The British, however, had a positive social impact on India because the British revolutionized Indian society, and got rid of many negative social concepts that the Indians went by. Under British rule, Indians politically suffered. The army, government, and police force, was all favored towards the British, and they passed laws that worked against the Indians, like the Rowlatt Act. The Indians were negatively impacted economically. This was because, the British ruined their lands, by stripping their forests and forcing them to grow cash crops.
Although the British let wealthy young Indian men study at European colleges, that did not apply to everyone (P 23). Because Britain was taking almost all India jobs, most were poor and had low literacy rates (Doc 9). This is important because once Britain came to India, the highest literacy rates were 16%, but once they left the literacy rates quadrupled in about the same time it took to get 16% average literacy rate (Doc 9). But while the British were here they helped India 's health and life expectancy rate (P 27). Actually, while the British were here they raised the famine deaths by a lot .
Despite the fact that British rule in India during the Imperial period was extremely negative for the Indian people, it ultimately created an improved Indian nation. The British forced the idea of monoculture, were racist, created unfair trade and economic distress. However, they did provide an education system, improved human rights, promoted peace and created a more modern society for the Indian nation. The British rule began in the early 1600’s. The Mughal rule was the government at the time but it was easily conquered by the British in the 1700’s because it was so weak and corrupt.
They supported Britain by banning dye and cloth from India for the next 200 years. Their imperialization affected India in such a harsh way, as their businesses were taken away from them, leaving them with higher unemployment rates. This resulted in deindustrialization, which crippled India’s economic, political, social structure’s, self sufficiency and their industry. When European empires like Britain colonized India, it transformed their way of living, but as they went to colonize other area it also transformed other cultural groups such as the
By 1857, the British, through the East India Company, directly ruled two thirds of India. The remaining third was overseen by Indian princes who paid tribute to the British. The British not only dominated the Indian economy, sending profits back to Britain: they also imposed their values on the Indian people by preventing Indian soldiers from occupying high ranking positions in the army and introducing social and land reforms. Thus, even though the British government was not engaged in direct imperialism, the British East India Company still had a strong, controlling hand in the Indian way of life. To begin with, it can be observed that the British colonizers did indeed improve Indian civilization by developing means of communication and transport further than what had already been established.
“The reason why the sun never set on the British Empire: God wouldn’t trust an Englishmen in the dark.” Princeton Professor Duncan Spaeth once claimed turning the poetic way of declaring the British as the feared and mighty ruler of the world against them. European imperialism in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries 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, or a policy of extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force, spread the colonizer and the colonies viewed imperialism differently. By 1857, the British, through the East India Company, directly ruled two thirds of India.
According to Dadabhai Naoroji’s article, “The Benefits of British Rule for India”, the Indians/natives had no voice in the taxes, legislations, or were qualified to earn the position of a court judge or high-ranking government official. The society the British constructed blocked the Indians out, and openly disregarded their opinions and desire for change and equality. Some may claim that the British modernized their country by reforming the natives education system, and implementing new innovations and technological advancements, like railroads to improve transportation within the country. However, according to the article written by Professor Peter Marshall titled, “The British Presence in India in the 18th Century,” the majority of these systems primarily focused on English and Western ideas, rather than their own distinctive culture. The traditional ideas and beliefs focusing on theory and methodology, that were implemented into their previous education system, were then modified to a practical approach, forcing their pre-existing system to slowly descend into oblivion.
Specifically, India wasn’t a unified country, yet was composed of a plethora of states with distinct economies, politics, societies, and interests. Furthermore, these states were engaged in conflicts between each other. Consequently, India had a weakened assortment of resistance against external threats. Therefore, the British were able to usurp power and control of India without much struggle. Not only that, the British were more developed than the Indians in technology, and that technological gap only continued to widen throughout the impending Industrial Revolution in
When the British took over India, they took over pretty much the entire government and created laws that restricted the rights of the Indians. According to Dr.Lalvani, the British were “superbly efficient” in their duties. However, they only let 6% of the entire government be native Indian( Doc. 2). Which makes it virtually impossible for them to have a say in anything major or minor.
At the same time, both empires continued to develop agriculture through well developed irrigation systems and irrigation canals. The British Empire changed the Indian Economy in a way that made the Indians more dependent than they were under the Mughal Empire. The Mughal Empire sold Indian cottons for European coin.