THE DECOLONISATION OF
INDIA
•
•
•
•
•
Colonial rule and the origins for the fight for independence
Significant figures in India's independence
Movements and acts in the fight for India's independence
Methods used
Reasons for their success
Colonial rule and the origins for the fight for independence
Indirect rule over India was assumed through the British East India Company or better known as the East India company(EIC) . The East India
Company was set up in the mid-18th century by the British. Britain had to compete with France over control of overseas trade and empires
within India. The British and French were able to extend their rule in the country due to the disunity of the Mughal empire. As rivalry began
to grow between these two imperialist nations, armed conflict broke out, leading to a full-scale war in certain key areas within India.
The British had a stronger navy, allowing them to cut off supplies to the French, leading to their defeat at Pondicherry in 1761. After the
French defeat the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763 and the French gave up their claims to India, marking the start of the British Empire in
India. By the early 19th century, the East India Company was the dominant power in India. It originally started as a trading company trying to
capitalise on the lucrative business of trading Indian goods, but ended up becoming a powerful organisation with its own private armies,
ships, military bases and trading posts.
Towards the mid-19th century, officials in the EIC were more directly involved in Indian affairs. They started to introduce taxes to landowners
and enforce the use of English and making locals abide to English law as well as trying to forbid certain cultural practices and customs. With
growing dissatisfaction with the methods of ruling there were revolts against the British during the years 1857-1858 known as the Indian
uprising or the sepoy mutiny.
There are numerous long term factors which fuelled the Indian uprising, from an economic stand point the Indians had to pay British
landlords high amounts of rents, prices for exports for crops grown were low and taxes were high, from a political stand point, there was a
lot of resentment towards British expansion and the lack of representation and inclusion for Indians. The uprising was important because it
led to the abolishment of the East India company, leading to India laving lower taxes, sepoys gaining greater respect and more inclusion of
local leaders; allowing religious, cultural and social matters to be handled under their control
The abolishment of the EIC allowed Indian’s for a bit more freedom and set the pace for the move towards independence.
Significant figures in India's independence
With India’s independence spanning over 62 years, there has been a multitude of people who assisted in delivering the nation from the
hands of the British. The fight for independence was a cumulative effort of both moderates and extremists. A few figures who are well
known and widely recognised for their efforts include:
• Mahatma Ghandi - Gandhi advocated for non-violent resistance to imperial rule, and rose to become President of the Indian National
Congress. He led many of the non-violent actions such as marches, strikes and boycotts
• Kunwar Singh - The leader and military commander in the Indian revolution or better known as the sepoy mutiny. He was the chief
organiser of the fight against the British in Bihar.
• Vinayak Damodar Savarkar – H was an Indian politician and independence activist. He formulated the Hindu nationalist philosophy of
Hindutva and was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha.
• Ashfaqulla Khan - An Indian independence activist and a prominent freedom fighter. launch an organisation with like-minded freedom
fighters, which led to the formation of the Hindustan Republican Association in 1924. It aimed to organise armed revolutions to achieve
freedom for the country.
Brief Timeline
1857: The Indian rebellion; Sepoy mutiny
1858: Britain assumed control over India
1885: Formation of Indian national congress
1919: The Amritsar massacre
Rowlatt act
Khilafat movement
1920: Non-violent independence movement led by Ghandi
Non-cooperation movement (till August 1st 1922)
1930: March 12th – April 16th the Dandi (Salt) march
Civil disobedience movement (till 1934)
1935: Government of India Act
1947: India gains independence
Partition of Pakistan and India
• The Amritsar massacre The Amritsar massacre had
started in Punjab as the Rowlatt act was passed, putting
Punjab under martial law. On April 13 1919, on the
festival of Baisakhi, a crowd of non-violent protesters
gathered. General Dyer along with his troops open fire on
the unarmed crowd, injuring around 1200 people and
killing over 379.
