Smart Notes On Indian Modern History by SN

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN
MODERN HISTORY
Point. Precise. Powerful.
SMART NOTES
www.thesmartnotes.org
SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY
SMART NOTES
To our Hardworking and persistence aspirants

.
Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
SMART NOTES(HTTP://WWW.THESMARTNOTES.ORG)
SMART NOTES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The amount of personal investment it takes to make notes, especially for the first time something
like this, is tremendous. For us, years of personal experience and education accumulated until one
day we realized that we had something to say. The process of turning our opinions and experience
into a published volume has been a long one.
Second only to my family , I would like to acknowledge the unique culture of my family that allows
an individual like me the freedom to pursue the life I want to live. Although its rarely celebrated in
our society and hardly taught in our schools.
We still have many miles to go together and I look forward to sharing them all with you.
I also have to mention my lovely friendwho, although not exactly contributor to the writing effort,
shared their love in their own way, which has also been a tremendous inspiration.
Thank you to my mother, my father for their ongoing support and encouragement of all my new
initiatives since my earliest days. Acknowledgement to both my parents for continuing to lead by
example in demonstrating how to reinvent yourself and succeed, both personally and professionally.
Special thanks to Dheeraj Agrawal, whose initial recommendation that I(Avinash Singh) examine
welfare opportunities in publishing sparked the creative fire that led to this manuscript. Our team of
Smart Notes including Dheeraj, and Avinash, are the best in the technical front.
Thanks also to the many other smart, motivated, creative, and supportive friends and associates
who have helped us along the way.
SMART NOTES
INDIA UNDER THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY

The English East India Company
The English East India Company was established on 31 December 1600 as per the Royal Charter
issued by the Queen of England, Elizabeth I.
The Company had sent Captain Hawkins to the court of the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir in
1608 to secure permission to establish a factory (store house of goods) at Surat
It was turned down initially
However, in 1613, Jahangir issued the firman permitting the East India Company to establish
its first trading post at Surat.
Accordingly, the English set up business centres at Agra, Ahmedabad and Broach
In 1639, Francis Day established the city of Madras and constructed the Fort St. George.
On the west coast, the Company obtained Bombay on lease from their King, Charles II for a
rent of 10 pounds per annum in 1668.
By the year 1690, Job Charnock, the agent of the East India Company purchased three
villages namely, Sutanuti, Govindpur and Kalikatta, which, in course of time, grew into the
city of Calcutta.
After the Battle of Plassey in 1757and the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the Company became a
political power.
India was under the East India Companys rule till 1858 when it came under the direct
administration of the British Crown.
Robert Clive was the first Governor of Fort William under the Companys rule.
SMART NOTES
WARREN HASTINGS (1772-1785)

In 1772, the Company appointed Warren Hastings as the Governor of Fort William
Reforms of Warren Hastings

1. Abolition of the Dual System
The East India Company decided to act as Diwan and to undertake the collection of
revenue by its own agents.
Hence, the Dual System introduced by Robert Clive was abolished
Warren Hastings reduced the Nawabs allowance of 32 lakhs of rupees to half that
amount
He also stopped the annual payment of 26 lakhs given to the Mughal Emperor
A Board of Revenue was established at Calcutta to supervise the collection of revenue.
English Collectors were appointed in each district.
The treasury was removed from Murshidabad to Calcutta and an Accountant General
was appointed
Calcutta thus became the capital of Bengal in 1772and shortly after of British India
The Board of Revenue farmed out the lands by auction for a period of five years instead
of one year in order to find out their real value.
Yet, the system was a failure. Many zamindars defaulted and the arrears of revenue
accumulated.
2. Reorganisation of the Judicial System
The judicial system at the time of Warren Hastings ascendancy was a store-house of
abuses.
The Nawab who was hitherto the chief administrator of justice, misused his powers.
The zamindars who acted as judges at lower levels within their own areas were highly
corrupt and prejudiced
Each district was provided with a civil court Under the Collector A criminal court under
an Indian Judge
To hear appeals from the district courts two appellate courts, one for civil cases and
another for criminal cases, were established at Calcutta
The highest civil court of appeal was called Sadar Diwani Adalat,
SMART NOTES
Which was to be presided over by the Governor and two judges recruited from among
the members of his council.
Similarly, the highest appellate criminal court was known as Sadar Nizamat Adalat
Which was to function under an Indian judge appointed by the Governor-in-Council
Experts in Hindu and Muslim laws were provided to assist the judges.
An English translation of it Code of Hindu Laws was prepared by Halhed.
3. Trade Regulations and other Reforms
Warren Hastings abolished the system of dastaks, or free passes and regulated the
internal trade.
He reduced the number of custom houses and enforced a uniform tariff of 2.5 percent
for Indian and non-Indian goods
He reduced the number of custom houses and enforced a uniform tariff of 2.5 percent
for Indian and non-Indian goods
Weavers were given better treatment and facilities were made to improve their
condition.
He also introduced a uniform system of pre-paid postage system.
A bank was started in Calcutta.
The Regulating Act of 1773 (Background)

1. The Regulating Act of 1773 opened a new chapter in the constitutional history of the
Company.
2. Previously, the Home government in England consisted of the Court of Directors and the
Court of Proprietors.
3. The Court of Directors were elected annually and practically managed the affairs of the
Company
4. In India, each of the three presidencies was independent and responsible only to the Home
Government.
5. The government of the presidency was conducted by a Governor and a Council
6. The following conditions invited the Parliamentary intervention in the Companys affairs.
7. The English East India Company became a territorial power when it acquired a wide
dominion in India and also the Diwani rights.
SMART NOTES
8. The disastrous famine which broke out in Bengal in 1770 affected the agriculturists. As a
result, the revenue collection was poor
9. In short, the Company was on the brink of bankruptcy. In 1773, the Company approached
the British government for an immediate loan.
10. Under these circumstances that the Parliament of England resolved to regulate the affairs of
the Company.
11. Lord North, the Prime Minister of England, appointed a select committee to inquire into the
affairs of the Company.
12. The report submitted by the Committee paved the way for the enactment of the Regulating
Act.
Provisions of the Act

1. The term of office of the members of the Court of Directors was extended from one year to
four years. One-fourth of them were to retire every year and the retiring Directors were not
eligible for re-election.
2. The Governor of Bengal was styled the Governor-General of Fort William whose tenure of
office was for a period of five years.
3. The Governor-General in Council was made supreme over the other Presidencies in matters
of war and peace
4. Provision was made in the Act for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta
consisting of a Chief Justice and three junior judges. It was to be independent of the
Governor-general in Council.
5. In 1774, the Supreme Court was established by a Royal Charter
6. This Act prevented the servants of the Company including the Governor-General, members
of his council and the judges of the Supreme Court from receiving directly or indirectly any
gifts in kind or cash.
7. The significance of the Regulating Act is that it brought the affairs of the Company under the
control of the Parliament.
8. The greatest merit of this Act is that it put an end to the arbitrary rule of the Company
9. Provided a framework for all future enactments relating to the governing of India.
10. The main defect of the Act was that the Governor-General was made powerless
11. Because the council which was given supreme power often created deadlocks by over-ruling
his decision
12. However, many of these defects were rectified by the Pitts India Act of 1784.
SMART NOTES
Expansionist Policy of Warren Hastings

1. Warren Hastings was known for his expansionist policy. His administration witnessed the
Rohilla War,
2. The First Anglo-Maratha War and the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
The Rohilla War (1774)
1. Rohilkand was a small kingdom situated in between Oudh and the Marathas.
2. Its ruler was Hafiz Rahmat Khan.
3. He concluded a defensive treaty in 1772 with the Nawab of Oudh fearing an attack by the
Marathas.
4. But no such attack took place. But, the Nawab demanded money.
5. When Rahmat Khan evaded, the Nawab with the help of the British invaded Rohilkand
6. Warren Hastings, who sent the British troops against Rohilkand was severely criticised for his
policy on Rohilla affair
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82)
1. The Marathas were largely remained disunited since the Third Battle of Panipat (1761).
2. The internal conflict among the Marathas was best utilized by the British in their
expansionist policy.
3. In 1775, there was a dispute for the post of Peshwa between Madhav Rao and his uncle
Raghunatha Rao.
4. The British authorities in Bombay concluded the Treaty of Surat with Raghunatha Rao in
March 1775.
5. Raghunatha Rao promised to cede Bassein and Salsette to the British but later when he was
unwilling to fulfil his promise, the British captured them.
6. This action of the Bombay Government was not approved by Warren Hastings. In 1776,
Warren Hastings sent Colonel Upton to settle the issue
7. He cancelled the Treaty of Surat and concluded the Treaty of Purander with Nana Fadnavis,
another Maratha leader
8. According to this treaty Madhava Rao II was accepted as the new Peshwa and the British
retained Salsette along with a heavy war indemnity
9. However, the Home authorities rejected the Treaty of Purander. Warren Hastings also
considered the Treaty of Purandar as a scrap of paper
SMART NOTES
10. In 1781, Warren Hastings dispatched British troops under the command of Captain Popham.
He defeated the Maratha chief, Mahadaji Scindia, in a number of small battles and captured
Gwalior.
11. Later in May 1782, the Treaty of Salbai was signed between Warren Hastings and Mahadaji
Scindia
12. Accordingly, Salsette and Bassein were given to the British.
13. Raghunath Rao was pensioned off and Madhav Rao II was accepted as the Peshwa.
14. The Treaty of Salbai established the British influence in Indian politics.
15. It provided the British twenty years of peace with the Marathas
16. The Treaty also enabled the British to exert pressure on Mysore with the help of the
Marathas in recovering their territories from Haider Ali.
17. Thus, the British, on the one hand, saved themselves from the combined opposition of
Indian powers and on the other, succeeded in dividing the Indian powers.
The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84)
1. The first Anglo-Mysore War took place in 1767-69.
2. Haider Ali emerged victorious against the British and at the end of the War a defensive
treaty was concluded between Haider Ali and the British.
3. After eleven years, the Second Mysore War broke out
The main causes for the second Anglo-Mysore War were:
The British failed to fulfil the terms of the defensive treaty with Haider when he was attacked
by the Marathas in 1771
There was an outbreak of hostilities between the English and the French (an ally of Haider)
during the American War of Independence
The British captured Mahe, a French settlement within Haiders territories
Haider Ali formed a grand alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas against
the British in 1779.
The War began when the British led their forces through
Haiders territory without his permission to capture Guntur in the Northern Sarkars.
Haider Ali defeated Colonel Baillie and captured Arcot in 1780.
In the next year, Warren Hastings, by a clever stroke of diplomacy, divided the Confederacy.
He made peace with the Nizam, won the friendship of Bhonsle and came to an
understanding with the Scindia (both Marathas)
Consequently, Haider was isolated without any alliance.

SMART NOTES
He was defeated by Sir Eyre Coote at Porto Novo in March 1781.
In December 1782, Haider died of cancer at the age of sixty and his death was kept secret till
his son Tipu Sultan assumed power.
4. The Second Mysore War came to an end by the Treaty of Mangalore in 1783.
Pitts India Act, 1784

1. The Regulating Act proved to be an unsatisfactory document as it failed in its objective
2. In January 1784, Pitt the Younger (who became Prime Minister of England after the General
Elections) introduced the India Bill in the British Parliament.
3. It received royal assent in August 1784. This was the famous Pitts India Act of 1784.
Main Provisions
A Board of Control consisting of six members was created. They were appointed by the
Crown
The Court of Directors was retained without any alteration in its composition.
The Act also introduced significant changes in the Indian administration. It reduced the
number of the members of the Governor-Generals Council from four to three including the
Commander-in-Chief.
The Court of Directors controlled its commercial functions, whereas the Board of Control
maintained its political affairs.
In fact, the Board represented the King, and the Directors symbolised the Company.
The Impeachment of Warren Hastings

1. The Pitts India Act of 1784 was a rude shock and bitter disappointment for Warren Hastings.
2. His image and reputation were tarnished in England. Therefore, he resigned and left India in
June 1785
3. In 1787, Warren Hastings was impeached in the Parliament by Edmund Burke and the Whigs
for his administrative excess.
4. Burke brought forward 22 charges against him
5. He received pension from the Company and lived till 1818.
Estimate of Warren Hastings

1. He was a gifted personality endowed with strong will, great energy and resourcefulness.
2. Since he considered Indian culture as a basis for sound Indian administration, he patronised
the learning of Indian languages and arts.
SMART NOTES
LORD CORNWALLIS (1786-1793)

INTRODUCTION
1. Lord Cornwallis, a warrior-statesman, succeeded Warren Hastings as Governor-General in
1786.
2. He was also a close friend of Prime Minister Pitt and of Dundas, the most influential member
of the Board of Control.
3. It amended Pitts India Act in 1786 so as enable him to overrule the decision of the majority
of his council, if necessary.
4. A new tradition of choosing a person from an aristocratic family for the post of GovernorGeneral was initiated.
Tipu Sultan and the Third Mysore War (1790-92)

