The British Take Over India Chapter #9 - Section #4

East India Company and Rebellion In the early 1600s, the British East India Company won trading rights on the fringe of the Mughal Empire. As Mughal power declined, the company’s influence grew. By the mid-1800s, the British East India Company controlled sixty percent of India.

Exploiting Indian Diversity The British were able to conquer India by exploiting its diversity. India was home to many people and cultures, as Indians with different traditions and languages were not able to unite against the British. The British encouraged competition and disunity among rival Indian princes. When diplomacy didn’t work, the British used their superior weapons over local rulers.

British Social Changes in India By the early 1800s British officials introduced Western education and legal procedures. Missionaries tried to convert Indians to Christianity. The British ended slavery and the caste system. The position of Indian women within the family improved under British reforms. One law banned sati, a Hindu custom practiced mainly by the upper classes; it called for a widow to join her husband in death by throwing herself on his funeral fire.

The Indian Caste System Social Restrictions in India are defined by thousands of hereditary groups, or castes. Hindu Scriptures give Four “Varnas” 1. Brahmins (teachers, scholars, priests) 2. Kshyatriyas (kings and warriors) 3. Vaishyas (traders) 4. Sudras (agriculturists, service providers) Dalits “untouchables” – people outside the caste system who worked in unhealthy, unpleasant or polluting jobs. They suffered from social segregation and restrictions in addition to extreme poverty. Hindus believe in reincarnation resulting in a cycle of life called Samsra and justifying the caste system.

Growing Discontent British laws conflict with Indian Hindu values. - Sepoys, or Indian soldiers were required to serve anywhere, either in India or overseas. For high-caste Hindus, overseas travel was an offense to their religion. - Next, the East India Company passed a law that allowed Hindu widows to remarry. Many Hindus viewed both laws as a Christian conspiracy to undermine their beliefs. Then in 1857, the British issued new rifles to the sepoys, who were told to bite off the tips of cartridges before loading them into the rifles.

The Sepoy Rebellion

The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 The rifle cartridges were greased with animal fat – either from cows, which Hindus consider sacred, or from pigs, which were forbidden to Muslims. When the troops refused to “load rifles” they were imprisoned. Angry sepoys rose up against their British officers as several regiments marched off to Delhi, the old Mughal capital. There, they hailed the last Mughal ruler as their leader. In some places, the sepoys brutally massacred British men, women and children. The British rallied and soon crushed the rebellion taking terrible revenge for their earlier losses. Indian villages were torched and thousands of unarmed Indians were slaughtered. The Sepoy Rebellion left a bitter legacy of fear, hatred, and mistrust on both sides.

Quick-write Half the class is for Sati Half the class is against Sati Make an argument for or against the Hindu practice of Sati. Is it a a noble act of a wife’s love, or a sexist violation of women? Was the British government right in banning this ancient Hindu upper-class tradition?

Ram Mohun Roy Ram Mohun Roy combined Western ways with Indian culture. He was founder of the Hindu College in Calcutta, which provided an English-style education to Indians. Roy condemned some Indian traditions such as the rigid caste system, child marriage, sati, and purdah, the isolation of women in separate quarters. He also set up educational societies that helped revive pride in Indian culture. He is hailed as the founder of Indian nationalism

Purdah

Assessment What were the positive and negative effects on the Impact of British Colonial Rule? Pg. 305 – 306. Positive Negative 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4.

Indian Nationalism Grows During the years of British rule, a class of Western-educated Indians emerged. The British hoped this elite Indian class would bolster British power. But exposure to Western ideas of democracy and equality caused Indians to spearhead a nationalist movement to end British imperialism. In 1885, the Indian National Congress was organized and its members believed in peaceful protest to gain their ends. The Indian National Congress looked to eventual self-rule, but supported Western-style modernization.