The raj succeeded management of the subcontinent by the British East India Company, after general distrust and dissatisfaction with company leadership resulted in a widespread mutiny of sepoy troops in 1857, causing the British to reconsider the structure of governance in India. The extension of power usually involves the exertion of power in many forms such as military ones. The railways have unfortunately become a whipping boy of reductionist arguments, a punch bag between imperialist apologists and suave nationalists. At any rate, this is the pseudonym. As such, the timeframe of the British Raj is significant to the overall time of British Imperialism in India . Often, in settling our contemporary scores of ‘arrested development’ or underdevelopment due to imperial rule and in the quintessential follow-up mention of compensation and reparations, historical prudence is sacrificed. Typically involving the unprovoked use of military force, imperialism has historically been viewed as morally unacceptable. But does the story of the Indian railways stop at presenting a fact file of imperial patronage? During the Second World War, preconditions for purchases from outside of Britain were relaxed but still the overall balance remained disproportionately tilted in favour of Britain. The Aftermath of Imperialism. In his visit to Calcutta in 1843, he collected opinions from a wide array of officials and merchants including notable Indians who supported the plan. Colonialism is the practice of acquiring partial or full control over another country and exploiting it economically. Source: The Koochpurwanaypore Swadeshi Railway, by Jo. Allegedly, they represented two civilisations, two epochs that came face to face. Britain recognized India as the “jewel in the crown” because India was the most valuable colony they controlled. British Raj ( rāj, lit. Read More. British raj, period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. A set of representations based upon claims of the colony’s cultural and intellectual deficiency was one way of depicting the introduction of modernity. The power of steam enraptured the imagination of Bengalis who flocked to see how the new “car of Indra” looked. Tags: Question 23 . Imperialism definition, the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. Did You Know? ‘Obstruction on the Line’. Thus, prior to independence in 1947, India imported 14,420 locomotives from Britain, built 707 itself and purchased 3,000 from other countries. Q. As a result of colonialism and imperialism, a majority of Africa lost sovereignty and control of precious natural resources. And the blame game can go on forever. 1 : the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or … British Imperialism in India is an important topic in world history. To load the rifle, the end of the cartridge containing the powder had to be bitten off so that the charge would ignite. Colonialism is the practice of acquiring partial or full control over another country and exploiting it economically. This is simply wrong. Beyond Mahatma Gandhi and Tharoor, some of them, as a local poet expressed in the 19th century, did like what they saw. ... Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies. 30 seconds . Bibliography. The KPR sketchbook is a specimen of that belief. The Sepoy Mutiny erupted from a controversy surrounding the new Enfield rifles issued to Indian soldiers in January 1857 at Meerut. D. Moellendorf, in Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics (Second Edition), 2012 Introduction. See more. 1858: Beginning of the Raj. In the KPR sketch of Mutwalabad, the lines of modernity, at least momentarily, were disrupted by the weight of the mighty oriental beast but in Burdwan the same traditional beast carried people to witness the charm and surprise of railway modernity. answer choices . Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This is similar to what happened after the Zulu War. Railways and the Raj: Travelling Through 'Bad Imperialism' and 'Good Nationalism' Does the story of the Indian railways really stop at presenting a fact file of imperial patronage? Imperialism, sometimes called empire building, is the practice of a nation forcefully imposing its rule or authority over other nations. SURVEY . In this version, the western technological advancement brought modernity to India often through the painful but necessary exercise of conflict, confrontation and displacement. For running steam engines, steel-like nerves and the unfailing alacrity of the mann, or mind, was required. Yet imperialism as the midwife of democratic self-rule is an undeniable good. ‘A Sutie Relic at an Indian Railway Station’. Click again to see term . Hookm. 