1. The Treaty of Mangalore (1784) exhibited the military strength of Mysore, exposed English
weaknesses and increased Tipus strength
2. His other designs were to wreak vengeance on the Nizam and on the Marathas as they had
betrayed his father during the hour of need
The chief causes for the Third Mysore War were
1. Tipu Sultan strengthened his position by undertaking various internal reforms. This created
worries to the British, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas
2. Moreover, Tipu made attempts to seek the help of France and Turkey by sending envoys to
those countries.
3. He also expanded his territories at the cost of his neighbours, particularly the Raja of
Travancore, who was an ally of the British.
4. In 1789, the British concluded a tripartite alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas against
Tipu
5. War broke out in May 1790 between the English and Tipu.
6. It was fought in three phases
7. English troops and inflicted heavy losses
8. Cornwallis himself assumed command in December 1790. This was the beginning of the
second phase of the war.
9. Tipus brilliant strategies prolonged the war and Cornwallis was forced to retreat
10
SMART NOTES
10. The third phase of the war began when timely aid from the Marathas with plenty of
provisions
11. Helped him to resume his campaign and marched against Srirangapattinam again.
12. The English forces occupied the hill forts near Srirangapattinam and seized it in February
1792.
Treaty of Srirangapattinam
Terms of the treaty were as follows
(i)
Tipu had to give up half his dominions
(ii)
He had to pay a war indemnity of three crore rupees and surrender two of his sons as
hostages to the English
(iii)
Both sides agreed to release the prisoners of war
(iv)
The Treaty of Srirangapattinam is a significant event in the history of South India.
(v)
The British secured a large territory on the Malabar Coast
(vi)
Tipu had been defeated but not destroyed
Reforms
The internal reforms of Cornwallis can be studied under three main heads.
Administrative reforms
Revenue reforms or Permanent Settlement
Judicial and other reforms
Administrative Reforms
1. Purification of the civil service by the employment of capable and honest public servants.
2. Abolished the vicious system of paying small salaries and allowing enormous perquisites.
3. Persuaded the Directors of the Company to pay handsome salaries to the Company servants
4. They might free themselves from commercial and corrupting activities.
5. Cornwallis inaugurated the policy of making appointments mainly on the basis of merit
6. Laying the foundation of the Indian Civil Service.
7. Abolished a number of surplus posts
8. The separation of the three branches of service, namely commercial, judicial and revenue.
9. The collectors, the king-pins of the administrative system were deprived of their judicial
powers
10. Their work became merely the collection of revenue.
11
SMART NOTES
Judicial Reforms
1. At the top of the judicial system, the highest civil and criminal courts of appeal, namely
Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat were functioning at Calcutta. Both of them
were presided over by the Governor-General and his Council.
2. There were four provincial courts of appeal at Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad and Patna,
each under three European judges assisted by Indian advisers.
3. District and City courts functioned each under a European judge. Every district was provided
with a court.
4. District Judges were appointed.
5. Indian judges or Munsiffs were appointed to all the courts at the bottom of the judicial
system.
6. In criminal cases, Muslim law was improved and followed.
7. In civil cases, Hindu and Muslim laws were followed according to the religion of the litigants
8. In suits between Hindus and Muslims, the judge was the deciding authority.
9. Cornwallis was better known as a law giver than as an administrator.
10. Cornwallis prepared a comprehensive code, covering the whole field of administration,
judicial, police, commercial and fiscal. Based upon the principle of Montesquieu
11. The Separation of Powers, which was popular in the West in 18th century.
12. In order to curb undue exercise of authority Cornwallis made all officials answerable to the
courts
Police Reforms
1. The effective implementation of judicial reforms required the reorganisation of police
administration.
2. The District Judge controlled the police.
3. Each district was divided into thanas or police circles each of which was about 20 square
miles
4. It was placed under an Indian officer called the daroga who was ably assisted by many
constables.
Other Reforms
1. Cornwallis reformed the Board of Trade which managed the commercial investments of the
Company.
2. With the aid of Charles Grant, he eradicated numerous abuses and corrupt practices.
3. Fair treatment was given to weavers and Indian workers.
12
SMART NOTES
4. He increased the remuneration for honest service.

Estimate of Cornwallis
1. Cornwallis, a blue-blooded aristocrat, was an ardent patriot.
2. He discharged his duties fearlessly, and his life was an embodiment of duty and sacrifice.
3. He perceived the danger of Tipus growing power and curtailed it by boldly discarding the
policy of non-intervention.
4. As an administrator, he consolidated the Companys position in India and started the
tradition of efficient and pure administration.
5. His administrative and judicial reforms were solid achievements He may be regarded the
parent of the Indian Administrative Service and founder of an efficient and clean system of
administration.
6. Sir John Shore (1793-98) succeeded Cornwallis as Governor General and his administration
was uneventful
13
SMART NOTES
THE MARQUESS OF WELLESLEY (1798-1805)

1. He was a great imperialist and called himself a Bengal tiger
2. Wellesley came to India with a determination to launch a forward policy in order to make
the British Empire in India into the British Empire of India
3. The system that he adopted to achieve his object is known as the Subsidiary Alliance
Political Condition of India at the time of Wellesleys Arrival

1. In the north-western India, the danger of Zaman Shahs aggression posed a serious threat to
the British power in India.
2. In the north and central India, the Marathas remained a formidable political power.
3. The Nizam of Hyderabad employed the Frenchmen to train his
4. The political unrest in the Karnataka region continued and Tipu Sultan had remained the
uncompromising enemy of the British
5. The policy of neutrality adopted by Sir John Shore, the successor of Cornwallis, created a
kind of political unrest in India and greatly affected the prestige of the English.
6. His non-intervention policy contributed much to the growth of anti-British feelings
7. Further, Napoleons move for an Eastern invasion created a fear among English statesmen.
8. Preservation of British prestige and removal of French danger from India were Wellesleys
twin aims
9. He was also thoroughly convinced that only a strong British power in India could reduce and
control the existing tyranny and corruption in Indian states
The Subsidiary System
1. The predecessors of Wellesley concluded alliances with Indian princes like the Nawab of
Oudh and the Nizam of Hyderabad
2. They received subsidies from the Indian rulers for the maintenance of British troops
3. Which were used for the protection of respective Indian states
Main Features of Subsidiary Alliance
1. Any Indian ruler who entered into the subsidiary alliance with the British had to maintain a
contingent of British troops in his territory.
2. It was commanded by a British officer. The Indian state was called the protected state and
the British hereinafter were referred to as the paramount power.
3. Help its ruler maintain internal peace.
14
SMART NOTES
4. The protected state should give some money or give part of its territory to the British to
support the subsidiary force.
5. The protected state should cut off its connection with European powers other than the
English and with the French in particular.
6. The state was also forbidden to have any political contact even with other Indian powers
without the permission of the British.
7. The ruler of the protected state should keep a British Resident at his court and disband his
own army.
8. He should not employ Europeans in his service without the sanction of the paramount
power.
9. The paramount power should not interfere in the internal affairs of the protected state.
Benefits to the British

1. Wellesleys Subsidiary System is regarded as one of the masterstrokes of British imperialism.
2. It increased the military strength of the Company in India at the expense of the protected
states.
3. The territories of the Company were free from the ravages of war thereby establishing the
stability of the British power in India
4. Under the system, expansion of British power became easy. Thus Wellesleys diplomacy
made the British the paramount power in India.
Defects of the Subsidiary System
1. Introduction of anarchy because of the unemployment of thousands of soldiers sent away by
the Indian princes.
2. The freebooting activities of disbanded soldiers were felt much in central India where the
menace of Pindaris affected the people.
3. Further, the subsidiary system had a demoralizing effect on the princes of the protected
states.
4. Safeguarded against external danger and internal revolt, they neglected their administrative
responsibilities.
5. They preferred to lead easy-going and pleasure seeking lives.
6. As a result misgovernment followed. In course of time, the anarchy and misrule in several
states had resulted in their annexation by the British.
7. Thus, the subsidiary system proved to be a preparation for annexation.
15
SMART NOTES
Enforcement of the Subsidiary System

Hyderabad:
1. Hyderabad was the first state which was brought under Wellesleys Subsidiary System in
1798.
2. It fixed the amount to be paid annually at Rs.24 lakhs for the subsidiary force.
3. In accordance with the treaty, all the French troops in Hyderabad were disbanded and
replaced by a subsidiary British force.
4. A new treaty was concluded in 1800 by which the Nizam ceded large territories to the
Company and this constitutes the famous Ceded Districts
Oudh
1. The threat of invasion by Zaman Shah of Afghanistan was the pretext for Wellesley to force
the Nawab of Oudh to enter into a subsidiary treaty
2. The Nawab gave the British the rich lands of Rohilkhand, the lower Doab and Gorakhpur for
the maintenance of an increased army which the British stationed in the capital of Oudh.
3. The strength of Nawabs own army was reduced. For the maintenance of law and order the
British were authorised to frame rules and regulations
4. By this, the British acquired the right to interfere in the internal matters of Oudh.
5. Highhanded action of Wellesley was severely criticized
Tanjore, Surat and the Karnataka
1. Wellesley assumed the administration of Tanjore, Surat and the Karnataka by concluding
treaties with the respective rulers of these states.
2. The Maratha state of Tanjore witnessed a succession dispute
3. In 1799, Wellesley concluded a treaty with Serfoji
4. In accordance with this treaty the British took over the administration of the state and
allowed Serfoji to retain the title of Raja with a pension of 4 lakhs of rupees.
5. The principality of Surat came under British protection as early as 1759.
6. The Nawab of this historic city died in 1799 and his brother succeeded him.
7. The change of succession provided Wellesley an opportunity to take over the administration
of Surat.
8. The Nawab was allowed to retain the title and given a pension of one lakh of rupees.
9. The people of Karnataka had been suffering for a long time by the double government.
16
SMART NOTES
10. The Nawab, Umadat-ul-Umara was an incompetent ruler noted for his extravagance and
misrule.
11. He died in the middle of 1801 and his son, Ali Hussain became the Nawab. Wellesley asked
him to retire He refused
12. The entire military and civil administration of the Karnataka came under the British
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)

The circumstances which led to the Fourth Mysore War
1. Tipu Sultan wanted to avenge
2. He also aimed at making Mysore a strong state.
3. He took efforts to seek the help of the France, Arabia, Kabul and Turkey.
4. He corresponded with the Revolutionary French Government in July 1798.
5. At Srirangapattinam, a Jacobian Club was started and the flag of the French Republic was
hoisted
6. When Napoleon came to power, Tipu received a friendly letter from Napoleon (who was in
Egypt at that time).
7. Wellesley tried to revive the Triple Alliance of 1790 with the Marathas.
8. Not accepted by the Marathas, they promised to remain neutral.
9. Subsidiary Alliance with the Nizam was concluded by the British and as a consequence, the
French force at Hyderabad was disbanded.
10. Wellesley set out to persuade Tipu to accept a pact of subsidiary alliance and wrote letters
requesting the Tipu to dismiss the French,
11. Tipu paid scant attention to Wellesleys letters and thus the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war
started
12. Although severely wounded, he fought till his capital Srirangapattinam was captured and he
himself was shot dead
Mysore after the War
1. With the fall of Tipu Sultan the kingdom of Mysore fell at the feet of Wellesley.
2. He restored Hindu rule at the central part
3. A five year old boy, Krishnaraja III, a descendant of the dethroned Hindu Raja, was
enthroned at Mysore, which became the capital almost after two hundred years.
17
SMART NOTES
Wellesley and the Marathas

1. Nana Fadnavis provided the leadership to the Marathas
2. His death in 1800 removed the last great Maratha leader.
3. Peshwa Baji Rao II, despite his stately appearance and immense learning, lacked political
wisdom.
4. The infighting among the Maratha leaders proved to be self-destructive.
5. Peshwa Baji Rao II was in great danger, so he fled to Bassein where he signed the Treaty of
Bassein with the British in 180
6. It was a subsidiary treaty and the Peshwa was recognized as the head of the Maratha
kingdom.
7. The British troops marched under the command of Arthur Wellesley towards Poona and
restored the Peshwa to his position.
The Second Maratha War (1803-1805)
1. Daulat Rao Scindia and Raghoji Bhonsle took the Treaty of Bassein as an insult to the
national honour of the Marathas.
2. Arthur Wellesley captured Ahmadnagar in August 1803 and defeated the combined forces of
Scindia and Bhonsle at Assaye near Aurangabad.
3. The Treaty of Deogaon was signed between Bhonsle and Wellesley.
4. The former signed the subsidiary treaty which forced him to give up the province of Cuttack
in Orissa
5. Scindia signed a subsidiary treaty with the British. It is known as the Treaty of Surji
Arjungaon.
Estimate of Wellesley
1. An unscrupulous annexationist and an advocate of forward policy,
2. Wellesley was one of the greatest empire-builders that England had ever produced.
3. Wellesley converted the British Empire in India to the British Empire of India
4. He located the weak spots of the Indian powers and applied his political technique (namely
Subsidiary Alliance).
5. He rightly deserves to be called the maker of the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the
creator of the Province of Agra.
6. Sir George Barlow was the next Governor-General for two years (1805-07)
7. The Vellore Mutiny of 1806 took place during his administration.
18
SMART NOTES
8. He was succeeded by Lord Minto (1807-13) who concluded the Treaty of Amritsar with
Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 1809.
9. The Charter Act of 1813 was passed during this period.
19
SMART NOTES
LORD HASTINGS (1813-1823)
Lord Hastings became Governor-general in 1813.
He adopted a vigorous forward policy and waged wars extensively
Conditions in India when he assumed power posed a serious threat to the British
administration
There was anarchy in central India.
The Pindaris plundered the whole region and the Marathas could not control them
The Peshwa was secretly plotting against the British
War against the Ghurkhas (1814-16)

