Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T21:02:54.253Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2009

Get access

Summary

In 1858, after the suppression of the revolt in India, the British government decided to assume direct responsibility for the administration of the country. The rebels had failed to uproot British rule in India but they had succeeded in drawing attention to the anomaly of the East India Company governing an empire. The assumption of authority by the Crown marked, of course, no sharp cleavage in India's history. Many of the principles and methods which became prominent in the years after 1858 had been considered and formulated by the servants of the Company. Nor was there much replacement of personnel. But the fact that the British government and Parliament had accepted responsibility for India, for the proper administration of the country and for the betterment of her people, was in itself of significance.

It demanded, in the first place, that the two political parties in Britain should give thought to India and to the objectives of British rule; for the British government had now to make policy for India. It is true that, in the years after 1858, the emphasis was on administration. The machinery of government was organized, a corpus of statute was built and the civil service was strengthened. But these were no inanimate tasks. They were inspired by certain ideas; and in turn they set afoot certain forces. Education, encouraged mainly as an aspect of good administration, promoted the elements of political consciousness. After about fifty years, by the end of Lord Curzon's viceroyalty in 1905, it became clear that these new forces would dominate the scene.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1965

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Preface
  • S. Gopal
  • Book: British Policy in India 1858-1905
  • Online publication: 02 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563270.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Preface
  • S. Gopal
  • Book: British Policy in India 1858-1905
  • Online publication: 02 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563270.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • S. Gopal
  • Book: British Policy in India 1858-1905
  • Online publication: 02 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563270.001
Available formats
×