Queen Victoria: Proclamation concerning India

Impact

The impact of British administration of India—which encompassed modern-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and at various times included other territories, such as Burma, Ceylon, and Singapore—was profound. Britain established a complex governmental and administrative structure that came to be called the British Raj (a Hindustani word meaning “reign”). Indian affairs were overseen by a secretary of state for India and a Council of India whose members had to have spent at least ten years in India. Additionally, India was governed by a viceroy, though numerous other governmental officials were charged with overseeing affairs in India's various regions. Assisting them in their efforts were Indian officials who served in an advisory capacity. A number of so-called princely states were also recognized. These were smaller regions in India that remained under the rule of Indian princes, although the princes were answerable to the viceroy.

In the twenty-first century the very notion of one country's colonizing another is objectionable, for it implies a sense of superiority on the part of the colonizer. In the context of the times, however, when European powers were establishing colonies throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, British rule of India was relatively enlightened and benign. The Sepoy Revolt, which precipitated the Government of India Act and the queen's proclamation, induced a period of introspection on the part of the British. They realized that the East India Company's administration of India had been harsh. Accordingly, efforts were made to establish a sense of partnership between Indians, particularly Indian civilians, and British people living in India. The army was restructured to include more Indians. No serious efforts were made to impose Christianity on Indians or to interfere with traditional religious beliefs and social practices. Most important, the Indian economy developed rapidly as the British built schools, railroads, ports—an entire economic infrastructure—to the point that “the Raj” was sometimes spoken of satirically to refer to the licenses, taxes, permits, and general red tape that became part of Indian affairs. The English language became a lingua franca that facilitated communication among India's four hundred or more language groups, and today English is spoken fluently by even moderately educated Indians.

Perhaps most important, the British Raj laid the foundations for the emergence of a democratic government. In 1869 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more widely known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in India. He would emerge as the leader and spiritual force behind the Indian independence movement. He also became a symbol of nonviolent opposition to colonization. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, authority in India was gradually transferred to Indians, and by the end of World War II, India was largely self-governing. The process of Indian independence was completed in 1947, when British India was partitioned into two independent states, India and Pakistan (which included Bangladesh, which seceded from Pakistan in 1971). India, with more than 1.1 billion people, remains the world's largest democratic nation.