Unit 1 Flashcards
(34 cards)
What did the population of India look like in 1914?
300 million
- 70% Hindu
- 20% Muslim (largest minority)
- other minorities = Sikhs, Christians
- built on a caste system, untouchables = the lowest caste
What did British rule of India look like by 1914?
- Britain exported manufactured commodities to India, allowing British industries to prosper but impacting Indian ones e.g. tariffs on Lancashire cotton were removed in 1879, impacting Indian cotton
- 1/10 of British overseas investment was in India (£360 mill)
- British presence in India secured by the Indian Army (250,000 - one of the largest volunteer armies at the time, second only to the British army)
- ran India through the Indian Civil Service (exams held in London in English so mostly inaccessible to Indians)
- British Raj officials = wealthy, treated as superior, sent their children back to
England for boarding school
What are some examples of British ‘divide and rule’ policies pre-1914?
1905 Partition of Bengal (rescinded in 1911, initially to curb influence of Bengali politicians but fuelled nationalist sentiment and the swadeshi movt AND set a precedent for partition being a ‘solution’ the British were willing to try).
- 1909 Indian Councils Act (implemented by Sec of State Morley and Viceroy Minto, separate electorates + increased Indian representation in councils)
How did Indians express support for WWl?
- 27 largest princely states gave use of their armies to Britain
- INC and ML offered support, Gandhi urged people to enlist
- 1918: 827,000 Indians enlisted (on top of those in the army already)
- reason for loyalty = sense of Britain as ‘mother country’ (cited the king in
letters), joining soldier caste etc.
What was India’s military contribution to WW1 (and the impact of it)?
- 1.5 million combatant and non-combatant roles
- 184,000 animals
- useful for fighting in Middle East due to suitable climate and proximity to supplies from India (but poorly led/equipped, surrendered to Turkish in April 1916)
- IMPACT = 60,000 died, 65,000 injured (greater than all other Imperial impacts and more dead than USA)
What was India’s economic contribution to WW1
- £146 million from Indian revenue went towards the war (1/2 as loans)
- 3.7 million tonnes of military supplies produced
What was the economic impact of India’s contribution to WW1?
POSITIVE
- industries such as cotton/ iron/ chemicals expanded to replace imported goods
- shareholder dividends skyrocketed e.g. by 24% for Bombay cloth mills
(1914-17)
NEGATIVE
- price of grain rose by 93%, of domestic goods by 60%, of imported goods by 90%
- combined with no monsoon in 1918-19, there were grain shortages and famine
What was the social impact of WWl on India?
- sporadic outbreaks of petty violence/ rioting
- support for Raj crumbled and grew for independence.
- turned Congress into a more radical group
What was the environment globally and in Britain post-war (1917/18)?
anti-imperialist shift:
- Bolshevik revolution
- Wilson’s 14 points (anti imperialist programme for world peace)
- Balfour Declaration (est. “home for Jewish people”)
- Britain: WW1 nearly bankrupted them (less keen to look after the colonies), liberals voted in, 1918 universal suffrage
What dilemma did the war create for the British in India?
- most Indians were looking for increased self-governance as a result of their loyalty
- British couldn’t ignore own belief in democracy BUT wanted to preserve Raj
What was the Montagu Declaration
- Montagu = liberal Sec. of State for India, believed in greater self-gov
for India - 20th August 1917, announcement delivered to HoC
- outlined his plans for increasing Indian participation in self-governance and administration of India
- NO timescale, dual government (Britain still maintaining control) not independence - Raj always one step behind nationalist demands
What were the Rowlatt Acts and why were they introduced?
- extension of wartime martial law (1915 Defence of India Act) introduced in March 1919
- to control increased revolutionary turbulence (Punjab, Bombay and Bengal)
- legalised imprisonment without trial for up to 2 years, trial without a jury, censorship.
What was the initial Indian reaction to the Rowlatt Acts?
- all 22 Indian members of the legislative council opposed (but were outvoted)
- Jinnah (wrote furious letter to Chelmsford accusing Raj -> irresponsible) and several colleagues resigned from council
What happened in the build up to Amritsar?