1. Nepal emerged as a powerful Ghurkha state in 1768.
2. In 1801, the British acquired the districts of Gorakhpur and Basti from the Nawab of Oudh.
3. This move brought the boundary of Nepal to touch the British frontier.
4. The aggressions of the Ghurkhas into the British territories culminated in a war.
5. Amar Singh Thapa, the able General of Nepal Army was forced to surrender
6. In March 1816, the Treaty of Sagauliwas concluded.
7. The Ghurkhas gave up their claim over the Tarai region and ceded the areas of Kumaon and
Garhwal to the British.
8. The British now secured the area around Shimla and their north-western borders touched
the Himalayas.
9. The Ghurkhas had to withdraw from Sikkim and they also agreed to keep a British Resident
at Katmandu.
10. It was also agreed that the kingdom of Nepal would not employ any other foreigner in its
services other than the English.
11. The British had also obtained the sites of hill stations like Shimla, Mussoori, Nainital,
Ranikhet and developed them as tourist and health resorts
12. . After this victory in the Ghurkha War Hastings was honoured with English peerage and he
became Marquis of Hastings
Suppression of the Pindaris
1. The first reference about them is during the Mughal invasion of Maharashtra.
2. They did not belong to any particular caste or creed.
3. During the time of Baji Rao I, they were irregular horsemen attached to the Maratha army.
20
SMART NOTES
4. They were mostly active in the areas of Rajputana and the Central Provinces and subsisted
on plunder.
5. Their leaders belonged to both the Hindu as well as the Muslim communities
6. Chief amongst them were Wasil Muhammad, Chitu and Karim Khan.
7. In 1812, the Pindaris plundered the districts of Mirzapur and Shahabad and in 1815 they
raided the Nizams dominions. In 1816,
8. By 1818, the Pindaris were completely suppressed and all their bands disintegrated
9. Karim Khan was given a small estate in the Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces.
10. By 1824, the menace of the Pindaris came to an end
Downfall of the Maratha Confederacy
1. In reality, the Maratha power had weakened considerably after the Third Battle of Panipat
(1761)
2. The Maratha chiefs fought amongst themselves and their successors were invariably weak
and incapable
3. Peshwa Baji Rao II wanted to become the head of the Maratha Confederacy
4. Wanted freedom from the British control
5. His Chief Minister Tirimbakji encouraged him.
6. On the advice of the Company, the Gaekwar sent his Prime Minister Gangadhar Shastri to
negotiate with the Peshwa.
7. Gangadhar Shastri, was murdered at Nasik in July 1815, at the instance of Triambakji.
8. This caused a lot of anger not only among the Marathas but also among the British
9. The latter asked the Peshwa to handover Triambakji to them.
10. Peshwa handed over his Minister to the British, who lodged him in Thana jail from where he
escaped
11. Consequently, on 13 June 1817, the British Resident Elphinstone forced the Peshwa to sign
the Treaty of Poona
12. Baji Rao gave up his desire to become the supreme head of the Marathas
Third Maratha War (1817-1819)
1. But soon the Peshwa undid this treaty with the British and on 5 November 1817 attacked
the British Residency
2. The Bhonsle chief, Appa Sahib also refused to abide by the Treaty of Nagpur, which he had
signed with the British on 17 May 1816.
3. He fought with the British in the Battle of Sitabaldiin November 1817, but was defeated
21
SMART NOTES
4. The Peshwa now turned to Holkar for help, but Holkar too was defeated by the British on 21
December 1817 at Baroda.
5. The Peshwa now turned to Holkar for help, but Holkar too was defeated by the British on 21
December 1817 at Baroda.
Causes of the Defeat of the Marathas
1. The main reasons were
2. Lack of capable leadership
3. Military weakness of the Marathas.
4. The major drawback of the Maratha power was mutual bitterness and lack of cooperation
amongst themselves
5. The Marathas hardly left any positive impact on the conquered territories.
6. The Marathas did not have cordial relations with other princes and Nawabs of India.
7. The Marathas failed to estimate correctly the political and diplomatic strength of the British
Reforms of Hastings
1. He approved the Ryotwari system of land revenue
2. Madras Presidency by Sir Thomas Munroe.
3. In the sphere of judiciary, the Cornwallis Code was improved.
4. The Police system of Bengal was extended to other regions.
5. The importance of Indian Munsiffs had increased during his administration.
6. The separation of judicial and revenue departments was not rigidly followed. Instead, the
District Collector acted as Magistrate.
7. Hastings had also encouraged the foundation of vernacular schools by missionaries and
others
8. In 1817, the Hindu College was established at Calcutta by the public for the teaching of
English and western science.
9. Hastings was the Patron of this college. He encouraged the freedom of the Press and
abolished the censorship introduced in 1799.
10. The Bengali Weekly, Samachar Darpanwas started in 1818 by Marshman, a Serampore
missionary.
22
SMART NOTES
Estimate
1. Lord Hastings was an able soldier and a brilliant administrator.
2. His liberal views on education and Press are commendable
3. He suppressed the Pindaris, defeated the Marathas and curbed the power of the Ghurkhas.
4. He was considered the maker of the Bombay Presidency.
5. The completed and consolidated the work of Wellesley.
6. Lord Hastings was succeeded by Lord Amherst (1823-28) who fought the First Anglo-Mysore
War (1824-26)
23
SMART NOTES
LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK (1828-1835)
Lord William Bentinck assumed the office of the Governor-general in 1828
He was appointed the Governor of Madras in 1803
The first Governor-general of British India
Who acted on the dictum that the welfare of the subject peoples was a main, perhaps the
primary, duty of the British in India
Policy towards Indian States
William Bentinck adopted a policy of non-intervention and non-aggression with Indian states
Mysore
1. In Mysore, Hindu rule under Krishnaraja III was restored by Wellesley.
2. Later, when the young raja assumed full control of the government he proved incompetent.
3. The peasantry of the state suffered from many grievances.
4. The British authorities took over the administration of Mysore State and placed it under the
control of a commissioner.
5. Sir Mark Cubbon was commissioner from 1834 to 1861 and his administration was beneficial
to the people of Mysore.
6. Even today, the famous Cubbon Park in Bangalore city has been named after him to remind
his services to Mysore
Cachar and Jaintia
1. The principality of Cachar lying in the North East Frontier came under the protection of the
British in accordance with the Treaty of Yandaboo concluded at the end of the first Burmese
War.
2. The Raja of this small state was assassinated in 1832 but there was no heir to succeed him.
3. Bentinck annexed this state at the wish of the people
Coorg
1. Vira Raja was a ruthless ruler of Coorg who treated his people with savage barbarity and
killed all his male relatives.
2. Lord William Bentinck decided to deal with him effectively
3. The Raja was deposed in 1834 and the state was annexed
24
SMART NOTES
Relations with Ranjit Singh

1. Lord William Bentinck was the first Governor-General to visualise a Russian threat to India.
2. Hence, he was eager to negotiate friendly relations both with the ruler of Punjab, Maharajah
Ranjit Singh and also with the Amirs of Sind.
3. His earnest desire was that Afghanistan should be made a buffer state between India and
any possible invader.
4. The meeting of Bentinck and Ranjit Singh on 25 October, 1831 at Rupar on the bank of the
river Sutlej amidst show and splendor.
5. The Governor-General was successful in winning the friendship of Ranjit Singh and the Indus
Navigation Treaty was concluded between them.
Charter Act of 1833
1. The Regulating Act of 1773 made it compulsory to renew the Companys Charter after
twenty years.
2. Hence, the Charter Act of 1793 was passed by the Parliament.
3. The Charter Act of 1813 provided one lakh of rupees annually for the promotion of Indian
education.
4. It also extended the Companys charter for another twenty years.
5. The Charter Act of 1833 was a significant constitutional instrument defining the scope and
authority of the East India Company
6. The liberal and utilitarian philosophy of Bentham was made popular by the provisions of this
Act
Following were the important provisions:
1. The English East India Company ceased to be a commercial agency in India.
2. It would function hereafter as the political agent for the Crown
3. The Governor-General of Fort William was hereafter called the Governor- General of India.
4. Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India
5. Law Member was appointed to the Governor-Generals Council.
6. T. B. Macaulay was the first Law Member of the Governor-general-in-Council
7. The Act categorically stated that no native of India, nor any natural born subject of His
Majesty,
8. Should be disabled from holding any place, office, or employment, by reason of his religion,
place of birth, descent or colour
9. It was this enactment which laid the foundation for the Indenisation of public services
25
SMART NOTES
10. After twenty years, the Charter Act of 1853 was passed and it was the last in the series of
Charter Acts
Reforms of Lord William Bentinck
Covered only a short span of seven years, it saw a period of enduring reforms
They may be classified as financial, administrative, social and educational.
Financial Reforms
1. When Bentinck assumed the Governor-General ship in 1828, the financial position of the
Company was poor.
2. He reduced the salaries and allowances of all officers and additional staff were removed
3. In the military department, he abolished the system of double batta.
4. By these financial reforms at the time of his departure, he left the treasury with a surplus of
Rs.1.5 million
Administrative Reforms
1. Bentincks administrative reforms speak of his political maturity and wisdom.
2. In the judicial department he abolished the provincial courts of appeal established by
Cornwallis.
3. Introduction of local languages in the lower courts and English in the higher courts in the
place of Persian.
Social Reforms
The social reforms of William Bentinck made his name immortal in the history of British
India.
These include the abolition of Sati, the suppression of Thugs and the prevention of female
infanticide.
Abolition of Sati
1. The practice of sati, the age old custom of burning of widows alive on the funeral pyre of
their husbands
2. This inhuman social custom was very common in northern India more particularly in Bengal
3. Bentinck was greatly distressed when he received a report of 800 cases of sati in a single
year and that from Bengal.
26
SMART NOTES
4. He determined to abolish this practice which he considered an offence against natural

justice.
5. Promulgated his Regulation XVII on 4 December 1829 prohibiting the practice of sati.
6. Those who practiced sati were made liable for punishment by law courts as accessories to
the crime
7. The Regulation was extended to the Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830.
8. The Regulation was extended to the Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830.
Suppression of Thugs
1. They were hereditary robbers. They went about in small groups of fifty to hundred posing as
commercial gangs or pilgrims strangling and robbing peaceful travellers.
2. They increased in number in central and northern India during the 18th century
3. A campaign was systematically organised by Colonel Sleeman from 1830 against the thugs
4. During the course of five years nearly 2000 of them were captured.
5. For his role in the suppression of thugs, Sir William Sleeman was known as Thugee
Sleeman.
Female Infanticide
1. Female infanticide was one of the horrible and heartless deeds committed even by civilized
people.
2. This practice killing female infants was very much prevalent in places like Rajputana, Punjab,
Malwa and Cutch.
3. He not only prohibited female infanticide but declared them as punishable crime.
Introduction of English Education
1. He appointed a committee headed by Lord Macaulay to make recommendations for the
promotion of education.
2. In his report, Macaulay emphasized the promotion of European literature and science
through English medium to the people of India.
3. This recommendation was wholeheartedly accepted by William Bentinck.
4. The Government Resolution in 1835 made English the official and literary language of India.
5. In the same year, William Bentinck laid foundation of the Calcutta Medical College. Estimate
27
SMART NOTES
Estimate of William Bentinck

1. Bentinck was a straightforward, honest, upright, benevolent, sensible man
2. His social reforms such as abolition of sati and prevention of child sacrifice eradicated age
old evils from Hindu society
3. It is gratifying to note that Bentinck acted where others had talked.
4. After William Bentinck, Lord Auckland (1836-42) became Governor-General.
5. The First Afghan War (1836-42) was fought during his administration
6. Due to his failure in Afghanistan he was recalled in 1842.
7. Lord Ellenborough succeeded him and ended the Afghan War.
8. He also annexed the Sindh
9. His successor, Lord Hardinge (1844-48) fought the first Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46) and
concluded the Treaty of Lahore.
28
SMART NOTES
LORD DALHOUSIE (1848-1856)

1. Lord Dalhousie was the youngest Governor-General of India when he assumed charge at the
age of 36 in 1848.
2. He studied in Christ Church, Oxford
3. He became Member of Parliament and enjoyed the confidence of Sir Robert Peel, the Prime
Minister of England.
4. In 1847, he was offered the Governor-General ship of India which he accepted and arrived at
Calcutta in January 1848.
Policy of Annexation
1. Although he used different reasons for annexation, his main objective was to end misrule in
the annexed states, as in the case of the annexation of Oudh.
2. He aimed at providing the beneficent administration to the people of the annexed states
3. His great annexations include the Punjab, Lower Burma, most of the Central Provinces and
Oudh
Annexation of Punjab
1. At the end of the second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, Punjab was annexed by Dalhousie.
2. The province was divided into small districts under the control of District Officers who were
called Deputy Commissioners
3. These commissioners with the help of their assistants came into close contact with people.
4. . Revenue and judicial departments were combined to secure concentration of power and
responsibility
5. The laws and procedure were simplified in accordance with the custom of the people.
6. In 1859, Sir John Lawrence became the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab
Second Burmese War and the Annexation of Lower Burma
1. In 1852, commercial disputes in Rangoon prompted new hostilities between the British and
the Burmese
2. After the end of the second Burmese War (1852), Dalhousie annexed Lower Burmawith its
capital at Pegu.
3. Annexation of Lower Burma proved beneficial to Britain.
4. Rangoon, Britains most valuable acquisition from the war became one of the biggest ports
in Asia
29
SMART NOTES
Doctrine of Lapse
1. According to the Hindu Law, one can adopt a son in case of no male heir to inherit the
property.
2. The question arose whether a Hindu ruler, holding his state subordinate to the paramount
power, could adopt a son to succeed his kingdom.
3. It was customary for a ruler without a natural heir to ask the British Government whether he
could adopt a son to succeed him
4. According to Dalhousie, if such permission was refused by the British, the state would
lapse and thereby become part of the British India
5. Dalhousie maintained that there was a difference in principle between the right to inherit
private property and the right to govern.
6. This principle was called the Doctrine of Lapse.
7. The Doctrine of Lapse was applied by Dalhousie to Satara and it was annexed in 1848.
8. Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed in 1854
9. As a result of these annexations, a large part of the Central Provinces came under the British
rule.
10. Although the Doctrine of Lapse cannot be regarded as illegal, its application by Dalhousie
was disliked by Indian princes.
11. After the Mutiny of 1857, the doctrine of lapse was withdrawn.
Annexation of Oudh
1. The British relations with the state of Oudh go back to the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765
2. Right from Warren Hastings, many Governor-Generals advised the Nawab of Oudh to
improve the administration.
3. . After surveying the situation in Oudh, Dalhousie annexed it in 1856
4. Nawab Wajid Ali was granted a pension of 12 lakhs of rupees per year.
5. The annexed territory came under the control of a Chief Commissioner
6. Dalhousies annexation of Oudh, the last one among his annexations, created great political
danger.
7. The annexation offended the Muslim elite
8. More dangerous was the effect on the British armys Indian troops, many of whom came
from Oudh
9. They had occupied a privileged position before its annexation.
10. Under the British Government they were treated as equals with the rest of the population
30
SMART NOTES
11. This is a loss of prestige for them. In these various ways, the annexation of Oudh contributed
to the Mutiny of 1857.
Domestic Reforms of Dalhousie
1. The appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor to Bengal enabled Dalhousie concentrate on
administration.
2. His greatest achievement was the moulding of the new provinces into a modern centralized
state.
3. For the newly acquired territories, he introduced the centralized control called NonRegulation System.
4. Under this system a Commissioner
5. Was appointed for a newly acquired territory.
6. Under military reforms Dalhousie shifted the headquarters of Bengal Artillery from Calcutta
to Meerut.
7. Shimla was made the permanent headquarters of the army.
Railway
1. The introduction railways in India inaugurated a new economic era
2. Three major reasons for the British to take interest in its quick development
3. The first reason was commercial.
4. The second main reason was administrative.
5. The third reason was defence
6. At the time of revolt and disturbance, movement of the forces was much easier through
railways.
7. In 1853, he penned his Railway Minute formulating the future policy of railways in India.
8. He started the guarantee system by which the railway companies were guaranteed a
minimum interest of five percent on their investment
9. The government retained the right of buying the railway at the end of the period of contract.
10. The first railway line connecting Bombay with Thane was opened in 1853.
11. Railway lines connecting from Calcutta to the Raniganj coal-fields was opened in 1854
12. From Madras to Arakkonam in 1856
13. His first railway in the world was opened in 1825 in England.
31
SMART NOTES
Telegraph
1. Similarly, the use of Telegraph brought marvellous changes in communication system.
2. . In 1852, OShaughnessy was appointed the Superintendent of Telegraph Department
3. Main cities of the country viz., Calcutta, Peshawar, Bombay and Madras were telegraphically
connected.
4. About 4000 miles long Telegraph lines were laid before the departure of Dalhousie.
5. During the 1857 Revolt, the system of telegraphic communication proved a boon for the
English and the military value of Dalhousies creation was much realized at that time.
Postal Reform
1. The foundation of modern postal system was laid down by Lord Dalhousie.
2. A new Post Office Act was passed in 1854
3. Irrespective of the distance over which the letter was sent, a uniform rate of half an anna
per post card was charged throughout India.
4. Postage stamps were introduced for the first time.
Education
1. The educational Despatch of Sir Charles Wood (1854) was considered the Intellectual
Charter of India.
2. It provided an outline for the comprehensive scheme of education at primary, secondary
and collegiate levels.
3. Departments of Public Instructions were organized.
4. The Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were founded in 1857
Public Works Department
1. Before the period of Dalhousie, the job of the Public Works Department was done by the
Military Board.
2. Dalhousie created a separate Public Works Department and allotted more funds for cutting
canals and roads
3. The Upper Ganges Canal was completed in 1854
4. Many bridges were constructed. By modernizing the Public Works
5. Department he laid the foundations of the engineering service in India.
32
SMART NOTES
Estimate of Dalhousie
1. Dalhousie left India in 1856. The outbreak of Mutiny in the following year led to a severe
criticism of his policy of annexation.
2. He fell ill and died in 1860.
3. There is no doubt that Dalhousie was an able administrator and visionary
4. He was the father of Railways and Telegraphs.
5. He introduced the process of modernization of India. Hence, he is hailed as the maker of
modern India
33
SMART NOTES
REVENUE ADMINISTRATION AND ECONOMIC POLICY OF

