Modern
Indian History & Freedom Struggle
It was the
year 1498 when the first European, Vasco Da Gama of Portugal,
arrived at Calicut, India. King Zamorin (Samuthiri) was the then ruler.
Ironically, the First to arrive Portuguese were also the last to leave India
in 1961.
Commercial Success of the
Portuguese, tempted the other European States to come to India. Dutch
became the second. After their arrival in India, the Dutch founded
their first factory in Masulipatnam in 1605.
English traders too wanted a
share of profit from Eastern Trade. On December 31, 1600, Queen
Elizabeth I issued them a charter, and the East India Company was formed with
it.
In 1608, Captain William Hawkins
arrived at Surat and in 1609 to the Mughal court of Jahangir. He brought with
him a letter from James I (King of England) seeking permission to do business
in India.
Timeline
of British Rule
1611: The English had started
trading at Masulipatnam.
1613: A permanent factory of East
India Company is established at Surat.
1615: Sir Thomas Roe, the
ambassador of King James I, arrives at Jahangir’s court.
1616: The Company establishes its
first factory in the south in Masulipatnam.
1632: The Company gets the
“Golden Farman” from the Sultan of Golconda.
1633: The Company establishes its
first factory in east India in Hariharpur, Balasore (Odisha).
1662: The British King, Charles
II, is given Bombay as dowry for marrying a Portuguese princess
1667: Aurangzeb gives the English
a Farman for trade in Bengal.
1717: The Mughal emperor
Farrukhsiyar issues a Farman, called the Magna Carta of the Company.
French were the last Europeans to
come to India with the purpose of trade.Though the British and the French
came to India for trading purposes, they were ultimately drawn into the
politics of India. Both had visions of establishing political power over the
region. The Anglo-French rivalry in India reflected the traditional rivalry of
England and France throughout their histories.
Anglo-French
Wars:
1740-48: First Carnatic War
The First Carnatic War is
remembered for the Battle of St. Thome.
1749-54: Second Carnatic War
The French defeated and killed
Anwar-ud-din at the battle of Ambur (near Vellore) in 1749.
1758-63: Third Carnatic War
The decisive battle
of the Third Carnatic War was won by the English on January 22, 1760,
at Wandiwash in Tamil Nadu.
After understanding the
chronological order of European Powers in India, let us shift our focus on the
British Conquest of India and Our Freedom Struggle.
Battle
of Plassey:
The Battle of Plassey (June 23,
1757) is usually regarded as the decisive event that brought about ultimate
British rule over India.
Battle of Plassey was decided
before the battle was even fought. Due to the conspiracy of the nawab’s
officials, the strong force of Siraj-ud-daula was defeated by a handful of
Clive’s forces.
The
Battle of Buxar:
The combined armies of Mir Kasim,
the Nawab of Awadh, and Shah Alam II were defeated by the English forces under
Major Hector Munro at Buxar on October 22, 1764, in a closely contested battle.
The importance of this battle lay
in the fact that not only the Nawab of Bengal but also the Mughal Emperor of
India was defeated by the English.The Battle of Buxar is followed by the Treaty
of Allahabad concluded by Robert Clive in August 1765.
British
Conquest of Mysore:
First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69);
Treaty of Madras.
Second Anglo-Mysore War
(1779-1784); Treaty of Mangalore.
Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92);
Treaty of Seringapatam.
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799);
Mysore is conquered by British forces.
Anglo-Maratha Struggle for
Supremacy
First Anglo-Maratha War
(1775-82); Treaty of Surat (1775), Treaty of Purandhar (1776), and Treaty of
Salbai (1782)
Second Anglo-Maratha War
(1803-05); Treaty of Bassein, 1802
Third Anglo-Maratha War
(1817-1819)
Conquest of Sindh (1843)
Lord Ellenborough was the
Governor-General of India
Conquest of Punjab
Treaty of Amritsar (1809) took
place between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the British.
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49)
The Policy of Ring-Fence
Warren Hastings the
1st Governor-General of India followed a policy of ring-fence. It was the
policy of defence of their neighbours’ frontiers for safeguarding their
territories.
Subsidiary
Alliance
This system was used by Lord
Wellesley, to build an empire in India. Under the system, the allying Indian
state’s ruler was compelled to accept the permanent stationing of a British
force within his territory and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.
Doctrine
of Lapse
The doctrine stated that the
adopted son could be the heir to his foster father’s private property, but not
the state. Though this policy is attributed to Lord Dalhousie he was not its
originator. Dalhousie annexed eight states during his eight-year tenure
(1848-56) as governor-general.
Paika
Rebellion
It was an armed rebellion against
the British East India Company’s rule in Odisha in 1817.
It
is regarded as the first war of independence.
The Revolt of 1857. The revolt
began at Meerut on May 10, 1857.
The British captured Delhi on
September 20, 1857. Effect of the Revolt Crown took over and Company rule was
abolished with the Queen’s Proclamation.
Indian
National Congress: 1885
INC was Formed by A.O. Hume.
The first session was presided
over by Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee at Bombay in December 1885.
Annie Besant was the first
woman President of the Indian National Congress.
Partition
of Bengal
It was formally announced in July
1905 and came into force in October 1905. It was decided to annul the partition
of Bengal in 1911.
The Swadeshi and Boycott
Movement: 1905
Began as a reaction to the
partition of Bengal, Swadeshi Movement fizzled out by 1908 due to Severe
government repression, Lack of effective organisation, and a narrow social
base.
Home
Rule League Movement: 1916
It was pioneered by Tilak and
Annie Besant on lines of a similar movement in Ireland.It shifted the emphasis
to the masses permanently and influenced the Moderate-Extremist reunion at Lucknow.
Emergence of Gandhi
Gandhi returned to India in
January 1915. During 1917 and 1918, Gandhi was involved in three struggles—in
Champaran, Ahmedabad, and Kheda.
Champaran Satyagraha (1917)—First
Civil Disobedience
Ahmedabad Mill Strike
(1918)—First Hunger Strike
Kheda Satyagraha (1918)—First
Non-Cooperation
Rowlatt
Act
Passed in March 1919. The act
allowed political activists to be tried without juries or even imprisoned
without trial.
Jallianwala
Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919)
Hunter Committee/Commission was
formed in October 1919 to inquire about the Jallianwala Bagh Incident.
Non
Co-operation Movement: 1920
The Khilafat Committee started a
campaign of non-cooperation and the movement was formally launched on
31st August 1920.
Chauri-Chaura Incident of
February 5, 1922, prompted Gandhi to withdraw the movement.
Simon
Commission
Came in 1928 to explore the
possibility of further constitutional advance.Boycotted by Indians because no
Indian represented in the commission.
Lahore
Congress Session (December 1929)
Congress adopted complete
independence as its goal.January 26, 1930, celebrated as the first Independence
Day all over the country.
Civil
Disobedience Movement: 1930
The historic Dandi march began on
March 12, 1930, marked the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement
Gandhi-Irwin
Pact: March 1931
Congress agreed to attend the
Second Round Table Conference and to withdraw the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Communal
Award and Poona Pact: 1932
Communal Award provided separate
electorates to depressed classes.
Gandhi’s fast unto death
(September 1932) led to the Poona Pact which abandoned separate electorates for
depressed classes in favour of increased reserved seats for them.
Quit
India Movement (1942)
In July 1942, the Congress
Working Committee met at Wardha and resolved that it would authorise Gandhi to
take charge of the non-violent mass movement. The resolution is generally
referred to as the ‘Quit India’ resolution.
The Quit India Movement is also
known as the August Movement was launched on August 8, 1942, due to the
failure of Cripps Offer.