1087 Words 5 Pages. British rule of India. In the absence of reason and intellect, the best natives/Indians could do was to follow command. France, Germany and Russia later demanded and received similar treatment. British Raj: The rule of the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. Beyond the formulaic tussle between ‘bad imperialism’ and ‘good nationalism’ lies mundane stories, fantasies and imaginations, satire and rhetoric, and more importantly their retellings that are no less powerful than factsheets of institutions and nation states to understand the complex encounters between cultures, technology and people. British Raj: The rule of the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. Dutch rule of Indonesia. Imperialism resulting in extermination. The workshop relied on the generational transfer of skill from fathers to their sons – so much so that the railway company initially resisted the idea of standardised technical education. Show More. Britain exploited India's natural assets. Conclusion. The native skill that made this possible was highly praised right from the beginning. The very title contained three Hindi words in their typical Anglicised spelling: Kooch purwa nay (kuch parwāh nahīn), meaning ‘it doesn’t matter at all’ or ‘no one cares’. French rule of Algeria. It rather became his vehicle. Home > Jewel In The Crown. That job takes a native to do it.”. She was a black beauty who could either make an apprentice her slave or would happily belong to her efficient master. A cabinet minister in London directed policy, and a British governor-general in India carried out the govern-ment’s orders. The black beauty represented calm, concentrated power. It also frequently ushered in the very vehicle of Indra into towns. one country's domination of the political, economic, social life of another country, colony is ruled directly via colonial officials, territory has own government that is strongly influenced by foreign power, region in which the foreign power has exclusive investment/trade rights, nationalism: increased competition for power in Europe, many Europeans, few natives (killed/relocated), generally Muslim leaders with intolerance towards Hindus, British (Sir Robert Clive) overtakes Bengal Nawab, rebellion in 1857 in northern/central India, Queen Victoria is crowned Empress of India, goal: reform abuses of Indian society, keep traditional Hindu values, 1905; Britain partitions Bengal based on religion/language. Imperialism is when a more powerful country takes control of another weaker country and governs it and influences the country economically, politically, and/ or socially. The railways is one of three recurrent themes in the tug of war between the apologists of empire and English-educated nationalists; the other two being the Kohinoor and the English language itself. Tharoor may or may not be right in noting that the idea of India is as old as the Vedas, but he is definitely wrong in locating one of India’s oldest railway workshop towns, Jamalpur, in Bengal. Define Imperialism. One popular way of casting the difference between Western modernity and Indian traditionalism was to pitch the encounter in terms of engines vs elephants. Concept vs Practice. Even the mildest imperialism will be experienced by many as a humiliation. Mighty it looks, creates thunderous sound on its way. Imperialism. The term is frequently employed in international propaganda to denounce and discredit an opponent’s foreign policy. Soon after its introduction in India, the director of Indian Railways Juland Danvers assured the British parliament, “now even a Rajah […] in his own territory must submit to the ‘imperative call’ of the railway bell.” The old had to make the way for new. This is similar to what happened after the Zulu War. During the Age of Imperialism, the term “Raj” referred to. Boxer Rebellion: The Chinese React to Imperialism. Source: The Railway Magazine, LIII, July to December 1923. The satirical message made clear that once the British were gone and the Anglo-Indians had retrenched from the railways, the whole country would turn into Mutwalabad (in an inebriated state). Britain exploited India's natural assets. Engine was the new divinity to which natives salaamed as it passed. In the late 1910s, a satirical sketchbook, The Koochpurwanaypore Swadeshi Railway, was published anonymously. Some library websites have identified the author as William Henry Deakin. And they are not narrowly limited to imperialism and nationalism alone. Difference Between Imperialism and Colonialism Definition. British Imperialism in Asia. बोझाए खूब भारी हाहाकार कईले जात बा। Credit: Bhavishya Goel/Flickr CC BY 2.0. Imperialism is the policy or act of extending a country’s power into other territories or gaining control over another country’s politics or economics. Tempting though it is to rally behind the engines to score points over the apologists’ arguments, this can be done only by engaging in historical distortion and ignoring the manifold stories and practices that constitute India’s railway modernity. The very idea of the British Raj—the British rule over India—seems inexplicable today. The Aftermath of Imperialism. Raj: Definition. By definition, imperialism refers to a form of governance that involves the extension of power or dominion of a powerful country by gaining control of areas beyond its borders. To allow for easier passage in India's warm climate, the paper of which the cartridge was composed was heavily greased with tallow, rather than wax or vegetable oil. Home > Jewel In The Crown. In Britain, railway enthusiasts drew pleasure by spotting engines and using their cameras to take eye-catching shots. Tap card to see definition . IMPERIALISM AND GENDERNupur Chaudhuri In European imperial discourses, scholars usually discuss colonizers' foreign or economic policies. The British Raj unravelled quickly in the 1940s, perhaps surprising after the empire in the east had so recently survived its greatest challenge in the shape of Japanese expansionism. During the 16th and 17th centuries, countries like France, Portugal, and England all basically competed for influence along the southeastern coast of India. Concept vs Practice. In this broad classification of colonialism Horvath brings in a distinction between imperialism and colonialism and in his opinion the former has proportionately larger number of settlers than the latter. The tracks of modernity often did not erase the site of tradition, as is clear from the image below. Definition Of Imperialism; Definition Of Imperialism. 6. Both amidst the general public and the railway workforce, engines were a subject of fascination in metropolis as well as colony. Q. The Age of Imperialism 1850-1914 Imperialism: The takeover of a country or territory by a stronger nation with the intent of dominating the economic, political and social life of the people of that nation . British Imperialism in India is an important topic in world history. Definition of imperialism. 30 seconds . Boxer Rebellion: The Chinese React to Imperialism. Understanding the complexity of the Raj and the railways does not necessarily mean becoming an imperial apologist. In 1858, British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. Railways and the Raj: Travelling Through 'Bad Imperialism' and 'Good Nationalism'. By the beginning of the 20th century, the same Jamalpur workshop in which Tharoor claims no Indians were employed to repair engines, had almost 10,000 people, almost all of them natives, working there. If race was prioritised in the colony, class mattered more in England. Difference Between Imperialism and Colonialism Definition. British rule over India from 1757 to 1947: Term. One eyewitness report claimed that the moving iron horse put natives in awe and wonder. After all, Bihar was part of the Bengal presidency and hence Tharoor should not be blamed for reproducing the colonial administrative logic of territorial divisions in spite of his visible attempt to criticise it. The first locomotive engine at Jamalpur was manufactured in 1899 at a cost of Rs 33,000 as compared to the imported cost of Rs 47,897. The popular representation as well as public mediations such as one by Tharoor would have us believe that these worlds were poles apart. When railways became the new vehicle of Indra, the modern sensibility of speed and mechanical robustness was acknowledged as novel and yet co-opted into the existing structures of tradition. French rule of Algeria. The British Raj is a term: "Raj" is a word in the Hindi language which means "rule", so "British Raj" means rule by the British Empire in India. Indirect Control: Definition. This mann was obviously European as for long, the Raj thought Indians possessed none. The term Raj referred to British rule over India from 1757 until 1947. Belgian rule of Congo. Area controlled by private businesses rather than by a foreign government: Term. In Madras, Indians were also employed as train guards in common with Europeans and Anglo-Indians on lesser salary. The. In particular, he argues that to “protect investments”, signalmen and “those who operated and repaired the steam trains” were all white. Early Imperialism in India. These everyday practices related to peoples, technologies and places make up India’s railway modernity. After 1877, this official held the title of viceroy. In both metropolis and colony, the engine was feminine. Commercial concessions had been forced on China dating to the end of the Opium Wars (1839-1842), a contrived series of conflicts engineered by British trading interests. ... Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies. India was considered the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ for the British Empire due to India's resources and location. BRITISH RAJ (BRITISH IMPERIALISM IN INDIA) The term ‘British Raj’ refers to the time period in which Britain ruled over India as a colony of the British Empire. The Age of Imperialism 1850-1914 Imperialism: The takeover of a country or territory by a stronger nation with the intent of dominating the economic, political and social life of the people of that nation . Imperialism resulting in assimilation. As a result of colonialism and imperialism, a majority of Africa lost sovereignty and control of precious natural resources. So after the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, the British kick out the Mughal ruling family and create the British Raj. Off goes the train, with fierceness and rush, Define Imperialism. There is a lot that can be said about the blatant colonialist underpinnings of the Indian railways without resorting to intentional oversimplification or even factual errors. They were happy to get their labour pool filled from villages dotted around the workshop. Even in their apparent dissimilarity we can see seams that bind them together. Source: The Koochpurwanaypore Swadeshi Railway, by Jo.