The Impact of British Rule in India

Abstract

There is a story that when an Indian politician in the course of his electioneering campaign in a rural area claimed that his party had driven out the British and achieved independence for India, a lowly peasant innocently asked: 'But when did the British come to India ?' This tale, no doubt apocryphal, is only meant to underline the fact that in India's long history, British rule was but one episode, and one which did not affect or concern every Indian. The whole of India came under direct British governmental authority only about I850, and this authority had lasted less than oo00 years when India became independent on I5 August I947. Even during this period, more than 500 princely states, some of them larger and more populous than the United Kingdom itself, were outside the jurisdiction of direct British rule. It might therefore appear that Britain had made no permanent or widespread impact on India. Furthermore, considering that India is an old cultural entity, with a rich civilization and heritage, it might also seem that a small number (compared to India's population) of British civilians and soldiers from thousands of miles away could not have left any lasting impression on the life and outlook of 350 millions of Indians at the end of that rule. All this may in fact become true some centuries from now, just as today it is difficult to identify the impact made by the Mauryas (3rd-2nd century BC) or the Guptas (4th-6th century AD). Indeed, there are many indications, especially since Nehru's death in I964, that many parts of the British legacy may be altered or modified or thrown out completely, and sooner than many had anticipated only a couple of years ago. But right now, twenty years after British rule ended, the notable fact is that it has left a tremendous legacy in almost all walks of life and in the realm of ideas and beliefs as well. During the first 50 years of the East India Company's rule in