Minister Disraeli p Queen Victoria press of India Indies. In the rers came in st, which they yen Columbus f America, he e Indies, and ndians). It was they were in stem colonies, jAmerica, and ame trade, and Peans to arrive Se. In 1498, Cape of Good. ew years later, empire-builder fin 1503 and juguese empire | Goa still bear , da Pinto, da the French and prts in India British were pthey certainly j agents in the they obtained mgs to trade in 19 Francis Day, d Madras, and ets. The British ecessfully played one locil rajs (ruler) inst another, and the policy of “divide- rule,” cleverly supplanted them as the rajs themselves. fier the loss of the American colonies 177, the British looked elsewhere for second empire”. Soon, the spice trade the East created an economic boom, and ‘wars of kings in Europe came to the East Eventually, the British under Sir Robert ive ousted the French aad other powers to over most of the subcontinent in 1793. era produced the infamous atrocity of “Black Hole of Kolkata,” when over a ndred men, women and children were left ithe French to die in a small room, At first, Britain ruled the subcontinent ough the British East India Company, but i$ proved to be a failure. Adam Smith, the ish economist, admitted that the East Tadies had the misfortune of being ruled by a “government in search of commercial riches ‘only. The officials of the British East India ‘Company were merchants. Their aim was to ‘enrich themselves and the company, not to Jeam the culture, not to educate the natives, ‘and certainly not to spread Christianity. They shamelessly monopolized rich natural resources, trade, industries, and treasures ‘of the Indies. Later British factories during the Industrial Revolution would be served By raw products from British India (cotton, textiles) The British empire’s glory however began to end when native Indian (“sepoy”) soldiers in the British Army mutinied in 1857. The “Sepoy Mutiny” was put down, ‘but the British East India Company was blamed for it. In 1858, India was placed under direct tule from London. Direct rule by Britain Brought many improvements — which contributed to the making of modern India, 8s follows’ Indian Civilization ‘A The Indian subcontinent was unified under a centralized government. New legal codes replaced customary laws and put an end to cruel practices like the caste system, seclusion of women (purdah), and burning of widows at the husband’s funeral (settee) ‘4 Transportation and communications were modernized by a network of railways, highways, telephones, telegraph, and a postal system. ‘A Introduction of printed books and newspapers, better farming methods, irrigation systems, sanitation and medical care, A Finally, Westem style of education produced a new middle class, trained in the English language and familiar with Western values and practices. Out of these Western-educated graduates. would later come the social reformers who stirred the independence movements in India, Pakistan, Burma and Malaya. Gandhi and Indian Nationalism. The Indians hated colonial bondage and yearned to be free. They resented the loss of their independence and the arrogance of the British, who treated them as an inferior race in their own country. The best jobs, railway seats, hotels and clubs were off-limits to native Indians. Britain reserved the best for themselves, and the Indians felt like second class citizens in their own land. In 1885 educated Indians formed the Indian National Congress as a forum to ‘express their grievances and demands. They advocated a representative government and other political and economic reforms. During the First World War, a great patriot-lawyer named Mohandas K. Gandhi (father of Indian independence “) emerged as leader of the subcontinent struggle for freedom Although he came from an affluent Hindu family and trained as a lawyer in London and South Africa, he abandoned