The First World War as a Turning Point in Britain's Relations with India

The First World War as a Turning Point in Britain's Relations with India

The First World War was a definite turning point in Britain’s

relations with India. The worldwide conflict between 1914 and 1918 was

widely regarded as a disaster for European civilisation, ten million

men were killed and twice as many were wounded, it changed the

political social and economic issues behind British politics in a way

not seen since. To show that it was a turning point in Britain’s

relation with India Britain’s relations with India before the war must

first be explained.

British occupation of India had seen the rise and fall of the East

India Company, the Indian Mutiny revolting against the British Policy

of Westernisation to be followed by the Policy of Appeasement; all

this had led to the slow rise of Indian Nationalism. The Indian

National Congress was set up in 1885 and rapidly attracted the support

of educated Indians, all with criticisms of British rule they wished

to voice and aims of eventual self-government of India.

In 1906 the leaders of the Congress greeted the victory of the

Liberals in the British general election with great enthusiasm. These

leaders believed that this was a major step towards Indian

Nationalism; although in reality this goal was almost half a century

away Minto, the new liberal viceroy, did take Congress seriously and

consulted it about the possibility of reform, something Curzon had

never done. Minto continued to further his conservative predecessor by

responding to the nationalist demand for greater involvement for

Indians in the machinery of British rule, as a result the Liberal

Government introduced mult...

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...tunate areas.

By 1919 some countries had however, acquired a large degree of

independence, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were now

known as part of the Commonwealth rather than part of the Empire, the

traditional balance of power had been destroyed. In this sense the

First World War was a significant turning point in Britain’s relations

with India, it strengthened the determination of Indian nationalists

to press Britain for independence at a time of economic crisis in

Britain in the interwar years and it was this that eventually led to

Britain’s complete withdrawal from India.

Bibliography

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The British Empire 1815-1914 - Frank Mcdonough[1]

End Of Empires: European Decolonisation 1919-80 – Gary Thorn

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk

www.kamat.com/mmghandi/ghandi.htm