THE BRITISH
British Agrarian Policy
1. Till the 18th century, there was a strong relation between agriculture and cottage industries
in India.
2. The British destroyed handicraft industry
3. The British policies revolved around getting maximum income from land without caring
much about Indian interests of the cultivators.
4. After their advent, the British principally adopted three types of land tenures.
5. Roughly 19 per cent of the total area under the British rule, i.e., Bengal, Bihar, Banaras,
division of the Northern Western Provinces and northern Karnatak, were brought under the
Zamindari System or the Permanent Settlement
6. The second revenue system, called the Mahalwari Settlement, was introduced in about 30
per cent of the total area under British rule i.e., in major parts of the North Western
Provinces, Central Provinces and the Punjab with some variations
7. The Ryotwari System covered about 51 per cent of the area under British rule comprising
part of the Bombay and Madras Presidencies, Assam and certain other parts of British India.
The Permanent Settlement

1. Lord Cornwallis most conspicuous administrative measure was the Permanent Land
Revenue Settlement of Bengal
2. Which was extended to the provinces of Bihar and Orissa.
3. Warren Hastings introduced the annual lease system of auctioning the land to the highest
bidder.
4. Cornwallis at the time of his appointment was instructed by the Directors
5. Find a satisfactory and permanent solution to the problems of the land revenue system in
order to protect the interests of both the Company and the cultivators.
6. He decided to abolish the annual lease system
7. Introduce a decennial (Ten years) settlement which was subsequently declared to be
continuous
8. The main features of the Permanent Settlement were as follows
34
SMART NOTES
9. His zamindars of Bengal were recognised as the owners of land as long as they paid the
revenue to the East India Company regularly
10. The amount of revenue that the zamindars had to pay to the Company was firmly fixed and
would not be raised under any circumstances. In other words the Government of the East
India Company got 89% leaving the rest to the zamindars
11. The ryots became tenants since they were considered the tillers of the soil
12. This settlement took away the administrative and judicial functions of the zamindars
13. The flagrant defect of this arrangement was that no attempt was made ever either to survey
the lands or to assess their value
14. . The effects of this system both on the zamindars and ryots were disastrous.
15. Many zamindars defaulted on payments.
16. Their property was seized and distress sales were conducted leading to their ruin.
17. The rich zamindars who led luxurious lives left their villages and migrated into towns.
18. They entrusted their rent collection to agents who exacted all kinds of illegal taxes besides
the legal ones from the ryots
19. This had resulted in a great deal of misery amongst the peasants and farmers
20. Therefore Lord Cornwallis idea of building a system of benevolent land-lordism failed.
21. Nevertheless, this system proved to be a great boon to the zamindars and to the
government of Bengal.
22. It formed a regular income and stabilised the government of the Company.
23. The zamindars prospered at the cost of the welfare of the tenants
Ryotwari Settlement
1. The Ryotwari settlement was introduced mainly in Madras, Berar, Bombay and Assam.
2. Sir Thomas Munro introduced this system in the Madras Presidency
3. Under this settlement, the peasant was recognised as the proprietor of land.
4. There was no intermediary like a Zamindar between the peasant and the government
5. So long as he paid the revenue in time, the peasant was not evicted from the land
6. Besides, the land revenue was fixed for a period from 20 to 40 years at a time
7. Every peasant was held personally responsible for direct payment of land revenue to the
government.
8. This system also failed.
9. Under this settlement it was certainly not possible to collect revenue in a systematic
manner.
35
SMART NOTES
Mahalwari Settlement
1. In 1833, the Mahalwari settlement was introduced in the Punjab, the Central Provinces and
parts of North Western Provinces.
2. The basic unit of revenue settlement was the village or the Mahal.
3. As the village lands belonged jointly to the village community, the responsibility of paying
the revenue rested with the entire Mahal or the village community.
4. So the entire land of the village was measured at the time of fixing the revenue.
5. Yet its benefit was largely enjoyed by the government.
British Policy towards Indian Handicrafts
1. The European companies began arriving on the Indian soil from 16th century.
2. As far as the traditional handicraft industry and the production of objects of art were
concerned,
3. India was already far ahead of other countries in the world.
4. The textiles were the most important among the Indian industries.
5. Its cotton, silk and woollen products were sought after all over the world.
6. Particularly, the muslin of Dacca, carpets of Lahore, shawls of Kashmir, and the embroidery
works of Banaras were very famous.
7. Ivory goods, wood works and jewellery were other widely sought after Indian commodities.
8. Dhotis and dupattas of Ahmedabad
9. Chikan of Lucknow, and silk borders of Nagpur had earned a worldwide fame.
10. For their silk products some small towns of Bengal besides, Malda and Murshidabad were
very famous.
11. Similarly, Kashmir, Punjab and western Rajasthan were famous for their woollen garments.
12. Besides textiles, India was also known widely for its shipping, leather and metal industries.
13. Indian fame as an industrial economy rested on cutting and polishing of marble and other
precious stones and carving of ivory and sandalwood.
14. Moradabad and Banaras were famous for brass, copper, bronze utensils.
15. Nasik, Poona, Hyderabad and Tanjore were famous for other metal works
16. Kutch, Sind and Punjab were known for manufacturing arms.
17. Kolhapur, Satara, Gorakhpur, Agra, Chittor and Palaghat had likewise earned a reputation for
their glass industries.
18. The Indian handicraft industry had begun to decline by the beginning of the 18th century
19. There were many reasons for it.
36
SMART NOTES
20. First, the policies followed by the English East India Company proved to be highly
detrimental to the Indian handicrafts industry.
21. The Indian market was flooded with the cheap finished goods from Britain.
22. It resulted in a steep decline in the sale of Indian products both within and outside of the
country.
23. The Company encouraged the cultivation of raw silk in Bengal while imposing service
restrictions on the sale of its finished products.
24. So, with the disappearance of the traditional dynasties, their nobility also passed into
oblivion.
25. This led to a sharp decline in the demand for traditional luxury goods.
26. Besides, the Industrial revolution led to the invention of new machinery in Europe.
27. Power looms replaced handlooms
28. Finally, the new communication and transport facilities brought about a revolution in public
life.
29. But now conditions were changed with the introduction of railways and steamer services.
30. Concrete roads were laid to connect the countrys agricultural hinterland.
37
SMART NOTES
EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL REFORMS

Language and Education Policy
1. Although the British had captured Bengal in 1757, yet the responsibility of imparting
education remained only in Indian hands.
2. The study of ancient texts written in Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit still continued.
3. In 1781, Warren Hastings established a Madrasa in Calcutta to encourage the study of
Muslim laws along with Arabic and Persian languages.
4. A decade later in 1791 due to the sincere efforts of the British resident, Jonathan Duncan, a
Sanskrit College was established to promote the study of Hindu laws and philosophy in
Banaras
5. It is apparent from the government and Church records that
6. There were about 80,000 traditional institutions of learning in Bengal alone
7. Which means that there was at least one institution for every four hundred people in that
province
8. Different educational surveys of Madras, Bombay and Punjab also demonstrate similar facts
9. There was at least one school in every village of India at that time
10. The East India Company began to adopt a dual policy in the sphere of education.
11. It discouraged the prevalent system of oriental education and gave importance to western
education and English language.
12. The Charter Act of 1813 adopted a provision to spend one lakh rupees per annum for the
spread of education in India
13. Consequently, not even a single penny out of the allocated funds could be spent on
education.
14. The contemporary British scholars were divided into two groups on the issue of
development of education in India.
15. One group, called the Orientalists, advocated the promotion of oriental subjects through
Indian languages.
16. The other group, called the Anglicists, argued the cause of western sciences and literature in
the medium of English language.
17. In 1829, after assuming the office of the Governor-General of India, Lord William Bentinck,
emphasized on the medium of English language in Indian education.
18. In the beginning of 1835, the 10 members of the General Committee of Public Instruction
were clearly divided into two equal groups
38
SMART NOTES
19. Five members including the Chairman of the committee Lord Macaulay were in favour of
adopting English
20. Other five were in favour of oriental languages
21. The stalemate continued till 2 February 1835 when the Chairman of the committee, Lord
Macaulay announced his famous Minute advocating the Anglicists point of view.
22. Bentinck got the resolution passed on 7 March 1835 which declared that henceforth
23. Government funds would be utilized for the promotion of western literature and science
through the medium of English language
24. In 1854, Sir Charles Wood sent a comprehensive dispatch as a grand plan on education.
25. The establishment of departments of public instructions in five provinces
26. Introduction of the pattern of grants in aid to encourage private participation in the field of
education were recommended.
27. The dispatch also laid emphasis on the establishment of schools for technical education,
teacher and women education.
28. The dispatch recommended the establishment of one University each in Calcutta, Bombay
and Madras,
29. On the model of the London University
30. Consequently, within the next few years, the Indian education became rapidly westernized.
Social Policies and Legislation
1. In the beginning, the British interest was limited to trade and earning profits from economic
exploitation.
2. They were apprehensive of interfering with the social and religious customs and institutions
of the Indian
3. Thus, they adopted the policy of extreme precaution and indifference towards social issues
in India.
4. Reason why they indulged in criticizing the customs and traditions of India
5. Was to generate a feeling of inferiority complex among the Indians.
6. However, in the mid-19th century the social and religious movements, launched in India
7. Attracted the attention of the Companys administration towards the countrys social evils.
8. The propaganda carried out by the Christian missionaries also stirred the minds of the
educated Indians.
9. There were primarily two areas in which laws were enacted, laws pertaining to women
emancipation and the caste system.
39
SMART NOTES
Social Laws Concerning Women

1. The condition of women, by the time the British established their rule, was not encouraging.
2. Several evil practices such as the practice of Sati, the Purdah system, child marriage, female
infanticide, bride price and polygamy had made their life quite miserable.
3. There was no social and economic equality between a man and woman.
4. A Hindu woman was not entitled to inherit any property.
5. Female Infanticide
6. It was particularly in vogue in Rajputana, Punjab and the North Western Provinces.
7. Factors such as family pride
8. The fear of not finding a suitable match for the girl child
9. The hesitation to bend before the prospective in-laws
10. Therefore, immediately after birth, the female infants were being killed either by feeding
them with opium
11. By strangulating or by purposely neglecting them.
12. Some laws were enacted against this practice in 1795, 1802 and 1804 and then in 1870.
13. This evil practice came to be done away through education and public opinion.
Widow Remarriage
1. There are many historical evidences to suggest that widow remarriage enjoyed social
sanction during ancient period in India.
2. In course of time the practice ceased to prevail increasing the number of widows to lakhs
during the 19th century.
3. Prominent among these reformers were Raja Rammohan Roy and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar.
4. They carried out large scale campaigns in this regard mainly through books, pamphlets and
petitions with scores of signatures.
5. In July 1856, J.P. Grant, a member of the Governor-Generals Council finally tabled a bill in
support of the widow remarriage,
6. Which was passed on 13 July 1856 and came to be called the Widow Remarriage Act, 1856.
Child Marriage
1. In November 1870, the Indian Reforms Association was started with the efforts of Kasha
Chandra Sen.
2. A journal called Mahapap Bal Vivah (Child marriage: The Cardinal Sin) was also launched
with the efforts of B.M. Malabari to fight against child marriage.
3. In 1846, the minimum marriageable age for a girl was only 10 years
40
SMART NOTES
4. In 1891, through the enactment of the Age of Consent Act, this was raised to 12 years.
5. In 1930, through the Sharda Act, the minimum age was raised to 14 years
6. After independence, the limit was raised to 18 years in 1978
Purdah System
1. Similarly, voices were raised against the practice of Purdah during the 19th and 20th century
2. The condition of women among the peasantry was relatively better in this respect.
3. Purdah was not so much prevalent in Southern India.
4. Through the large scale participation of women in the national freedom movement
5. The system disappeared without any specific legislative measure taken against it
Struggle against the Caste System and the related Legislation
1. Next to the issue of women emancipation, the caste system became the second most
important issue of social reforms.
2. The Shudras were subjected to all kinds of social discrimination.
3. In the beginning of the 19th century the castes of India had been split into innumerable sub
castes on the basis of birth.
4. In the meantime, a new social consciousness also dawned among the Indians.
5. Mahatma Gandhi made the removal of untouchability a part of his constructive programme.
6. He brought out a paper, The Harijan, and also organised the Harijan Sevak Sangh.
7. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar dedicated his entire life for the welfare of the downtrodden
8. In Bombay, he formed a Bahiskrit Hitkarini Sabha in July 1924 for this purpose.
9. Later, he also organised the Akhil Bharatiya Dalit Varg Sabha to fight against caste
oppression.
10. Jyotirao Phulein Western India and Shri Narayana Guru in Kerala respectively established the
Satya Sadhak Samaj
11. Shri Narayana Dharma Partipalana Yogam to include self-esteem among the downtrodden.
12. In the Madras Presidency also the beginning of 20th century witnessed the rise of Selfrespect Movement of Periyar E.V.R.
13. These movements were directed mainly in removing the disabilities suffered by Harijans in
regard to drawing of water from public wells
14. Getting entry into temples and admission into schools.
41
SMART NOTES
THE GREAT REVOLT OF 1857
The 1857 Revolt sowed the seeds of Indian nationalism, which lay dormant in the
subconscious of the Indian people
It started the movement which was a continuous struggle against the British rule till 1947
Nature of the Revolt