- in response to the Rowlatt Acts, Gandhi called for satyagraha + hartals were organised in most of India’s provinces (Hindu-Muslim coalition) BUT failed because they weren’t strictly observed and erupted into violence in Gujarat and Punjab (showed satyagraha only worked if everyone understood its tenets + was committed)
- 10 April: 2 organisers arrested - riots - anti-Raj protests (3 Europeans killed, Marcia Sherwood brutally assaulted)
- 1l April: over 100 British women + children take refuge in Gobindgarh Fort, British lose control of Amritsar
- Gov O’Dwyer is convinced the riots = planned uprising so sends General Dyer in with 1000 soldiers.
What was the Amritsar Massacre?
- 13 April 1919 = religious day, thousands worshipping at the Golden Temple 4) in Jallainwala Bagh
- Dyer bans meetings + sets a curfew, 10,000 ignore this and gather in Jallainwala Bagh, condemning Rowlatt Acts
- no warning + no ability to escape when Dyer + troops appear and fire 1650 rounds of bullets for 10 mins
- 400 killed, 1500 wounded
- Dyer then est. marital law in Amritsar, Indians had to salaam to Europeans + Crawling Order on road where Marcia Sherwood had been assaulted.
What was the response to Amritsar?
- Indians - deep anger towards Raj
- Punjab section of INC publish own report, 1700 witness + graphic photos, savage indictment of the Raj
- divided public + political opinion in Britain: Commons censured Dyer on 8 July but Lords supported Dyer (19 July), the “Ladies of Punjab” expressed their gratitude and his entire garrison cheered him
- Montagu condemned event as terrorism - Hunter Commission in Nov which heard evidence of Dyer’s brutality, censured him and forced him to resign
What was the 1919 Government of India Act?
- Montagu-Chelmsford reforms = reforms for India by Montagu and ViceroyChelmsford, building on 1917 Montagu declaration
- put into law with the 1919 Government of India Act (Dec)
- introduced dyarchy
- provincial and legislative councils enlarged
- franchise was extended based on tax payments to 1 in 10 men but only 1% of women were enfranchised.
- separate electorates for ALL minority groups (DIVIDE AND RULE)
- Viceroy’s council had to have 3 Indians out of 6 members
Describe dyarchy in India after the 1919 Government of India Act?
Central responsibilities (British only - appointed)
- defence and foreign affairs
- tax (income, salt, customs, duties)
- postal communications and railways
Provincial responsibilities (shared)
Reserved matters (British provincial governors and executive council
- appointed)
- land revenue
- law and justice
- police
- irrigation
- labour
Transferred matters (Indian provincial ministers and legislative council
- elected)
- local self-govt
- education
- health
- works + agriculture
What was the Indian reaction to the Government of India Act?
- Many Hindus hated idea of ‘reserved’ seats, believing them to be divisive and undemocratic
- bitterly disappointed those hoping for home rule
- contrast between rapid passage of Rowlatt Acts (repression) and the 2 years between Montagu Declaration and 1919 Gol Act (concessions) seemed to show true priorities of the Raj
- Rowlatt Acts very nearly wrecked the Gol Act as Congress boycotted the first elections held under the 1919 Act
What is the INC
- founded in 1885, it began as a forum for debate amongst privileged high a i case Hindus (but also included Muslims)
- transformed into India’s largest political party (began w/ Partition of Bengal but then transformed with emergence of Gandhi)
Who was Gandhi and how did he rise to prominence?
- began as a lawyer in South Africa but then returned to India in 1914 and pivoted to becoming a peasant leader as he developed his satyagraha ideology (non-violent non-cooperation) to aim for swaraj
- radical conservative: believed in the caste system and supported the war effort
- 1917: intervened in local situations e.g. fasted to protest the low pay of cotton mill workers in Ahmedabad, and formed useful relationships e.g. with rising Nehru + muslims and businessmen (2 groups ignored by Congress - muslims later supported his takeover at 1920 Nagpur Congress and businessmen bankrolled his non-cooperation campaign)
What was the Muslim League?
- founded in 1906
- originally an anti-Congress body to represent Muslims
- but did end up working with Congress in the early period
Why did Muslims want separate electorates?
they were still minorities in most states and would be outvoted + disenfranchised in a democracy
What are some examples of Muslims and Hindus forming a coalition against the Raj between 1914-20?
- 1916 Lucknow Pact
- 1915, Muslim League and Congress held sessions in Bombay committing themselves to objective of self gov
- 1920 Nagpur Congress: muslims supported Gandhi’s takeover of Congress
