Topic 14: British Policies – Political, Economic

Study Material

Paper Paper I

Unit 1

1. Subsidiary Alliance (1798, Lord Wellesley) - Required Indian rulers to maintain a British force at their own expense - Required acceptance of a British Resident at their court - In return, Britain guaranteed protection from external and internal threats - States absorbed: Hyderabad (1798), Mysore (1799), Awadh (1801), Maratha chiefs (1802) - Ended the independence of Indian rulers without formal annexation
2. Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie, 1848–1856) - Denied Indian rulers the right to adopt heirs — adopted sons could not legally inherit feudatory states - States lapsed: Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854) - Annexation of Awadh (1856) added on separate grounds of "misgovernance" - Dispossessed rulers became core leadership of the 1857 revolt
3. Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793, Lord Cornwallis) - Fixed land revenue in perpetuity with zamindars who gained hereditary ownership rights - Peasants (ryots) were reduced to mere tenants with no ownership - Transferred agricultural surplus to a new zamindar class loyal to the British - Created chronic rural indebtedness and deepened agrarian poverty
4. Ryotwari and Mahalwari Settlements - Ryotwari (Thomas Munro, Madras 1820; Elphinstone, Bombay): revenue settled directly with individual cultivators (ryots) who held occupancy rights - Mahalwari (William Bentinck, northern India): revenue settled with villages (mahals) collectively with joint liability - Three systems together covered all of British India
5. Railways in India - First railway line (Bombay to Thane, 21 miles) inaugurated on 16 April 1853 under Lord Dalhousie - By 1900, India had 25,000 miles of railway - Served British imperial purposes: raw material to ports, troop movement, market integration - Critics: railways deepened economic drain; defenders: created unified national market
6. Drain of Wealth Theory - Articulated by Dadabhai Naoroji in *Poverty and Un-British Rule in India* (1901) - Supplemented by R.C. Dutt in *The Economic History of India* (1902) - Naoroji estimated Britain drained at least £30 million annually through "Home Charges" - Home Charges included: civil/military pensions, railway debt interest, India Office costs, remitted profits
7. Indian Civil Service (ICS) - Established by the Charter Act of 1833; competitive examinations introduced by the Government of India Act 1853 - Examinations were held only in London until 1922 (simultaneous exams in India and England allowed after that) - Lord Macaulay's 1835 "Minute on Education" pushed English as the medium of instruction - Shaped a colonial bureaucracy that became the IAS after independence
8. Lord Macaulay's Minute on Education (1835) - Argued that "a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia" - Recommended English-medium education to create "a class Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect" - Transformed India's educated elite but also produced the intellectual leaders of the independence movement - Naoroji, Gokhale, Tilak, and Banerjee all used Western ideas of liberty to demand self-rule
9. Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1858 - Transferred power from the East India Company to the British Crown after the 1857 revolt - Promised non-interference in religious matters and equal employment opportunities for Indians - Promised respect for existing treaties with Indian princes - Created the framework for direct Crown rule (British Raj) until 1947
10. Lord Ripon's Local Self-Government Act (1882) - Created elected local bodies (municipalities and district boards) with elected Indian majorities - First significant devolution of power to Indians - Also associated with the Ilbert Bill controversy (1883) — attempt to allow Indian judges to try European defendants - European community opposed the Ilbert Bill, forcing its withdrawal
11. Indian Councils Acts — 1892 and 1909 - Indian Councils Act 1892: allowed Indians to be nominated to legislative councils - Indian Councils Act 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms): introduced limited elections - Controversially introduced separate electorates for Muslims — deepened communal identity - This separate electorate policy eventually contributed to Partition
12. Partition of Bengal (1905, Lord Curzon) - Bengal divided into East Bengal (Muslim-majority) and West Bengal (Hindu-majority) - Ostensibly for administrative efficiency; nationalists saw it as deliberate "divide and rule" - Triggered the Swadeshi Movement — boycott of British goods, promotion of Indian products - Reversed at the Delhi Durbar (1911) under King George V; capital also shifted from Calcutta to Delhi

Key facts

Subsidiary Alliance (1798, Lord Wellesley) — Required Indian rulers to maintain a British force at their own expense
Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie, 1848–1856) — Denied Indian rulers the right to adopt heirs
Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793, Lord Cornwallis) — Fixed land revenue in perpetuity with zamindars who gained hereditary ownership rights
Ryotwari and Mahalwari Settlements - Ryotwari (Thomas Munro, Madras 1820;
Railways in India — First railway line (Bombay to Thane, 21 miles) inaugurated on 16 April 1853 under Lord Dalhousie

