats were reserved for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, and others, was confirmed. These reforms gave Indians the best chance yet to use law-making power, especially at the provincial level. However, this chance was limited by the small number of eligible voters, small budgets for provincial legislatures, and reserved seats that were seen as ways for Britain to keep control.

Round Table Conferences (1930–32)

The three Round Table Conferences were meetings held by the British Government from 1930 to 1932. They were organized to talk about changes to India's government. Indian leaders were increasingly demanding swaraj, or self-rule. By the 1930s, many British politicians thought India should move towards becoming a self-governing dominion. However, there were big disagreements between Indian and British leaders that these conferences could not solve.

Leaders Imprisoned

In 1932, after the conferences failed, the Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, faced Mohandas Gandhi's Congress in action. The British government told Willingdon to only work with Indians who supported British rule. This did not include Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, which started its Civil Disobedience Movement on January 4, 1932.

So, Willingdon took strong action. He imprisoned Gandhi and outlawed the Congress party. He arrested all members of their main committees and banned Congress youth groups. In total, he imprisoned 80,000 Indian activists. Without most of their leaders, protests were messy and unorganized. Boycotts did not work well. More women got involved, and there was some terrorism, especially in the North-West Frontier Province. Gandhi stayed in prison until 1933.

Communal Award (1932)

To solve the problem of how Indians would be represented, Prime Minister MacDonald announced the Communal Award on August 16, 1932. This award kept separate voting groups for Muslims, Sikhs, and Europeans in India. It also increased the number of provinces that offered separate voting groups to Anglo-Indians and Indian Christians. The Depressed Classes (now known as the Dalits) also got a separate voting group. Gandhi, representing the Indian National Congress, disagreed with separate voting groups for the Depressed Classes, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, and Indian Christians. He believed these separate groups would weaken Congress's claim to represent all of India. Despite his objections, the award went into effect.

Government of India Act (1935)

In 1935, after the Round Table Conferences failed, the British Parliament approved the Government of India Act 1935. This act allowed for independent law-making assemblies in all British Indian provinces. It also aimed to create a central government that included both British provinces and princely states. This act also protected Muslim minorities. The future Constitution of independent India would use much of this act's text.

The act also planned for a two-chamber national parliament and an executive branch under British control. Although the national federation never happened, elections for provincial assemblies were held in 1937. Despite some early hesitation, the Congress party took part in these elections. They won in seven of the eleven provinces of British India. Congress governments, with wide powers, were then formed in these provinces. In Britain, these victories later changed opinions towards Indian independence.

World War II

India played a very important role in the Allied war effort against Japan and Germany. It provided over 2 million soldiers who fought in many campaigns in the Middle East and on the India-Burma front. India also gave billions of pounds to help the British war effort. Muslims and Sikhs strongly supported the British war effort. However, the Hindu population was divided. The Congress party opposed the war, and tens of thousands of its leaders were imprisoned from 1942 to 1945. A major famine in eastern India caused hundreds of thousands of deaths from starvation. This remains a very controversial issue regarding Churchill's reluctance to provide emergency food relief.

When World War II started in 1939, the viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, declared war on India's behalf without asking Indian leaders. This led the Congress provincial ministries to resign in protest. The Muslim League, however, supported Britain in the war. But they believed that Muslims would be treated unfairly in an independent India led by the Congress. Hindus not linked to the Congress generally supported the war. The two main Sikh groups also supported Britain and encouraged many Sikhs to join the army.

Quit India Movement

In 1942, the British sent the Cripps Mission to India. They wanted Indian nationalists to help in the war in exchange for independence and dominion status after the war. The Congress demanded immediate independence, and the mission failed. Then, Mohandas Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942. He demanded that the British leave India immediately or face nationwide civil disobedience.

Gandhi and thousands of other Congress leaders were immediately imprisoned. The country then saw violent local protests led by students and later by farmer groups, especially in eastern United Provinces, Bihar, and western Bengal. For example, from August 9 to September 21, 1942, the Quit India movement:

attacked 550 post offices
attacked 250 railway stations
damaged many rail lines
destroyed 70 police stations
burned or damaged 85 other government buildings
cut telegraph wires about 2,500 times

The police and army stopped the resistance in a few months. Nationalist leaders were kept in prison until the end of World War II.

Eventually, the British government realized that they could not govern India forever. The question for after the war was how to leave peacefully and gracefully. In 1945, when World War II was almost over, the Labour Party in the United Kingdom won elections. They promised to give India independence. The political prisoners who had been jailed were released that same year.

Bose and the Indian National Army

Subhas Chandra Bose had left the Congress Party in 1939. He then sought help from Germany and Japan to free India by force. With Japan's support, he formed the Indian National Army (INA). This army was mostly made up of Indian soldiers from the British Indian army who had been captured by the Japanese in Singapore. It included Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims.

Japan's secret service encouraged unrest in Southeast Asia to weaken the British war effort. They supported various temporary governments in areas they occupied, like Burma, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Similarly, they supported the Provisional Government of Azad Hind (Free India), led by Bose. However, Bose's efforts did not last long. After setbacks in 1944, the British Indian Army stopped and then reversed the Japanese offensive in 1945. This began the successful part of the Burma Campaign.

