Day: November 8, 2020

The early administrative structure; The Regulating Act (1773), From diarchy to direct control: Part V Army Background: The evolution of the Company’s army was integrally connected to the development of its Indian empire. In the eighteenth century, Royal forces, particularly the navy, were often dispatched to India on lease to the Company to help it […]

The early administrative structure; The Regulating Act (1773), From diarchy to direct control: Part IV Police Background: When the East India Company took over diwani in 1765, the Mughal police system was under the control of: the faujdars, who were in charge of their sarkars or rural districts; the kotwals were in charge of the […]

The early administrative structure; The Regulating Act (1773), From diarchy to direct control: Part VI Indian Civil Service The distance between London and India, the difficulties of communication and their command over information from the field gave them a considerable amount of discretion and initiative. It was “a patronage bureaucracy” at the outset, as the […]

The peasant movements of the 1920s and 1930s: Part I The impoverishment of the Indian peasantry was a direct result of the transformation of the agrarian structure due to: Colonial economic policies: Ruin of the handicrafts leading to overcrowding of land, The new land revenue system, Colonial administrative and judicial system. The peasants suffered from […]

The peasant movements of the 1920s and 1930s: Part III Weakening of peasant movement during the war: The rising tide of peasant awakening was checked by the outbreak of World War II which brought about the resignation of the Congress Ministries and the launching of severe repression against left-wing and kisan Sabha leaders and workers […]

The peasant movements of the 1920s and 1930s: Part II (2) Peasant Movements in 1930’s: The 1930s bore witness to a new and nation-wide awakening of Indian peasants to their own strength and capacity to organize for the betterment of their living conditions. selfstudyhistory.com This awakening was largely a result of particular economic and political […]

British Paramountcy over the Princely States Background: While the steel frame of the Indian Civil Service ruled British India, about two-fifths of the territory of the Indian subcontinent were under ‘indirect rule’ of the Company and later the Crown. The actual terms of the subordinate sovereignty of the Indian states varied from case to case, […]

The English Utilitarian and India: Part II Impact of British utilitarianism on India At the start, the Company’s government was still tentative about interfering for fear of adverse Indian reaction. It could not do so unless a section of the Indian society was prepared to support reform. Such a group that would support wide ranging […]

The social reform movements in India including Sati, widow Remarriage, child marriage etc.: Part II The first and foremost social problem that attracted enlightened opinion was the need for a better deal for women in society, in the abolition of the cruel rites of sati and infanticide, in the condemnation of child marriage, polygamy, Kulinism […]