Abstract
Through this research, the controversy over India’s relations with Great Britain after India’s independence will be identified. India’s relations with Great Britain were severely impacted by Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement which led to India’s independence. Despite gaining freedom from Great Britain, India still had ties with Great Britain that were kept through the process. Gandhi’s Satyagraha Movement started as a result of the civil disobedience that the Indians were receiving from the British Raj.
However, it is controversial about the true reason for India’s independence. Though there are several factors for India’s independence, one of the major reasons include Gandhi’s efforts, which is acknowledged by many historians and educators. However, one aspect that is not recognized when considering this era is the fact that Great Britain was in World War II against Germany, and the impact of the war showed a drastic change in the British economy. Another aspect that lead to Indian independence was the religious conflicts that the Indians went through during the time of the British Rule.
From India’s first encounter with the British to their last fight with the British, they faced conflicts and solved problems. There were times that India lost to the British and times when the British lost to the Indians. After overcoming conflicts, and forming treaties with compromises, India was granted independence from the British, however there were so many abrupt situations that caused changes in the way independence was given to India.
Therefore, this investigation will evaluate to what extent did Gandhi’s relations prompted Indian independence and how it shaped British-Indian relations whereas how did the downfall of the British economy affected Indian independence.
Introduction
When conflicts arise between countries or societies, it is common for war to be an outcome, however, India went the opposite way when they were wrongfully treated under the British Raj. Mahatma Gandhi decided to take the nonviolent pathway to create a road to India’s independence. Gandhi’s Satyagraha Movement is known to be “an idea of nonviolence resistance” against the British. Essentially, the movement was a fight against injustice in the county and for rights of an individual, which influenced other countries to fight for their rights as well.
Relations between Great Britain and India were created and included disputes and tensions that further resulted in the Satyagraha Movement. International relations are developed between countries for peace and to benefit the individual economies. Additionally, international relations also develop several global and cultural connections. However, on the other hand, relations can also bring up conflicts and problems for one country or the other.
Similarly, there were conflicts that arose between the British and the Indians during the British rule. Small disputes added up to a path, that was filled with reasons for Indian independence. The reasons that the Indians had for their independence varied resulting from short-term and long-term factors. Nationalism had a major influence on the society which made their political and economic systems very challenging and not cost-effective, which further put pressure on the society. Due to the pressure from nationalism, more reasons were unraveled, including disengagement with the empire and other countries, as well as the peasants and tribal resistance and revolts against the British rule.
During the movement and even after, the British government started to wear down and off of the Indians. As the Indians got stronger and fought back with the British Raj, the British realized that they would need to create a stronger force and government to go against the Indians and their protests. The British Raj created a powerful empire on the territory which restricted the Indians to a lot of resources and freedoms. However, it is quite controversial in how the Indians went against the British Raj and how they kept their relationship with Great Britain to an extent or they completely broke all ties with them. Thus the research question to what extent did the Satyagraha movement shape India’s relations with the Britain?
In order to evaluate and answer this question, the investigation will look at the relations between India and Britain, from the time the British Raj was in place, to the time Gandhi began his protests, which ended with India’s Independence. Additionally, it will also analyze the aftermath of the Satyagraha Movement and the impact it created on India’s relationship with Britain.
Though the British Raj left India after India’s independence, there is no doubt that India had a conflicting relationship with Great Britain in terms of any source for the country. By the time of India’s independence, Great Britain had a gradual devolution of power in India, and it took them a while to regain their time lost. Overall, this investigation will focus on how each of the events leading to India’s independence affected India & Britain relations.
British Rule
Colonialism was at its peak in the 17th century, and to European countries, especially Great Britain, India was “a source of spices, textiles, and other authentic Asian products” ( The British imperialized India and implemented the East India Company through which they traded with other countries. As time passed by, the rule of India moved from the East India Company to the British government as a whole. Although two different systems controlled the Indians, both systems had similar rules and regulations in terms of their treatment and rule in India.
East India Company
The British Raj was implemented in India in the year 1600, during the Mughal Empire, with the start of the East India Company. The implementation of the East India Company removed the British from its life and death situation, that resulted from their economic downfall. During the 1600s, Great Britain was suffering from an “insufficient royal revenue to meet new demands placed on them.” The number of unemployed increased a landowner's found out they “could make more money by enclosing their land and devoting it to raise sheep,” and it would be a less labor intensive job, meaning no need of workers on their fields.
The East India Company was a trading company that the British operated in Bengal and Bihar, and it was integrated into the government for profits. To an extent, there was government involvement in the East India Company, similar to many businesses that are in a market economic system. The government’s role in the East India Company is to regulate the money going in and out of the company and making sure it if being given to the right people. Initially, the company employed peasants and other laborers in Bengal and Bihar to prepare the goods and services for the producers and other markets. The company was established primarily to take advantage of the potential trade system in India.
