UGC NET History Unit-7 SOURCES OF MODERN INDIAN HISTORY AND RISE OF BRITISH POWER

🧾 I. SOURCES OF MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

Modern Indian History (roughly 1600–1947 CE) is one of the best-documented phases of Indian past because of the availability of a wide range of archival, literary, official, and material evidence. These sources help us reconstruct the political, administrative, economic, social, and cultural developments during the colonial period.

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🔹 1. Archival Materials

• Definition: Archival materials include official documents, correspondence, minutes of meetings, government orders, treaties, revenue records, and administrative reports preserved by governments and institutions.

• Major Repositories:

  • National Archives of India (New Delhi): Established in 1891 as the Imperial Record Department, it preserves central government records from the East India Company and British India.

  • State Archives: In Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Patna, Bhopal, Hyderabad, etc., which keep regional and provincial records.

  • India Office Records (London): Contain vast documentation on British rule in India, including correspondence between the East India Company and the British government.

• Importance:

  • Provide firsthand data about policy decisions, revenue systems, and colonial administration.

  • Serve as authentic records for political, legal, and economic history.

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🔹 2. Biographies, Memoirs, and Personal Papers

• These writings give a subjective and human dimension to historical events.

• European administrators (Clive, Hastings, Curzon) and Indian nationalists (Nehru, Gandhi) left detailed accounts.

• Important Examples:

  • Warren Hastings: A Biography by Gleig.

  • Life of Clive by Macaulay.

  • Autobiography of an Indian Princess by Sunity Devi.

  • An Autobiography by Jawaharlal Nehru.

  • The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi.

• Value: These records reveal mentalities, motivations, and the personal side of imperial and nationalist figures.

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🔹 3. Newspapers and Periodicals

• Newspapers were crucial in creating nationalist consciousness and documenting socio-political changes.

• Early Newspapers:

  • Bengal Gazette (1780) by James Augustus Hickey – first newspaper printed in India.

  • Calcutta Chronicle, Madras Courier, and Bombay Herald followed soon.

• Indian-run Newspapers:

  • Amrita Bazar Patrika (Bengal), The Hindu (Madras), Kesari and Mahratta (Bal Gangadhar Tilak), Bombay Chronicle (Parsee press).

• Importance:

  • Reflected public opinion, political debates, and nationalist aspirations.

  • Contain valuable information on social reform movements, colonial policies, and the rise of nationalism.

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🔹 4. Oral Evidence

• Includes oral traditions, songs, ballads, folktales, and testimonies passed through generations.

• Crucial for understanding subaltern, tribal, and peasant histories where written records are lacking.

• Used for reconstructing events like 1857 revolt, peasant uprisings, and local resistance movements.

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🔹 5. Creative Literature and Paintings

• Novels and plays reflected the growing awareness of colonial exploitation and social change.

  • Anandamath by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay — inspired nationalism.

  • Neel Darpan (Dinabandhu Mitra) — exposed the plight of indigo cultivators.

  • Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore) — expressed universal humanism.

• Company Paintings: Fusion of Indian and European styles depicting Indian life under the Company.

• Raja Ravi Varma: Pioneer of Indian modern art — blended mythological themes with realism.

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🔹 6. Monuments and Coins

• Colonial Architecture: Forts (Fort St. George, Fort William), churches, government buildings (Writers’ Building, Victoria Memorial, Rashtrapati Bhavan).

• Coins: Issued by East India Company and the Crown reflect sovereignty, economy, and trade systems.

• Provide visual and economic evidence of the colonial transition.

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⚓ II. RISE OF BRITISH POWER IN INDIA

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🔹 1. European Rivalry in India (16th–18th Centuries)

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🔹 2. Anglo–French Rivalry and Carnatic Wars

• Fought mainly in South India for political and commercial supremacy.

• First Carnatic War (1746–1748): Result of Anglo–French rivalry in Europe.

• Second Carnatic War (1749–1754): French under Dupleix interfered in local politics; Clive defeated them.

• Third Carnatic War (1758–1763): British victory at Wandiwash ended French political influence.

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🏰 III. ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH DOMINION

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🔹 1. Bengal – The Beginning of Empire

• Battle of Plassey (1757):

  • British (Robert Clive) defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah with help from Mir Jafar.

  • British gained political control over Bengal.

• Battle of Buxar (1764):

  • British (Hector Munro) defeated Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula (Oudh), and Shah Alam II.

  • Confirmed Company’s control over Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

• Treaty of Allahabad (1765):

  • Mughal Emperor granted Diwani rights (revenue collection) to the East India Company.

  • Foundation of British administrative rule in India.

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🔹 2. Expansion to South and West India

• Mysore Wars (1767–1799): Four wars between British and Mysore rulers (Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan).

  • Fourth War (1799): Tipu Sultan killed; Mysore brought under British control.

• Subsidiary Alliance (1798): Introduced by Lord Wellesley — Indian rulers had to accept British troops for “protection” → loss of sovereignty.