• The Partition of India divided British India into the
countries of India and Pakistan (East and West Pakistan)
in 1947. That was part of the end of British Raj, British
rule in the Indian subcontinent. One reason for partition
was the two-nation theory, which was presented by Syed
Ahmed Khan and stated that Muslims and Hindus were
too different to be in one country. Pakistan became a
Muslim country.
• Founded in 1885 the Indian National Congress, or
Congress Party, was a broadly based political party of
India In the 1920s and ’30s, under Mohandas K. Gandhi, it
promoted noncooperation to protest the feebleness of
the constitutional reforms of 1919. During the second
World War, the party announced that India would not
give it’s support in the war until independence was
granted. The party leader Mahatma Gandhi supported
nonviolent acts of civil disobedience
Key movements and acts
Some of the movements which created a greater opportunity for India to attain independence included:
• Quit India movement
Ghandi opposed Indian solider fighting for the was because he believed that it was wrong for them to be asked for ‘freedom’ and against
fascism when India itself did not have independence 1942, Gandhi gave his famous ‘Quit India’ speech, in which he called upon the British
for and orderly withdrawal from India and urged Indians not to comply with British demands or colonial rule. The movement resulted in a
stronger wave of support for the Congress leaders and a growing demand for independence, which made the position of the British in India
untenable
• Government of India act
The Act introduced a novel system of government known as provincial "diarchy", i.e., certain areas of government (such as education) were
placed in the hands of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature, while others (such as public order and finance) were retained in
the hands of officials responsible to the British-appointed provincial Governor. While the Act was a reflection of the demand for a greater
role in government by Indians, it was also very much a reflection of British fears about what that role might mean in practice for India.
Diarchy proved unsatisfactory especially for Indian politicians as they were still under the controls of the British.
• Ghandi-Irwin pact
Gandhi was released from custody in January 1931 after his arrest in in the late 1930’ form the salt march. The two men began negotiating
the terms of the pact. In the end, Gandhi pledged to give up the satyagraha campaign, and Irwin agreed to release those who had been
imprisoned during it and to allow Indians to make salt for domestic use.
Key movements and acts
• Civil disobedience movement
Movement started in in 1930. After the British put tax on the selling and collecting of salt, the Indians were irritated because it was
being brought under the tax regime. The movement spread rapidly through out the country. After the Indian national Congress came
to power during the 1937. it was a strong message of the Indian people’s support for complete self-rule.
• Khilafat movement
Lasted from 1915 to 1924. It was a Pan-Islamist movement where the Muslims allied with the Indian Nationalist against the
British. The Khilafat Movement was an anti-British reaction which soon found support of the Muslims. The Khilafat
Movement saw the combined efforts of the Hindus and the Muslims under the supervision of the Indian National Congress
against the British Raj. The success strengthened allowed Mahatma Gandhi to bring together his Non-Cooperation movement
along with the Khilafat Movement for the combined efforts to vocalize their collective resentment against the British
• Indian self-rule movement (home rule movement)
fuelled by several factors one of which was the failure of the government of India act. lasted around two years between
1916–1918 and is believed to have set the stage for the independence movement under the leadership of Annie Besant and
Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Movement was able to unite the moderates, the extremists as well as the Muslim League for a short
time period. The home rule also allowed many Indians to be e politically educated and led to the Montague Declaration in
1917.
Methods used in India’s independence
A massacre at Amritsar set the stage for Mohandas K. Gandhi to emerge as the leader of the independence movement.
In 1920, the Congress Party endorsed civil disobedience, the deliberate and public refusal to obey an unjust regulation and non-violence as
the ability to reap independence. Gandhi then launched his campaign of civil disobedience also regarded as the “Satyagraha”, to weaken the
British authority and economic power over India.
By non-violent actions made famous by Gandhi, India was able to achieve her Independence. Mahatma Ghandi used non-violent methods
such as:
- Marches
- Boycotts
- Strikes
Methods used in India’s independence
• MARCHES
Most specifically the salt march which took place on March 12 – April 6 1930, Ghandi organized a demonstration to defy the hated Salt Acts.