Throughout the 1600s to the 1700s, the East India Company established several factories and changed the lives of the native Indians. The places where Indians built their homes, where they had farms, and where their society existed were taken up by the British Company.
Additionally, the Company also affected the lives of the British as well, relationships between the Indians and the British were established. However, these relationship spilled secrets about the British interests and intentions on India’s potential trade system. A few British soldiers established ties with the Indians through marriages and culture. Theses soldiers expressed respect toward the pride and authority that the Indians possessed, as well as their intelligence and curiosity that they had towards the nature of the world. Moreover, they also developed a curiosity about the customs and habits of the Indians, whereas the Indians developed curiosity about the culture and traditions of the British and western culture.
As time passed, the attitude and behavior towards the Indians got worse, and an essence of inequality was presented in the utility of the British rule. As the economy experienced expansion and peaks, the British concentrated on fulfilling the wishes of the wealthy rather than providing equal care for the wealthy and the poor. This treatment increased the number of rifts in the social structure and discriminated the poor against their inability to access or obtain money.
As the rajas and the wealthy were supported by the British, in terms of sources of finance, higher standards and many more, they found new opportunities to become an “elite group.” Due to more money in their hands, the wealthy learned English and formed groups of educated Indians.
Additionally, they were more exposed to the Western culture and political beliefs. It further changed the ideology and ethics that the Indians had prior to the British Raj. They took advantage of the British presence and their wealth and used it to the best of their ability to improve their image in society and create high standards for other individuals.
As the Mughal Empire started to decline, Europeans found ways to interfere in India’s affairs, creating conflicts between Britain and France. However, this did not change the way the Indians were treated, the British kept pushing the laborers to surpass their limits to increase the revenue of the government. The money that was made through the East India Company was solely used to help the Britain support their country in wartime and during trade and other disputes.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the number of British traders increased in India as they acknowledged the fortune that prior British traders made off of India in the past. Similar to the past British traders, “the new traders joined hands with the East India Company in order for government involvement”, which would further help increase their profits that they make off of India’s trade system and the hard work of the Indians (Belmekki).
In the course of time, the number of disputes between the Indians and the British increased, which further lead to the involvement of British rulers in external disputes. In most cases, the Indians were directly blamed and they were excluded from the decisions taken for the betterment of the society and the Company.
The face of the company changed little by little as India’s economy grew significantly. Additionally, the growth of the economy was supported by the improvement in working conditions, communication and transport systems. Though the British efforts changed different aspects of the country, the British were still determined to keep the “upper hand” in the country and “strive for an increase in the economy” (Belmekki). Additionally, there were more public works brought into the country which not only helped the system of the Company, but it also helped the Indians live without great difficulties.
Soon after, there was mutiny among the British and the Indians which soon lead to the decline of the rule of the East India Company, which was known as the Sepoy Mutiny. Though it was shocking to the British, there was no major reaction among the Indians, due to the fact that they will be facing the same treatment as always.
The British Raj
After the end of the East India Company, the rule of India was transferred to the British Government due to the Sepoy Mutiny. India was “the jewel in the crown” of the British Empire, meaning that it was the “most important colony” for the British government (Asia Publishing House). The British rule in India was very impactful on the Great Britain’s pride and achievements. Through India, the British government found numerous sources to make their country prosperous with profits, enhance the political system, improved economy and widespread cultural identities.
India was under the British crown from 1858 to 1947, and the period of the crown was mostly known for the rise of the economy. Though the Indians were under a “different type of rule,” nothing changed. They were still treated the same and were split up based on their wealth, the poor had no role in the community, other than the labor work in the farms or the factories. Thus, this led to a shortage of the income the poor were receiving and cut down on the food that a family buys on a daily basis. On the other hand, the wealthy relaxed all day in their houses and were able to fill their stomachs every day with a grand and happy meal.
In the course of time, the wealthy benefitted with the presence of the British in India dealing with the trade system and increasing India’s economic value. As the rajas got more money, they invested in education and in no time they were able to speak fluent English and were fully exposed to the western culture and political beliefs they were introduced to them. Under the British colonial rule, Indians acknowledged a sense of identity and nationalism throughout the country, from the poor to the wealthy.
Great Britain’s involvement in World War I impacted India, in that the primary sources of the war including money and raw materials were sent from India. This further altered not only the India-British relationship but it marked a stance in the global perspective. As a result of World War I, India also received a chance to self-govern themselves, as the British were too busy fighting in the war. They took the time as an advantage and tried to prove that they are a responsible government and they do not need the British rule to be over their heads.