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🔹 3. Anglo–Maratha Wars (1775–1818)

• Three wars fought:

  • First (1775–82) — inconclusive.

  • Second (1803–05) — British victory under Wellesley.

  • Third (1817–18) — Peshwa Baji Rao II defeated; end of Maratha Confederacy.

• Result: British supremacy established in western India.

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🔹 4. Annexation of the Punjab (1849)

• Two Anglo–Sikh Wars:

  • First War (1845–46): Treaty of Lahore — limited Sikh independence.

  • Second War (1848–49): Annexation of Punjab under Lord Dalhousie.

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🤝 IV. RELATIONS WITH PRINCIPAL INDIAN STATES

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⚔️ V. THE REVOLT OF 1857

🔹 1. Causes

Political:

• Doctrine of Lapse (Dalhousie) annexed Jhansi, Satara, Nagpur.

• Displacement of traditional rulers and nobles.

Economic:

• Exploitative land revenue systems; destruction of handicrafts and trade.

• Decline of old aristocracy and artisans.

Military:

• Discrimination in pay and promotion.

• Greased cartridge controversy (cow/pig fat).

Social and Religious:

• Fear of Christian missionary activities.

• Disrespect for Indian traditions and customs.

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🔹 2. Nature and Leadership

• Began at Meerut (10 May 1857).

• Spread to Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Bareilly, Central India.

• Leaders:

  • Bahadur Shah II – nominal leader, Delhi.

  • Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope – Kanpur.

  • Rani Lakshmibai – Jhansi.

  • Kunwar Singh – Bihar.

  • Begum Hazrat Mahal – Lucknow.

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🔹 3. Nature of the Revolt

• Described as:

  • “Sepoy Mutiny” (British historians).

  • “National War of Independence” (Indian historians).

  • Combined character – both rebellion and early nationalism.

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🔹 4. Impact and Results

• Suppressed by 1858.

• End of East India Company rule → Power transferred to British Crown.

• Queen Victoria’s Proclamation (1858):

  • Guaranteed religious tolerance.

  • Equal protection under law.

  • Recognition of princes and subjects’ rights.

• Reorganization of Army, Administration, and Financial Control.

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🏛️ VI. ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE COMPANY AND THE CROWN

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🔹 1. Under East India Company (1773–1858)

Regulating Act (1773):

• First attempt at parliamentary control.

• Governor of Bengal → Governor-General (Warren Hastings).

• Supreme Court established at Calcutta (1774).

Pitt’s India Act (1784):

• Created Board of Control in Britain to supervise Company affairs.

• Dual control system (Company + Parliament).

Charter Acts (1813, 1833, 1853):

• Ended Company trade monopoly (1813).

• Made Governor-General of India (1833).

• Introduced open competition for civil services (1853).

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🔹 2. Under the British Crown (1858–1947)

Government of India Act, 1858:

• Transferred power from Company to Crown.

• Created Secretary of State for India and Viceroy.

• Abolished the Company.

Indian Councils Acts (1861, 1892):

• Introduced limited legislative representation for Indians.

Indian Civil Service (ICS):

• Introduced merit-based exams (1853 onwards).

• Indians admitted gradually (first Indian — Satyendranath Tagore, 1863).

Judiciary:

• 1774: Supreme Court at Calcutta.

• 1861: High Courts Act unified legal system.

Police & Army:

• Regular police system organized (Cornwallis).

• Army reorganized — ratio of Europeans to Indians fixed (1:2).

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👑 VII. BRITISH PARAMOUNTCY AND PRINCELY STATES

• Doctrine of Lapse: (Lord Dalhousie, 1848–56)

  • Annexation of states without a male heir (Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur, Sambalpur).

• Subsidiary Alliance: (Lord Wellesley)

  • Indian states forced to maintain British troops and accept a Resident.

• Paramountcy under Crown:

  • British claimed ultimate supremacy; Indian princes retained internal rule.

  • Chamber of Princes (1920) created as advisory body.

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🏙️ VIII. LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

🔹 Lord Mayo (1870)

• Initiated financial decentralization between Centre and Provinces.

🔹 Lord Ripon (1882)

• Known as “Father of Local Self-Government in India.”

• Introduced:

  • Elected members in municipalities and district boards.

  • Local bodies to handle education, health, sanitation.

  • Foundation for democratic decentralization.

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⚖️ IX. CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS (1909–1935)

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🧭 X. SUMMARY OF BRITISH EXPANSION AND ADMINISTRATION

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🪔 XI. IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE (Brief Overview)

• Political: Centralized administration, modern bureaucracy, law courts.

• Economic: Drain of wealth, deindustrialization, new land systems (Permanent Settlement, Ryotwari, Mahalwari).

• Social: Western education, reform movements (Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar).

• Cultural: English language, press, modern arts and architecture.

• Nationalism: Emergence of Indian National Congress (1885) and freedom struggle.