Question Bank / Ch#1 BRITAIN RULES INDIA- THE JEWEL IN THE

CROWN

Class PC Long Questions 14 Marks

Q#1: How successful were the British in expanding their control over Indian territories
between 1750 and 1850? (14)

Ans: Indians made several attempts against the British. They had a mix of successes and failures.
Since India was a huge territory with several armies under powerful Nawabs, British could not
have any major success till as late as 1757, in northern India. Powerful armies of various strong
rulers kept British from gaining political control of these states. In southern India, the Marathas
and the rulers of Mysore (Deccan) also offered stiff resistance till 1799. The ruler of Mysore
Hyder Ali, and then his son Tipu Sultan fought three fierce wars against the British the Anglo-
Mysore wars from 1770's to 1799. Hyder Ali, assisted by his son and the French naval force, got
a significant victory in 1780-1782. According to McLeod, "Hyder Ali gave a damned rap over
the knuckles of the British." He captured Carnatic, Arcot and Cuddalore in the war. After his
sudden death in 1782, his son Tipu continued to resist the British. He defeated Brigadier
Mathews in 1783 and captured Bendore and Bangalore. With success from both sides, the 2nd
Anglo-Mysore war ended in 1784 under the Treaty of Mangalore. The British had to launch a
propaganda campaign against Tipu to depopularise him. Lord Hastings was succeeded by Lord
Cornwallis who fought the 3rd Anglo-Mysore war against Tipu. He provoked Tipu by giving
help to the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1789. Tipu attacked the British and the war lasted for about
two years. Tipu was initially successful but later had to accept the Treaty of 1792. gapatam in
The Marathas also gave very tough time to the British in the first Anglo-Mysore war, 1775-1782.
Lord Hastings policy of handling Marathas was quite defective that emboldened Marathas.
Marathon power continued to resist British till1818.

In north-western India, the Sikh ruler of Punjab, Raja Ranjit Singh became a need for the British
due to his own power as well as the strategic location of Punjab. British needed him to counter
the Russian threat through Afghanistan. Moreover, the defeat of the British in Afghanistan in
1841 lowered their prestige in India. Mir Nisar Ali, popularly known as Titu Mir Shaheed,
offered stiff resistence to the British in the west Bengal till his killing in 1831. He had raised an
army of volunteer fighters, and kept it in fort of bamboos.

However, Indians had a greater number of failures during this period of time. They suffered their
first humiliating defeat in 1757 in the battle of Plassey in Bengal. Nawab Siraj ud Daula of
Bengal fought against Robert Clive of the EIC and was defeated and killed; partly due to the
military superiority of the British and partly to the treachery of Mir Jafar who had been bribed by
the EIC. British gained a very important north-eastern Indian territory. Second major defeat
suffered by Indians was in 1764 in the battle of Buxar. A combined army, of the Mughal ruler
Shah Alam II and Nawabs of Bengal and Oudh, was crushed by the EIC solely due to its superior
fighting skills. A larger area of north-eastern India came under the EIC.

In south India, the EIC kept the Marathas, ruler of Mysore and the Nizam of Hyderabad divided
to decisively defeat Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore. Lord Wellsley's army defeated and killed
Tipu Sultan in the last Anglo-Mysore war in 1799. Tipu's general Mir Sadiq had been bribed by
the EIC. The EIC got rid of the Marathan threat in 1818 in the 3rd and last Marathan war by
defeating their Peshwa Baji Rao II and got several states of southern and central India.

In 1803 the EIC army entered Delhi and shifted the royal court from Red Fort to Qutab Saheb
and this gained a major victory. Amirs of Sindh were provoked in 1843 to attack the British. This
way the British had undone the damage done to their prestige in Afghanistan. Titu Mir was
defeated by the British in 1831, and his fort of bamboos was destroyed. This gave British
complete control over Bengal. Finally, the Indians lost the strategic north-western territory of
Punjab and Kashmir between 1846 and 1849. The British, after their defeat in Afghanistan in
1841, decided to undo the damage to their prestige. Accordingly, the Amirs of Sindh were
provoked by the British, and they attacked and annexed Sindh in 1843. Ranjit Singh's death
caused political turmoil in Punjab that was exploited by the EIC. It defeated the Sikhs in second
Anglo-Sikh war and annexed Punjab from 1846 to 1849.

The British acting wisely, forced the state princes to sign peace treaties with them Under the
treaties, these states were given internal autonomy and were required to acknowledge the British
sovereignity by paying various taxes to them. It may be concluded that the Indian resistance was
an utter failure because they continued to lose various territories to the British due to their own
disunity and clever strategy and military supremacy of the British.

Q#2:Did educational reforms have a more important effect on the Indians than the social,
religious and economic ones introduced by the British during the years 1773 to 1856? Explain
your answer. [14]

Ans: British established themselves in India through their educational reforms. British had carried a
firm belief in the superiority of their culture, especially their educational system. According to a
British official in 1835, "a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native
literature of India and Arabia". British felt justified in holding such views as they had emerged a
military giant and scientifically advanced due to their success in science and technology. They
considered it their duty to spread their superior culture.

They introduced English as the official language in 1834 and gradually popularised their own
education system. This scheme was master-minded by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Several schools,
many run by Christian missionaries, were set up throughout India, 1830 onwards. These steps had a
westernising effect on India but Indians resisted it inwardly as they thought the British were trying to
impose their culture on India.
British also took steps to introduce other social reforms. They abolished Sattee, a Hindu custom of
burning widow alive on the cremation of her husband. They eradicated Thuggee, another Hindu
ritual of killing their victims in the name of a goddess. In 1830, Colonel Sleeman's army arrested 2000
thugs. This step was welcomed by Indians as the custom had terrified Hindus and Muslims alike. In
1795, female infanticide (killing baby daughters) was abolished by the EIC and it was declared as an
act of murder. Most Hindus resisted this and the ban on Sattee because they considered these British
acts as direct interference with the local religious and cultural traditions. Eventually, however, these
British attempts had a good effect on Indian life.

In 1833, the EIC allowed Christian missionaries to preach in India. Accordingly. several missionaries
began their mission of spreading Christianity in India. They also spread Western knowledge and way
of life, thinking themselves superior to the local people. As a result, the missionaries got intolerant
towards Indians, and this caused resentment among Indians. Gradually, there were conversions
among locals, especially among the Sudras. Christianity slowly emerged as a major religion in India.
Also, a new community, Anglo-Indians emerged in India. British EIC made it compulsory for Indian
sepoys to serve the EIC army wherever needed. According to Hindu belief, a caste Hindu would lose
caste by traveling overseas and so, this step of EIC was condemned by Hindu community.

British also affected the economy of India by their involvement with the local economic matters. They
imposed heavy taxes on Indians to fully exploit local resources. Some of the tax collectors became
corrupt and kept the money with themselves. Peasants and small land owners were worst affected by
heavy taxes. Salaries of Indian sepoys were kept lower than British soldiers. Indian wealth and raw
materials were used to feed British factories in England, while Indian markets were flooded with
British manufactured goods. Local products could not match these goods in quality and price.
Consequently, many rich Indians became poor. A British official remarked on this by equating the
phenomenon with "a sponge, drawing up all the good things from the banks of the Ganges, and
squeezing them down on the banks of the Thames". Indians felt exploited and economically ruined
and gradually hatred grew against the British leading to the 1857 uprising.

To conclude, seems that educational reforms affected Indians more than other reforms because, with
a new education system, British were able to raise a team of Indians fully loyal to the British. These
Indians opposed any uprising against their new rulers.