Impact Of British Colonization On India

The Impacts of Colonization on India

Introduction

This essay aims to discuss and analyze the Economic, Religious, Cultural and Political impacts of the British colonization on India, It all began with the East India Company (EIC), which was formed to pursue trade manly with the Indian subcontinent and China. The company accounted for half of the world’s trade particularly in basic commodities like cotton, silk, indigo, salt, tea, and opium is name a few the year was 1757 and it marked the beginning of the British Empire in India. The colonization of India was purely accidental because East India Company started out with the intentions of trading with India. However the weak political environment clubbed with rich natural resources along with

They began colonizing mainly so they could feed their need to trade. With an excellent command of the sea and an outstanding international trading skill, the Britisher’s satisfied all parameters. Also by the 18th century, India was a crisis Moghul ruler Aurangzeb turned to be a bitter for the non-Muslims and the Hindus were tired of Islamic rule. Many Hindu rulers like the Marathas sprang up. The East India Company aptly used this period to increase their divide and rule policy.

Impacts

The impacts of British rule in India had been widespread and affected almost every sphere of the state of India. The everlasting expression has been etched forever upon the succeeding India citizen.

Religious impact

The very first impact of the British rule on India was the religion impacts established by the missionaries. They tried to cast Christianity in the light of a better religion and with economic inducements convinced the poor Indians into Christianity. Churches were established in every possible corner of the country. The port cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai gained importance due their accessibility for navigational purposes. They were turned into 3 cardinal presidency towns. The conversion of the Indians into Christianity was successful only in some parts. Some accepted it gladly for inviting the anger of the British rule, while others had turned hostile, giving rise to difference of opinion.

Culture

This was done through the help of modern day technology and medicine for their own vested interests. The British introduced and improved the transportation setup especially the railway to meet their own needs. Communication and roadways also got a shot in the arm. Advanced machinery for use in manufacturing industries, better medical services and a thrust to western education was also seen. The farming of cash crops and crop rotation also happened. Caste system started taking a back seat bringing equality on the horizon.

As the basic sanitation and hygiene levels took an upward trend, population also grew. This could also be construed as a negative long-term effect of colonization. Also because of the war being raged, there was a major drain on the fiscal chapter of India. The economy was let in doldrums and famine became a common feature. Although Britain introduced western education and philosophy, they controlled the decision making process, Racism became highly prevalent. So although the British did do a lot of good for India, dependency on British goods and skills increased