IMPACT OF THE BRITISH RULE IN INDIA

IMPACT OF THE BRITISH RULE IN INDIA

The British rule established peace and order in the country to a great extent . It had unprecedented impact on the people.
1. UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION : The British introduced an uniform system of administration in the country. This helped to establish a uniform legal
system. The princely states, had a variety of separate laws. But the British always
paid attention to regulate the internal affairs of those states. The Rule of Law placed
all Indians on the same footing irrespective of caste and religion. Unified civil
service and efficient police created internal stability.
2. ECONOMIC IMPACT: The Industrial Revolution in England affected the Indian
industries. Earlier the Indian products were in great demand in European markets,
as a result the domestic industries flourished substantially. After the industrial
revolution the British exported raw materials from India and imported finished
goods from England and sold them in the Indian markets, at the cheaper rates. The
Indian manufacturers could not compete with the cheap machine-made goods from
England. Thus the Indian industries were ruined. This decline in the domestic
industries caused unemployment and starvation to millions.
3. LAND REVENUE :
A. ZAMINDARI SYSTEM: In the ancient times the land belonged to the cultivator and
the rulers collected land revenue. During the declining days of the Mughal empire
when the authority in Delhi was unable to control the administration in far-flung
areas it introduced the system of auctioning the right of revenue collection to the
highest bidders and later it became hereditary.
Governer-General Cornwallis introduced Permanent Settlement in Bengal.
The former revenue collectors were recognized as permanent owners of the land
and they were made to pay an amount fixed by the government as revenue. The
Zamindars collected more than what was expected from the ryots and they led a
life of luxury and comfort. They ruthlessly collected the tax even during the famine
and multiplied the miseries of the poor peasants. This system came into existence
in Bengal, Bihar and the United Province. (Uttar Pradesh)
B. THE RYOTWARI SYSTEM: Munro was an officer who introduced this system of
settlement. Land was measured and taking into account its fertility and irrigation
facilities, the revenue was fixed. This system was introduced mostly in southern and
western India. The revenue was collected with the help of local hereditary officers.
The government demand was mostly kept at fifty percent of the produce. There was
periodical assessment of the land revenue.
This system recognized the rights of the cultivator over his land permanently.
The peasants on their own initiative could develop their land. In times of famine
the peasants could appeal to the government for partial or even total concession.
C. THE MAHALWARI SYSTEM : Mahal literally stands for a taluk. In north-western
and central India, large tracts of land were marked as Mahals or estates on the basis
of lump-sum dues of revenue. The assessment rates here were somewhat high.
Here, the Mahaldar and the cultivator were jointly responsible for paying revenue
to the Government. Though the cultivator had the right of ownership, he was always
subjected to the exploitation of the Mahaldar. The drawbacks of the Zamindari
system were also present in this system. But the Mahaldar could not behave in an
irresponsible way like the Zamindar. The Mahaldar was also engaged in cultivation.
4. INDUSTRIES: The introduction of new technologies led to the establishment of
cotton textile, jute and paper industries. Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Ahmedabad,
grew as new industrial centres. The two World Wars during the 20th century gave
impetus to the further growth of industries.
5. EDUCATION: The introduction of western education opened the gates of western
knowledge and science. Earlier in India, the schools taught only religious knowledge
which was limited only to men of a particular caste. On the advice of T.B. Macaulay,
Governor- General William Bentinck introduced English education in India(1835).
Thus English schools were started throughout the country. The Christian missionaries
played a prominent part in this regard. On the advice of Charles Wood in 1854
the department of public instruction was created. Charles Wood in his famous
Despatch stressed on the importance of vernacular and female education and
proposed for the establishment of Universities. As a result universities were
established at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
The number of schools and colleges increased and literacy spread. A new
class of educated middle class was created. Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Delhi,
Patna, Lahore and many other old and new towns and cities grew in size. These
urban centres nurtured the new middle class. This class of people were imbibed
with the spirit of western ideas of democracy and liberalism. It is this new middle
class which took leadership in the cultural renaissance and in the national movement.
English served as a link language for the whole country and created a large number
of like minded Indians.
With the study of English literature, similar forms of literature grew in Indian
regional languages. The art of writing prose developed in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil,
Kannada and other regional languages.
6. TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION : Governor-General Bentinck (1825-35)
planned to have all-season trunk roads all over the country. Governer General
Dalhousie founded the Public Works Department and started the first railway line
between Bombay and Thane in 1853. The Calcutta- Ranigunj line was started in
1854. Soon the railway lines connected various parts of India. As a result Indians
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began to travel on large scale throughout the country. This led to the development
of a sense of unity among the Indians.
Dalhousie established the system of Post office, laid telegraph lines for a
length of 800 km. Roads and water ways were developed and bridges were
constructed across the rivers. The railways connected the ports to the hinterland.
7. GROWTH OF JOURNALISM : The first printing machine was introduced in India
in 1556 (Goa). But printing became widespread only during the 18th century. The
first newspaper ‘Bengal Gazette’ was started from Calcutta in 1780. After the
introduction of English education, newspapers in English and in various regional
languages came to be published. They started exposing the administrative methods
of the English. Many political leaders started newspapers and they used them as
weapons during the national movement. The newspapers were used to create
awareness among the people and foster a sense of nationality among the Indians.
The early newspapers in India were ‘The Bengal’, ‘The Indian Mirror’, ‘Amrit Bazar
Patrika’, ‘The Bombay Chronicle’, ‘The Hindu Patriot’, ‘The Mahratta’, 'The Subod
Patrika', 'Indu-Prakash', 'Sudharak', ‘Kesari', ‘Andhra Prakashika’, and 'The Hindu’.
The first Kannada newspaper was ‘Mangalura Samachara’ started by a missionary
called Moegling (1843). The other important newspapers were Mysore Recorder
and Karnataka Pradeshika.
EXERCISES
I Fill in the blanks suitably:
1. The Permanent Settlement was introduced by…............
2. The person who introduced the Ryotwari System was…............
3. ‘Mahal’ means…............
4. The first railway line was laid between Bombay and…............
5. The first newspaper in India was ............
6. The first newspaper in Karnataka was …............
II Answer the following question in two or three sentences :
1. What was the outcome of the uniform system of administration in India?
2. What was the impact of Industrial Revolution on India?
3. What was the Permanent Settlement?
4. What are the features of the Ryotwari system?
5. What were the main features of Charles Wood’s Despatch?
6. What was the contribution of Macaulay to the growth education in India?
7. What was the impact of English education on Indians?
8. What was the impact of the growth of transport facilities on India ?
10. What were the benefits of the introduction of railways?
11. What was the importance of the newspapers during freedom movement?
III Activity:
1. Visit the nearest Village Accountant’s office and find out from him the present land revenue
system.
2. Discuss in the classroom about the impact of English education on India.
3. Find out the names of the great men who started the newspapers listed under the growth
of Journalism.