The sun never set, nor did it ever rise: The British Empire in India

It was true; the sun never set on the British Empire, geographically speaking. However, metaphorically speaking, the sun never seemed to rise over its Indian colonies, and the aftermath of British rule in India still plays a role in the politics of the region to this day. What started as a collection of merchants from the British East Indies Company looking for “quiet trade” was eventually expanded into a full-blown political state controlled by Great Britain, after British armies and their native Indian, British-trained allies defeated the French in the Seven Years’ War. These victories sparked a period of economic exploitation by the merchants of the British East Indies Company. When the company came close to bankruptcy due to lack of management, Great Britain began sending representatives to govern the territory and oversee the company’s proceedings. Some of these governors were interested in learning about and preserving the native culture and allowed natives to hold office in their government, while others abolished the culturally-sensitive policies put in place by their predecessors and opted for a British-controlled state. This created a large gap in the economic classes, with the British in the higher class and the Indians in the lower class.

                Eventually tension grew between the British settlers who respected the culture of the Indians and those who were devoted to bringing the British customs to the Indians, and in effect, so did tensions between the Indians and the British as a whole. Modern technology of the times being brought into India, which contrasted with the slower, more traditional pace of the economy, as well as Christian missionaries clashing with the Hindu and Muslim populations created more unrest. This unrest culminated in the Great India Mutiny in 1857. The rebellion was put down by the British, and resulted in the queen assuming direct control over most of India, and the eventual disbanding of the British East Indies Company. The queen also indirectly controlled much of India through princes who implemented British policies in their kingdoms.  During this period, British companies and schools helped to boost the economy, and the government ran fairly efficiently. However, these institutions further widened the gap between the classes, and Indians were beginning to work for their independence.

                There were several movements advocating for Indian independence during this time, one of which was a Muslim led movement who feared their voices would not be heard in a largely Hindu state. This realization led to a political issue which still exists in India and the surrounding region today, as Muslim and Hindu populations clashed over the land and politics of India.

                During World War I and World War II, Indian recruits in the British military boosted their forces to such an extent that the British were obliged to promise eventual independence for India, with rights to the citizens and economic advantages being provided on the way to independence. In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi emerged as a leading promoter of Indian independence and peaceful civil disobedience to achieve his goal. For fear of their imperialist policies being frowned upon in the international stage, the British were forced to give in to Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, which he led from 1920 until his death. After World War II, the British relinquished their control of India, but this left the question of whether or not there would be a separate state that would be composed of a primarily Muslim population or if the whole region would be left without borders separating the two religious groups. Eventually a plan was formed to create a separate Muslim state in the north, but disagreements between these groups still play a major role in the politics of the region and threaten the stability of the nation.

                Had the British never taken an economically and politically advantageous position in the region, one might wonder if these problems would still exist between the factions of the native populations. In theory, with practice living together and governing themselves instead of having their decisions made by a foreign super power for hundreds of years, some might argue that a peaceful solution could have been reached long ago. Once again, the treatment of native populations as lower class citizens and the governing body of a region making decisions for groups that they have no involvement in create distrust and unrest in the region. There have been generations of Indians who must deal with the issues that may have been solved long ago had the interests of an imperial state not been considered more important than their own, on top of the fact that, as with many other places on earth, the majority of the population still faces economic turmoil and a lack of aid to their suffering. Rather than working together to create a peaceful solution, they first had to find a way to expel their conquerors simply to regain their land and start again from scratch, which can only be summarized as time that needn’t have been wasted if the British nobility wouldn’t have been so narcissistic to think that their way of life is the best way of life.