1. The historical writings of the British scholars underplayed the character of the Revolt of
1857.
2. Sir John Lawrence was of the opinion that the Revolt was purely a military outbreak, and not
a conspiracy to overthrow British rule
3. On the other hand the Revolt of 1857 is hailed by the Indian scholars, especially by Vir
Savarkar as the First War of Indian Independence.
4. Two distinguished Indian historians, R.C. Majumdar and S.N. Sen, have analysed the Revolt
of 1857 in depth.
5. S.N. Sen believes that the 1857 Revolt was part of the struggle for Indian independence
6. R.C. Majumdar maintains that the outbreaks before 1857, whether civil or military
7. Were a series of isolated incidents ultimately culminated in the Great Revolt of 1857.
Causes of the Revolt
Political Causes
1. On the contrary, the British rule was disliked by the people at large in any region when it was
newly introduced.
2. Anti-British feelings were particularly strong in those regions like Burma, Assam, Coorg, Sind,
and the Punjab which were unjustly annexed to the British Empire.
3. The Doctrine of Lapse, particularly its practical application by Lord Dalhousie, produced
grave discontent and alarm among the native princes,
Economic Causes
1. The huge drain of wealth, the destruction of its industry and increasing land revenue had
become the common features of the latter half of the eighteenth century.
2. The East India Company, after attaining political power, used it to fund the growth of British
trade and commerce at the cost of Indians.
3. In England the ruin of the old handloom weavers was accompanied by the growth of the
machine industry
42
SMART NOTES
4. But in India the ruin of the millions of artisans and craftsmen was not accompanied by any
alternative growth of new industrial forms
5. A new plantation system introduced in the year 1833 resulted in incalculable misery for the
Indian peasants.
6. The hard hit were the peasants on the indigo plantations in Bengal and Bihar
Social Causes
1. The Englishmen showed an arrogant attitude towards the Indians. Indiscriminate assaults on
Indians by Englishmen became quite common.
2. Also, a general alarm was raised among the Hindus and Muslims by the activities of the
Christian missionaries.
3. The educational institutions established by the missionaries inculcated western education
and culture in the place of oriental learning.
4. The native population felt that were losing their social identity
Military causes
1. Discontent against the British Raj was widely prevalent among the Indian soldiers in the
British army.
2. The Indian sepoys in the British Indian army nursed a sense of strong resentment at their
low salary and poor prospects of promotion.
3. The British military officers at times showed least respect to the social values and religious
sentiments of Indian sepoys in the army.
4. Thus, although generally faithful to their masters, the sepoys were provoked to revolt.
5. The Vellore mutiny of 1806, a precursor to the 1857 Great Revolt, was the outcome of such
tendencies on the part of the military authorities.
6. Another important cause of the sepoys dissatisfaction was the order that abolished the
foreign allowance or batta when they served in foreign territories.
7. Thus the discontent was widespread and there was an undercurrent before the volcanic
situation of 1857.
The Beginning of the Revolt
1. The 1857 Revolt was sparked off by the episode of the greased cartridges
2. The new Enfield rifle had been introduced for the first time in the Indian army
3. Its cartridges had a greased paper cover
4. Whose end had to be bitten off before the cartridge was loaded into the rifle.
43
SMART NOTES
5. The grease was composed of fat taken from beef and pig
6. The religious feelings of the Hindu and Muslim sepoys were terribly wounded.
7. The sepoys believed that the government was deliberately trying to destroy their religious
and cultural identity.
8. Hence they raised the banner of revolt.
9. The events that led to the Revolt began on 29 March 1857 at Barrackpore.
10. Mangal Pandey (a sepoy) refused to use the greased cartridges and single-handedly attacked
and killed his officer.
11. Mangal Pandey was hanged.
12. The regiment to which he belonged was disbanded and sepoys guilty of rebellion punished.
13. The British instead of diffusing the explosive situation, paved the way for a mighty crisis by
the above act.
14. At Meerut in May 1857, 85 sepoys of the 3rd Cavalry regiment were sentenced to long terms
of imprisonment for refusing to use the greased catridges
15. Therefore, on 10 May the sepoys broke out in open rebellion, shot their officers, released
their fellow sepoys and headed towards Delhi.
16. General Hewitt, the officer commanding at Meerut was helpless to prevent the armys
march.
17. The city of Delhi fell into the hands of the rebellious soldiers on 12 May 1857.
18. Lieutenant Willtashby, the officer in charge of Delhi could not prevent the mutineers
19. Soon, the mutineers proclaimed the aged nominal king, Bahadur Shah II of the Mughal
dynasty as the Emperor of India.
20. Very soon the rebellion spread throughout northern and central India at Lucknow,
Allahabad, Kanpur, Banares, in parts of Bihar, Jhansi and other places
Delhi
1. The leadership at Delhi was nominally in the hands of Bahadur Shah, but the real control was
exercised by General Bakht Khan
2. In Delhi, Emperor Bahadur Shah II was arrested and deported to Rangoon
3. Where he remained in exile till he died in 1862
Kanpur
1. At Kanpur the revolt was led by Nana Saheb,
2. The adopted son of Baji Rao II
3. The last Peshwa.
44
SMART NOTES
4. Nana Saheb expelled the English from Kanpur with the help of the sepoys and proclaimed
himself the Peshwa
5. Nana Saheb in his efforts against the British was ably supported by two of his lieutenants.
6. One was Tantia Tope, the other was Azimullah.
7. Sir Hugh Wheeler the commander of the British garrison at Kanpur surrendered on the 27
June 1857.
8. But, soon Kanpur was recaptured by the British commander Sir Colin Campbell.
Lucknow
1. The principal person responsible for the revolt in Lucknow was the Begum of Oudh.
2. With the assistance of the sepoys, the zamindars and peasants
3. The Begum organised
4. An all-out attack on the British
5. Henry Lawrence, the chief commissioner tried to defend the British
6. Lawrence was killed in a bomb blast during the fight.
7. The final relief for the British forces in Lucknow came in the form of Sir Colin Campbell, who
suppressed the revolt
Jhansi
1. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, the widowed queen of Gangadhar Rao played a heroic role in this
revolt.
2. Rani Lakshmi Bai was affected by Dalhousies Doctrine of Lapse
3. The combined efforts of Rani and Tantia Tope saw the capture of Gwalior.
4. Meanwhile, Sir Hugh Rose defeated Tantia Tope and stormed Jhansi on 3 April 1858.
5. He then captured Gwalior.
6. The Rani of Jhansi died a soldiers death on 17 June 1858.
7. Tantia Tope was captured and hanged on charges of rebellion and murder in the massacre of
Kanpur
Bihar
1. Kunwar Singh, a ruined and discontented zamindar of Jagdishpur near Oudh
2. Was the chief organiser of the revolt in Bihar
3. He fought the British in Bihar
4. Kunwar Singh sustained a fatal wound in the battle and died on 27 April 1858 at Jagdishpur.
5. Ultimately the 1857 Revolt came to an end with the victory of the British.
45
SMART NOTES
6. Viceroy Canning proclaimed peace throughout India.

Causes for the Failure of the Revolt
1. Foremost cause was that the Revolt failed to embrace the whole of India. Different sections
of society such as moneylenders, merchants and modern educated Indians were actually
against the Revolt.
2. The resources of the British Empire were far superior to those of the rebels.
3. The insurgents lacked a carefully concerted general plan or a strong central organisation to
plan the movements of the army and oversee their strategy.
4. In addition, the British were aided by new scientific inventions such as the telegraph system
and postal communications.
Significance and Effects of the Mutiny
1. The Revolt of 1857 though completely suppressed had shaken the very foundations of
British rule in India,
2. It brought together the disgruntled sections of society to rise against the British rule
3. However, this civilian revolt was not universal but sporadic and inconsistent
4. Another significant aspect of the 1857 Revolt was the Hindu-Muslim unity
5. It brought about fundamental changes in the character of Indian administration
6. Which was transferred from the East India Company to the Crown by the Queens
Proclamation of 1 November, 1858
7. At the same time the Governor-General received the new title of Viceroy.
8. Lord Canning had the unique opportunity to become the Governor-General as well as the
first Viceroy according to the Act of 1858.
9. Lord Canning proclaimed the new Government at Allahabad on 1 November 1858 in
accordance with the Queens Proclamation.
10. The latter has been called the Magna Carta of the Indian people;
11. It disclaimed any extension of territory, promised religious toleration
12. Guaranteed the rights of Indian princes and pledged equal treatment to her subjects, Indians
and Europeans
13. The year 1857 is a great divide between the two landmarks in Indian history.
14. One was that of British paramountcy in the first half
15. Other is that of the growth of Indian nationalism in the second half of the nineteenth
century.
46
SMART NOTES
BRITISH INDIA AFTER 1858: LORD LYTTON (1876-1880),

LORD RIPON (1880-1884) AND LORD CURZON (1899-1905)
After the 1857 Revolt, the responsibility of ruling India was directly assumed by the British
Crown.
Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India in 1858.
The Queens Proclamation remained the basis of the British policy in India for more than 60
years
The administrations of Lord Lytton, Lord Ripon and Lord Curzon were important during this
period.
Lord Lytton (1876-1880)

1. Lord Lytton was an experienced diplomat and a man of striking ability and brilliance.
2. The British Prime Minister, Disraeli appointed him as the Viceroy of India.
Famine Policy
1. The famine of 1876-78 had resulted from the failure of two monsoons
2. It covered an area of two lakh fifty thousand square miles and affected fifty eight million
people.
3. The worst affected areas were Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, Bombay, Central India and the
Punjab
4. It took a toll of five million lives in a single year.
5. The outbreak of cholera and fever added to the misery of the suffering population
6. Lyttons Government failed miserably to tackle the situation.
7. The governments relief measures seemed to be inadequate.
8. The first Famine Commission (1878-80) under Sir Richard Strachey was appointed and it
made many commendable recommendations.
9. The Famine Code came into existence in 1883.
The Vernacular Press Act and the Arms Act (1878)
1. In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed
2. This Act empowered a Magistrate to secure an undertaking from the editor
3. Publisher and printer of a vernacular newspaper that nothing would be published against
the English Government.
47
SMART NOTES
4. The equipment of the press could be seized if the offence was committed.
5. This Act crushed the freedom of the Indian press.
6. In the same year, the Arms Act was passed.
7. This Act prevented the Indians to keep arms without appropriate license.
Other Reforms
1. Lord Lytton introduced uniform salt tax throughout British India.
2. Abolished many import duties and supported the Free Trade policy
3. The system of decentralisation of finance that had begun in the time of Lord Mayo was
continued during the time of Lord Lytton.
4. The provincial governments were empowered with some control over the expenditure of all
provincial matters like land-revenue, excise, stamps, law and justice.
5. Lytton wanted to encourage the provinces in collecting the revenue and thereby strengthen
the financial power and position of the provinces.
6. In 1878, the Statutory Civil Service was established exclusively for Indians but this was
abolished later
Lytton and the Second Afghan War (1878-80)
1. The Afghan policy of the British was based on the assumed threat of Russian invasion of
India
2. The first Afghan War (1838-42) proved to be a disastrous one for the British in India.
3. He was instructed by the home government to follow a forward policy.
4. The Russian attempt to send a mission to Afghanistan was the main cause of the Second
Afghan War.
5. Soon after the outbreak of the war in 1878, the British troops captured the territory
between Kabul and Kandahar
6. The ruler of Afghanistan, Sher Ali fled from his country and died in 1879. His son Yakub Khan
became the ruler and the British concluded the Treaty of Gandamak with him.
7. A British Resident was sent to Kabul but soon he was murdered along with other British
officers by the Afghan rebels.
8. Although the British troops were able to recapture Kabul, the difficulties in holding it
increased due to the activities of the rebels.
9. Suddenly in 1780, Lytton was forced to resign by the new government in England
10. Lyttons Afghan policy was severely criticised because he was responsible for the murder of
the British officers including the Resident in Kabul.
48
SMART NOTES
11. During his administration, millions died due to famine. The Vernacular Press Act undermined
his credit.
49
SMART NOTES
Lord Ripon (1880-84)

1. Lord Ripon was a staunch Liberal democrat with faith in self-government.
2. He was appointed as the Viceroy of India by Gladstone, the Liberal Party Prime Minister of
England
3. Ripon was instructed to reverse the Afghan policy of Lytton
4. He was also responsible for the rendition of Mysore to its Hindu ruler
5. Moreover, he repealed the Vernacular Press Act and earned much popularity among Indians.
6. Then, he devoted himself to task of liberalising the Indian administration
7. Introduction of Local Self-Government (1882)
8. Ripon believed that self-government is the highest and noblest principles of politics.
9. Ripon helped the growth of local bodies like the Municipal Committees in towns and the
local boards in taluks and villages.
10. The powers of municipalities were increased.
11. Their chairmen were to be non-officials
12. They were entrusted the care of local amenities, sanitation, drainage and water-supply and
also primary education.
13. District and taluk boards were created. It was insisted that the majority of the members of
these boards should be elected non-officials.
14. The local bodies were given executive powers with financial resources of their own
15. It was perhaps the desire of Ripon that power in India should be gradually transferred to the
educated Indians.
16. He also insisted on the election of local bodies as against selection by the government.
Educational Reforms
1. Lord Ripon was a champion of education of the Indians.
2. Ripon wanted to review the working of the educational system on the basis of the
recommendations of the Woods Despatch
3. For further improvement of the system Ripon appointed a Commission in 1882 under the
chairmanship of Sir William Hunter
4. The Commission came to be known as the Hunter Commission.
5. The Commission recommended for the expansion and improvement of the elementary
education of the masses
6. The Commission suggested two channels for the secondary education
7. -One was literary education leading up to the Entrance Examination of the university
50
SMART NOTES
8. The other preparing the students for a vocational career.

