FOUNDATIONS OF COLONIAL RULE IN INDIA

Pre-British rule:

 Self-sufficient village community: India was a self-sufficient and flourishing economy.

Agriculture was carried on with the primitive plough and bullock power and handicrafts by
means of simple instruments.
 Devastating wars, rise and fall of various dynasty’s but the self-sufficient village survived.
 Village population was mainly composed of peasants. The village community was the owner
of the village land and it distributed this land among the peasant families in the form of
holdings. Each holding was cultivated by the peasant family by means of the collective
labour of its members and with the aid of the primitive plough and bullocks. The peasant
family enjoyed a traditional hereditary right to possess and cultivate its holding from
generation to generation.
 no private property existed; the land belongs to the village community. The village land was
not regarded as the property of the king.

Nature of village economy: agricultural production and industrial workers (weaver, carpenter, potter
etc)

Nature of urban economy:

 Few towns. Three kinds of towns:

 political importance: capitals of kingdoms and empires.
 Towns of religious significance: centres of religious worship and places of pilgrimage.
 Commercial value: sea coast with strategic trade routes.
 Handicraft industries, textile industries, glass manufacture (best developed industry), iron,
ivory (most sought after)

Decline of Mughal empire:

 Started with the victory of Babur in 1526 (Battle of Panipat between Babur forces and Lodi
dynasty- end of sultanate in India)
 1658-1707: Aurangzeb- expanded the expire to its greatest extend.
 Causes of decline of Mughal empire:
 Aurangzeb’s faulty policies: Jats, Satnamis and Sikhs revolted. Conflict with Marathas.
 Lack of strong successor:
 Lack of strong army.
 Economic decline and bankruptcy. (Continuous conflict)
 Poor administration.
 By 1761, Mughal empire was only in name but the symbolic authority remained. local
powers have asserted their independence.

East India Company, Death of Aurangzeb and rise of British power in India, Establishment of British
imperialism Bengal, Battle of Plassey(1757), Battle of Buxar 1764, Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799),
Anglo-Maratha Wars and Anglo-Sikh Wars.

Foundation of British Empire:

East India Company was founded by a royal charter on December 31st 1600.

British commercial interest in overseas countries. Objective of the charter is not on the governance
of the territory but purely for commercial enterprise.
The company formally started trading in India in 1613.

Mughal emperor Jahangir gave the company permission to establish their factories/ warehouse in
India- first factory in Surat. (1617)

Provisions of the charter:

 The charter was to have a life span of 15 years

 Can be revoked prior to that on 2 years notice, if the trade does not appear to be profitable.
 India, Asia, Africa and America fall within their geographical limits.
 The company has exclusive trading rights
 No British subject allowed to carry on trade without license from the company.
 Unauthorized British traders were liable to forfeiture of ships and merchandise.
 The affairs of the company were to be conducted democratically.
 All of the members were to form the ‘General Court’ which is responsible for annually
electing the ‘Court of Directors’ consisting of a Governor and 24 Directors for managing the
affairs of the company. (Governor + 24 directors + shareholders)
 Objective of the charter is not on the governance of the territory but purely for commercial
enterprise.

The company gradually expanded their factories to Madras (1640), Bombay (1668) and Calcutta
(1690).

EIC was gradually conquering Indian territories:

Battle of Plassey (1757)

 It is a battle fought between the East India Company force headed by Robert Clive and Siraj-
Ud-Daulah (Nawab of Bengal).
 Conflict between the Nawab and British led to the battle of Plassey.
 It was fought on 23rd June 1757, between the forces of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula & the English
forces led by Robert Clive
 The victory of the East India Company in the Battle of Plassey marks the establishment of
British Rule in Bengal.
 This victory paved the way for the emergence of British rule.
 Post the victory, the British started imposing severe rules and regulations on the inhabitants
of Bengal in the name of tax collection.
 Mir Jafar became the nawab. (Who became the puppet of British)

Battle of Buxar: (1764)

Fought between English forces on one hand and joint army of the Nawab of Oudh, Bengal and
Mughal emperor.

One of the main reasons behind the battle was the misuse of trade privileges granted to the British
by the Nawab of Bengal.

This war marked the end of ECI rule over Bengal through a puppet nawab.

The battle resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 where the Mughal emperor
surrendered Bengal to ECI.

Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799)

  A series of 4 military confrontations between the British and the rulers of Mysore.
 A Hindu kingdom emerge in the region of Mysore.
 Under the leadership of Haider Ali, Mysore became a strong territory.
 Mysore boundaries includes Malabar coast which threatens the political and commercial
interest of the English and their control over Madras. It also brought in conflict with the
Hyderabad and Marathas.
 The first round of confrontation: Marathas and Nizam joined hands with the British to fight
against Haider Ali.
 The second round: Marathas and Nizam joined forces with Haider Ali to fights against the
British.
 Third round: Tipu Sultan (son of Haider Ali) fought against the British, Nizam and Marathas.
Tipu was defeated and lost nearly half of his Mysorean territory.
 Fourth round: Tipu fought against the British, Nizam and Marathas and lost. Tipu died in the
war and his territory and treasuries were confiscated by the Britishers.

