Rebellion of 1857 and its consequences

Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, one of the principal leaders of the rebellion who earlier had lost her kingdom as a result of the Doctrine of lapse.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor. Crowned Emperor of India by the rebels, he was deposed by the British and died in exile in Burma.
Charles Canning, the Governor-General of India during the rebellion.
Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856, who devised the Doctrine of Lapse.

The Indian rebellion of 1857 was a large-scale rebellion by soldiers employed by the British East India Company in northern and central India against the company's rule. The spark that led to the mutiny was the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle, which was insensitive to local religious prohibition. The key mutineer was Mangal Pandey.^[351] In addition, the underlying grievances over British taxation, the ethnic gulf between the British officers and their Indian troops and land annexations played a significant role in the rebellion. Within weeks after Pandey's mutiny, dozens of units of the Indian army joined peasant armies in widespread rebellion. The rebel soldiers were later joined by Indian nobility, many of whom had lost titles and domains under the Doctrine of Lapse and felt that the company had interfered with a traditional system of inheritance. Rebel leaders such as Nana Sahib and the Rani of Jhansi belonged to this group.^[352]

After the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels very quickly reached Delhi. The rebels had also captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces and Awadh (Oudh). Most notably, in Awadh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against British presence.^[353] However, the British East India Company mobilised rapidly with the assistance of friendly Princely states, but it took the British the better part of 1858 to suppress the rebellion. Due to the rebels being poorly equipped and having no outside support or funding, they were brutally subdued.^[354]

In the aftermath, all power was transferred from the British East India Company to the British Crown, which began to administer most of India as provinces. The Crown controlled the company's lands directly and had considerable indirect influence over the rest of India, which consisted of the Princely states ruled by local royal families. There were officially 565 princely states in 1947, but only 21 had actual state governments, and only three were large (Mysore, Hyderabad, and Kashmir). They were absorbed into the independent nation in 1947–48.^[355]

British Raj (1858–1947)

British Raj

The British Indian Empire in 1909. British India is shown in pink; the princely states in yellow.

A 1903 stereographic image of Victoria Terminus a terminal train station, in Mumbai, completed in 1887, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After 1857, the colonial government strengthened and expanded its infrastructure via the court system, legal procedures, and statutes. The Indian Penal Code came into being.^[356] In education, Thomas Babington Macaulay had made schooling a priority for the Raj in 1835 and succeeded in implementing the use of English for instruction. By 1890 some 60,000 Indians had matriculated.^[357] The Indian economy grew at about 1% per year from 1880 to 1920, and the population also grew at 1%. However, from 1910s Indian private industry began to grow significantly. India built a modern railway system in the late 19th century which was the fourth largest in the world.^[358] Historians have been divided on issues of economic history, with the Nationalist school arguing that India was poorer due to British rule.^[359]

In 1905, Lord Curzon split the large province of Bengal into a largely Hindu western half and "Eastern Bengal and Assam", a largely Muslim eastern half. The British goal was said to be efficient administration but the people of Bengal were outraged at the apparent "divide and rule" strategy. It also marked the beginning of the organised anti-colonial movement. When the Liberal party in Britain came to power in 1906, he was removed. Bengal was reunified in 1911. The new Viceroy Gilbert Minto and the new Secretary of State for India John Morley consulted with Congress leaders on political reforms. The Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 provided for Indian membership of the provincial executive councils as well as the Viceroy's executive council. The Imperial Legislative Council was enlarged from 25 to 60 members and separate communal representation for Muslims was established in a dramatic step towards representative and responsible government.^[360] Several socio-religious organisations came into being at that time. Muslims set up the All India Muslim League in 1906 to protect the interests of the aristocratic Muslims. The Hindu Mahasabha and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sought to represent Hindu interests though the latter always claimed it to be a "cultural" organisation.^[361] Sikhs founded the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1920.^[362] However, the largest and oldest political party Indian National Congress, founded in 1885, attempted to keep a distance from the socio-religious movements and identity politics.^[363]