9. The Commission noted the poor status of women education.
10. It encouraged the local bodies in the villages and towns to manage the elementary
education.
First Factory Act (1881)
1. Lord Ripon introduced the Factory Act of 1881 to improve the service condition of the
factory workers in India.
2. The Act banned the appointment of children below the age of seven in factories.
3. It reduced the working hours for children.
Ilbert Bill Agitation (1884)
1. Lord Ripon wanted to remove two kinds of law that had been prevalent in India
2. According to the system of law, a European could be tried only by a European Judge or a
European Magistrate.
3. The disqualification was unjust and it was sought to cast a needless discredit and dishonour
upon the Indian-born members of the judiciary.
4. C.P. Ilbert, Law Member, introduced a bill in 1883 to abolish this discrimination in judiciary
5. Europeans opposed this Bill strongly
6. They even raised a fund of one lakh fifty thousand rupees and established an organisation
called the Defence Association.
7. They also suggested that it was better to end the English rule in India than to allow the
English to be subjected to the Indian Judges and Magistrates
8. The press in England joined the issue. Hence, Ripon amended the bill to satisfy the English in
India and England
9. The Ilbert Bill controversy helped the cause of Indian nationalism
10. The Ilbert Bill Controversy is a high watermark in the history of Indian National Movement.
11. Ripon was totally disillusioned and heartbroken and he tendered his resignation and left for
England.
12. The immediate result of this awakening of India was the birth of the Indian National
Congress in 1885, the very next year of Ripons departure.
51
SMART NOTES
Estimate of Lord Ripon

1. Lord Ripon was the most popular Viceroy that England ever sent to India.
2. The Indians by and large hailed him as Ripon the Good, because he was the only Viceroy
who handled the Indian problems with compassion and sympathy
3. His attempt to remove racial distinction in the judiciary, the repeal of the Vernacular Press
Act, the rendition of Mysore and the introduction of the Local-Self Government increased his
popularity among Indians.
52
SMART NOTES
Lord Curzon (1899-1905)

1. Lord Curzon occupies a high place among the rulers of British India like Lord Wellesley and
Lord Dalhousie
2. He was a thorough imperialist
3. In order to make the administration efficient, Lord Curzon overhauled the entire
administrative machinery.
Educational Reforms
1. Curzon took a serious view of the fall in the standard of education and discipline in the
educational institutions.
2. In his view the universities had degenerated into factories for producing political
revolutionaries.
3. To set the educational system in order, he instituted in 1902, a Universities Commission to
go into the entire question of university education in the country
4. Curzon brought in the Indian Universities Act of 1904, which brought all the universities in
India under the control of the government
Police and Military Reforms
1. He instituted a Police Commission in 1902 under the chairmanship of Sir Andrew Frazer.
2. He set up training schools for both the officers and the constables and introduced provincial
police service.
Calcutta Corporation Act (1899)
1. The Viceroy brought in a new legislative measure namely the Calcutta Corporation Act in
1899
2. The strength of the elected members was reduced and that of the official members
increased.
3. Curzon gave more representations to the English people as against the Indians in the
Calcutta Corporation.
4. There was strong resentment by the Indian members against Curzons anti-people
measures.
Preservation of Archaeological objects
1. Curzon had a passion for preserving the ancient monuments of historical importance in
India.
53
SMART NOTES
2. No Viceroy in India before or after him took such a keen interest in archaeological objects.
3. He passed a, law called the Ancient Monuments Act, 1904
4. Which made it obligatory on the part of the government and local authorities to preserve
the monuments of archaeological importance and their destruction an offence
Partition of Bengal, 1905
1. The Partition of Bengal into two provinces was effected on 4 July 1905
2. The new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam included the whole of Assam and the Dacca,
Rajshahi and Chittagong divisions of Bengal with headquarters at Dacca.
3. Though Curzon justified his action on administrative lines, partition divided the Hindus and
Muslims in Bengal.
4. This led to the anti-partition agitation all over the country. This had also intensified the
National Movement.
Estimate of Lord Curzon
1. Lord Curzon assumed his office, when he was forty years old
2. All his reform measures were preceded by an expert Commission and its recommendations.
3. He made a serious study of the Indian problems in all their aspects.
4. He lost the popularity by the act of Partition of Bengal
54
SMART NOTES
SOCIO-RELIGIOUS REFORM MOVEMENTS
In the history of modern India, the socio-religious reforms occupy a significant place
The spread of liberal ideas of the west provided further stimulus for the emergence of
reform movements.
Raja Rammohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj

1. Raja Rammohan Roy established the Brahmo Samajat Calcutta in 1828 in order to purify
Hinduism and to preach monotheism.
2. He is considered as the first modern man of India.
3. Born in 1772 in the Hooghly district of Bengal
4. He studied the Bible as well as Hindu and Muslim religious texts
5. He had excellent command over many languages including English, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic,
French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
6. In 1815, he established the Atmiya Sabha.
7. Later, it was developed into the Brahmo Sabha in August 1828.
8. He preached that there is only one God.
9. He combined the teachings of the Upanishads, the Bible and the Koran in developing unity
among the people of different religions.
10. The work of the Atmiya Sabha was carried on by Maharishi Debendranath Tagore (father of
Rabindranath Tagore),
11. Who renamed it as Brahmo Samaj
12. Raj Rammohan Roy is most remembered for helping Lord William Bentinck to declare the
practice of Sati a punishable offence in 1829.
13. He also protested against the child marriage and female infanticide.
14. He felt that the caste system was the greatest hurdle to Indian unity.
15. He favoured inter-caste marriages.
16. He himself adopted a Muslim boy
17. In 1817, he founded the Hindu College (now Presidency College, Calcutta) along with David
Hare, a missionary.
18. Rammohan Roy started the first Bengali weekly Samvad Kaumudi
19. Edited a Persian weekly Mirat-ul-akhbar.
20. He stood for the freedom of the press
21. Rammohan died in Bristol in England in 1833
55
SMART NOTES
Henry Vivian Derozio and the Young Bengal Movement

1. Henry Vivian Derozio was the founder of the Young Bengal Movement.
2. He was born in Calcutta in 1809 and taught in the Hindu College, Calcutta.
3. He died of cholera in 1833.
4. His followers were known as the Derozians and their movement the Young Bengal
Movement.
5. They attacked old traditions and decadent customs.
6. They also advocated womens rights and their education.
7. They founded associations and organized debates against idol worship, casteism and
superstitions
Swami Dayanand Saraswathi and the Arya Samaj

1. The Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswathi at Bombay in 1875.
2. Born in Kathiawar in Gujarat, Swami Dayanand (1824-83) was a scholar, a patriot, a social
reformer and a revivalist.
3. He believed the Vedas were the source of true knowledge.
4. His motto was Back to the Vedas.
5. He was against idol worship, Child marriage and caste system based on birth.
6. He encouraged intercaste marriages and widow remarriage
7. He started the Suddhi movement to bring back those Hindus who had converted to other
religions to its fold.
8. He wrote the book Satyartha Prakash which contains his ideas.
9. The Arya Samaj, though founded in Bombay, became very powerful in Punjab and spread its
influence to other parts of India.
10. The first Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) School was founded in 1886 at Lahore.
Prarthana Samaj
1. The Prarthana Samaj was founded in 1867 in Bombay by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang
2. It was an off-shoot of Brahmo Samaj
3. It was a reform movement within Hinduism and concentrated on social reforms like interdining, inter-marriage, widow remarriage and uplift of women and depressed classes.
4. Justice M.G. Ranade and R.G. Bhandarkar joined it in 1870 and infused new strength to it.
5. Justice Ranade promoted the Deccan Education Society.
56
SMART NOTES
Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Mission

1. The original name of Swami Vivekanandawas Narendranath Dutta (1863-1902)
2. He became the most famous disciple of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
3. He was born in a prosperous Bengali family of Calcutta and educated in Scottish Church
College.
4. In 1886 Narendranath took the vow of Sanyasa and was given the name, Vivekananda.
5. He preached Vedantic Philosophy
6. Swami Vivekananda participated at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago (USA) in
September 1893 and raised the prestige of India and Hinduism very high.
7. Vivekananda preached the message of strength and self-reliance.
8. He asked the people to improve the lives of the poor and depressed classes.
9. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission at Belur in Howrah in 1897.
10. It is a social service and charitable society.
11. The objectives of this Mission are providing humanitarian relief and social work through the
establishment of schools, colleges, hospitals and orphanages.
Theosophical Society
1. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York (USA) in 1875 by Madam H.P. Blavatsky,
a Russian lady, and Henry Steel Olcott, an American colonel
2. Their main objectives were to form a universal brotherhood of man without any distinction
of race, colour or creed and to promote the study of ancient religions and philosophies.
3. They arrived in India and established their headquarters at Adyar in Madras in 1882.
4. Later in 1893, Mrs Annie Besant arrived in India and took over the leadership of the Society
after the death of Olcott.
5. Mrs Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu School along with Madan Mohan Malaviya at
Benaras which later developed into the Banaras Hindu University.
Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
1. Pandit Ishwar Chandra was a great educator, humanist and social reformer
2. He was born in 1820 in a village in Midnapur, Bengal.
3. He rose to be the Head Pandit of the Bengali Department of Fort William College.
4. Vidyasagar founded many schools for girls
5. He helped J.D. Bethune to establish the Bethune School.
6. He founded the Metropolitan Institution in Calcutta
7. He protested against child marriage and favoured widow
57
SMART NOTES
8. Remarriage which was legalised by the Widow Remarriage Act (1856).

9. It was due to his great support for the spread of education that he was given the title of
Vidyasagar.
Jyotiba Phule
1. Jyotiba Phule belonged to a low caste family in Maharashtra
2. He waged a life-long struggle against upper caste domination and Brahmanical supremacy.
3. In 1873 he founded the Satyashodak Samaj to fight against the caste system.
4. He pioneered the widow remarriage movement in Maharashtra and worked for the
education for women.
5. Jyotiba Phule and his wife established the first girls school at Poona in 1851
Muslim Reform Movements
1. The Muslim reform movements started a little later because they had avoided western
education in the beginning.
2. The first effort was in 1863 when the Muhammad Literary Society was set up in Calcutta
Aligarh Movement
1. The Aligarh Movement was started by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-98) for the social and
educational advancement of the Muslims in India
2. In 1866, he started the Mohammadan Educational Conference as a general forum for
spreading liberal ideas among the Muslims.
3. In 1875, he founded a modern school at Aligarh to promote English education among the
Muslims.
4. This had later grown into the Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College and then into the Aligarh
Muslim University.
The Deoband School
1. The orthodox section among the Muslim ulema organised the Deoband Movement.
2. It was a revivalist movement whose twin objectives were
3. To propagate among the Muslims the pure teachings of the Koran and the Hadi
4. To keep alive the spirit of jihad against the foreign rulers.
5. The new Deoband leader Mahmud-ul-Hasan (1851-1920) sought to impart a political and
intellectual content to the religious ideas of the school.
58
SMART NOTES
Sikh Reform Movement

1. Baba Dayal Das founded the Nirankari Movement
2. He insisted the worship of God as nirankar (formless).
3. The Namdhari Movement was founded by Baba Ram Singh.
4. His followers wore white clothes and gave up meat eating.
5. The Singh Sabhas started in Lahore and Amritsar in 1870 were aimed at reforming the Sikh
society.
6. They helped to set up the Khalsa College at Amritsar in 1892.
7. They also encouraged Gurmukhi and Punjabi literature.
8. In 1920, the Akalis started a movement to remove the corrupt Mahants (priests) from the
Sikh gurudwaras
9. Later, the Akalis organised themselves into a political party
Parsi Reform Movement
1. The Parsi Religious Reform Association was founded at Bombay by Furdunji Naoroji and S.S.
Bengalee in 1851.
2. The Parsi Religious Reform Association was founded at Bombay by Furdunji Naoroji and S.S.
Bengalee in 1851.
3. Naoroji published a monthly journal, Jagat Mithra
Saint Ramalinga
1. Saint Ramalinga was one of the foremost saints of Tamil Nadu in the nineteenth century.
2. His divine powers came to be recognised at the early age of eleven.
3. In 1865 he founded the Samarasa Suddha Sanmargha Sanghafor the promotion of his ideals
of establishing a casteless society.
4. He composed Tiru Arutpa
5. In 1870 he moved to Mettukuppam, a place three miles away from Vadalur.
6. There he started constructing the Satya Gnana Sabaiin 1872.
7. He introduced the principle that God could be worshipped in the form of Light
Self-Respect Movement and Periyar E.V.R.
1. Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy was a great social reformer. In 1921, during the anti-liquor
campaign he cut down 1000 coconut trees in his own farm.
2. In 1924, he took an active part in the Vaikam Satyagraha
59
SMART NOTES
3. The objective of the Satyagraha was to secure for untouchables the right to use a road near
a temple at Vaikom in Kerala.
4. He started the Self-Respect Movement. The aims of the Self -Respect Movement were to
uplift the Dravidians and to expose the Brahminical tyrany and deceptive methods by which
they controlled all spheres of Hindu life
5. He denounced the caste system, child marriage and enforced widowhood
6. He himself conducted many marriages without any rituals
7. Such a marriage was known as SelfRespect Marriage.
8. He attacked the laws of Manu, which he called the basis of the entire Hindu social fabric of
caste
9. He founded the Tamil journals Kudiarasu, Puratchi and Viduthalai to propagate his ideals
10. On 27th June 1970 by the UNESCO organisation praised and adorned with the title Socrates
of South Asia
60
SMART NOTES
INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT (1885-1905)

Factors Promoting the Growth of Nationalism in India
Political Unity
For the first time, most of the regions in India were united politically and administratively
under a single power (the British rule).
It introduced a uniform system of law and government.
Development of Communication and Transport
The introduction of railways, telegraphs and postal services and the construction of roads
and canals facilitated communication among the people.
All these brought Indians nearer to each other and provided the facility to organise the
national movement on an all India basis.
English Language and Western Education
The English language played an important role in the growth of nationalism in the country.
The English educated Indians, who led the national movement, developed Indian
nationalism and organised it.
Western education facilitated the spread of the concepts of liberty, equality, freedom and
nationalism and sowed the seeds of nationalism
The Role of the Press
The Indian Press, both English and vernacular, had also aroused the national consciousness
Social and Religious Movements of the Nineteenth Century
Organisations like the Brahmo Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Arya Samaj, and Theosophical
Society generated a feeling of regard for and pride in the motherland.
Economic Exploitation by the British
A good deal of anti-British feeling was created by the economic policy pursued by the British
government in India.
The English systematically ruined the Indian trade and native industries.
Racial Discrimination
The Revolt of 1857 created a kind of permanent bitterness and suspicion between the British
and the Indians
61
SMART NOTES
Administration of Lytton
Lord Lytton arranged the Delhi Durbar at a time when the larger part of India was in the grip
of famine.
He passed the Vernacular Press Act which curbed the liberty of the Indian Press.
The Ilbert Bill controversy
The Bill tried to remove racial inequality between Indian and European judges in courts.
Ultimately the Bill was modified
The Indian National Congress (1885)