Anglo-Maratha Wars:

 The three wars fought between British East India Company and the Maratha Empire. A.K.A
Anglo-Maratha Wars.
 The wars started in 1775 and ended in 1818, with the victory of the British and the
destruction of the Maratha Empire in India.
 First Maratha War (1775-82):
 The main cause of the first Maratha war was the increased interference of the
British in the affairs, both internal and external, of the Marathas and also power
struggle between Madhav Rao and Raghunath Rao. To become Peshwar, Raghunath
Rao sought the help of the English to make him the Peshwa and in return, he
promised to hand over some territories.
 The combined armies of the English and Raghunath Rao attacked the Peshwa and
they won.
 The supremacy of Raghunath was denounced by British. British and Marathas went
to war again. Marathas won and got back their territories.
 Second Maratha War (1803-05):
 The Second Anglo-Maratha War was the second war fought between the British East
India Company and the Maratha Empire between 1803 and 1805.
 The main cause of the second Maratha war due to the defeat of the peshwa Baji Rao
II by the Holkars, one of the prominent Maratha clans, as a result of which he
accepted British protection by signing the Treaty of Bassein in December 1802.
 The other Maratha rulers such as the Gwalior's Scindia rulers and the Bhonsle rulers
of Nagpur and Berar did not accept this and they wanted to fight against the British.
As a result, the second Anglo-Maratha war broke out in Central India in 1803. The
British won the war and got back many Indian territories under the control of
Marathas.
 Third Maratha War (1817-18):
 The two main causes that led to the third and the final conflict between the British
and the Marathas were:
 the growing desire of the Marathas to get back their lost territories.
 Excessive control over Maratha nobles and chiefs by the British.
 The war took place in Maharashtra and neighbouring areas in the year between
1817 and 1818.
  The final war led to complete downfall of the Maratha empire and the whole of its
empire came under the control of the British East India Company.

After the defeat of Marathas, the entire Indian sub-continent except Punjab and Sindh had been
brought under British control.

Anglo-Sikh war:

First war (1845-1846):

Led to partial control of Sikh kingdom by British.

Second war (1848-1849):

Sikh lost the war and the whole of Punjab went to British East India company.

The Subsidiary Alliance treaty system

 Governor General Lord Wellesley (1798-1805) framed this policy to bring Indian kingdoms
under the control of ECI.
 Subsidiary Alliance was basically a treaty between the British East India Company and the
Indian princely states to build British Empire in India.
 The annexation of territories was not a result of victory in war but through the acceptance of
certain terms and conditions called subsidiary alliance.
 One of the objectives behind this alliance treaty was to keep the French from reviving and
expanding their influence in India. (Fear of Napoleon’s expedition)
 Through this system, the Britishers were able to stationed at strategic location and keep the
French at bay.

It was actually used for the first time by the French Governor-General Marquis Dupleix.

 Provisions of the Subsidiary Treaty:

 An Indian ruler entering into Subsidiary Alliance with the British had to dissolve his
own armed forces and accept British forces and British Resident in his territory.
 He had to pay for the British army’s maintenance.
 If he failed to pay for maintenance, a portion of his territory would be taken away
and ceded to the British.
 The protected prince was to sever all connections with European powers other than
the British, especially the French.
 No European should be employed without the permission of the British.
 No negotiation with any Indian princely states without the Company’s permission.
 No other Indian power to interfere in its internal affairs.
 Thus, the states brought under the system became dependent on the Company in
political and military matters, sacrificing their own sovereignty and status.
 The Indian rulers lost their independence by buying security.
 They lost much of their revenue, paying for the British troops.
 The alliance made the Indian rulers weak and powerless.
 The first state to fall under this protection trap was Awadh signed in 1765.
 Stages of evolution of subsidiary alliance:
 Firstly, Company offered to help a friendly Indian state with its troops to fight any
war the state might be engaged in.
  Secondly, establishing a common cause with the Indian state and thereby taking
over its territory with its own soldier and also the state soldiers.
 Thirdly, British asked only for money and in return they would train, recruit and
maintain British soldiers to protect the ruler and also keep out aggressors.
 The protection fee was set at exorbitant rates and failure to pay the amount leads to
annexing certain parts of its territories.

Doctrine of Lapse:

 a policy of the British East India Company under which if the ruler of a princely state died
without a natural heir, the state/territory would automatically be annexed to the British
empire.
 This policy followed was widely used by Lord Dalhousie when he was India’s Governor-
General from 1848 to 1856.
 The Doctrine of Lapse served as an instrument for the pursuit of its annexation policy.
 When the Crown took over India in 1858, Doctrine of Lapse was withdrawn.