Two silver rupee coins issued by the British Raj in 1862 and 1886 respectively, the first in obverse showing a bust of Victoria, Queen, the second of Victoria, Empress. Victoria became Empress of India in 1876.
Ronald Ross, left, at Cunningham's laboratory of Presidency Hospital in Calcutta, where the transmission of malaria by mosquitoes was discovered, winning Ross the second Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902.
A Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train shown in 1870. The railway became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
A second-day cancellation of the stamps issued in February 1931 to commemorate the inauguration of New Delhi as the capital of the British Indian Empire. Between 1858 and 1911, Calcutta had been the capital of the Raj.

Indian Renaissance

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898), the author of Causes of the Indian Mutiny, was the founder of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, later the Aligarh Muslim University
Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922) was a social reformer, and a pioneer in the education and emancipation of women in India
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a Bengali language poet, short-story writer, and playwright, and in addition a music composer and painter, who won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1913
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920) was an Indian mathematician who made seminal contributions to number theory

The Bengali Renaissance refers to a social reform movement, dominated by Bengali Hindus, in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period of British rule. Historian Nitish Sengupta describes the renaissance as having started with reformer and humanitarian Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1775–1833), and ended with Asia's first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941).^[364] This flowering of religious and social reformers, scholars, and writers is described by historian David Kopf as "one of the most creative periods in Indian history."^[365]

During this period, Bengal witnessed an intellectual awakening that is in some way similar to the Renaissance. This movement questioned existing orthodoxies, particularly with respect to women, marriage, the dowry system, the caste system, and religion. One of the earliest social movements that emerged during this time was the Young Bengal movement, which espoused rationalism and atheism as the common denominators of civil conduct among upper caste educated Hindus.^[366] It played an important role in reawakening Indian minds and intellect across the Indian subcontinent.

Famines

Map of famines in India during British Empire in year 1800–1885.
Engraving from The Graphic, October 1877, showing the plight of animals as well as humans in Bellary district, Madras Presidency, British India during the Great Famine of 1876–1878
Government famine relief, Ahmedabad, India, during the Indian famine of 1899–1900
A picture of orphans who survived the Bengal famine of 1943, a man-made disaster by the British government

During British East India Company and British Crown rule, India experienced some of deadliest ever recorded famines. These famines, usually resulting from crop failures and often exacerbated by policies of the colonial government,^[367] included the Great Famine of 1876–1878 in which 6.1 million to 10.3 million people died,^[368] the Great Bengal famine of 1770 where between 1 and 10 million people died,^[369]^[370] the Indian famine of 1899–1900 in which 1.25 to 10 million people died,^[367] and the Bengal famine of 1943 where between 2.1 and 3.8 million people died.^[371] The Third plague pandemic in the mid-19th century killed 10 million people in India.^[372] Despite persistent diseases and famines, the population of the Indian subcontinent, which stood at up to 200 million in 1750,^[373] had reached 389 million by 1941.^[374]

World War I

Indian Cavalry on the Western front 1914
Indian cavalry from the Deccan Horse during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge in 1916.
Indian Army gunners (probably 39th Battery) with 3.7-inch mountain howitzers, Jerusalem 1917
India Gate is a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in the period 1914–21 in the First World War

During World War I, over 800,000 volunteered for the army, and more than 400,000 volunteered for non-combat roles, compared with the pre-war annual recruitment of about 15,000 men.^[375] The Army saw early action on the Western Front at the First Battle of Ypres. After a year of front-line duty, sickness and casualties had reduced the Indian Corps to the point where it had to be withdrawn. Nearly 700,000 Indians fought the Turks in the Mesopotamian campaign. Indian formations were also sent to East Africa, Egypt, and Gallipoli.^[376]

Indian Army and Imperial Service Troops fought during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign's defence of the Suez Canal in 1915, at Romani in 1916 and to Jerusalem in 1917. India units occupied the Jordan Valley and after the German spring offensive they became the major force in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force during the Battle of Megiddo and in the Desert Mounted Corps' advance to Damascus and on to Aleppo. Other divisions remained in India guarding the North-West Frontier and fulfilling internal security obligations.