1. Allan Octavian Hume, a retired civil servant in the British Government took the initiative to
form an all-India organization.
2. Thus, the Indian National Congress was founded and its first session was held at Bombay in
1885.
3. W.C. Banerjee was its first president.
4. The second session was held in Calcutta in 1886 and the third in Madras in 1887
5. The history of the Indian National Movement can be studied in three important phases:
6. The phase of moderate nationalism (1885-1905) when the Congress continued to be loyal to
the British crown.
7. The years 1906-1916 witnessed- Swadeshi Movement, rise of militant nationalism and the
Home Rule Movement.
8. The period from 1917 to1947 is known as the Gandhian era.
Moderate Nationalism
The leading figures during the first phase of the National Movement were
A.O. Hume, W.C. Banerjee
Surendra Nath Banerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji
Feroze Shah Mehta, Gopalakrishna Gokhale
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Badruddin Tyabji
Justice Ranade and G.Subramanya Aiyar
62
SMART NOTES
Surendranath Banerjee was called the Indian Burke
He firmly opposed the Partition of Bengal.
He founded the Indian Association (1876) to agitate for political reforms.
He had convened the Indian National Conference (1883) which merged with the Indian
National Congress in l886
G. Subramanya Aiyar preached nationalism through the Madras Mahajana Sabha
He also founded the Hindu and Swadesamitran.
Dadabhai Naoroji was known as the Grand Old Man of India.
He is regarded as Indias unofficial Ambassador in England.
He was the first Indian to become a Member of the British House of Commons.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was regarded as the political guru of Gandhi
In 1905, he founded the Servants of India Society to train Indians to dedicate their lives to
the cause of the country
Between 1885 and 1905, the Congress leaders were moderates.
The Moderates had faith in the British justice and goodwill.
Main Demands of Moderates

1. Expansion and reform of legislative councils.
2. Greater opportunities for Indians in higher posts by holding the ICS examination
simultaneously in England and in India.
3. Separation of the judiciary from the executive
4. More powers for the local bodies
5. Reduction of land revenue and protection of peasants from unjust landlords.
6. Abolition of salt tax and sugar duty.
7. Reduction of spending on army.
8. Freedom of speech and expression and freedom to form associations
Methods of Moderates
9. They were loyal to the British. They looked to England for inspiration and guidance.
10. The Moderates used petitions, resolutions, meetings, leaflets and pamphlets, memorandum
and delegations to present their demands.
11. They confined their political activities to the educated classes only.
12. Their aim was to attain political rights and self-government stage by stage.
63
SMART NOTES
13. In 1886, Governor General Lord Dufferin gave a tea garden party for the Congress members
in Calcutta.
14. With the increase in Congress demands, the government became unfriendly.
15. It encouraged the Muslims to stay away from the Congress.
16. The only demand of the Congress granted by the British was the expansion of the legislative
councils by the Indian Councils Act of 1892.
Achievements of Moderates
17. The Moderates were able to create a wide national awakening among the people.
18. They popularized the ideas of democracy, civil liberties and representative institutions
19. They explained how the British were exploiting Indians.
20. Particularly, Dadabhai Naoroji in his famous book Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India wrote
his Drain Theory.
21. He showed how Indias wealth was going away to England in the form of:
Salaries
Savings
Pensions
Payments to British troops in India
Profits of the British companies
22. In fact, the British Government was forced to appoint the Welly Commission, with Dadabhai
as the first Indian as its member, to enquire into the matter.
23. Some Moderates like Ranade and Gokhale favoured social reforms
24. They protested against child marriage and widowhood
25. The Moderates had succeeded in getting the expansion of the legislative councils by the
Indian Councils Act of 1892
64
SMART NOTES
INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT (1905-1916)

1. The period from 1905 was known as the era of extremism in the Indian National Movement.
2. The extremists or the aggressive nationalists believed that success could be achieved
through bold means
3. The important extremist leaders were Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal
and Aurobindo Ghosh.
Causes for the Rise of Extremism

1. The failure of the Moderates to win any notable success other than the expansion of the
legislative councils by the Indian Councils Act (1892)
2. The famine and plague of 1896-97 which affected the whole country and the suffering of the
masses
3. The economic conditions of the people became worse.
4. The ill-treatment of Indians in South Africa on the basis of colour of skin
5. The Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5 in which Japan defeated the European power Russia.
6. This encouraged Indians to fight against the European nation, Britain
7. The immediate cause for the rise of extremism was the reactionary rule of Lord Curzon:
8. He passed the Calcutta Corporation Act, (1899) reducing the Indian control of this local
body.
9. The Universities Act (1904) reduced the elected members in the University bodies. It also
reduced the autonomy of the universities and made them government departments.
10. The Sedition Act and the Official Secrets Act reduced the freedoms of all people.
11. His worst measure was the Partition of Bengal (1905).
12. Their main objective was to attain Swaraj or complete independence and not just selfgovernment.
The methods used by the extremists were:
1. Not cooperating with the British Government by boycotting government courts, schools and
colleges.
2. Promotion of Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods
3. Introduction and promotion of national education.
65
SMART NOTES
Leaders of the Extremists

1. The extremists were led by Bala Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipinchandra Pal and
Aurobindo Ghosh
2. Bal Gangadhar Tilak is regarded as the real founder of the popular anti-British movement in
India.
3. He was known as Lokamanya. He attacked the British through his weeklies The Mahratta
and the Kesari.
4. He was jailed twice by the British for his nationalist activities and in 1908 deported to
Mandalay for six years.
5. He set up the Home Rule League in 1916 at Poona and declared Swaraj is my birth-right and
I will have it.
6. Lala Lajpat Rai is popularly known as the Lion of Punjab.
7. He played an important role in the Swadeshi Movement.
8. He founded the Indian Home Rule League in the US in 1916
9. He was deported to Mandalay on the ground of sedition
10. He received fatal injuries while leading a procession against the Simon Commission and died
on November 17, 1928.
11. Bipin Chandra Pal began his career as a moderate and turned an extremist.
12. Aurobindo Ghosh was another extremist leader and he actively participated in the Swadeshi
Movement.
13. He was also imprisoned. After his release he settled in the French territory of Pondicherry
and concentrated on spiritual activities
Partition of Bengal and the Rise of Extremism
The partition of Bengal in 1905 provided a spark for the rise of extremism in the Indian
National Movement
Curzons real motives were:

1. To break the growing strength of Bengali nationalism since Bengal was the base of Indian
nationalism.
2. To divide the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal.
3. To show the enormous power of the British Government in doing whatever it liked.
66
SMART NOTES
The partition came into effect, 16 October 1905

1. The people of Bengal organised protest meetings and observed a day of mourning.
2. The whole political life of Bengal underwent a change.
3. Gandhi wrote that the real awakening in India took place only after the Partition of Bengal.
4. The anti-partition movement culminated into the Swadeshi Movement and spread to other
parts of India
5. The aggressive nationalists forced Dadabhai Naoroji to speak of Swaraj (which was not a
Moderate demand) in the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1906.
6. They adopted the resolutions of Boycott and Swadeshi.
7. The differences led to a split in the Congress at the Surat session in 1907.
8. This is popularly known as the famous Surat Split.
Swadeshi Movement
1. The Swadeshi Movement involved programmes like the boycott of government service,
courts, schools and colleges and of foreign goods,
2. Promotion of Swadeshi goods, Promotion of National Education through the establishment
of national schools and colleges.
3. It was both a political and economic movement
4. In Bengal, even the landlords joined the movement
5. The women and students took to picketing. Students refused using books made of foreign
paper.
Achievements of Extremists
1. They were the first to demand Swaraj as a matter of birth right
2. They involved the masses in the freedom struggle and broadened the social base of the
National Movement.
3. They were the first to organize an all-India political movement, viz. the Swadeshi Movement.
Formation of the Muslim League (1906)
1. In December 1906, Muslim delegates from all over India met at Dacca for the Muslim
Educational Conference
2. Taking advantage of this occasion, Nawab Salimullah of Dacca proposed the setting up of an
organisation to look after the Muslim interests.
3. The All-India Muslim League was finally set up on December 30, 1906.
67
SMART NOTES
The Lucknow Pact (1916)

1. The divided Congress became united
2. An understanding for joint action against the British was reached between the Congress and
the Muslim League and it was called the Lucknow Pact.
3. Marked an important step in the Hindu-Muslim unity.
The Home Rule Movement (1916
1. Two Home Rule Leagues were established, one by B.G. Tilak at Poona in April 1916
2. Other by Mrs Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916.
3. The aim of the Movement was to get self-government for India within the British Empire.
4. It believed freedom was the natural right of all nations.
5. The leaders of the Home Movement thought that Indias resources were not being used for
her needs.
6. The Home Rule Movement had brought a new life in the national movement.
7. There was a revival of Swadeshi. Women joined in larger numbers
8. On 20 August 1917, Montague, the Secretary of State in England, made a declaration in the
Parliament of England on British Governments policy towards future political reforms in
India
9. This August Declaration led to the end of the Home Rule Movement.
Revolutionary Movements
1. In the first half of the 20th century, revolutionary groups sprang up mainly in Bengal,
Maharashtra, Punjab and Madras.
2. The revolutionaries were not satisfied with the methods of both the moderates and
extremists.
3. In Bengal Anusilan Samiti and Jugantar were established.
4. In Maharashtra Savarkar brothers had set up Abhinava Bharat
5. In the Madras Presidency, Bharathmatha Association was started by Nilakanta Bramachari
6. In Punjab Ajit Singh set up a secret society to spread revolutionary ideas among the youth.
7. In London, at India House, Shyamji Krishna Verma gathered young Indian nationalists like
8. Madan Lal Dhingra, Savarkar, V.V.S. Iyer and T.S.S.Rajan.
9. Lala Hardyal set up the Ghadar Party in USA to organise revolutionary activities from
outside India
68
SMART NOTES
THE INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT (1917-1947)

1. The third and final phase of the Nationalist Movement [1917-1947] is known as the
Gandhian era.
2. During this period Mahatma Gandhi became the undisputed leader of the National
Movement.
3. His principles of nonviolence and Satyagraha were employed against the British Government
4. Gandhi made the nationalist movement a mass movement
5. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born at Porbandar in Gujarat on 2 October 1869
6. In April 1893 he went to South Africa and involved himself in the struggle against apartheid
(Racial discrimination against the Blacks) for twenty years.
7. Finally, he came to India in 1915. Thereafter, he fully involved himself in the Indian National
Movement.
8. Mahatma Gandhi began his experiments with Satyagraha against the oppressive European
indigo planters at Champaran in Bihar in 1917.
9. In the next year he launched another Satyagraha at Kheda in Gujarat in support of the
peasants who were not able to pay the land tax due to failure of crops.
10. In 1918, Gandhi undertook a fast unto death for the cause of Ahmedabad Mill Workers and
finally the mill owners conceded the just demands of the workers.
11. On the whole, the local movements at Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad brought
Mahatma Gandhi closer to the life of the people and their problems at the grass roots level.
Rowlatt Act (1919)
1. In 1917, a committee was set up under the president ship of Sir Sydney Rowlatt to look into
the militant Nationalist activities
2. Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 by the Central Legislative Council
3. As per this Act, any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion.
4. No appeal or petition could be filed against such arrests.
5. This Act was called the Black Act and it was widely opposed.
6. An all-India hartal was organized on 6 April 1919.
7. Meetings were held all over the country.
8. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested near Delhi.
9. Two prominent leaders of Punjab, Dr Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested in
Amritsar.
69
SMART NOTES
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April, 1919)

1. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on 13 April 1919 and it remained a turning point in
the history of Indias freedom movement
2. In Punjab, there was an unprecedented support to the Rowlatt Satyagraha
3. Facing a violent situation, the Government of Punjab handed over the administration to the
military authorities under General Dyer.
4. He banned all public meetings and detained the political leaders
5. On 13 th April, the Baisakhi day (harvest festival), a public meeting was organized at the
Jallianwala Bagh (garden)
6. Dyer marched in and without any warning opened fire on the crowd
7. The firing continued for about 10 to 15 minutes and it stopped only after the ammunition
exhausted
8. According to official report 379 people were killed and 1137 wounded in the incident.
9. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood as a protest
10. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre gave a tremendous impetus to the freedom struggle.
Khilafat Movement
1. The chief cause of the Khilafat Movement was the defeat of Turkey in the First World War.
2. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Sevres (1920) was felt by the Muslims as a great insult to
them.
3. The whole movement was based on the Muslim belief that the Caliph (the Sultan of Turkey)
was the religious head of the Muslims all over the world
4. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, M.A. Ansari, Saifuddin Kitchlew and the Ali brothers were the
prominent leaders of this movement.
5. Mahatma Gandhi was particularly interested in bringing the Hindus and the Muslims
together to achieve the countrys independence.
6. The Khilafat Movement merged with the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by
Mahatma Gandhi in 1920.
Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922)
1. It was approved by the Indian National Congress at the Nagpur session in December, 1920.
2. The programmes of the Non-Cooperation Movement were:
3. Surrender of titles and honorary positions
4. Resignation of membership from the local bodies.
5. Boycott of elections held under the provisions of the 1919 Act
70
SMART NOTES
6. Boycott of government functions.

