Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through
diplomacy or military force. Imperialism in India had a positive and a negative effect on
both Great Britain and for India. European imperialism was widespread in the late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It resulted in the carving up of areas of Africa and
Asia into vast colonial empires. This was the case for British colonialism in India. As
imperialism spread, the colonizer and colony viewed imperialism differently. They saw
both positive and negative effects of imperialism.
Imperialism in India had a positive and a negative effect on Great Britain. The
positive side is that they got the resources they needed to grow economically. India
became an agricultural colony of industrial England. India’s agricultural colony supplied
raw material and provided markets for England’s industrial goods (Doc 7). The negative
side is that Europeans set up a separate, segregated, and very racist society. When the
British began to rule India directly they started to treat the Indians wrongly. Due to this
people started to turn against the British. For example, Gandhi, according to him they
take away our money from year to year. The most important posts are reserved for
themselves. We are kept in a state of slavery. They behave insultingly towards us and
disregard our feelings (doc 8).
Imperialism in India had a positive and a negative effect on India. The positive side
is that the British are helping the India colony grow. According to Dadabhai Naoroj, the
British rule has been – morally, a great blessing; politically, peace and order on one hand
but on the other, materially and impoverishment (Doc 2). The negative side is that the
Indian people feel like they’re in a parasitic relationship when British takes everything
from India, living and growing from it and India doesn’t benefit. According to Naoroji, this
is imperialism is his own eyes as an Indian. He believes that the British occupy almost all
the higher places in every department of government. Natives, no matter how fit, are
deliberately kept out of the social institutions started by Europeans. All the Europeans do
is live from India while they are here. When they go, they carry all they have gained (Doc
2)
Imperialism in India had a positive and a negative effect on both Great Britain and
for India. European imperialism was widespread in the late nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. It resulted in the carving up of areas of Africa and Asia into vast colonial
empires. This was the case for British colonialism in India. As imperialism spread, the
colonizer and colony viewed imperialism differently. They saw both positive and negative
effects of imperialism from both the eyes of Great Britain and the eyes of the Indian
people.