British Rule in India

• After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the British government abolished the East India Company.
• The British government began remodeling Indian government and law.

Military Changes Post-Mutiny

• English troops were stationed in the land to prevent future mutinies and rebellions.

Government Administration Changes Post-Mutiny

• Graduates of Oxford and Cambridge, trained in English upper-class traditions, would staff the government.

• The goal was to make the Indian people obedient.

• Britain was an opposing force to both Muslims and Hindus, which prevented sharp differences between them from surfacing.

• Control of India brought vast wealth to the British, contributing to a rise in living standards.

• British and Indian owned plantations produced indigo, jute, cotton, and tea.

• Modern textiles and steel mills were built.

• An extensive railroad network, trunk roads, and telegraph lines linked various regions of the country.

• India was crucial to Great Britain as an importer of British goods, rather than just an exporter of raw materials.

• Hundreds of millions of Indians bought British manufactured goods.

• Government monopolies and bans on cloth manufacturing brought money into British coffers.

• British domination impeded India's industrialization, similar to what occurred in Egypt.

• "India" was a geographical expression, not a unified culture.

• The land had ethnic groups, languages, and religions and was divided by historic animosities between Hindus and Muslims.

• It was easy for the British to subdue or control Indians of different backgrounds.

• Several hundred thousand British controlled millions of Indians.

• Nepalese Ghurkha troops were British allies, while Bengalis, Sikhs, aided British rule with preferential treatment.

• India impacted Great Britain, affecting the lives and livelihoods of Britons who never saw the subcontinent.

• Hundreds of thousands of Britons served in the military or government in India; some retired there.

• Indian words like bungalow and pajamas entered the English vocabulary, and Indian foods like curry became part of British cuisine.

• Life in India had cultural dynamics like those in British-controlled African territories.

• Britons felt racially and culturally superior to the Indians.

• British officials rarely appreciated Indian contributions but sought to eradicate social abuse.

• They eliminated thuggees, banned suttee, and tried to end the practice of wedding female children.

• Some Britons admired Indian culture, learning, and studied Sanskrit.