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-- Kritanshi Nikas, 7-B, New Indian School

Sunday, August 11, 2024

In the 1600 , India was ruled by Mughals , which had been in control for many years . However , there were colonial powers like England , Netherlands , Portugal , etc… that were taking control of small pocket lands . Companies of those countries were using trade to gain power . One of the most prominent companies were EAST INDIA COMPANY from Britain [ England ] which controlled almost half of the trade . It recruited its own army and began seizing control of India region by region . It sometimes took control by military force like the battle of plassey in 1757 . And other time by economic dominance .

The British army allowed the company to take India's land because the Britain was getting financially benefited . But when the Indians started to resist it , and all of it eventually resulted in SEPOY MUTINY of 1857 , the government dissolved the company but kept control of the lands they had took over .

Sepoy mutiny
One of the first united actions that Indians took against the British control was Sepoy mutiny . Indians were angered by the British because they were pressuring the Indians to convert to Christianity . When Hindus and Muslims were forced to use bullets that had a cartilage covering which was made of animal skin , it was against their religions and that’s when the rebellion sparked . There was a lot of violence and death on both sides . The rebellion ended on June 19 , 1858 when the British recaptured the town called Gwalior and the fighting ended . This marked the beginning of British rule in India's . Throughout 19th and the 20th centaury , India generated a lot s wealth for British . Despite this , conditions for Indians under British rule grew worse and worse over the same time period .

Poverty for Indians grew from 23 percent to 50 percent in 1810 to 1950s . The death rate increased and life expectancy of a average Indian was less than 22 years . Resistance against British rule rose in these conditions . Indians wanted more positions in the government . A British man named Allan Octavian Hume brought together a group of Indians to serve as the Indian national congress in 1885 . Hume profusely chose Indians that were more western – educated because he hoped that they would be more agreeable to the British rules . Despite being supportive of the British rule in the beginning, the Indian national congress slowly became a nationalist entity , the members in it became one of the most important freedom fighters in India .

Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi ji was born in India and went to law school in England . He also worked as a lawyer in South Africa . He returned to India in 1915 as a strong supporter of Indian nationalism .
He used many nonviolent ways . These methods included writing speeches and letters and leading marches , organizing protest and demonstrations , and also boycotting British goods and many more . In addition to leading India towards independence , he also inspired many future civil rights leaders around the world including martin Luther king jr and Nelson Mandela . The first major movement by him was Rowlatt act in 1919 . The act too away many civil rights of Indian people . He also organized boycott of British goods mainly cloth and famously weaved a cloth himself by a spinning wheel and became a symbol of independent India .

In 1930 Indian national congress declared independence from England , which was ignored . In response Gandhi ji organized salt satyagarh .

Independent India
During world war II ,India's industry was growing while England's was suffering losses because of the war . They were losing power . In 1942 Gandhi ji started quit India movement , many British officers responded by violence . In result Indians destroyed important bridges , railroad tracks and sometimes even reacted by physical fighting . Gandhi ji did not condemn the non peaceful actions of the protesters but instead he blamed the British for having not given up control . In 1946 , the royal navy in India went on a strike due to poor working conditions and low pay . There was also violence between Hindus and Muslims , which further strained British control .

August 15th , 1947
On August 15th 1947 , India became a independent country. Pakistan also became a independent country and cites 14th August as its independence day . At the time ,leaders in the British ,Hindus & the Muslims communities thought if they divided the British controlled land into a Hindu –led country and a Muslim – led country , it would stop the violence though the partition caused a lot of violence between the two groups, independence was finally achieved after 200 years and generations of resistance and sacrifices by Indians .