India Chapter 1, Part 3 The British Raj Flashcards
(26 cards)
Why and how did the British reorganise the governance of India?
In the aftermath of the Mutiny, the British took official control of India.
In 1858, the East Indian Company was abolished, and Queen Victoria became the ruler of India.
From 1877, India was declared an empire under the Queen-Empress.
What was the Royal Proclamation issued by the queen in 1858?
Included promises to admit suitably educated Indians into the administration of Indian government and this promise led to the involvement of Indians at all levels in the administration.
What was the Structure of Government in India in 1914?
1) The BRITISH RAJ
2) THE SECRETARY OF STATE
3) THE COUNCIL OF INDIA:
4) THE VICEROY:
5) GOVERNORS OF THE 11 BRITISH PROVINCES
6) THE INDIA CIVIL SERVICE (ICS)
7) THE PRINCELY STATES:
What was the Viceroy?
In India, Viceroy was supreme, the representative of the monarch but appointed by the prime minister and accountable to the secretary of state
What was the role of the Viceroy?
The Viceroy had a military commander-in-chief in India and was advised by a national Legislative Council, mostly composed of British officials.
He Viceroy had considerable powers of delegated government and, in state of emergency, absolute power.
Why was the personal and political relationship between the Secretary of state crucial?
Crucial to the initiation or not, of constitutional and political developments.
What was the Secretary of State?
A political appointment, responsible for developing government policy toward India and answerable to parliament.
He was guided and advised by the Council of India.
What were the role of the governors of the 11 British provinces?
They were advised by the provincial councils although only certain matters were permitted for discussion and decision.
What was the Council of India?
An advisory body to the Secretary of State for India
What was the problem with the Council of India?
Based in London and consisted of 15 men, none Indian, but most had experience living and working in India, which meant that their experience was often alarmingly out-of-date and occasionally dangerously inappropriate.
What was the role of the Indian Civil Service (ICS)?
Ensured that British laws, rules and regulations were implemented in India.
It was hierarchical in structure, with power filtering down from the Crown to the humblest local official.
How many people compromised the Indian Civil Service?
Compromised about 2000 administrators for a population of 350 million, backed up 60,000 British soldiers and 200,000 Indians
What were the princely states?
These were states not ruled by the British. About 1/5 of the population, 72 million people, were the subjects of the 561 Indian rulers
The princes were independent states and some like Hyderabad were larger than Britain’s.
Under what condition did the British sttop acquiring princely territory?
They permitted the Indian princes to continue to rule as a regard for loyalty during the mutiny and partly to save more direct expense by the government.
They were forced to acknowledge Britain as the paramount power within the subcontinent.
Who was the Viceroy between 1859-1925
Lord Curzon
High-minded and high-handed late Victorian aristocrat, passionate about protecting India as a British possession but quick to punish British incompetence
What was the Partition of Bengal in 1905?
- The Viceroy, Lord Curzon decided that the province should be partitioned and to use a policy of divide and rule.
Why was Bengal partitioned?
Had a population of 78 million thus prone to unrest and unruliness and difficult to administer. In was partioned In 1905, in an attempt to gain greater control
What two new provinces were created in 1905 as a result of partition?
Western Bengal: 42 million Hindus 9 million Muslims
Eastern BengalL 12 million Hindus, 18 million Muslims
What was the Hindu Reaction to Partition?
The Bengali Hindus were outraged because the partition cut right through the unity of Bengali-speaking communities in order to create a majority Muslim province with equal status.
What was the Muslime Reaction to Partition?
In the short term, Muslims were delighted with their majority in the East.
This would provide them with a power base if when Indians were able to elect provincial governments.
What was the reaction of the Indian National Congress?
Launched a campaign of Swadesh, in particular against Lancashire cotton which was publicly burned.
What was the Indian Councils Act 1900
The government had been caught out by the Bengal agitation and the support for Swadesh.
It was aware that the public feared the unrest might spark off another mutiny.
Lord Morley, secretary of state of the new Liberal government In Britain, proposed an increase of Indian involvement in its own government.
It proposed the Morley-Minto Reforms
What were the Morley-Minto Reforms
The Act resulted in a small number of elected members, including Indians being added to the Legislative Councils at all levels of government.
What was the purpose of the Morley-Minto Reforms?
In an attempt to widen the scope of the legislative councils, increase the participation of Indians in governance, and formally introduced the principle of elections in India for the very first time.
Council seats were reserved for Muslims, among other social groups.
A principle of weightage was applied to make the minority groups larger than they would be if strict proportionate to population numbers. This was a crucial precedent.
