BRITISH COLONIALISM IN INDIA

BRITISH COLONIALISM IN INDIA



British Colonialism in India

Introduction

The British colonial presence in India extended from the 17th century through 1947, and British rule during that time gradually increased to the point where India had become completely subservient to British economic and military interests. The British maintained an exploitative system supported and justified by racist sentiments; however, some democratic institutions, education, and economic infrastructure also developed and flourished during the Raj. It is a fact, that due to these sweeping changes, there were millions of Indians living without any direct contact with the British. Thus, these one was virtually powerless to influence the processes that affected their daily lives.

Discussion



Many aspects identified several important aspects of daily life that were directly affected, specifically racial barriers resulting from the British sense of white superiority; the development of democratic institutions; economics (both economic exploitation and the development of infrastructure); education; science; technology; and medicine. He concludes that while British imperialism in India had both positive and negative consequences for Indians, the overall colonial experience was much less horrific in India than in other places during the era of Imperialism, such as the Belgian Congo and French Southeast Asia.

The standard of living of the Indian population dropped inexorably. Millions of ruined artisans swelled the ranks of the landless population in the villages. India became a colony that was responsible for producing the raw materials. However, in the Mughal Empire, where the peasants had to provide in taxes third of their crop, it could be modulated or even eliminated, when hunger threatened after a poor harvest. The colonial British did not care about these details: taxes were due and no matter what their overall volume increased steadily.

On one hand, it is a view that India was "timeless" or was lost in the past. Moreover, also only through the influence of British colonial practices did the country evolve into a modern nation. On the other hand, is the view that British colonialism was not the primary force of change in India, but rather it interacted with larger forces of change and was thus only one part of the process (Griffiths, 2006).

Important Change

The British colonialists imposed the tax money instead of tax in kind. Imposing the money in a peasant economy, which virtually ignored the use so far, led to major social upheavals. Village communities of the past broke. The tax collectors ...