According to the British laws, Indians could buy salt from no other source but the government. They additionally had to pay sales tax on
salt. To exhibit their oppression, Ghandi and his followers walked about 240 miles to the sea coast, the place they commenced to make their
personal salt with the aid of collecting seawater.
• BOYCOTTING
Ghandi call on Indians to refuse to guy British goods, attend government schools, pay British taxes or vote in elections. Ghandi staged a
successful boycott of British cloth, a source of wealth for the British. He urged all Indians to weave their personal cloth. As a result, the sale
of British fabric in India dropped sharply.
• STRIKES
There were numerous events where Gandhi went on strike, in particular starvation strikes to protest in opposition to British laws. Two
examples of this would be, one, when Gandhi was in jail he starved for 21 days as a protest in opposition to British rule, because of British
government’s decision to separate India’s electoral system by caste. Another was when eight months after his return to India in January
1932, Gandhi announced he was beginning a “fast into death” in order to protest against British aid of a New Indian constitution, which
gave the country’s lowest classes – known as the untouchables, their own separate political representation for a period of 70 years.
Gandhi continued to resort to hunger strikes as a form of resistance against the British as India progressively gained independence, knowing
that the British administration would not be able to withstand the strain of the public's concern for the man they called Mahatma "Great
Soul." As a result, the British struggled to keep trains running, factories open, and prisons from overcrowding.
Reasons for success
• GROWING NATIONALISM
In 1905, the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, announced that Bengal would be partitioned from the rest of India. This news was
received with great outrage by Indians due to the “divide and rule “nature of the policy. It paid no regard to public opinion, uniting
nationalist against the British. Just after 6 years the British government reversed their decisions with the threats of potential
uprisings and ongoing protests.
India had also paid support to the British during the first world war hoping to gain greater administration of their country.
Nationalist leaders argued that India’s contributions proved they were capable of self-governance, instead the British responded by
passing the 1919 government of India act, allowing Britain and India to share power. This act led to a series of protests resulting in
the Amritsar massacre. Leading to increased numbers in the Indian national congress.
• INC AND HOME RULE
The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded in 1885 its aim was to have a greater share in government for educated Indian,
and to create a platform with the aim of having a greater share in government for educated Indians, and to create a platform for
civic and political dialogue between the British and Indians.
It was only after the turn of the century that Congress began to support the growing home rule, and later independence
movements in India. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, the party gained votes through its attempts to eradicate religious and ethnic
divisions, caste differences and poverty. By the 1930s, it was a powerful force within India.
Reasons for success
• GHANDI AND THE QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
Gandhi was the President of the Indian National Congress. Ghandi opposed Indian solider fighting for the was because he believed that it
was wrong for them to be asked for ‘freedom’ and against fascism when India itself did not have independence.
In 1942, Gandhi gave his famous ‘Quit India’ speech, in which he called upon the British for and orderly withdrawal from India and urged
Indians not to comply with British demands or colonial rule. a lack of co-ordination meant the movement struggled to gain momentum in
the short term.
• WWII
The 6 years of war helped with the departure of the British. The British had spent so much money and energy on the war that they had
exhausted their supplies and now understood the difficulty of successfully ruling India. There was also lack of British support in continuing
their rule in India as the government was conscious that ruling India had become increasingly difficult seeing that they lacked majority of
support and sufficient finances
In an effort to extract themselves from India as quickly as possible they partitioned the country on religious lines creating the new state of
Pakistan for Muslims, whilst Hindus were expected to stay in India itself. The partition had sparked waves of religious violence and refugee
crisis as millions were displaced. India had its independence, but at a high price.
And we finish of our presentation with a quote by Ghani:
“You may never know the results of your actions, but if you do nothing
there will be no results