Key Points at a Glance

1
Subsidiary Alliance (1798, Lord Wellesley)
- Required Indian rulers to maintain a British force at their own expense
- Required acceptance of a British Resident at their court
- In return, Britain guaranteed protection from external and internal threats
- States absorbed: Hyderabad (1798), Mysore (1799), Awadh (1801), Maratha chiefs (1802)
- Ended the independence of Indian rulers without formal annexation
2
Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie, 1848–1856)
- Denied Indian rulers the right to adopt heirs — adopted sons could not legally inherit feudatory states
- States lapsed: Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854)
- Annexation of Awadh (1856) added on separate grounds of "misgovernance"
- Dispossessed rulers became core leadership of the 1857 revolt
3
Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793, Lord Cornwallis)
- Fixed land revenue in perpetuity with zamindars who gained hereditary ownership rights
- Peasants (ryots) were reduced to mere tenants with no ownership
- Transferred agricultural surplus to a new zamindar class loyal to the British
- Created chronic rural indebtedness and deepened agrarian poverty
4
Ryotwari and Mahalwari Settlements
- Ryotwari (Thomas Munro, Madras 1820; Elphinstone, Bombay): revenue settled directly with individual cultivators (ryots) who held occupancy rights
- Mahalwari (William Bentinck, northern India): revenue settled with villages (mahals) collectively with joint liability
- Three systems together covered all of British India
5
Railways in India
- First railway line (Bombay to Thane, 21 miles) inaugurated on 16 April 1853 under Lord Dalhousie
- By 1900, India had 25,000 miles of railway
- Served British imperial purposes: raw material to ports, troop movement, market integration
- Critics: railways deepened economic drain; defenders: created unified national market
6
Drain of Wealth Theory
- Articulated by Dadabhai Naoroji in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901)
- Supplemented by R.C. Dutt in The Economic History of India (1902)
- Naoroji estimated Britain drained at least £30 million annually through "Home Charges"
- Home Charges included: civil/military pensions, railway debt interest, India Office costs, remitted profits
7
Indian Civil Service (ICS)
- Established by the Charter Act of 1833; competitive examinations introduced by the Government of India Act 1853
- Examinations were held only in London until 1922 (simultaneous exams in India and England allowed after that)
- Lord Macaulay's 1835 "Minute on Education" pushed English as the medium of instruction
- Shaped a colonial bureaucracy that became the IAS after independence
8
Lord Macaulay's Minute on Education (1835)
- Argued that "a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia"
- Recommended English-medium education to create "a class Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect"
- Transformed India's educated elite but also produced the intellectual leaders of the independence movement
- Naoroji, Gokhale, Tilak, and Banerjee all used Western ideas of liberty to demand self-rule
9
Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1858
- Transferred power from the East India Company to the British Crown after the 1857 revolt
- Promised non-interference in religious matters and equal employment opportunities for Indians
- Promised respect for existing treaties with Indian princes
- Created the framework for direct Crown rule (British Raj) until 1947
10
Lord Ripon's Local Self-Government Act (1882)
- Created elected local bodies (municipalities and district boards) with elected Indian majorities
- First significant devolution of power to Indians
- Also associated with the Ilbert Bill controversy (1883) — attempt to allow Indian judges to try European defendants
- European community opposed the Ilbert Bill, forcing its withdrawal
11
Indian Councils Acts — 1892 and 1909
- Indian Councils Act 1892: allowed Indians to be nominated to legislative councils
- Indian Councils Act 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms): introduced limited elections
- Controversially introduced separate electorates for Muslims — deepened communal identity
- This separate electorate policy eventually contributed to Partition
12
Partition of Bengal (1905, Lord Curzon)
- Bengal divided into East Bengal (Muslim-majority) and West Bengal (Hindu-majority)
- Ostensibly for administrative efficiency; nationalists saw it as deliberate "divide and rule"
- Triggered the Swadeshi Movement — boycott of British goods, promotion of Indian products
- Reversed at the Delhi Durbar (1911) under King George V; capital also shifted from Calcutta to Delhi

Introduction & Context

British policies politically unified India under colonial supremacy, economically redirected Indian resources towards Britain, and administratively created institutions that later shaped modern Indian governance.

Overview

British rule transformed India more profoundly than any previous political change in recorded history. Unlike earlier conquerors who became Indian in culture and interest, the British remained external — extracting resources for the metropolitan economy while simultaneously introducing institutions and ideas that would be used to challenge their own rule.

According to the RPSC Preliminary Examination 2024 syllabus, the General Knowledge and General Science paper carries a maximum of 200 marks.

Three Interlocking Dimensions

This topic covers three connected strands:

Political unification — how Britain subdued independent powers through Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse, and outright conquest
Economic transformation — land revenue systems, deindustrialisation, railways, and the drain of wealth
Administrative consolidation — civil service, codification of laws, English education, and the legislative framework

Exam Relevance

The 2021 RPSC question on "indigenous industries during the Second World War" (10 marks) connects directly to this topic's economic strand. The high frequency of British policy questions in earlier PYQ years (2016, 2013), combined with the zero-score in 2023, makes this a strong prediction for 2026.

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PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M What was the Doctrine of Lapse? Name four states annexed under it. 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

The Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie, 1848–1856) denied Indian rulers the right to adopt heirs — states without natural male heirs automatically "lapsed" to British sovereignty. States annexed: Satara (1848), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854), and Sambalpur (1849). The annexation of Awadh (1856, on "misgovernance" grounds) added to the resentment that fuelled the 1857 revolt.

~50 words • 5 marks