Administrative reforms of the company:

 As the empire grew in size and resources, the need for efficient and authoritative
administrative system also emerged.
 The idea of improvement led to the introduction of British principles of justice and
uniformity in civil authority.
 In 1765, the Nawab of Bengal granted diwani rights to the EIC. In Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
the company was given the right to collect revenues. (mofussil)
 Mughal system of civil and criminal justice administration remained.
 When Warren Hasting took charge as the governor of Bengal in 1772, he decided to take full
control over the judicial system. He played an significant role in the expansion of company’s
power through various administrative reforms especially in the sphere of justice.
 He established Adalat system in mofussil territories with the help of Justice Elijah Impey (first
CJ of Calcutta high court)
 Under the new system, every district will have two courts, civil and criminal court:
 Mofussil Diwani Adalat: civil court (presided by British district collector and assisted
by Maulvis and Brahmin pundits to interpret personal laws)
 Mofussil Fozdari Adalat: criminal court (presided by Kazi and Muftis and supervised
by the collector)
 1781: the first code of civil procedure prepared in India. It was a compilation of rules,
regulations and orders pertaining to administration of justice to promote quick, inexpensive,
impartial justice and uniformity of procedure in all civil courts.
 In case of matter falling outside the purview of the code, judges of mofussil and
Sadar Adalat to act according to ‘justice, equity and good conscience’. (Clause led to
judicial legislation).

Legal foundations of colonial rule in India:

Charter of 1661:

 Charter established for the administration of justice in British settlements.

 Charter extended to everyone who lived under the company’s settlements including Indians.
 English laws applied.
Charter of 1726:

 Introduced to establish uniformity in judicial administration.

 Establishment of mayor’s court.
 All procedures of English law were introduced.

Regulating act 1773:

 Rampant corruption.
 Secret committee and select committee.
 First major intervention of the British parliament in the affairs of the company. (Earlier
through royal charters)
 British government given supervisory role of the company.
 Governor of Bengal appointed as the governor general of Bengal.
 GG and four council members vested with the responsibility to administer civil and military
government.
 Establishment of supreme court in Calcutta. (1774)- laid the foundations of central
administration in India.
 Establishment of SC in Madras (1800) Bombay (1823)- subject to the control of Calcutta.

Pitts India Act 1784:

 Made important changes to the administrative structure of the company.

 Introduced dual control of India by the Government of Britain and East India Company
 For political affairs- Board of control (civil and military affairs) (represent the British
government)
 For commercial affairs- court of directors. (Represents the company)- commercial activities
still under the company.
 Distinction was made in regards to the political functions and commercial activities of the
company.
 Act gave British government direct control over the administration of India.
 Company made subordinate to British government. (1773- only supervision)
 Expansion of Britain’s administrative control in India.

Relations with British Parliament:

 By mid-eighteenth century, as the company establishes itself in India, the difficulties in

communication with England gave Company servants a free hand in India to behave like
their own masters.
 There was misinformation and lack of interest about Indian affairs in Britain- new policies
were hardly ever initiated from London.
 Although the company began their territorial conquest- the relationship between the
Company and Britain was much more complex.
 Although company had to depend on British parliament for renewal of charter but the
company’s servant acted on the concept of “delegated sovereignty”- there was clear
instruction on how to divide the treasuries between the company and royal troops.
 There were always a few MPs with East Indian interests and the ministers used the
Company's resources for expanding the scope of their patronage.
 The Company was also an important element in the city politics of London, about which the
government was always keenly concerned.
 The conflicts between the parties within the Company often got aligned with wider political
configurations within the Parliament.
 As the rumours about the growing riches of the Company began to spread, there was even
greater eagerness on the part of the government to have a share of it.
 There had been government interventions in the Company's affairs in 1763 and 1764, paving
the way for a parliamentary intervention in 1766, over the rights of the state to the revenues
of the territories conquered with the help of the royal army.
 The result was the Company agreeing to pay£ 400,000 to the government annually.
 Thus, right from the beginning, the British state participated in and profited from the
empire.
 Although the state was profiting from the empire, the question was how to control it. The
need to impose greater parliamentary control over the Company's affairs increased during
the decades after Plassey, because of a growing concern about mis-government of the
Indian affairs by the corrupt servants of the Company.
 As the Company's empire in India expanded, the British government also felt that it could no
longer be allowed to remain outside the ambit of the state.
 Select and secret committee appointment in 1772 and passing of Regulating Act in 1773
which formally recognised parliamentary right to control Indian affairs.
 The Court of Directors of the Company would henceforth be obliged to submit all
communications received from Bengal about civil, military and revenue matters in India to
the British government.
 territories in India were also subjected to some degree of centralised control- governor of
Bengal was appointed as the governor general of Bengal.
 Charter of 1833- GG of Bengal became GG of India- empowered to legislate for the whole of
India. Codification of laws.
 Charter of 1853- company renewed indefinitely- The Company was allowed to retain the
Indian possessions- "in trust for Her Majesty, her heirs and successors until Parliament shall
otherwise provide", thus keeping the door ajar for a future takeover.
 India Act of 1858- British parliament formally abolished company’s administration in India.