Satyagraha Movement
As a response to the British’s cruelty and inequality to all in the society, Mahatma Gandhi or mostly known as Gandhi took a stand for his people and decided to go against the British government to fight for their rights. A prominent move that Gandhi and his followers made was known as the Satyagraha movement, through which they practiced non-violent protests and fights against the British. The pure meaning of satyagraha can be defined through the means of Hinduism as well as other religions.
When the idea of Satyagraha was introduced into the Indian society, Gandhi introduced it as “an overall method of nonviolent action.” The true meaning of the word Satyagraha implies the force that drives to adhere the truth, however, Gandhi took it in the sense of the truth of non-violence, which is more commonly known after Gandhi’s movement in India. His generalization of non-violence was composed of a broad yet different concept, that implies how “life is based on love and compassion” and not violence and hatred (Shepard).
Gandhi approached the concept in two ways, one of which was “civil disobedience,” through which he believed being civil is important rather than the importance given to the disobedience that society points at. Gandhi spread his belief in how the “civil” in “civil disobedience” primarily refers to an individual’s characteristic of being polite and civilized, rather than an individual’s relationship with the country’s government (Shepard).
The second approach Gandhi took was the idea of non-cooperation with the British government. Through the actions of the non-cooperation movement, Gandhi and his followers refused to obey the orders of the British and the work they were assigned to do on a daily basis. Gandhi believed that it was necessary to continue the “non-cooperation movement” because the Indians were “in need of an absolute necessity– self-government. There were several reasons that were considered when making the decision to stand against the British. One of the major ones includes their absolute need for self-government. Gandhi also believed that “India can look after her own affairs much better than Great Britain can” (Subramanyam 16). As Gandhi spread his beliefs, people believed that their country had the potential to face their own problems and stand up for themselves. His words also imply that their country in their hands would go off better than in the British rule.
Both of Gandhi’s approaches in the Satyagraha movement were carried throughout until India’s Independence. His ideals of non-cooperation and civil disobedience created a path for the Indians to follow in their fight against the British crown. The resistance to British orders was similar to a test given to the British, in order to evaluate their potential and their patience. Moreover, the Indian resistance was also a lesson for the British to leave the country and the people of the country alone. Therefore, the start of the movement tested if the British government was capable of handling the non-violent resistance the Indians were presenting towards them.
At the start of the movement began with protests and fights, Indians acknowledged the motive behind Satyagraha and why it is different from other protests. Gandhi taught the people the different forms of Satyagraha and how each form has its own specialty and influence. The Satyagraha had four main principles: non-cooperation, civil disobedience, fasting, and constructive programs. Each of these principles was strictly followed by the participants. The two major events of the Satyagraha Movement were the Dandi Salt March and the Ahimsa movement which primarily pushed India to strive towards their independence and their human rights.
Dandi Salt March
The Salt March, a major event of the movement, started in Gujarat among the villagers which later turned into a dispute between the villages and the British themselves. One of the major outcomes of the Satyagraha movement was the Dandi Salt March, in which Gandhi and about one hundred villagers walked across India spreading their beliefs and receiving support to go against the British. The path that the villagers and Gandhi followed was treacherous and can be seen in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Dandi Salt March Pathway
The march started all with the simple Salt Tax that Gandhi decided to impose in the 1930s. The salt tax heavily impacted the poor, primarily because they were dependent on salt for almost all the food items they eat, and the tax made it harder for them to obtain the salt on a daily basis. When the tax was first implemented, the poor tried their best to pay the tax to obtain the salt, but as years passed by the tax became higher and harder for the poor to purchase.
As a result of this treacherous behavior from the British, Gandhi decided to impose the British and wanted other Indians in the country to be aware of the British attitude and ideals. Gandhi and a few of his followers designed a plan in which they were going to travel 250 miles across India, by walk from his “ashram at Sabermanti near Ahmedabad” and walked to the “town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea” (Gandhi).
Gandhi’s 25-day walk was very popular, it also brought the British’s attention and they paid close attention to Gandhi’s actions to find ways to put him away from the community which he influenced to go against the British. One main incident that occurred during the walk was when Gandhi bent down to the shore side and he “scooped a handful of salty mud” which was considered as illegal salt-gathering. Due to these allegations, the Indians that were with Gandhi on his walk were beaten up and were arrested, for approximately 9 months.
Ahimsa Movement
One of the most influential forms was fasting; in the beginning of the movement, Gandhi and a few of his followers protested in front of the British house, with no food and water for several days. Their fast strengthened their fight and influenced more people to join and fight for their rights. There fight lead to the Britain granting a few rights to the Indians, however, it also lead to disputes and tensions into the Britain-India relations. The fast that the Indians held was integrated into the Ahimsa movement in that through the Ahimsa movement they had non-violent protests and they agreed to not give pain to the other person, yet fight for their rights.