One million Indian troops served abroad during the war. In total, 74,187 died,^[377] and another 67,000 were wounded.^[378] The roughly 90,000 soldiers who died fighting in World War I and the Afghan Wars are commemorated by the India Gate.

World War II

General Claude Auchinleck (right), Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, with the then Viceroy Wavell (centre) and General Montgomery (left)
Indian women training for Air Raid Precautions (ARP) duties in Bombay in 1942
Indian infantrymen of the 7th Rajput Regiment about to go on patrol on the Arakan front in Burma, 1944
The stamp series "Victory" issued by the Government of British India to commemorate allied victory in World War II

British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939.^[379] The British Raj, as part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million volunteer soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. Additionally, several Princely States provided large donations to support the Allied campaign. India also provided the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theatre.

Indians fought throughout the world, including in the European theatre against Germany, in North Africa against Germany and Italy, against the Italians in East Africa, in the Middle East against the Vichy French, in the South Asian region defending India against the Japanese and fighting the Japanese in Burma. Indians also aided in liberating British colonies such as Singapore and Hong Kong after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Over 87,000 soldiers from the subcontinent died in World War II.

The Indian National Congress denounced Nazi Germany but would not fight it or anyone else until India was independent. Congress launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942, refusing to co-operate in any way with the government until independence was granted. The government immediately arrested over 60,000 national and local Congress leaders. The Muslim League rejected the Quit India movement and worked closely with the Raj authorities.

Subhas Chandra Bose (also called Netaji) broke with Congress and tried to form a military alliance with Germany or Japan to gain independence. The Germans assisted Bose in the formation of the Indian Legion;^[380] however, it was Japan that helped him revamp the Indian National Army (INA), after the First Indian National Army under Mohan Singh was dissolved. The INA fought under Japanese direction, mostly in Burma.^[381] Bose also headed the Provisional Government of Free India (or Azad Hind), a government-in-exile based in Singapore.^[382]^[383]

By 1942, neighbouring Burma was invaded by Japan, which by then had already captured the Indian territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Japan gave nominal control of the islands to the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, and in the following March, the Indian National Army with the help of Japan crossed into India and advanced as far as Kohima in Nagaland. This advance on the mainland of the Indian subcontinent reached its farthest point on Indian territory, retreating from the Battle of Kohima in June and from that of Imphal on 3 July 1944.

The region of Bengal in British India suffered a devastating famine during 1940–1943. An estimated 2.1–3 million died from the famine, frequently characterised as "man-made",^[384] with most sources asserting that wartime colonial policies exacerbated the crisis.^[385]

Indian independence movement (1885–1947)

The first session of the Indian National Congress in 1885. A. O. Hume, the founder, is shown in the middle (third row from the front). The Congress was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa.^[386]
Front page of the Tribune (25 March 1931), reporting the execution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev by the British for the murder of 21-year-old police officer J. P. Saunders. Bhagat Singh quickly became a folk hero of the Indian independence movement.
From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi (right), the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement.^[387] Gandhi is shown here with Jawaharlal Nehru, later the first prime minister of India.

