Great britain and India relations

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How did Britain’s relationship with India change as a result of the 1857 Rebellion?

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After the arrival of Lord William Bentinck in 1828 at Calacutta, this began the “unprecedented era of reform and innovation in India” that was led by the British Empire . During the early stages of this era, Britain passed many reforms and policies that made considerable refinements towards India’s the educational and administrative system, through doctrines of liberalism and evangelicalism . Yet, such policies generated resentment and religious offences towards the native Indians. As the list of grievances that affected them grew, the Indian sepoys (Hindu and Muslim soldiers) had begun to take matters into their own hands, and rallied together to form the Rebellion of 1857, which was one of the signs of India’s early attempts of planning to achieve national liberation from Britain . The aftermath that followed the Rebellion of 1857, changed India’s relationship with Britain for worse, as it created mistrust, suspicion, racial antagonism, discrimination, and a “war of races” .

The relationship between India and Britain can be dated far back at the appearance of British East India Company (who held the paramount power in India until the end of the Rebellion), and the beginning of textile trading between Britain and India . However, it was not just the power the East India Company had in India that Britain was interested in, but India’s “vast reservoir of wealth, upon which individuals, institutions, and governments could draw without restraint” . Britain saw that if India became part of its Empire and was under its control, it could “gain absolute control over its riches and resources” . Britain also saw India having a pract...

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2. Edwardes, Michael. British India 1772-1947 A survey of the nature and effects of alien rule. New York, New York; Taplinger Publishing Company, 1967

3. Edwardes, Michael. RAJ The Story of British India. London, England; Pan Books Ltd, 1969

4. Heyck W, Thomas. The Peoples of the British Isles – A New History From 1688-1870 (3rd ed, Vol 2). Chicago, Illinois; Lyceum, 2008

5. Kulkarni V,B. British Dominion in India and After. Bombay, India; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1964

6. Metcalf R, Thomas. The Aftermath of Revolt India, 1857-1870. Princeton, New Jersey; Princeton University Press, 1964

7. Pemble, John. The Raj, The Indian Mutiny, And The Kingdom Of Oudh, 1801-1859. Britain; The Harvestor Press, 1977

8. Yadav, Sanjay. “The Indian Mutiny Of 1857: Why Britain Succeeded And The Rebels Failed” Journal of Asian History 28, no.2 (1994): 136-153.

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