In Gandhi’s view, ahimsa was non-violence in the connotation is positive resistance, whereas the term can semantically be defined as the refrain from causing harm and destruction to others; more of a negative concept. According to Bidyut Chakrabarty’s text from Social and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi, he describes how Gandhi approached the Ahimsa movement in the Satyagraha movement, as a whole to strive towards independence from the British. Gandhi was able to decipher “human emotions and feelings and develop a strength to fight against the British crown.
India Independence
In 1947, India gained freedom from the British crown, however, it was at the “cost of great suffering and loss of life” (Petersen). Even though the Indians were on the side of nonviolence, the British did not respect their beliefs and attacked Indians in many cities such as Bengal, Bihar, and Calcutta. By seeing this tragedy, Gandhi became furious at the British and had an argument with the British regarding their actions and attitude towards their country and their people.
India’s independence was strived for since the end of the Dutch and Portuguese and the arrival of the British. Towards the later 1930s, the British were tired of the Indians abandoning their work and protesting day and night for their rights. Gandhi gave many speeches to the British parliament regarding the effort Indians made to get their rights. In the years 1935-1940, the Indian National Congress joined hands with Gandhi and made efforts to push the British out of the country.
By 1946, India gained some rights and political freedom, but they were still under the control of the British crown. When the British crown offered Jawaharlal Nehru, the Jinnah seat in the parliament, conflicts between religions became more problematic, further creating violence between the two religions and with the British. During the period, Gandhi proposed to the British about the future of both religions with the concept of country independence.
Simultaneously, the religious conflicts continued, as the muslims believed that the Hindus were increasingly coming into power, by which they would lose their freedom and rights, which further prompted them to form the Muslim League. THe “All-India-Muslim League” was established in order to protect the civil right s of the Muslim Indians, especially the upper class. Due to the religious conflicts, the British found a way to escape giving independence to the Indians. However, the conflicts kept heating up and rising into riots, which continued for a year before Indian independence, which lead the country to the brink of a Civil War. However, the British were resistant to the idea of a Civil War in India.
Thereafter, the British government reluctantly agreed to pass the Indian Independence Act in July 1947, which granted that India would become two independent states: “one primarily a Hindu-dominated India and another a Muslim-dominated Pakistan” (Green). Finally, on August 15, 1947, India officially became a self-governing independent state.
Aftermath
Although, India received its independence from the British Crown, it is quite controversial because there are two sides of the story. Many acknowledge that India received its independence due to Gandhi’s efforts, however it is not recognized that during the period Great Britain was in a war against Germany and it lost its resources and sources of income, which prompted Britain to give up its colonies.
Between the years of 1930 to 1950, Great Britain was in the middle of World War II, in which they took a crucial role. Great Britain stood against the German military forces and outsmarted the politicians who were joining hands with Germany, which brought the British success in continuing the war (Green). Great Britain was also facing several problems within the country as trade decreased and the economy was experiencing a minor recession. Many countries did not want to trade with Great Britain due to its lack of fine resources and goods. In addition to the lack of trade, Great Britain’s entry into the war cost the country millions, in order to support the army and join other countries.
In 1935, the British parliament agreed for a new constitution that “extended the franchise and gave the separate provinces greater independence” (Peterson). However, the Indians rejected Britain's offer because they believed that their country could receive a full independence without war and bloodshed. Both countries fought for their benefits, and yet again, the British approached the Indians with an offer in which they “promise full independence after the war” (Peterson).
Conclusion
After examining the relationship the British had with the Indians from beginning to end, the investigation comes to a conclusion that it was not a peaceful relationship. Even though it is quite obvious, at times a few groups in India established strong and clever relationships with Great Britain. Marital relations occured between the wealthy rajas and the British soldiers, but at the same time there were mass killings and fights between the poor Indians and the British soldiers. Moreover, these were the key factors that forced Gandhi to take a stance for the country and fight back with the British, leading to independence.
However, it would be improbable to say that Gandhi’s efforts were a major contribution that led to India gaining its independence. It is also important to recognize the certainty that Great Britain’s economic downfall during the war should also be taken into consideration, along with Gandhi’s efforts when making the assumption of how India’s independence was gained. Another factor that also comes into consideration is that the British did not want to be involved in the religious conflicts that were going on in India, by which they stopped the Civil War from arising and granted Indian independence.
Even after India’s independence, the relations between Great Britain and India were still inhospitable and frosty. Though they have a relation in the form of trade and governmental issues, both countries are not that friendly amongst each other. However, it is quite notable that India still follows a few of the principles and circumstances of Great Britain in the country. Likewise, the British were acceptable towards Indian immigrants and workers, who were employed under factory labor, medical services and educational institutions in Great Britain.