The numbers of British in India were small,^[388] yet they were able to rule 52% of the Indian subcontinent directly and exercise considerable leverage over the princely states that accounted for 48% of the area.^[389]

One of the most important events of the 19th century was the rise of Indian nationalism,^[390] leading Indians to seek first "self-rule" and later "complete independence". However, historians are divided over the causes of its rise. Probable reasons include a "clash of interests of the Indian people with British interests",^[390] "racial discriminations",^[391] and "the revelation of India's past".^[392]

The first step toward Indian self-rule was the appointment of councillors to advise the British viceroy in 1861 and the first Indian was appointed in 1909. Provincial Councils with Indian members were also set up. The councillors' participation was subsequently widened into legislative councils. The British built a large British Indian Army, with the senior officers all British and many of the troops from small minority groups such as Gurkhas from Nepal and Sikhs.^[393] The civil service was increasingly filled with natives at the lower levels, with the British holding the more senior positions.^[394]

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian nationalist leader, declared Swaraj (home rule) as the destiny of the nation. His popular sentence "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it"^[395] became the source of inspiration. Tilak was backed by rising public leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, who held the same point of view, notably they advocated the Swadeshi movement involving the boycott of imported items and the use of Indian-made goods;^[396] the triumvirate were popularly known as Lal Bal Pal. In 1907, the Congress was split into two factions: The radicals, led by Tilak, advocated civil agitation and direct revolution to overthrow the British Empire and the abandonment of all things British. The moderates, led by leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, on the other hand, wanted reform within the framework of British rule.^[396]

The partition of Bengal in 1905 further increased the revolutionary movement for Indian independence. The disenfranchisement lead some to take violent action.

The British themselves adopted a "carrot and stick" approach in response to renewed nationalist demands. The means of achieving the proposed measure were later enshrined in the Government of India Act 1919, which introduced the principle of a dual mode of administration, or diarchy, in which elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials shared power.^[397] In 1919, Colonel Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire their weapons on peaceful protestors, including unarmed women and children, resulting in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre; which led to the Non-cooperation Movement of 1920–1922. The massacre was a decisive episode towards the end of British rule in India.^[398]

From 1920 leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi began highly popular mass movements to campaign against the British Raj using largely peaceful methods. The Gandhi-led independence movement opposed the British rule using non-violent methods like non-co-operation, civil disobedience and economic resistance. However, revolutionary activities against the British rule took place throughout the Indian subcontinent and some others adopted a militant approach like the Hindustan Republican Association, that sought to overthrow British rule by armed struggle.

The All India Azad Muslim Conference gathered in Delhi in April 1940 to voice its support for an independent and united India.^[399] Its members included several Islamic organisations in India, as well as 1,400 nationalist Muslim delegates.^[400]^[401]^[402] The pro-separatist All-India Muslim League worked to try to silence those nationalist Muslims who stood against the partition of India, often using "intimidation and coercion".^[401]^[402] The murder of the All India Azad Muslim Conference leader Allah Bakhsh Soomro also made it easier for the pro-separatist All-India Muslim League to demand the creation of a Pakistan.^[402]

After World War II (c. 1946–1947)

"A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new; when an age ends; and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance."

— From, Tryst with destiny, a speech given by Jawaharlal Nehru to the Constituent Assembly of India on the eve of independence, 14 August 1947.^[403]

In January 1946, several mutinies broke out in the armed services, starting with that of RAF servicemen frustrated with their slow repatriation. The mutinies came to a head with mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay in February 1946, followed by others in Calcutta, Madras, and Karachi. The mutinies were rapidly suppressed. In early 1946, new elections were called and Congress candidates won in eight of the eleven provinces.

Late in 1946, the Labour government decided to end British rule of India, and in early 1947 it announced its intention of transferring power no later than June 1948 and participating in the formation of an interim government.

Along with the desire for independence, tensions between Hindus and Muslims had also been developing over the years. Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah proclaimed 16 August 1946 as Direct Action Day, with the stated goal of highlighting, peacefully, the demand for a Muslim homeland in British India, which resulted in the outbreak of the cycle of violence that would be later called the "Great Calcutta Killing of August 1946". The communal violence spread to Bihar, Noakhali in Bengal, Garhmukteshwar in the United Provinces, and on to Rawalpindi in March 1947 in which Sikhs and Hindus were attacked or driven out by Muslims.