The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, which the Indians refer as the First War of Independence, was the most violent and brutal incident in the history of British India. The incident not only posed the greatest threat to the British imperial rule in the subcontinent, but also forever altered the fate of the East India Company. Following the investigation of the rebellion, the British Parliament adopted the new ruling policies towards various perspectives in British India. The incident also rewrote the Indian history and immensely impacted on the development of Indian nationalism. The paper will introduce the incident of 1857 and discuss the reasons for the British to defeat the rebels and the impacts of the incident on both the British and the Indians.
Throughout the British rule over India, the Indians went through multiple movements to attempt to regain their independence from the invasive country. Through the British control, Indians became unequal, separated, and extremely poor. Three of the most effective and/or important movements that occur include The Massacre at the Golden Temple, The Homespun Movement, and The Salt March. Each of these events had a strong effect and contribution in the national movements in India. The movements that had been initiated by the Indians were peaceful and were only used just to gain back their equal rights in their own country.
After the Indian Rebellion, there were many shifts in policies, acts and leadership of the remaining British rulers that remained in colonial India. Radio and speeches frolicked a huge part in spreading the movement to even peasant village members. By the mid1930s, the approval of the anti-colonial movement started to overpower the small amount of British influence that remained in India and the Indian princes were gaining both militaristic and political power. Since Indians had a sample from the British in education, military, economy, and government for centuries, the upper-class Indian princes and leaders had the knowledge to run and establish their own independent state. After about twenty years of message between British and Indian officials, India would become a distinct nation in 1947.
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.
By bringing with them an industrial England, old Indian crafts were being shattered before the eyes of all Indians. This was stated by Nehru. He goes on to say that the old Indian industries in which they built their lives on were now being broken. This was something that Nehru went to fight against with the British. That fight never truly stopped until India was free.
He also viewed India as positively good but still very much flawed which can be seen in stereotypes of Indians as barbaric, rude, liars, worthless, etc. The British Empire can help alleviate this harshness due to its civilized progression. The divergence of ethnic groups in India ultimately is under the ruling of the British Empire in this novel. The 'Smiling River of Life ' portrays this difference particularly. Ultimately, Kim - a symbol for India- disguised himself as a Hindu boy for half of his life to immerse with the rest of the society.
The Indians were suffering from the fall of the Mogul Empire, which had controlled most of India from 1526 until the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. As the empire collapsed, wars for power between Marathas, Persians, and Sikhs began. The British took advantage of these conflicts. Ultimately, the invasion of the British in India allowed them to thrive on the successes of trade in India, build a greater army with Indian men, and sabotage the Indian democratic government. Primarily, the British did not come to conquer the Indians: they came as traders.
While some natives genuinely did convert to Christianity, some did so in name only, and many more refused. For centuries the people of India (modern day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) kept themselves divided into different regions based on religion (as Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims did not tend to get along well) but were all forced together under British rule. Great Britain 's official religion was Christianity, and they wanted their territories to be the same. The people of India were not thrilled by this, as their religions were deeply intertwined with their way of life. Orwell tells his readers about the many thousands of Buddhist priests who lived in this settlement, and of their especially intense hatred for the British.
Throughout the world, many people are discriminated based on their social standings such as jobs, wealth, authority, and race; however, in India, there has been a strict social structure that has impacted the country for hundreds of years. This social structure is known as the caste system. Members of Indian society are divided into castes, also known as jati, which from the time they are born greatly influence and shape the rest of their future (India- Caste and Class). The origins of the caste system present in India are debated greatly among many historians. Different theories and stories about the origins of the caste system have been told and past down through the years.
For many years India struggled greatly for their independence. The three major events in the Indian fight against British rule were: the Golden Temple Massacre, the Salt March, and the homespun movement. During the Temple Massacre British and Gurkha troops killed at least 379 unarmed Indians meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh, to discuss nonviolent resistance and protest. However, the British had passed a law that said they were forbidden from encouraging and having meetings about nonviolent protests. The Salt March, which took place in India, was an act of civil disobedience.