Bose's Indian National Army surrendered when Singapore was recaptured. Bose died in a plane crash soon after. The British wanted to hold trials for INA officers. But public opinion in India, including the Congress and even the Indian Army, saw the INA as fighting for India's independence. They demanded that the trials be stopped. The British eventually gave in because of the opposition from the Congress. These trials became a strong rallying point for the Indian Independence movement.

Finances During the War

Britain borrowed money from everywhere it could and bought a lot of equipment and supplies in India during the war. Before the war, India owed Britain money. Now, it was the other way around. Britain's money owed around the world was £3.4 billion in 1945. India's share was £1.3 billion. This meant India's treasury had a lot of British pounds that Britain owed to it. However, Britain treated this as a long-term loan with no interest and no set repayment date. The British treasury was almost empty by 1945, so when India would get the money was a question. India's balances totaled Rs. 17.24 billion in March 1946. Of that, Rs. 15.12 billion (£1.134 billion) was split between India and Pakistan when they became independent in August 1947. They finally got the money, and India spent all its share by 1957. This included buying back British-owned assets in India.

Transfer of Power

In April 1940, the All India Azad Muslim Conference met in Delhi. They supported an independent and united India. This group included several Islamic organizations and 1400 nationalist Muslim delegates. The pro-separatist All-India Muslim League tried to silence these nationalist Muslims who were against the partition of India, often using "intimidation and coercion." The murder of the All India Azad Muslim Conference leader Allah Bakhsh Soomro also made it easier for the All-India Muslim League to demand the creation of Pakistan.

In January 1946, several mutinies (rebellions) broke out in the armed services. It started with RAF servicemen who were frustrated with how slowly they were being sent back to Britain. The mutinies became serious with the mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay in February 1946. Other mutinies followed in Calcutta, Madras, and Karachi. Even though the mutinies were quickly stopped, they gained a lot of public support in India. This pushed the new Labour government in Britain to act. It led to the Cabinet Mission to India, which included Lord Pethick Lawrence and Stafford Cripps.

Also in early 1946, new elections were held in India. The Congress party won in eight of the eleven provinces. However, talks between the Congress and the Muslim League got stuck on the issue of partition. Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared August 16, 1946, as Direct Action Day. His goal was to peacefully highlight the demand for a Muslim homeland in British India. The next day, Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Calcutta and quickly spread across India. Both the Government of India and the Congress were shocked by these events. In September, a Congress-led temporary government was set up, with Jawaharlal Nehru as India's prime minister.

Later that year, the Labour government in Britain, whose treasury was empty after World War II, decided to end British rule in India. In early 1947, Britain announced its plan to transfer power no later than June 1948.

As independence got closer, the violence between Hindus and Muslims in Punjab and Bengal continued. The British army was not ready for the possible increase in violence. So, the new viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, moved up the date for transferring power. This left less than six months to agree on a plan for independence. In June 1947, the nationalist leaders, including Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad for the Congress, Jinnah for the pro-separatist Muslim League, B. R. Ambedkar for the Untouchable community, and Master Tara Singh for the Sikhs, agreed to a partition of the country. This was against Gandhi's wishes. In the years before the partition, the pro-separatist All-India Muslim League violently forced Hindus and Sikhs out of western Punjab.

Millions of Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu refugees traveled across the newly drawn borders. In Punjab, where the new border split the Sikh regions in half, there was a lot of bloodshed. In Bengal and Bihar, where Gandhi's presence calmed tensions, the violence was more limited. In total, between 250,000 and 500,000 people on both sides of the new borders died. On August 14, 1947, the new Dominion of Pakistan was created, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as its first Governor General in Karachi. The next day, August 15, 1947, India, now a smaller Union of India, became an independent country. Official ceremonies took place in New Delhi, with Jawaharlal Nehru becoming the prime minister. The viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, stayed on as India's first Governor General.

Images for kids

Lord Ripon, the Liberal Viceroy of India, who created the Famine Code
The Agra canal (c. 1873), a year away from completion. The canal was closed to navigation in 1904 to increase irrigation and aid in famine-prevention.
Railway map of India in 1909. Railway construction in India had begun in 1853.
A 1903 stereographic image of Victoria Terminus, Bombay, by Underwood and Underwood. The station was completed in 1888.
John Morley, the Secretary of State for India from 1905 to 1910. The Indian Councils Act 1909 allowed Indians to be elected to the Legislative Council.
Picture post card of the Gordon Highlanders marching past King George V and Queen Mary at the Delhi Durbar on 12 December 1911, when the King was crowned Emperor of India.
British Prime Minister MacDonald to the right of Gandhi at the Second Round Table Conference in London, October 1931.
A cartoon from 1932 depicting Viscount Willingdon on a hunger strike against Gandhi.
1909 Prevailing Religions, Map of British Indian Empire, 1909, showing the prevailing majority religions of the population for different districts.