HPAS/Allied Mains 2022 Answer Writing Challenge Day 14: Model Answer

Question: Discuss how British East India Company became unpopular after their Early Conquest of India in second Half of 18TH Century ? 8 MARKS  (120 WORDS)

Answer: 

Introduction

British East India company’s early conquest begins with their control over Bengal with subsequent Battles of Plassey & Buxar.

Further Battles with Mysore, Marathas & Rohillas gave them control over more territories & this made them even more attracted towards india’s resources but soon company started to become unpopular due to the  reasons discussed below:-

Unpopular policies

1. POLITICAL CAUSES

• Important Policies
• Subsidiary alliance
• Doctrine of Lapse

Chronological Sequence of States entering Subsidiary Alliance:

1.Nizam of Hyderabad – 1798

2.Mysore – 1799

3.Tanjore – 1799

4.Awadh – 1801

5.Peshwa – 1802

6.Bhonsle Raja of Berar – 1803

7.Scindia – 1804

Holkar – 1818

1.Satara (1848),

2.Jaitpur and Sambhalpur (1849),

3. Baghat (1850),
4. Udaipur (1852),
5. Jhansi (1853)
6. and Nagpur (1854).

Political Causes

• British policy of expansion: The political causes of the revolt were the British policy of expansion through the Doctrine of Lapse,subsidiary alliance and direct annexation

Doctrine of Lapse

A large number of Indian rulers and chiefs were dislodged, thus arousing fear in the minds of other ruling families who apprehended a similar fate. The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy extensively applied by East India Company in India until 1859. The doctrine stated that any princely state under the vassalage of the company will how its territory annexed should the ruler of the said state fail to produce an heir.

Subsidiary Alliance(Indirect policy of making control over state)

1. The allies of the Indian state’s rulers were compelled to accept the permanent garrison of the British Army within their territories and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.
2. The Indian ruler could not employ any European in their service without prior approval of the British.
3. They could not negotiate with any other Indian rulers without consulting the Governor-General.
4. A British Resident was also stationed in the Indian Court.

2. SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS CAUSES

• The rapidly spreading Western Civilisation in India was alarming concerns all over the country.
• An act in 1850 changed the Hindu law of inheritance enabling a Hindu who had converted into Christianity to inherit his ancestral properties.
• The people were convinced that the Government was planning to convert Indians to Christianity.
• The abolition of practices like sati and female infanticide, and the legislation legalizing widow remarriage, were believed as threats to the established social structure.
• Introducing western methods of education was directly challenging the orthodoxy for Hindus as well as Muslims.
• Even the introduction of the railways and telegraph was viewed with suspicion.

SOCIO- ECONOMIC CAUSES

• In rural areas, peasants and zamindars were infuriated by the heavy taxes on land and the stringent methods of revenue collection followed by the Company.
• Many among these groups were unable to meet the heavy revenue demands and repay their loans to money lenders, eventually losing the lands that they had held for generations.
• Large numbers of sepoys belonged to the peasantry class and had family ties in villages, so the grievances of the peasants also affected them.
• After the Industrial Revolution in England, there was an influx of British manufactured goods into India, which ruined industries, particularly the textile industry of India.
• Indian handicraft industries had to compete with cheap machine- made goods from Britain.

Socio-Economic Conditions

Important Import:

• Pearls, raw silk, wool, dates, dried fruits, and rose water from the Persian Gulf region;
• Coffee, gold, drugs, and honey from Arabia;
• Tea, sugar, porcelain, and silk from China;
• Gold, musk and woolen cloth from Tibet;
• Tin from Singapore; spices, perfumes, arrack, and sugar from the Indonesian islands; ivory and drugs from Africa; and woolen cloth, metals such as copper, iron, and lead, and paper from Europe.

Important Export:

• India’s most important article of export was cotton textiles which were famous all over the world for their excellence and were in demand everywhere.
• India also exported raw silk and silk fabrics, hardware, indigo, saltpetre, opium, rice, wheat, sugar, pepper and other spices, precious stones, and drugs.

MILITARY CAUSES

• Indians were not given ranks above “Subedar”.
• Indians were often called by names “Sooers & Niggers”.
• Most of the Indians were sent to serve outside India with out any “BHATTA” Or compensation.
• & there was a belief in hindus that if a person crosses sea then he no longer remains a Hindu or it results in loss of Religious belongingness.

IMMEDEATE CAUSES

• The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges.
• A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
• Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges.
• Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them.
• Lord Canning tried to make amends for the error and the offending cartridges were withdrawn but the damage had already been done.
• There was unrest in several places.

Conclusion:-

British Expansionist policy & somehow British east India company  Being initially started as a public venture was interested in making huge profits thus ignoring condition of people from India. They some how hurt religious sentiments of Indian people though they started cautiously & Their Personal interests of colonizing India made them unpopular.