7. Boycott of courts, government schools and colleges.
8. Boycott of foreign goods
9. Establishment of national schools, colleges and private panchayat courts.
10. Popularizing Swadeshi goods and khadi
11. National schools such as the Kashi Vidyapeeth, the Bihar Vidyapeeth and the Jamia Millia
Islamia were set up.
12. No leader of the Congress came forward to contest the elections for the Legislatures
13. In 1921, mass demonstrations were held against the Prince of Wales during his tour of India.
14. Most of the households took to weaving cloths with the help of charkhas.
15. But the whole movement was abruptly called off on 11th February 1922 by Gandhi following
the Churi Chaura incident
16. In the Gorakhpur district of U.P. Earlier on 5 th February an angry mob set fire to the police
station at Churi Chaura and twenty two police men were burnt to death
Significance of the Non-Cooperation Movement
1. It was the real mass movement with the participation of different sections of Indian society
such as peasants, workers, students, teachers and women.
2. It witnessed the spread of nationalism to the remote corners of India.
3. It also marked the height of Hindu-Muslim unity as a result of the merger of Khilafat
movement.
4. It demonstrated the willingness and ability of the masses to endure hardships and make
sacrifices.
Swaraj Party
1. The suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement led to a split within Congress in the Gaya
session of the Congress in December 1922.
2. Leaders like Motilal Nehru and Chittranjan Das formed a separate group within the Congress
known as the Swaraj Party on 1 January 1923.
3. The Swarajists wanted to contest the council elections and wreck the government from
within
4. The Swaraj Party gained impressive successes.
5. In the Central Legislative Council Motilal Nehru became the leader of the party whereas in
Bengal the party was headed by C.R. Das.
71
SMART NOTES
6. It demanded the setting up of responsible government in India

7. With the necessary changes in the Government of India Act of 1919.
8. The party could pass important resolutions against the repressive laws of the government.
9. After the passing away of C.R. Das in June 1925, the Swarj Party started weakening.
Simon Commission (1927)
1. The Act of 1919 included a provision for its review after a lapse of ten years.
2. The review commission was appointed
3. By the British Government two years earlier of its schedule in 1927. It came to be known as
Simon Commission after the name of its chairman, Sir John Simon.
4. All its seven members were Englishmen. As there was no Indian member in it
5. Almost all the political parties including the Congress decided to oppose the Commission.
6. On the fateful day of 3 February 1928 when the Commission reached Bombay, a general
hartal was observed all over the country.
7. Everywhere it was greeted with black flags and the cries of Simon go back
8. At Lahore, the students took out a large anti-Simon Commission demonstration on 30
October 1928 under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai
9. In this demonstration, Lala Lajpat Rai was seriously injured in the police lathi charge and he
passed away after one month.
10. The report of the Simon Commission was published in May 1930
11. It was stated that the constitutional experiment with Diarchy was unsuccessful
12. In its place the report recommended the establishment of autonomous government.
13. Simon Commissions Report became the basis for enacting the Government of India Act of
1935.
Nehru Report (1928)
1. In the meanwhile, the Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead, challenged the Indians to
produce a Constitution
2. In the meanwhile, the Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead, challenged the Indians to
produce a Constitution
3. The challenge was accepted by the Congress, which convened an all-party meeting on 28
February 1928
4. A committee consisting of eight was constituted to draw up a blueprint for the future
Constitution of India.
5. It was headed by Motilal Nehru
72
SMART NOTES
6. The Report published by this Committee came to be known as the Nehru Report.
The Report favoured:
1. Dominion Status as the next immediate step
2. Full responsible government at the centre.
3. Autonomy to the provinces
4. Clear cut division of power between the centre and the provinces.
5. A bicameral legislature at the centre.
6. Mohammad Ali Jinnah regarded it as detrimental to the interests of the Muslims
7. Jinnah convened an All India Conference of the Muslims where he drew up a list of Fourteen
Points as Muslim League demand.
Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934)
1. In the prevailing atmosphere of restlessness, the annual session of the Congress was held at
Lahore in December 1929.
2. During this session presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru the Congress passed the Poorna
Swaraj resolution
3. Moreover, as the government failed to accept the Nehru Report, the Congress gave a call to
launch the Civil Disobedience Movement.
4. The Congress had also observed January 26, 1930 as the Day of Independence.
5. The same date later became the Republic Day when the Indian Constitution was enforced in
1950.
The Dandi March
1. On 12th March 1930, Gandhi began his famous March to Dandi with his chosen 79 followers
to break the salt laws.
2. He reached the coast of Dandi on 5 April 1930 after marching a distance of 200 miles
3. On 6 April formally launched the Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the salt laws.
4. On 9 April, Mahatma Gandhi laid out the programme of the movement which included
making of salt in every village in violation of the existing salt laws;
5. Picketing by women before the shops selling liquor, opium and foreign clothes;
6. Spinning clothes by using charkha fighting untouchability;
7. Boycotting of schools and colleges by students and resigning from government jobs by the
people
73
SMART NOTES
8. Soon, the movement spread to all parts of the country. Students, workers, farmers and
women, all participated in this movement with great enthusiasm.
Round Table Conference
The first Round Table Conference
1. Held in November 1930 at London and it was boycotted it by the Congress.
2. In January 1931 in order to create a conducive atmosphere for talks,
3. The government lifted the ban on the Congress Party and released its leaders from prison.
4. On 8 March 1931 the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed.
5. As per this pact, Mahatma Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil-Disobedience Movement and
participate in the Second Round Table Conference.
In September 1931, the Second Round Table Conference was held at London
1. Mahatma Gandhi participated in the Conference but returned to India disappointed
2. As no agreement could be reached on the demand of complete independence and on the
communal question.
3. In January 1932, the Civil-Disobedience Movement was resumed
4. The government responded to it by arresting Mahatma
5. Gandhi and Sardar Patel and by reposing the ban on the Congress party
Poona Pact (1932)
1. By 1930, Dr Ambedkar had become a leader of national stature championing the cause of
the depressed people of the country.
2. While presenting a real picture of the condition of these people in the First Round Table
Conference,
3. He had demanded separate electorates for them
4. On 16 August 1932 the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald made an announcement,
which came to be as the Communal Award.
5. According to this award, the depressed classes were considered as a separate community
and as such provisions were made for separate electorates for them.
6. Mahatma Gandhi protested against the Communal Award and went on a fast unto death in
the Yeravada jail on 20 September 1932.
7. Finally, an agreement was reached between Dr Ambedkar and Gandhi
8. This agreement came to be called as the Poona Pact. The British Government also approved
of it.
74
SMART NOTES
9. Accordingly, 148 seats in different Provincial Legislatures were reserved for the Depressed
Classes in place of 71 as provided in the Communal Award.
The third Round Table Conference came to an end in 1932
1. The Congress once more did not take part in it
2. Nonetheless, in March 1933, the British Government issued a White Paper
3. Which became the basis for the enactment of the Government of India Act, 1935.
The Second World War and National Movement
1. In 1937 elections were held under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935
2. Congress Ministries were formed in seven states of India.
3. On 1 September 1939 the Second World War broke out.
4. The British Government without consulting the people of India involved the country in the
war.
5. As a mark of protest the Congress Ministries in the Provinces resigned on 12 December 1939
6. The Muslim League celebrated that day as the Deliverance Day
7. In March 1940 the Muslim League demanded the creation of Pakistan.
Individual Satyagraha
1. In order to secure the cooperation of the Indians, the British Government made an
announcement on 8 August 1940,
2. The August Offer envisaged that after the War a representative body of Indians would be set
up to frame the new Constitution.
3. Gandhi was not satisfied with is offer and decided to launch Individual Satyagraha.
4. Individual Satyagraha was limited, symbolic and non-violent in nature
5. It was left to Mahatma Gandhi to choose the Satyagrahis
6. Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the first to offer Satyagraha and he was sentenced to three
months imprisonment
7. Jawaharlal Nehru was the second Satyagrahi and imprisoned for four months.
8. The individual Satyagraha continued for nearly 15 months.
Cripps Mission (1942)
In the midst of worsening wartime international situation, the British Government in its
continued effort to secure Indian cooperation
Sent Sir Stafford Cripps to India on 23 March 1942. This is known as Cripps Mission
75
SMART NOTES
The main recommendations of Cripps were:

1. The promise of Dominion Status to India
2. Protection of minorities
3. Setting up of a Constituent Assembly in which there would be representatives from the
Princely States along with those of the British Provinces
4. There would be provision for any Province of British India not prepared to accept this
Constitution,
5. Either to retain its present constitutional position or frame a constitution of its own.
Gandhi called Cripps proposals as a Post-dated Cheque.
6. The Muslim League was also dissatisfied as its demand for Pakistan had not been conceded
in the proposal
Quit India Movement (1942-1944)
1. The failure of the Cripps Mission and the fear of an impending Japanese invasion of India led
Mahatma Gandhi to begin his campaign for the British to quit India
2. Mahatma Gandhi believed that an interim government could be formed only after the
British left India and the Hindu-Muslim problem sorted out.
3. The All India Congress Committee met at Bombay on 8 August 1942 and passed the famous
Quit India Resolution.
4. On the same day, Gandhi gave his call of do or die
5. On 8th and 9th August 1942, the government arrested all the prominent leaders of the
Congress.
6. Mahatma Gandhi was kept in prison at Poona
7. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad, and other leaders were imprisoned in the
Ahmednagar Fort
8. At this time, leadership was provided by Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyuta and S.M. Joshi.
9. The role of Jayaprakash Narain in this movement was important.
10. Large number of students also left their schools and colleges to join the movement.
11. The youth of the nation also participated in this movement with patriotism
12. In 1944 Mahatma Gandhi was released from jail.
13. Quit India Movement was the final attempt for countrys freedom.
14. The British Government ordered for 538 rounds of firing. Nearly 60,229 persons were jailed.
15. At least 7,000 people were killed.
76
SMART NOTES
16. This movement paved the way for Indias freedom. It aroused among Indians the feelings of
bravery, enthusiasm and total sacrifice.
Indian National Army

1. During the course of the Second World War, armed revolutionary activities continued to
take place.
2. The role of Subhas Chandra Bose towards such activities is incomparable.
3. On 2 July 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose reached Singapore and gave the rousing war cry of
Dilli Chalo
4. He was made the President of Indian Independence League and soon became the supreme
commander of the Indian National Army.
5. The names of the INAs three Brigades were the Subhas Brigade, Gandhi Brigade and Nehru
Brigade
6. The womens wing of the army was named after Rani Lamiae
7. The Indian National Army marched towards Imphal after registering its victory over Kohima.
8. After Japans surrender in 1945
9. The INA failed in its efforts. Under such circumstances, Subhas went to Taiwan.
10. Then on his way to Tokyo he died on 18 August 1945 in a plane crash
11. The trial of the soldiers of INA was held at Red Fort in Delhi
12. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai and Tej Bahadur Sapru fought the case on behalf
of the soldiers
Cabinet Mission (1946)
1. After the Second World War, Lord Atlee became the Prime Minister of England
2. On 15 March, 1946 Lord Atlee made a historic announcement in which the right to selfdetermination and the framing of a Constitution for India were conceded.
3. Consequently, three members of the British Cabinet - Pathick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps
and A. V. Alexander - were sent to India. This is known as the Cabinet Mission.
4. The Cabinet Mission put forward a plan for solution of the constitutional problem.
5. Provision was made for three groups of provinces to possess their separate constitutions
6. The Cabinet Mission also proposed the formation of a Union of India, comprising both the
British India and the Princely States.
7. The Union would remain in charge of only foreign affairs, defence and communications
leaving the residuary powers to be vested in the provinces
77
SMART NOTES
8. Till a new government was elected

9. Both the Muslim League and the Congress accepted the plan
10. Consequently, elections were held in July 1946 for the formation of a Constituent Assembly.
11. The Congress secured 205 out of 214 General seats.
12. The Muslim League got 73 out of 78 Muslim seats.
13. An Interim Government was formed under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru on 2
September 1946
Mountbatten Plan (1947)
1. On 20 February l947, Prime Minister Atlee announced in the House of Commons the definite
intention of the British Government to transfer power to responsible Indian hands
2. Thus, to effect the transference of that power Atlee decided to send Lord Mountbatten as
Viceroy to India.
3. Lord Mountbatten armed with vast powers became Indias Viceroy on 24 March 1947.
4. The partition of India and the creation of Pakistan appeared inevitable to him.
5. After extensive consultation Lord Mountbatten put forth the plan of partition of India on 3
June 1947.
6. The Congress and the Muslim League ultimately approved the Mountbatten Plan.
Indian Independence Act 1947
1. The British Government accorded formal approval to the Mountbatten Plan by enacting the
Indian Independence Act on 18 July 1947
2. The partition of the country into India and Pakistan would come into effect from 15 August
1947.
3. The British Government would transfer all powers to these two Dominions.
4. A Boundary Commission would demarcate the boundaries of the provinces of the Punjab
and Bengal
5. The Act provided for the transfer of power to the Constituent Assemblies of the two
Dominions,
6. Which will have full authority to frame their respective Constitutions.
7. The Radcliff Boundary Commission drew the boundary line separating India and Pakistan
8. On 15th August 1947 India, and on the 14th August Pakistan came into existence as two
independent states.
9. Lord Mountbatten was made the first Governor General of Independent India
10. Whereas Mohammad Ali Jinnah became the first Governor General of Pakistan
78
SMART NOTES
11. The most tragic incident occurred on 30 January 1948, when Mahatma Gandhi - the father of
the nation on his way to a prayer meeting was assassinated by Nathuram Godse.
79
SMART NOTES
About Us:
Smart Notes series is an initiative to provide better and efficient education to everyone. It is an
online learning initiative which provides informative courses to anyone who wants to learn or teach.
Our aim is to provide high-quality courses combined with continuous feedback, and research to
improve learning and transform higher education.
3Ps of Success Point, Precise, and Powerful.
Tips for moving ahead:

1. Read Daily.
2. Ready Smartly.
3. Evaluate yourself.
Kindly subscribe us / share us

Site http://www.thesmartnotes.org
FB Page - https://www.facebook.com/singhsreavinashCS
80
SMART NOTES
Upcoming Events
1. Monthly E- magazine of current affairs for general studies (Prelims and Mains)
2. Smart Notes for India and World Geography (covering GS-1)
3. Smart Notes for Polity (covering GS -2)
4. Smart Notes for Indian Economy (covering GS -3)
5. Smart Notes for General Science (covering GS -3)
6. Smart Notes for Environment, Ecology and Bio - Diversity (covering GS -3)
7. Smart notes for History of India and World (covering GS -1)
8. Smart Notes National Level test series
9. Consultations and Suggestions
81
SMART NOTES
Thank You
82

Smart Notes On Indian Modern History by SN

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Smart Notes On Indian Modern History by SN

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Smart Notes On Indian Modern History by SN

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is the purpose of the Smart Notes series?

What is the purpose of the Smart Notes series?

What are some upcoming events mentioned by Smart Notes?

What are some upcoming events mentioned by Smart Notes?

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

To our Hardworking and persistence aspirants

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

INDIA UNDER THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY

It was turned down initially

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

WARREN HASTINGS (1772-1785)

Reforms of Warren Hastings

Hence, the Dual System introduced by Robert Clive was abolished

A Board of Revenue was established at Calcutta to supervise the collection of revenue.

English Collectors were appointed in each district.

2. Reorganisation of the Judicial System

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

Which was to function under an Indian judge appointed by the Governor-in-Council

An English translation of it Code of Hindu Laws was prepared by Halhed.

3. Trade Regulations and other Reforms

He also introduced a uniform system of pre-paid postage system.

A bank was started in Calcutta.

The Regulating Act of 1773 (Background)

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

Provisions of the Act

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

Expansionist Policy of Warren Hastings

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

The British captured Mahe, a French settlement within Haiders territories

Haider Ali defeated Colonel Baillie and captured Arcot in 1780.

Consequently, Haider was isolated without any alliance.

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

He was defeated by Sir Eyre Coote at Porto Novo in March 1781.

Pitts India Act, 1784

The Impeachment of Warren Hastings

Estimate of Warren Hastings

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

LORD CORNWALLIS (1786-1793)

Tipu Sultan and the Third Mysore War (1790-92)

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

Tipu had to give up half his dominions

Both sides agreed to release the prisoners of war

The Treaty of Srirangapattinam is a significant event in the history of South India.

The British secured a large territory on the Malabar Coast

Tipu had been defeated but not destroyed

Revenue reforms or Permanent Settlement

Judicial and other reforms

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

4. He increased the remuneration for honest service.

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

THE MARQUESS OF WELLESLEY (1798-1805)

Political Condition of India at the time of Wellesleys Arrival

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY

Benefits to the British

SMART NOTES ON INDIAN MODERN HISTORY