Outline:

How did the British Ruling Sovereign in India-in both Company and Crown Raj- differ from its

predecessors, such as the Mughal Empire?

The British- in the form of East India Company and the Crown Raj ruled the Indian Sub-

continent for 200 years. The rule was based on the socio-economic exchange of ideas and thus

built itself on the then former rulers in India specifically the Mughal Empire and Marathas. The

English were initially just traders who sought permission from the Mughal Empire to carry out

peaceful trade. Thus, well acquainted with the working of the Mughal Empire and already set

administrative policies, once in power, the Crown Raj built itself on the existing systems in

place. At the same time, the practice of assimilation used by Mughals was in contrast with the

British, who along with assimilation, sought to build a kind of superiority that resonated their

colonial attitude. This essay explores the differences and similarities between the British Rule

and the rule of its predecessor in the socio-political, economic and religious aspects.

Major Points of Focus in the establishment of British Rule

- End of Oriental Despotism (Thomas Metcalf)

- The revival of Golden Age that was destroyed by Muslims (According to Hindu

Nationalists and British Rulers)

- The role of Sannyasis made it difficult to collect taxes.
- Diwani rights from the Nawab of Bengal and other states
- English Education and Orientalists ( who studied Indian languages)
- Establishment of Brahmo Samaj by Ram Mohan Roy.
- Christian Missionaries in India
- Eradication of social evils such as Sati with the support of British by Indian reformers-

not interfered by the Mughal Rulers.

- 1857- Revolt Company Rule to Crown Raj Response to Doctrine of Lapse
 - Gender-based changes- Uplifting women by understanding the need to support female

education- often the demands for change came from educated young females who wanted

to reform the status of women.

-

Primary Sources:

- Memoirs of Eradut Khan: Talks about the decline of Mughal Empire denouncing it of any

religious affiliation as both Hindus and Muslims suffered when Zoolfecar Khan was in

power due to his unapologetic spending for personal pleasures than for the people. Helps

in showing how religion was not really the issue that made Mughals implausible to rule.

The role of religious differences was rather brought into limelight during the rise of

British Empire. (1776)

- Business men are the glory and ornament of the kingdom- Shows that there was

enough awareness about trade being a medium for expansion of British Rule. (1700s-

published in 1986)
- Abu Talib- Cultural Comparisions- Draws the line between the gender roles and justifies

that Asiatic Women have it better than the Western Women in response to the critic that

Indian women lacks freedom. (1814)

- 1774, Hastings- The role of Sanyasis and fakir Raiders
- Bullhe Shah: Neither Hindu nor Muslim vs. Shah Abdul Latifs Yogis See Lord in

Nothingness- The idea of religion and different perspectives to it during the rise of British

Rule.
- The Nawab of Bengal: I have no remedy- Mir Qasim was stuck in one of the deals that

East India company made deals with the nawab of Bengal and denounced him as he

failed to maintain order while at the same time, he did not have the means to control as

well.
 - The English works of Rammohan Roy- Shows how the promise of English Education

was turned into one with Hindu Pandits and the education that had little practical

relevance. However, this was also due to the demands of Hindu extremists and striking a

balance between the modern and the extremists was a challenge constantly faced by the

British.
- Harsukh Rais Majmaul Akhbar- Indians did accept the new order as the English were

seen as extremely powerful and the resistence put forth was neither smart nor resourceful.
- Doubts concerning Christianity by Nilakantha Goreh
- Accounts of Godse- About Rani Laxmi Bai and her protest against the British. Women

being a part of this revolt of 1857.

- The Cry of Indian Women by Pandita Ramabai Saraswati: An English-educated feminist

who wanted to uplift the status of Indian women by a plea to the government to stop child

marriages, encourage female education and prevent men from remarrying while the wife

is alive.
- Dadabai Naoroji- The moral impoverishment of India : How Europeans distance

themselves from the people? Higher ranks are taken up by the people and there is no

sense of care for the people by these officials.

Main line of Argument of this essay is that British Rule, In order to establish itself relied on the

deals and treaties made with the existing local governors and due to the heavy debts by these

provinces, the land came under the British control and for the longest time was still nominally

ruled by the Governors in order to prevent resistance from the crowd. Hence, they followed the

structures put in place by Mughals but eventually changed it in the favor of the British. The

assimilation within the country almost ended after 1857 because then the privileges to Christians

and British men were given by providing them with Higher authorities in military and elsewhere.
A lot of reforms by the British were supported by educated elite in the beginning but once it was

clear that the reforms and the nominal control was not going to translate into complete

independence, resistance was observed at different points even until 1914.